A new tradition

We started a new tradition for the Deborah Lee. Any time we travel down the C & D Canal, we make Pillsbury Cinnamon Buns. "Nothin feels more like lovin than somethin from the oven"!

Back to Cambridge, Maryland

We left City Island on Tuesday, July 24th. 36 and a half hours later, we landed in Chesapeake City on the C & D Canal. What a ridiculously long ride. We were not doing too bad until we rounded Cape May and pulled up into the Delaware Bay.  The waves were knocking us all over the place. 6 hours later (noon) it began to settle down and we continued up the bay into the C & D Canal. We got a good night sleep that night. The following morning we took a leisurely ride down to Whorten Creek. We needed to decompress and that was the place. We could relax and swim without worrying about nettles.
Friday, July 27th, we made it back to our starting point, Cambridge, Maryland.  We will spend another day at the marina before heading home ot Pa. We will get the boat cleaned up, refill our tanks, get rid of all the salt, and unload all the stuff we have purchased for the kids.

WHAT A RIDE!!!!!!!!!

City Island (7/22-23/2012) & New York City

Our next stop was City Island. There was one really important place we wanted to visit while up here in New York. We took a bus into the city. Then took two trains into Manhatten. After visiting the preview center to get passes, we visited the 9/11 Memorial.                                               

It was pretty spectactular to see it in person. The waterfalls that go into a black square hole is very moving and the names of all of those souls lost  are cut into the stone  framing the entire waterfall. You can see one of names in the picture to the right.

There  is a great deal of security and probably justifiable. The city has been through a great deal. They lost so much of themselves that day. I think we all lost something of ourselves that day.  The city is so congested and there is street work going on, buildings being built. We decided to take a walk on Broad street. It was open and not as closed in. It was a far cry from sitting on a sailboat out in the middle of Long Island Sound. And it is time to get going. We took a picture of the East River as we were going down and also got a nice shoot of the Statue of Liberty. What a site.

                             

Port Jefferson, NY (7/21/2012)

Had a 6 plus hour ride to Port Jefferson, NY. We crossed the Long Island Sound and the wind was directly on our nose again. We really have had to do a whole lot of motoring. This happens when you make plans. We rented another mooring ball and took the launch into town. This place has really become a tourist attraction. There are lots of places to eat and buy stuff. We had a really nice lunch at "Tommy's Place". As with other towns, they have made available to boaters a place to take showers, wash clothes, and just sit and watch tv. They called this building the Annex. It looked really new. This is a far cry from the last time we were here. They were not boater friendly and even trying to tie our dinghy up somewhere was impossible.They only wanted to talk to you if you were staying at the Marina and Spa. Those of us that anchored were not considered "guests" of Port Jefferson docks. Things have certainly changed for the better. Because there are moorings now in the harbor, they really needed to do something for the boater. We saw a Masonic Temple while we were walking in town.

Old Saybrook, Ct. (7/17-19/2011)

Spending a couple of days in North Cove, Old Saybrook, Ct.  Walked 1/4 mile into the quiet, little town and had lunch yesterday. Bought a few groceries at Walt's.  It is raining today and we will probably spend the rest of the day on the boat. It is good down time. We will continue on tomorrow to Port Jefferson, Long Island.

Pics of Newport, RI

We cannot spend any time in Newport without taking a scooter ride. We found some mansions that are off the main drag that many people don't seem to pay attention to.

                                                    

 And nothing is finer than taking a cruise along the ocean to see the rocks and the beauty. This is really a special place. Bill spent time here while in the Navy in the 60"s. We had to stop and check the map.

                                               This looks like fun. Watch out Thames Street!

