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!