Progress on SEI and a really good evening out

Ive been working away in the shop, fitting the seat tops and filleting them, turning the offcuts into doublers under the edges and sanding out the odd dribbles of epoxy,  read on.

Blog 4 September

Its getting close,  today I fitted the forward seat top.   Tis is in two pieces joined down the middle and glued in to form  to form not only the seat but the top of the forward bouyancy tank, as well as bracing the mast box.

 Filleting, the white stuff is a low density filler from Epiglass with a little cotton mill fibre ( glue mix) mixed in, thats for strength. The brown is Microballoons but underneath that is a smaller fillet of straight glue applied about 6 hours before.  

So that’s done, yesterday I fitted the doublers under the edges of the center thwart and the after seat ( which should be referred to as “Stern sheets” but I’m not that “correct” in my terminology).  These doublers make a big difference to the feel of the boat, stiffening the overhanging edges of the seats considerably as well as giving them a much more “solid” appearance.

These adoublers re made from the scrap left over from cutting the big parts, there wont be much more than kindling left when I’m done with this project,  successively smaller parts get cut as the project goes on,  so the scraps get smaller each time around.

Stern sheets, the doublers sitting on the seat  above where they will be fitted underneath the overhanging plywood seat edge.

Center thwart.  This is a great way to use the offcuts from the planking, makes a much nicer job of the edges of the seat. Next job to do is to glue them in, then round them off.

Forward seat tops to come next.

So tomorrow its at them with the angle grinder and sander to finish off the endges, round them over and fair them.  Then some filleting, more sanding,  and then its time for paint.

I must say that the Fein Multimaster is an amazing tool for sanding fillets, the point of that triangular sanding head with 60 grit paper on it does a very good job, effortlessly and quickly.  I love this tool and would almost own it just for that.

Paint, the outside looks good,  two coats of primer, and two coats of  satin finish paint looks good, so tomorrow I’ll be splitting the white between two containers and pouring a little of the dark green into one to get the pale green for the interior and then start swinging that paintbrush again.

Tonight, my friend and next door neighbour Emily Scott sings.  She has won a scholarship to the UCLA School of Music where she will study in the Masters classical voice program,  this is seriously top level stuff!  I’ve been to a couple of performances and she’s got me converted to Opera.

Tonights performance is a fundraiser, she’s got to get enough money together to live in Los Angeles for two years to take up her scholarship, and I’m going along.

We’ve had shared dinners, helped each other out some, and enjoyed each others company.  I’ll miss her, all the very best Emily.

http://www.creative.auckland.ac.nz/en/about/news/news-2014/2014/07/scholarship-helps-talented-singer-find-her-voice.html

Here’s her facebook page, well worth a look.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=675895038&fref=ts

Time I got myself tidy, don’t need the black suit and tie but epoxy and paint covered overalls wont quite cut it.

( I went, full house, I listened, I enjoyed the concert immensely)

Its SPRING!!! Repairs finishing and the Maine Boatbuilders Show!

This is a for-real AHOY MATEYS because IT. IS. SPRING.  (Insert cymbals here!)  Spring means:  Awesome.  Boats.  Sailing in my Goat Island Skiff.  More Awesome.  I am freaking out.

I ended winter with a bang-- and I drove all the way up to Portland Maine to attend the Maine Boatbuilders Show with one of my enabling buddies who helps convince me that boat related purchases will be beneficial to my life.  He is currently building a Ross Lillistone Phoenix III.  The boat show was awesome, with lots of boats, boat supplies, tools, and other sundries in multiple warehouses.  It was sweet.

What was totally sweet, however, was Clint Chase Boat Builder who was an exhibitor in residence showing off one of his Goat Island Skiff kits!  Clint presciently brought in an unfinished kit because it was, after all, a boatbuilder show, so the Goat was in unfinished conditions-- demonstrating that the Goat is a realistic build for the amateur and is really not a very complicated boat after all.  The passer-by could actually see themselves building such a vessel, as opposed to some of the other boats that were in museum-quality finish.  In short, the Goat is an attainable boat for almost everybody!