Newport, RI (7/14-16, 2012)

And now we are in Newport, RI. I haven't taken any pictures. The Americas Cup races were a couple of weeks ago and the place would have been mobbed. We found a place to anchor . Newport has made a Marine Center on the beach level of the Armory for boaters. It's fantastic. There are washers and dryers, showers, restrooms, tv showing weather, tables to sit. AND FREE WIFI!!!!!!!!! The prices for showers are not bad and it's about $6 to do a load of wash. But, it's great to have a place to go without having to lug your stuff for blocks. We will spend a couple of days here and head down Long Island Sound.  Next stop will be Mystic, Connecticut for pizza at Mystic Pizza!

Salem, Mass. (7/11-12/2012)

(July 11th and 12th)   We are in Salem, Mass. and the sunset was really pretty. There is really so much history in Salem beyond the witch trials.              

We took a tour of the birth home of Nathanial Hawthorne. He was the author of the Scarlet Letter and The House of the Seven Gables. He used to visit his cousin that lived in a house with seven gables. It gave him the inspiration to write the book. Wonder what inspired him to write The Scarlet Letter.  It was really neat to see how the "well-to-do" lived.

This is a picture of the Salem Witchs house. It is

incredibly awful what happened to those poor 

people back then. 

And of course, who could pass up going aboard a "Tall Ship". This is a replica of a vessel called "Friendship" that sailed from Salem and was captured by the British during the war.

Monhegan Island

This Monhegan Island. It has been made famous among artists. Famous artists like Jaime Wyeth and Windslow Homer have painted here. Artists come here to feel inspired and to paint. It is also quite beautiful. We took the ferry over from Boothbay Harbor since we couldn't get a mooring here.

Expect The Unexpected

   I need to go back to July 7th and mention one awesome thing. We were anchored in this beautiful and quiet Seal Cove. I looked up and a dozen seals were swimming toward our boat. As they got closer to the boat they spread out and swam under ,around, and past the boat. It was apparently time for them to go fishing. It was wonderful. What a gift. A few small seals were left behind and came closer to the boat to have a look. I got a cute shot of one of them. We had to pull anchor and start on our way. But, as we were heading down the Damariscotta River, the engine temperature began

 to rise and there was white smoke coming                                                           

out of the exhaust. Fortunately, we were right in front of the Ocean Point Marina in East Boothbay, Me. We tied up at the dock and Bill began trouble shooting the problem. As you can see, the engine is in a tight spot and many times he needs to curl up in a ball to work on it. After cleaning out the raw water intake hole and rebuilding the raw water pump, the problem seemed to have been solved. We took some kelp into the intake and it was clogging things up.  

The next  morning we made out way to Boothbay

Harbor, Me and enjoyed the day sightseeeing.

Boothbay Harbor is a real touristy place with lots of resturants and shops.

This is us on a mooring.

We are presently up the Damariscotta River in Seal Cove. We still have internet access and thought what better time to tell of this place.  We have this place all to ourselves. Well, us and the seals. In this picture there are seals sunning themselves on the rocks. You can see the one on the left has lifted his head up. Pretty cool. Have taken this picture pretty far away so we don't disturb them. It is not the greatest picture. Under the circumstances it is the best I could get. People will bring their boats in really slow to see them. We are really grateful to Doug and Monica Campbell for telling us of these wonderful places. They have travelled Maine via their sailboat, "Robin".   

Pulpit Cove, North Haven Island, Maine

We got this parrot a few years down at St Augustine, Florida, on the way down the inner-coastal waterway. It is the closest to a pet we will every have on the Deborah Lee. 

We left Rockland yesterday, Thursday, July 5th in the late morning after the fog had lifted.  We rode over across the Penopscot Bay to Pulpit Cove on North Haven Island. We were looking forward to some beautiful and quiet surroundings for awhile. 

What we found was a beautiful basin. It was full of beautiful clean water, beautiful hills and trees.  AND full of mooring balls in the shallower areas. If you wanted to anchor, it would have to be in the middle of the basin in 50 feet of water. Bill did find us a small area that we could anchor in in a small inlet past the mooring balls. Of course, we were very close to rocks that rose out of the water when the tide went out. But, we were safe and in a good spot.

