First, thank you to all of our friends! Your positive thoughts and prayers for our trip have been working, and we truly appreciate your support.
We are happy to report some real success stories!
Success #1--Our "5 MileWifi" has been working very well most of the time. It allows us to go online and check email, do banking, and update the blog. We are very pleased about this!
Success #2--After our centerboard work and re-launch at Cape May, we waited an extra couple of days for a storm to pass through. Then we had a great ride up the Delaware Bay, sailing some , motor sailing some, and powering some. We were making 8.2 knots at the end of the day! Having a favorable tide makes all the difference. We made it from Cape May to Chesapeake City in 9 hours and 40 minutes, record time for us! And, when we got to Chesapeake City, there was space available at the City Dock (only $15 per night for electric).
Success #3--We are now at Tolchester Marina, in northern Maryland, where we ended our trip last fall. We are preparing to leave in the morning for Galesville, MD, heading south!! So we are excited about continuing on into (for us) unexplored territory! The plan is for Galesville tomorrow night and Solomon's the following night. Temperatures are in the 60's, instead of in the 20's and 30's as we experienced last fall.
A joy!--One of the best parts about this cruising life is the people we meet along the way. We hope to meet up again soon with the Ishmael crew. We met some folks in Cape May whom we were able to assist with information about where to go to haul a boat (Tolchester, of course!). Today we spent some time with Stan, whom we had met last spring here at Tolchester, and his lovely wife Jeanne. We have a dinner invitation from them for spring when we return! We also met Jim, a single hander from Maine, at Cape May. All super people.
Garmie (our Garmin Chartplotter) is a real blessing, and takes great care of us! Kubbie (our Beta diesel engine) averages 10 miles per gallon and also takes great care of us!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
"on the hard" at Cape May
We had a somewhat bouncy but good trip from Atlantic City to Cape May on Tuesday. Wind "on the nose" all day, so it was a powerboat trip. Arrived at Utsch's Marina before 5:00, fueled up and into our slip. Over to the fish market at the Lobster House for some of their great crab cakes! And what a great night's sleep; no worries about dragging anchor, or getting up in the night to check dock lines! This is a very secure spot, wish we could have been here for the storms that kept us in Atlantic City. Took a very, very long showers; it has been nine days since the last real shower!
Wednesday morning we made arrangements to have the boat hauled and put on a cradle, so we could really check out the centerboard situation. First thing we discovered was a small rope wrapped around our prop. Picked it up along the way apparently. That could explain part of the reason for our slow speed yesterday! Dick tried again to get the centerboard pin back in place, first, from inside with the board down a little, then actually removing the plate in the keel that allows access to that area. Couldn't get the pin to budge. We would need to be able to "hang"in a a travel lift for a couple of days to be able to really get at the pin, and we can't get that time here, as the marina is busy hauling boats for winter storage. So we bolted the centerboard in the up position. Then, of course, fiberglassing the plate in the keel was necessary. Tomorrow morning we repaint that area and will be back in the water tomorrow afternoon. Traveling down the Chesapeake and in the ICW, we would have the board up anyway.
Last night Colby spent the night aboard Ishmael, with Kooper and his family. But they moved on today, and so we hoisted Colby up from the ground onto the boat with the mainsheet. Kind of like doing a "dog overboard"drill! He didn't like his "flying lesson" much, but was happy to be in his familiar surroundings once he was aboard!
We look forward to getting back in the water and underway again.
Wednesday morning we made arrangements to have the boat hauled and put on a cradle, so we could really check out the centerboard situation. First thing we discovered was a small rope wrapped around our prop. Picked it up along the way apparently. That could explain part of the reason for our slow speed yesterday! Dick tried again to get the centerboard pin back in place, first, from inside with the board down a little, then actually removing the plate in the keel that allows access to that area. Couldn't get the pin to budge. We would need to be able to "hang"in a a travel lift for a couple of days to be able to really get at the pin, and we can't get that time here, as the marina is busy hauling boats for winter storage. So we bolted the centerboard in the up position. Then, of course, fiberglassing the plate in the keel was necessary. Tomorrow morning we repaint that area and will be back in the water tomorrow afternoon. Traveling down the Chesapeake and in the ICW, we would have the board up anyway.