Clint Chase and myself with Goat

Clint Chase was the designer of the very sexy mizzen/yawl retrofit/plan for the Goat Island Skiff.  Clint works magic with birdsmouth masts, mizzen masts, oars, whatever you want, and he dutifully provided some of his wares, including bringing the mizzen for this boat:

Nice!

Gawkers, gawking.

Apparently, Clint said the Goat was a hit.  Again, this is an affordable, attainable project for most people with/without experience, and out of the project, the builder gets a most capable boat.  What are you waiting for?!

I also must plug my homeys over at Maine Island Trail Association.  

That is Ted, who is awesome and posed in a picture with me, at the MITA booth.  The intreprid reader will remember that the MITA helps maintain the Maine Island Trail, and the author of this blog (me) uses this trail for adventures on the high seas!  I highly recommend anyone interested in cruising the Maine coast in small boats (or big) to become a member of this most worthwhile organization.  Go MITA, GO!  (I want that beard...)

***********************

In other news pertaining to my vessel, I have dragged her out into the sunlight on this first day of Spring!

Yes, it is Spring!  I have jumped into the boat repairs, and lemme tell you, dear intrepid reader, there is almost nothing like a sharp plane skinning away pieces of wood to bring a smile to this sailors face!  Clint Chases boat at the show is going to be a fine piece of vessel when she is finished, and I admired the small touches that he has gone through the trouble of doing to make her classy.  I was duly inspired, and have undertaken the task to clean my boat up and make her even more worthy of my pride!  I will admit, when I built her I didnt know what I was doing, and I also used her as an aggression sink, and I directed much work-related stress into her construction.  I rushed her finishing to get her on the water, and the entire season last year I made excuses for her rough fillets and unfinished edges.  Today, that ends.

I am rounding her off, literally taking off her sharp edges, softening her up, and getting her pretty so that this year, we will cruise with a new temperament, based on relaxation and fun.  Clint showed me how to shape fillets, and I dont know why I didnt try it earlier.  Thank you Clint for the inspiration!

Happy Spring, readers!

Its cold out there!

Its the shortest day of the year today, here in the southern hemisphere anyway.  Its calm after the mayhem that yesterdays fast moving winter storm caused, and while there is some light cloud its mostly sunny.

The significance of the day though is that  springtime, warm weather, boisterous early season breezes and the promise of summer is just a couple of flips of pages on the calendar away.

Maintenance, lots to do.  Haul, antifoul and paint my ship.  40 ft. of motor cruiser is a lump of a thing to do,  its three years since the last one,  the first since I bought her, and she not only needs her bottom done but the topsides are looking tired as well so it’s a big job.

I do manage to keep the worst of the barnacles off her, have several times put her on a sandy beach an hour before low tide and walked around with a hard broom to scrub and scrape, an hour means the water goes down about a foot so she leans over just enough for me to get well under with the long handled broom, but she’s about through the soft antifouling paint under there so its up on the hard when I get back from the  next trip.

Same with the little yacht “May” as well, living on a trailer she is not antifouled, but there is much maintenance to do there, even under her sheltering tarpaulin the varnish has peeled and some of the paint cracked, the interior is musty and there is a bit of mould, the rig needs attention and, well, more work.  I want to cruise her this summer, so its time to make a plan.

Paint, paint rollers and brushes, thinners, scrapers, sandpapers and sanders,  scrubbing brushes, all the tools and materials need to be assembled ready for the big days,  the ship will be done in one intense weeks work up on the hard, two ladders, a scaffold plank, mask, tyvek suit, gloves etc.  I’m not looking forward to that but little “May” can be done a bit at a time. Sanding, varnishing, and as the warmer weather dries out the lawn up where she is parked I can take the rig down, assemble it on the grass and make the changes I want.