It was really lovely there. A couple of sail boats came through and it was lovely to see them make their way through the mooring balls and pull right up to a landing to let out passengers. We enjoyed this place. More and more boaters are setting mooring balls in these special places so they don't have to worry about anchoring and always have a spot to put their boat when and if they come. The problem arises when a visiting boat wants to come in and anchor cannot because the unused mooring ball is taking up the space.

Made it to Maine!!!!!!!!

We left Martha's Vineyard at 5:45 am on Saturday, June 30th. The plan was to go up through Wood's Hole, up into Buzzard's Bay, through Cape Cod Canal, and across to Provincetown, Cape Cod. This trip took us 11 hours. We turned into the harbor of Provincetown and proceeded to find a place to anchor in very strong westerly winds. It was 50 ft. deep everywhere we turned. After 45 minutes of motoring around, we decided the safest thing for us to do was go out of the harbor and head north to Rockland, Maine. 38 hours after leaving Martha's Vineyard, we reached Rockland, Maine. The picture of the lighthouse on the cliff was a sight for sore eyes.

We had been told about the lobster pots everywhere. And it was no exageration. They were everywhere and we had to be on the look-out. We got into the harbor of Rockland and looked for the mooring ball we were planning to take for the next 4 nights. Down time was really on our priority list. Travelling so much in such a short period to time really takes its toll. So far, we have gone a little over 600 miles since leaving Cambridge, Maryland.

Rockland, Maine is a nice small town. It is the home of the Farnsworth Museum. The Wyeth's made a home close by and their artwork is featured here. It has alot of restaurants and many art galleries. I finally got my "lobster dinner" at the Rockland Cafe. They are known for their affordable lobster dinners. We have been walking all over the place around here and our down time is getting tiring. But, this is what we do when we come into port. We want to know what's here, where can we go and what can we see.

The harbor is a really nice setting. Bill saw a seal swimming around the habor. It was gone by the time we got back to take a picture. We will be leaving tomorrow (July 5th) to visit a place called Vinal Haven. We have been told it is one of the most beautiful areas to anchor in.

Martha's Vineyard

We have just had the most incredible time on Martha's Vineyard. Joan and Dick Spillman gave us a tour of the Vineyard that we would never have had the chance to have on our own. We went from Vineyard Haven (where we are moored) to Oak Bluffs on the northwest side, Edgartown on the southeastern side, Menemsha, Aquinnah , and Chilmark, on the southwestern side, and back to West Tisbury. We had breakfast in the famous Black Dog Tavern. And they fed us two dinners at their beautiful home. It has been so fabulous and the island of Martha's Vineyard is wonderful. We really were surprised to find land with horses, sheep, and goats.
The waterfront is different in each town. Oak Bluffs has the busy life with tall, old hotels. Vineyard Haven is more of a quiet town. Aquinnah has the cliffs and the Native Americans live there. Edgartown is very busy with elegantly small hotels and lots of art galleries. And very beautiful shops to please just about anyone. And it has fabulous ice cream. We really covered alot of territory and are truly grateful to Joan and Dick for their hospitality. We loved spending this time with them. And hopefuly, we'll pass this way again. It is wonderful here. Hey, we gotta get goin'. We still need to get to Maine!

