2009 Winter Decommissioning

2009 sailing season is over. Where oh where did the summer go?

On October 12th, we took Wind Runner along with Englishman Phil and Francine from our home dock at Westerly, RI to the Yankee boat yard in Portland, CT. It turned out to be an eight hour boat ride as the winds were right out of the west starting out at 10 to 15 in the AM and 15 to 25 in the PM. It was however a sunny fall day and the ride up the Connecticut River is always nice especially with all the fall colors.

Decommissioning at the dock takes us about a week to complete especially with all of the various water systems - engine, generator, sails and rigging plus taking most of the 'stuff' off the boat. We just can't believe all the stuff we have!

It is always exciting to see just how well the bottom faired during the season.



Wind Runner sits in the Pawcatuck River which is famous for its alga and true to form the green bottom was pure black. Good news was we had no barnacles!

Once out of the water, it is pressure washed and hauled across the road and up the hill to its winter resting place.



Once covered, its wait, wait, and wait some more until spring when we are on the water again. Back to the airport and land loving activities for now.

We will do a little boat camping over the winter months and focus on the upcoming season.



We plan on going to the Miami Boat Show in February to look for new toys.

More Video's - Just to Enjoy

Well, it has been almost a month since we got home from our Maine sailing trip and have had a chance to go through our pictures and videos. Some are really fun to watch and we wanted to make it easy - so, we put them all in one spot.

Watch Hill Merry Go Round (we were just learning to use the video, so, there is a bit of background conversation - just for extra enjoyment!)



A nice sail after our video shoot


A beautiful sail - close your eyes and listen to the quiet. Oh, the sound of us cutting through the waves may be a bit load - what a blast!



Another sailing video



More video's will be added as we sort through all the pictures. Stay tuned!

July 16th Home Stretch

Old saying goes - "Red at night, sailors delight; Red in the morning, sailors take warning." The picture shown was this morning and modern weather reports predicted some unpleasant weather coming our way. We motor sailed more than 10 hours today leaving Pocasset Harbor at 5:15 this morning and arriving in Westerly at 4:00 PM. The going was a little rough at times and we continue to admire how great the Island Packet 420 is on the water. How great it is to return on Jim's birthday -- it is now time to light the candles and celebrate!

July 15th Scituate, MA to Pocasset Harbor, MA

Started out motoring to the Cape Cod Canal turned out to be a good sailing day with an average speed of about 8 - 9 knots -- we were smoking and got to the mouth of the canal 2 hours early. So we motored through the canal at 4 1/2 knots. Came out on other side to 3-5 foot seas and 25 knot winds. Pulled into to Pocasset at 5:00 pm. Still very windy - blowing at 20 knots. Our IP flag might not be weathering the storm. Its all tangled and we need to figure out how to get it down before it gets torn up! Seems to be fraid around the edges. We spent the evening on the boat and had a nice dinner, wine and rested to get ready for a very early start tomorrow.

July 14th - Isle of Shoals to Scituate, MA

Departed at 06:00 for Scituate. Calm winds and clear skies. (Motoring Again!) About 1 hour of actual sailing. We pulled into Scituate about 1:30pm, had some ice cream, watched some videos, heading for Cape Code Canal tomorrow. We want to get to the Cape Code Canal on the ebb tide which isn't until 16:00 (4:00 pm)

July 13th - Scratch Biddeford, ME Arrived at Isle of Shoals

Instead of Biddeford we decided to head for a little Island off the coast of Kittery, ME and Portsmouth, NH. It was a 10 hour ride motoring into the wind. Trip was broken up by sighting of numerous whales! In the picture below you can see a water spot of one of the whales. (no telephoto lens) The Isle of Shoals harbor is not well protected from the prevailing Northwest winds. Very popular in the summer with limited number of moorings. A friend from another IP sailing vessel saved a mooring for our late arrive by putting his dingy on it for us. Considering the 60 degree water, the swim back to his boat is a good definition of a friend. (Well, he didn't swim but we initially thought he did.)

July 11th - Back To Boothbay

Motor sailed back to Boothbay from Camden, Maine and had about 3 hours close haul sailing. Mooring at Tug Boat Inn Marina, great showers. Spent all day at Boothbay - July 12th. Had dinner with Norm and Mary Pierce (IP-dealer in Boothbay) Saw the new IP- Estero. Plan is to leave at 05:01am tomorrow for Biddeford, ME for a Lobster salad sandwich. (Don't forget to check out the new pictures scrolling to the right, new ones are added almost daily.)

Portland, ME to Boothbay, ME to Camden, ME

Very calm conditions, motored ALL the way....Lots of Lobster pots! Left Boothbay first thing in the morning EARLY am for Camden, ME. As we pulled out of Boothbay a seal popped his head out of the water, looked at us as if to say, "Good Morning, have a great day." The goal in Camden, ME was to drive our car. See picture.....the new family car purchased from Owls Head Transportation Museum......a 1931 Ford Model A, rumble seat roadster........all we need now is the attire and a nice Sunday afternoon. Plan is to head South at 6:01 am tomorrow. Destination....Boothbay......and heading home. (not in the car, picking up later by trailer)

Kittery Landing Marina then on to Portland, ME

Approaching Kittery planned to go to the Kittery Landing Marina. Warned about very aggressive tides but really had no clue! Because of the tides there are only two times a day to arrive and/or depart for a vessel like Windrunner. While at the dock we understood why when we finally relaxed and were able to see the rushing river! If it wasn't for Captain Tom insisting on guiding you in for docking, things could get ugly fast. (Boating can be fun......)