So there is a shelf and a toolbox up there in the boatshed, devoted to the spring maintenance.  The toolbox has all the sanding and painting gear plus protective clothing, one end of the shelf has the paint and varnish for the little yacht, the other for the ship.  I’ve got quite a lot of it including $450 worth of antifouling,  but there is more to get.

I’ll go and see my friend at Burnsco the boat chandlery about that, but am sorry that they don’t sell bulk elbow grease.  I’m going to need some.

But today I’m going to fit the rowlock plates to SEI. Nothing fancy this time, she’s not a boat that I anticipate rowing for hours at a time, so I am not going to fit my “patent” tufnol lined sockets, just a bronze strap top and bottom of a hardwood block, drilled to suit the rowlocks, and through bolted.

The hardwood came from a shipping pallet, its oily wood, hard, I’ve no idea what species but it is very tough with interlocked grain that should wear well, and like everything else for a serial boatbuilder it was there when I needed something so that’s what got used.

I’ve oars to build for her as well, they’ll be long ones at 9 ft. Again they’ll be simple with narrow blades that wont need to be feathered when rowing to windward and be sturdy enough to push the boat off with.

Stowing  a pair of 9 ft oars in SEI is going to be  a pain, theyll be either in the way or hanging out the end of the boat,  Im thinking of getting myself a pair of Chuck Leinwebers clip together oar sleeves,  this will allow me to make the oars at the correct length, then cut them in half and with these sleeves, clip them together when needed. I have been using a pair of his paddle ones, and theyre very good, those allow me to use the paddle at my usual 45deg left handed configuration and my visitors can use them just straight which is easier than feathering, allows them to concentrate on no falling out.  

The oar ones are shown "Here". 

http://www.duckworksbbs.com/hardware/misc/saw-frh/oar.htm

www.duckworksbbs.com/hardware/misc/saw-frh/oar.htm

Ive lots to do before springtime. Not a lot of time in which to do it!  On the 14^th of next month I’m on the plane again for what has become an annual pilgrimage to Port Townsend in the USA. It’s a long trip this time, so my spring will be spent travelling rather than doing all the work that’s stacked up at home.

All of the above adds up to the fact that its time I got out of my nice warm bunk and got on with it.

Sigh.

John Welsford

BroVenture2011! Day 1 and Day 2

Ahoy Intrepid Readers!

This post is going to be a departure from the usual postings at GIS Amateur Style, because:  1. It is not about my Goat Island Skiff or about another Storer boat, 2. It includes guest commentary as in, my very own brother L, who will add his perspective and wit to BroVenture2011!


BroVenture2011 is similar to VisionQuest/ManQuest2010 which is detailed here (my version) and here, except that it is not a 4 day quest in my Goat but a 4 day cruise in my brothers boat, the legendary Aquarius 23.  I say legendary because people now like to make them into cheap motor boat conversions.

I AM GOING TO BE A LEGEND SOME DAY, I HOPE

A little background:  My brother got his boat for free.  It included a new 8hp Mercury outboard ("The MVP of the trip!" according to L), gas tanks, stereo, coolers, new cushions, anchors, fishing gear, foulies, and numerous other odds and ends that make a sailboat a cruising vessel.  Dont ask how he scored such a boat with equipment for free, just accept that he can make things like this happen and you probably cant.

Anyway, my brother and I are adventurers, and Vikings.  We like salt water, we like sailing, and we like doing things our own way and we needed to go on a trip together.  Hes had this boat for years, lived on it, etc. and we never sailed together.  Time for that to end.  We planned a four day cruise in our homewaters of the mighty and great Connecticut River to "the great wet barnyard of Long Island Sound" (Fitzgerald).  Destination... well, we dreamed of Block Island.