Pics of Block Island

Block Island

We left Cape May on Saturday at 4:30 am (6/23). We anchored in Great Salt Pond on Block Island, RI, at 4:30pm on Sunday (6/24). It was a 36 hour run and we were really tired. We took turns napping and could only get in about 2 hours at a time.
We were having a problem with the head  (potty) and had to order an over-night part from Defenders. So, we find ourselves stuck here for an extra day before heading to Martha's Vineyard. There are tougher places to get stuck. And have found very vreative ways to go to the potty without going into much detail. It has been extremely windy here and we had to get the dinghy rolled out, blown up, and splashed in 15 knot winds. We got onto land and walked around the island and down to the ferry landing. Of course, we had to get some goodies from Aldo's bakery. And we purchased a few things from a couple of places which included the grocery store and a salt water taffy place. As we sat down by the ferry landing, we realized that life on an island no matter where is relatively the same. You have to rely on the ferry or "mail" boat to bring everything on the island. And you pay for it dearly. We found the prices here on Block Island were just as inflated as those in the Bahamas. But, Block Island charges sales tax. And it is in the USA.
We made it up here and we are excited to get on with our journey. Next stop will be Martha's Vineyard and visiting with our artist friends Joan and Dick Spillman, who spend their summers there.

Heading North!

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Taking a trip on the Deborah Lee can bring just about anything unexpected.   The canvas was finished yesterday, Monday, and we were very pleased. We not only have a nice new bimini and dodger, we also have two clear plastic pieces that will protect us from the side rain while we are sitting in the cockpit.

So, we get up early this morning to finally get going. Bill finds that the mouse quit working. We need the computer as our chart plotter. Therefore, we really need the mouse.  Ah, Wal-Mart is open 24 hours down here in Cambridge, Maryland.  Phew, we’re saved.  Bill runs to Wal-Mart and buys a new mouse.

Bill comes back and starts the engine. The batteries are not charging. FOR PETE’s SAKE!   Fortunately, the first place to look is the last place you worked. And a wire had broken near the area that Bill was replacing the starter. So, a splice, splice, here and a wire connecter, there.  It is good that the captain can also be an electrician.

Half hour later, at 0730, we left the dock!

Friday, June 22, 2012

We made it to Wharton’s Creek on the first day (6/19), traveling around 54 miles. It’s a long day of motoring when there is not wind to fill the sails.

The next day (6/20), we did a 26 mile run up to Chesapeake City on the C & D Canal. On the way to the canal, we were passed by one of the tall ships that were visiting Baltimore over the weekend. We were fortunate enough to get a space at the Town Dock in Chesapeake City for the night. This is a free tie-up.  It got incredibly hot that day. We were glad to be tied up. But, it would probably have been cooler out in the anchorage.  So, we just had to buy ice cream at the ice cream place 15 paces from our boat. For medicinal purposes, of course.

Thursday morning, June 21, we left Chesapeake City at  0425 hours. It’s really cool going down the C & D Canal in the dark. No one else is usually on the Canal except for a tug pushing a barge. The lights on the sides of the canal light the way. And it is very serene.  We headed out into the Delaware River and were greeted by the large green-headed flies.  We had to deal  with fly bites all day.  A couple of dolphins traveling in the Delaware River. No time for playing with a sail boat. They were apparently on a mission. Food is usually number one priority.  11 hours later we headed into the Cape May Canal and into the harbor. Cape May is not the most peaceful place to anchor. There are fishing boats going out to the ocean. The boat tends to rock a lot. Lots of boat traffic.

We will remain anchored today and tonight. The weather is calling for thundershowers. Hopefully, tomorrow will bring better weather and we can do our 2-day trek to Block Island!







Heading To Maine

We are planning to go to Maine. If all goes as planned we will head out on the 18th of June. It will take us 3 or 4 days to get over to Cape May and wait for a good weather window. The plan is to head out and up to Block Island. The most important consideration is the weather. Good Weather!

We have been working each weekend to get the boat ready for this trip. We have been fortunate that everything has gone pretty smooth. We still need the dodger to be installed. But, we have faith in Terry's Tops to get the job done in time for us to go. We ordered new canvas for the boat. Terry's Tops is a wonderful canvas maker and is the company that designed the whole canvas set-up in the first place. We were very pleased with his work the first time.

 We still have a few things to get done before we head out. But, we are looking forward to getting some quality and quantity time on the boat. We will miss having the grandkids on the boat this summer. Yet, we are looking forward to going somewhere that is new to us. MAINE!