Inclement weather forced us to stay longer then anticipated. Left on the morning tide of July 8th to rendezvous with the rest of the fleet. Gray day -started out with head winds that shifted to beam winds with increasing winds and seas, coupled with the rain, made for a very dramatic day! Landed at a cheap dock with no water, no electric which required making 180 degree turn in a 50 foot slip with a 45 foot boat. Thank God for bow thrusters! (Some of the crew headed for drinks, as soon as the lines were tied.)

July 6th - "On the Sea (road) Again - Marblehead, MA to Kittery, ME

Wind gust yesterday 20-30 kts. We heeled consistently at 20 degrees, and our average speed was between 7-9 knots. Calmer day a few days ago for the spinaker. Today to Kittery, ME started out 06:01am very calm - no wind. Beautiful sunrise.

Happy 4th!!!!!

Well, we did not head out to Marblehead. Stayed at Scituate Harbor, MA. Walked out to the lighthouse and back. It was the best day, weather wise, so far!!! Heading out tomorrow to Marblehead, maybe.

July 2nd Red Hook Harbor, MA to Scituate, MA

Left Red Hook Harbor to catch the favorable tide through Cape Code Canal. Arrived a little early which gave us a 1 kt negative tide until 3/4's through the canal. We picked up the favorable 1 1/2knot tide. Once in the Cape Cod Canal it was a rolley polley ride, with seas two to four feet and occasional rain showers all the way to Scituate, MA.

Stayed all day July 3rd in Scituate, MA saw the town, saw some fireworks. Basically relaxed. Possibly going to Marblehead, MA tomorrow.

29th Dutch Harbor to Cuttyhunk 30th to Red Brook Harbor/Kingman Yacht Center

Late departure out of Dutch Harbor because of fog, fog, fog. Started out sailing on two hour tack which turned into 4 hours direct motoring to get to Cuttyhunk Island before sun down. To late for ice cream! Some of the crew decided to abandon ship and go hiking. See pictures.

Woke up to thunder and lightening which after much discussion turned into a immediate departure to beat the storms to Red Brook Harbor, Cape Code. Going to Red Brook to wait out the tide for transit of the Cape Code Canal. Decided to do laundry and found out the dryers were broken. So tomorrow we go to town to dry close before an 11 am departure.

Great sail for about 1 hour - becalmed for one hour motored for two.

Had a great meal at the Kingman Yacht Center restaurant. (no pictures...)

A Picture Perfect Day

Today was a fantastic day centered around the long planned helicopter photo shoot. Eight Island Packets headed out to Point Judith departing from Watch Hill promptly at 7:30. We arrived around 11:30 and greeted Cats Paw with a cannon blast. We arrived in time for everyone to have a leisurely lunch before rendezvousing for the photo shoot. We headed out around 12:15 and Mark arrived with the photographer around 1PM. Everything went picture perfect and we have over 500 photo's to memorialize the day. This is a video of our quiet ride to Dutch Harbor on Jamestown Island to have dinner with the gang. We spent the night at Dutch Harbor on a mooring provided by Catspaw and Thiller the cat.

Sunday at Watch Hill

What a day a dingy makes! We spent our day testing the power of the dingy. Alaine tested her driving skills and it was fun to have wet bottoms -- thank goodness our clothes were quick to dry. Today was a day to find the Verizon store in Westerly and to our 'surprise' it was closed - go figure. So, we went to pick up a few additional provisions and motored back to Watch Hill. We walked around Watch Hill and went to the lighthouse and then spent some time admiring the merry go-around.





Alaine showed her bartending skills and made coffee martini's for us - what a wonderful dessert. I think we are hooked. The whole gang got together on the IP40 Surprise and outlined the plan for tomorrow's photo shoot at Point Judith. We depart on Monday at 7:30 AM and head for that destination. Not quite sure what the specific plans are after the photo shoot and hope we will head off to Newport for a wonderful dinner there on Monday night.

Starting Our Maine Voyage

We started our day with breakfast at the Marlborough Family Bakery and a great conversation with Georgette Goodale (owner of Marlborough Bakery). We met Alaine (Jim's daughter) at Pier 65 who is joining us for the 3 weeks. The boat is stocked, the tanks are full and we motored from Pier 65 to Watch Hill to rendezvous with 6 IP's from the south. The plan for tomorrow is to simply relax, walk into town and do absolutely nothing. We will all venture out on Monday to head to Port Judith where we will meet with other IP's for a helicopter aerial photo opt.

Dinner tonight was catered by Georgette and consisted of grilled chicken, bow tie pasta and wheat bread topped off by wine.

It is so much fun to see old friends and meet new friends and we are looking forward to great adventures over the next few weeks.

THE START OF OUR 2009 SAILING SEASON

The remainder of 2008 was spent cruising the local waters of Fishers Island sound, Long Island sound and Block Island sound. The winter was spent doing all of the typical things sailors do during the winter - getting the small repairs scheduled and planning for the next adventure.

After what seems like a never ending winter, we are looking forward to the 2009 season in which another voyage to the coast of Maine is being planned.