Day 1 Essex to Niantic Bay:  RAIN.  It RAINED.  It rained all day.  We got the boat set up, in the rain.  My brother when he installed the roller furling system several weeks prior installed it backwards with the drum facing forward.  The jib halyard went up the mast.  I stuck L into a bosuns chair and hauled him skyward in the rain on a line of dubious quality so we could rig the jib.  No pictures, it was RAINING.  Everything got wet.  Nothing was going to dry.  We went home twice to dry out and eat soup.  Finally, we left harbor and headed down the Connecticut River southbound to the waters of our youth, our Long Island Sound!

Long Island Sound with less than optimal weather...

My brother the Skipper at the helm in his new rain jacket, the $0.60 poncho!  Note poncho as day goes on...also note our tender to get from anchorage to shore! (being towed) 

Lynde Point Light (1838), 65 tall flanking the northern end of the channel leaving the CT River

Saybrook Breakwater Light (1886) 50, famous and on the license plates on the southern end of the channel. Her blinking green light will see us over the far horizon, good-bye beautiful and mighty CT River, you are ended here.

Once out of the Connecticut River we sailed eastward.  We didnt really have a plan, I guess Block Island would have been ideal but with the late start and the scheming weather maybe it wasnt the greatest of ideas.  Regardless, we sailed east!

The wind picked up and soon we were making good speed and time.  Thunderstorms boomed behind us and ahead of us, yet we successfully dodged the worst of it (or they dodged us) and we luckily did not get embroiled with something we couldnt hack.

Ponch isnt looking happy

Wind is up and boat is heeled over!  Notice spacious accommodations and beefy muscle mascot!  Goat Island Skiff doesnt have cozy bunks!   

The weather behind us

Here is some movie glory for you Intrepid Readers!

Right about this time, I decided to go below to rummage and stow some loose gear, when I hear a FWAPFWAP and a "OH NO" from my brother.  I rush topsides thinking hes over the side only to see him looking back at the chart book floating on the surface of the waves.  Its waterproof, so we arent worried about it getting ruined-- I swing the boat around and we make haste to recover the book (we need charts so we dont hit one of the hundreds of reefs in Long Island, Block Island, and Fisher Island Sounds) when the book literally just disappears.  In an instant we learned that waterproof chart book also meant non-floating chart book and in but a blink, Long Island Sound became quite larger, the sun was that much closer to the horizon, the anchorage was that much further away, and we were without a chart back-up.

In a fit of fury over the chart loss, the poncho gets what it had coming to it.

Feeling free from clammy poncho and musing on the idea that liberation is impossible when charted, L reflects on what an Electric Blue Sunset means...

 The night fell fast, and while we were almost at The Race (read the second sentence of this entry) we decided that without a chart, continuing on to Block Island in the dark was foolhardy and unwise.  Somehow, and someway, we two brothers made an intelligent decision.  L pointed the boat back to Niantic Bay in CT, where we were certain we could snag a mooring for a few hours and get some shut eye and wait for the sun to reappear on the morrow.  This passed as expected, and Day 1 was complete.

Ls Commentary on Day 1! 

My sailboat, sometimes and appropriately called "Blow Me" for this season, was perfectly set up for leisure, not so much for sailing.  To be prepared for Broventure 2011, it needed some work - jib raised, rudder fixed, sheets set up, etc.  All of this was done in a stormy downpour.  I was hoisted up the mast for some roller furling work.  This was a first for me on my boat and I felt with every sway of the boat I was about to break my mast at the step.

We didnt have great wind once we hit the sound, but we still managed to make it a good ways towards Orient Point, before we decided on actually making a plan.  But those plans were hampered by the chart blowing overboard.  The good news was the clearing weather, especially because my 99 cent poncho had slowly shredded into nothingness.  We pirated our first mooring in Niantic Bay, late - the only reason I knew it was there was because I had stayed on it once before when my motor failed and the winds died.  

Day 2 Niantic Bay to Watch Hill/Napatree Point, RI:  I awoke early to find a gloriously sunny day and a stiff breeze out of the north.  Without wasting a moment I decided to get underway even though my brother was still asleep in the V-berth.  Why wake the Skipper when I can easily sail this boat off the mooring myself?  We were just a few yards from some other boat that looked expensive, so I attempted to start the Mercury as a back up if needed.  This didnt happen, my brother apparently is the outboard whisperer.  Regardless, after some chiding from the V-berth (I woke him up) I had slipped our lines and we were eastbound!

