Log of Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Wednesday, June 18 Proverbial first light appears somewhat behind schedule, 0415 or so, owing to heavy overcast. Fish jumping in cove.

This was the big day of the trip. We had that long, inhospitable stretch of coast to put behind us and still a long way to go to be in Sippican Harbor on Friday. The weather forecast continued turbulent, with thundershowers and gusty winds. But it was calm, dreary and damp as we made final preparations and got underway.

North Wind stows dinghy engine & gets underway @
0515 bound SW w/goal: Isles of Shoals. Visibility 1/2 mile under low ceiling.
0606 Turned SSW at Outer Green I. Thick o' Fog.
0705 Cape Elizabeth on the Stbd bow distant 1.3 nm visibility a scant 2 nm. Making 4.4 kts against a foul flood current. Paul on the helm, Tom at lookout & Ryck is cooking toast. BW is naviguessing. ETA at Gong #2 is ~0730.

For a while the fog shut down tight, we sounded the required sound signals and made securite calls as we crossed traffic lanes. We heard a couple of lobster boats working in the distance and, on the radio, one tug underway in the inner harbor, otherwise everything was still.

=>Watch Schedule for the day: Tom 6-10; Ryck 8-12; Paul 10-2; GW 12-4.

Even tho' this was just a long day, I tried to treat it as a passage with watches and regular log entries. It was too long a day to let someone carry an undue share of the load and there was certainly a chance we would end up underway overnight, since there is really no place to hide along the way.

0805 43-29.59 N/070-12.37 W -- 4.7 kts, vis good.
0905 43-25.50 N/070-15.47 W 4.5 kts OK 1-2 nm.
1050 43-20.94 N/070-17.66 W Sky clouds purple [?], Scale up 5+ vis
1205 43-11.9 N/070-20.75 W 4.75 kt, 4 mi NE Boon Is.
1218 43-10.8 N/070-21.2 W 4.5 kts Boon Id light on Stbd bow 6 mi distant--Sunny, clear, thunderheads astern, light Southerly. Minky (?) whale breached a few minutes ago.

Not much literary value in the log entries of this day. In the late morning, we emerged from under the heavy overcast and could see thunderheads to the North and West over the coastline as the unstable air was roiled by the sun. But for us it was a pleasant day only marred by the diesel and the headwind as we strove to make the best mileage we could.

1330 Hoisted main and jib. Making 6 kts at 230 deg.

Though the log doesn't say it, we never stopped the engine and continued to motorsail close hauled for most of the afternoon. The wind gradually clocked around, putting us below our course, but we got a net boost of a knot or so from the sails. This was enough for us to change our destination to Sandy Bay, outside Rockport from the Isles of Shoals. The extra 15 miles or so of progress made our subsequent days underway much easier.

1415 43-01.925 N/70-26.838 W, 5.7-5.8 kts at 219 m w/jib reefed. Continued motorsailing beginning 1330.

1505 42-57.5 N/70-28.9 W Continuing to motorsail close hauled Port tack. Wind ~12-14 k. Seas 1-2 ft. Sunny, cool. Making good ~5.7 kts. and ~216 M.

1755 - 42-44.7 N/70-38.3 W - Cape Ann lies 3 miles on the weather bow. Wind has gone light but we are still making close to 5,5 kts. Plan to close the shore and then motor around the northern headland and into Sandy Bay. Expecting light air and flat water in shore.

The other factor in the decision to go to Sandy Bay was the weather. Both anchorages on our route are a bit iffy, but Sandy Bay is very exposed in any breeze with some East in it. Our judgement was that the thunderheads that day were paper tigers and we had nothing much to fear even in an open roadstead. Happily events proved this correct.

1920 Set anchor in Sandy Bay at Rockport in 30 ft of water, Tide is 1 ft above low.

We considered a trip ashore, but in the end settled for a lounge in the cockpit surveying the scene with a drink in hand while we made dinner aboard. It may have been reheated chili--I don't really remember and the log is silent on the subject. But it was a tired crew after a long and successful day. The fog and solitude of Maine was behind us now and we were entering the busy waters of Massachusetts Bay. This transition is always rather dramatic, whichever way we are going and it is rather like closing one novel and opening another. It reminds me of the "sea change" referred to by passengers on pre-war liners as they traveled between Europe and New York.