Plan A, plan B, plan A2, plan C... and Florence

A quick post to reassure you, dear readers, that Follyfin and her crew are safe and sound. Now we are sheltering in harbour on north shore of Long Island Sound; discretion is the better part of valour! Our original plan to winter the boat in the Chesapeake Bay further south has been well and truly scuppered by Hurricane Florence. From the title of this post, it is clear that plans changed several times as we watched Florence mature into a full-blown hurricane during her progress North from the SW Atlantic. We took advice from Lee - a seasoned sailor who we met on the OCC Rally a month ago and to whom these waters and this NE coast of USA are very familiar. So here we are in his local marina, Captains Cove Seaport.

Ivor duly arrived here from UK last Monday morning expecting to help us sail south to Baltimore and the Chesapeake. Instead he has enjoyed (we hope!) a short overnight sail across the Sound to Port Jefferson and a day out in NYC yesterday when we met with Warren for lunch. The silver lining to Florence, for us anyway, is that we get to spend some more time with Warren and family, and see our friends Lee and Deborah whose local knowledge is invaluable. Next week we will be fully occupied with winterising Follyfin.

Turning south

The end of our sailing season is approaching. Last weekend was action-packed as dear friend Midge took us to the Maine Maritime Museum, showed us the hallowed halls of Bowdoin University, shared pizza and beer and introduced us to ‘steamers’ (clams). 

On last Monday, 27 August, Follyfin’s bow turned south. Highlight of the overnight passage from Jewell Island to Buzzard’s Bay was the feathered friend, a tiny nuthatch, who hitched a ride on Follyfin. He/she was with us for about 14 hours. Not so nice was the plague of little biting flies which travelled with us all day. Despite the crew becoming very adept at swatting them, they seemed to multiply as the temperature rose during the day. A rough ride greeted us on the far side of the Cape Cod Canal as a strong wind blew against a strong tide making for very choppy waters. It happened that friends Lee and Deborah, whom we met in Maine a couple of weeks back, traversed the canal at the same time as us. That night Follyfin ended up in the same sheltered anchorage of Hadley Harbour as their boat North Star V, the only difference being that North Star got there much quicker than Follyfin. Their lovely invitation to join them for supper quickly dispelled any tiredness and discomfort sustained from our 36 hour passage. Also Lee’s extensive knowledge of this sailing area was a great help in figuring out future ports of call.

The next three days were spent sailing on through Buzzards Bay, Rhode Island Sound, Block Island Sound and into Long Island Sound; first we were tacking upwind to Point Judith Harbour of Refuge, then broad reaching in calm water to Duck Island Roads, and finally a roller coaster downwind sail to Oyster Bay on the north shore of Long Island itself. A rendezvous had been planned here with son Warren and his two older children for the following day: very relieved to have made it in time. Oyster Bay is at the eastern end of the Long Island Railroad, so very convenient for travelling in and out of New York and Jersey City where Warren and family live. And this last weekend being Labour Day weekend meant that Warren was able to bring them aboard Follyfin for Saturday, and we were able to spend Sunday and Monday with them in Jersey City, unfortunately without Lara and baby Amelia as they are visiting UK at present. Though having a 43/4 year old and a 31/4 year old for crew does not make for the most relaxing of passages, it was nevertheless a fun time with swimming, ‘driving’ the boat, dinghy rides and meals in the cockpit; above all, no one fell in the water!

Skipper and I return to Follyfin tomorrow, Tuesday, where we will stay put for the next week to wait for son Ivor to join us for the next long passage south to Follyfin’s winter quarters.