L at the helm as we blast out of Niantic Bay

Off of Groton, we ran into the Silent Service:

Spooky and large she came from nowhere.  Pretty damn cool.  One ass (probably from NY) tried to race the sub and was quickly subdued by the Coast Gaurd.  MorAN!

Our quest that day was to get a new chart, since our debacle the day before left us with no chart.  One option was to head to Noank, a little village between Groton and Mystic.  Noank had a few marinas, and also it had a clam shack.

Noank

Noank Harbor

In Noank we did indeed find another waterproof-non-floating chart which I purchased.  Then we had some huge hamburgers that we literally inhaled.  This left us feeling quite stuffed and stupid, so we motor sailed out of Noank and decided to head for Watch Hill, RI.

Inspecting the new chart and realizing that only by sheer luck did we not manage to impale ourselves on numerous reefs!

Our destination ended up being the anchorage behind Napatree Point near Watch Hill, RI.  I have often seen this anchorage while flying in the area and always wanted to go there-- now was my big chance!  This place did not disappoint.  At all.  Holy Balls it was amazing.  The anchorage was superb (to the horror of my brother I deftly sailed us through the mooring field and pricey boats to the mooring ball where we sat temporarily before we anchored-- I dont mess around with cheating outboards, I do it like the Vikings did it.  My brother is now emboldened to emulate his ancestors, this is what big brothers are supposed to do, inspire the younger ones).

I missed the glorious lighting of the place so one picture is not mine:

Watch Hill from our anchorage note dinghy

Our Intrepid Vessel at anchor

Watch Hill Cove from the bluff

Napatree Point from the bluff-- one of the most glorious beaches I have ever been to, ever, anywhere, anyplace.

 Because the lighting was less than optimal Im going to assist your minds eye.  This is not my picture I took it from Stonington Rotarys webpage. http://www.stoningtonsrotary.org/news.htm

Yes, it really looks like this!  HOLY SHAMOLEY

EPIC BEACH.  The sand was amazing.  The water was crystal clear.  And best of all (LISTEN UP NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND) the water temperature was 74 DEG. F  (23 C).  Im moving.

After investigating the beach, the town, and some other stuff, we retired to the boat to whip up some dinner. L made pasta with tuna and sauce and we drank beer and watched the earth spin our side of the globe away from the sun.

Make me dinner!

The Skipper enjoying the fruits of his labor.

Ls Commentary on Day 2!

 The next day I awoke to Christophe The Mad Sailor, raising sails and attempting to sail off the mooring, which he did well, but the sound of him strangling my outboard trying to get it on woke me.  His words: "I wanted to wake you by rolling you out of bed!"  I was groggy, in part because the mooring we were on used my boat as a sparring partner all night.  If only I had known what to do with that small mizzen sail I had aboard.  But that came later. We had some serious wind cutting across to Mystic, good enough that my one martini glass broke free and smashed across the cabin like it was thrown by an angry housewife.  After a chart purchase and a half lb burger at Costellos, we cut into the channel leading behind Napatree Point, where Christophe adjusted the jib sheets and showed me how much better it was by sailing the entire channel to

another pirated mooring.  Nice.  

The harbor was beautiful, and we ended up 

anchored just off the beach. 

My windsurfing board served as our humble tender, 

but we engineered a system for us to take turns paddling it to shore.  We had a 

Laurent food specialty for dinner - the bowl of food; if you need to ask whats 

in it, you aint ready. Night was spent with sunset gazing, still waters, quality 

beers and a cigar.  Win!

Stay tuned for days 3 and 4!!!

BroVenture2011! Day 3 and 4!

Ahoy Intrepid Readers!  We continue now on our epic Long Island Sound journey (well, there are more sounds, like Fishers and Block, but really, is there any other Sound like Long Island Sound!?  No.) as we return to our homeport in the Connecticut River!

To the startled reader, see the previous post for an explanation, this is a departure from my normal Goat Island Skiff adventures.

Day 3 Watch Hill/Napatree Point to Old Lyme:  This day dawned clear and bright, and we brothers arose to a beautiful beach, beautiful weather, and our beautiful selves.  I took our dinghy and paddled into shore to get egg sandwiches at the local coffee shop.  Note to reader, the coffee shop offers egg sandwiches that are unceremoniously microwaved and the coffee is better ordered as just coffee, because if you add cream and sugar, they will put so much syrup youll doubt there is any coffee in the cup at all.

Windsurfer board?  Check.

Extra long canoe paddle?  Check.

Stand-Up Paddleboard?  Not really, but Check.

El Skippero (Mexican) chilling out.  

After a swim and a run on the epic beach illustrated in the previous post we decided to haul anchor and head Westbound.  Since the tide was high, we decided to be manly, and make a run across the dangerous shallow shoals that are festooned on the chart with things like "submerged pipes" and "rocks" and lots of shallow areas.

The Skipper had a hunch to hug a line of red buoys that headed out, this would have made sense in any kind of maritime setting since they would have been on our port side, but I was led astray by other boaters who were cutting across the nefarious shallows further inland.  I mused that the red markers (which were not official navigational aids, or marked on chart) were marking out a danger area instead.  My little brother listened to me for what must be the second time in his entire life and acting as Skipper, L made his own decision attempt the shallows closer inland than Napatree Point.

We ran aground, because I was wrong.  My little brother will never again listen to me.

When we ran aground, I jumped overboard and came up to my waist.  So yes, we really were aground.  L started to plot furiously his escape, as we were losing time and tide.  I started getting line ready to haul up his damnable centerboard which was stuck in the down position, rendering his shoal draft boat useless as such, we might as well been a fixed keel.  As I prepared the lines, L took advantage of a gentle swell and gunned it!  Dragging centerboard across the sand, hitting obstacles along the bottom, and caring for nothing save not having to call Sea-Tow to come save us, we made it to the channel that was conveniently marked by the red buoys that headed out to sea!  Relief!  

The winds were light.  After a short stint of attempting to spearfish, which included a philosophical argument on what direction a speargun should be pointed, we set sail for home.

Island Packet "Winters Haven"

Island Packet "Winters Haven"  Note cool person.

Watching "Winters Haven" burn us.

The wind is picking up and were beginning to start moving now!

About right after this above picture was taken, many things happened at once.  We started really moving, with the leeward rail in the water and L and I up on the windward rail like a real racing boat!  At this point, I realized we had 40 lbs of unsecured anchor and chain on the forward deck!  I made my way forward just as those 40 lbs of nefarious metal slid overboard and over a hundred feet of scope unwound in dangerous "Deadliest Catch" fashion!  OH NO!  I could only imagine the destruction if the anchor caught on the bottom while we were moving at 5 knots in the opposite direction!  Needless to say, I saved the day.

The Skipper L pleased that I saved his boat from mishap.

Hero.  Note anchor now securely attached.

After saving the day, I decided to hang off a shroud, and promptly pulled it free.  That was another few minutes of drama, lemme tell you, but thanks to my ever-present box of tools I was able to fix it quick, cause Im a hero.  Then I made dinner.  Beans.

Making dinner #1 underway.

Sailing into the sunset.

This time, with our new chart, we successfully navigated around several reefs and found a mooring off of Old Lyme for the night.  This was a good thing, because it was dark and we dont have running lights.

We made dinner #2.

L says: Day 3

We motored out of Napatree Point and promptly ran aground.  We were attempting to follow an unoffical "cheat" channel, passable at high tide, but Christophe thought boats had been taking another route, which I foolishly followed, rejecting my gut instinct.  I got us out by gunning the outboard and powering the keel through the sand and shallows... and totally redeemed myself!  We dropped the hook off Napatree beach looking to do some spearfishing, but the current was ripping and the spot was too exposed (though visibility was clear), and the shipmates had differing views over speargun safety, so we looked at cool Christmas light jellyfish instead.  We headed back into Fishers Island Sound, where the wind suddenly picked up and we had a strong reach that we rode all the way to Old Lyme - a good few hours of straight sailing.  At one point, with the boat deeply heeled, Christophe leaned on a windward shroud and it snapped, almost dropping him overboard.  Good thing the other shroud stayed put, or I would have been practicing rescue sailing maneuvers.  We pirated another mooring (3 for the trip) and we learned how to use the anchor sail, though it did not prevent a boat-rolling sleep session.

Day 4 Old Lyme to Essex:  The next morning we awoke to heavy swells and queezy stomachs.  L, who has everything in his boat, found an anchor riding sail so fortunately we were pointed in the wind.  Now, the funny thing is that he didnt know what it was.  I had expressed the desire to have one so we could stay pointed in the wind and not rub against the mooring ball (THUMP THUMP THUMP all night).  L asked, "Is it small and triangular?" I answered in the affirmative.  "I have one of those."  Again, Ls magical-free-boat that came stocked with everything had an anchor riding sail that I have ever only seen in catalogs like the above link!

I cant express to you how useful this thing is.

After deciding to not really eat breakfast, we cast off the anchor and headed home to the beautiful Connecticut River.  The wind was fair but from the west, so we motored to the river mouth and then raised sail to glide northbound like Vikings of old raiding upstream villages!

The lighthouses welcome us and many other sea-weary sailors home.

173 years old and still a functioning navigation device.  This is called a durable technology.

Spanning the Connecticut River at its mouth are two bridges, the Old Lyme RR Drawbridge, and the "new" Baldwin Bridge carrying I-95.  The drawbridge operator works closely with the trains (namely Amtrak) and boaters to get people through.  He actually had a gap of "about a minute" and opened the bridge to sneak through some boats between two trains.  This guy was good.  It was pretty awesome.  We waited for a longer opening time, I didnt want to be responsible for a train wreck.

Now, I think if the winds are favorable, a sailor should be sailing.  So we were going to sail through these bridges, dammit!  Vikings didnt putt-putt under RR bridges!

Approaching the bridge, full speed ahead!

Sailing under the span!  We made it!

HAHA!  Success!  Pillaging ahead!

Nefarious I-95 is carried by the Baldwin Bridge.  Well sail under this one too.

More clearance on this one.

Its like the Hall of the Dwarf Kings.

Essex in View! Oh the Joy!
(Intrepid Reader who identifies which historical figure Im ripping off gets free GISamateur parking)

Nuff said.

And suddenly, just like that, we were home.  It was a fun 4 days.  If I could do it again, Id tow the Goat Island Skiff behind the boat so I could some small boat sailing and keep these posts at least a little more relevant to its title.  That, and there would have been some good sailing around Napatree Point, and to be honest, I miss my little handsome boat.

Otherwise, great adventure all around, some good stories, and some good weather.  Sure beat 4 days being a Landlubber!  Oh how I pity you landlubbers.

Until next time Intrepid Reader!

L says: Day 4

We reached the Connecticut river and began motor-sailing north, which against the ebb tide meant barely making progress.  The wind picked up near the bridge, and we took advantage by jibing in circles around the other boats that were patiently waiting.  As the bridge rose we sailed through, and were soon back at Essex dock.  The finale of the trip was anchoring my boat in Booty Cove (note: secret spot, not charted.. I will say that I am anchored between a bald eagles nest and a hobo camp).  There was an old man crabbing that tried explaining to Christophe that an osprey flying overhead was actually an eagle.  We whalered back to shore, the boat safe and sound and us with only minor dehydration and sunburn!  BroVenture 1 - Tragic Outcome 0