Last night Colby spent the night aboard Ishmael, with Kooper and his family. But they moved on today, and so we hoisted Colby up from the ground onto the boat with the mainsheet. Kind of like doing a "dog overboard"drill! He didn't like his "flying lesson" much, but was happy to be in his familiar surroundings once he was aboard!
We look forward to getting back in the water and underway again.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Atlantic City, the storms continue...
(If you have just joined us, this is entry #3 for this year's trip.)
About 3:30 this morning, I thought, how did I get inside this bucking bronco? The wind had shifted and increased, and the ride was uncomfortable to say the least. Dick climbed out on the dock and adjsuted some lines, making the ride a bit better. Another night of sleeping on the settees, as the boat was moving too much to be able to rest comfortably in the V-berth. Sustained winds of 25-30 knots, gusting higher, and by now the wind "on the nose." Gale warnings continue through midnight tonight. 14' waves out there on the ocean. Lovely weather!
This is actually the third in a series of storms, not sure when #2 became #3, but improvement is forecast! We're keeping the attitude, "it could always be worse!" There is an anchorage across the channel where several boats are anchored, with little opportunity to get off their boats. We have electric service here at the dock, and when we are "plugged in" we cook in an electric frying pan for cooking and use a hot pot to heat water. This saves our propane for the times we are at anchor. We have discovered that it is not always easy to get propane when traveling by boat.
We also have an electric heater, which we usually use when we are "plugged in." However, in this particular set of circumstances, we have found it doesn't keep us very warm, so we have been using the diesel heater. It is very warm, but we are having a difficult time regulating it, and we have to constantly check the "drip rate." We have sent an email to the company to try to get
some help with the problem. We can be warm, but we have to be very vigilant or it will go out! But as Karen said earlier today, what else do we have to do besides count drips?
Tomorrow the weather supposed to start calming down, and Tuesday looks good for a move. Our next destination is Utsch's Marina at Cape May. A favorite spot! We will need to do laundry, provision, go to the hardware store, and take care of a few boat jobs. But it is a very protected spot, has great staff and it will be good to get there! Also we will be able to get hauled if we can't get the centerboard fixed by then.
Stay tuned....
About 3:30 this morning, I thought, how did I get inside this bucking bronco? The wind had shifted and increased, and the ride was uncomfortable to say the least. Dick climbed out on the dock and adjsuted some lines, making the ride a bit better. Another night of sleeping on the settees, as the boat was moving too much to be able to rest comfortably in the V-berth. Sustained winds of 25-30 knots, gusting higher, and by now the wind "on the nose." Gale warnings continue through midnight tonight. 14' waves out there on the ocean. Lovely weather!
This is actually the third in a series of storms, not sure when #2 became #3, but improvement is forecast! We're keeping the attitude, "it could always be worse!" There is an anchorage across the channel where several boats are anchored, with little opportunity to get off their boats. We have electric service here at the dock, and when we are "plugged in" we cook in an electric frying pan for cooking and use a hot pot to heat water. This saves our propane for the times we are at anchor. We have discovered that it is not always easy to get propane when traveling by boat.
We also have an electric heater, which we usually use when we are "plugged in." However, in this particular set of circumstances, we have found it doesn't keep us very warm, so we have been using the diesel heater. It is very warm, but we are having a difficult time regulating it, and we have to constantly check the "drip rate." We have sent an email to the company to try to get
some help with the problem. We can be warm, but we have to be very vigilant or it will go out! But as Karen said earlier today, what else do we have to do besides count drips?
Tomorrow the weather supposed to start calming down, and Tuesday looks good for a move. Our next destination is Utsch's Marina at Cape May. A favorite spot! We will need to do laundry, provision, go to the hardware store, and take care of a few boat jobs. But it is a very protected spot, has great staff and it will be good to get there! Also we will be able to get hauled if we can't get the centerboard fixed by then.
Stay tuned....
Saturday, October 17, 2009
The Adventures continue.....
Saturday, October 10-- We arrived at Haverstraw Marina well before noon. After fueling up, we moved into a slip, right next to Ishmael, the Whitby 42 and crew from Catskill! Nice to see friendly faces. Our package from Jamestown Distributors has not arrived (they had promised it would be there), but we were able to find a substitute at Samalot, the well stocked marine store at the marina. We had ordered a bronze toggle, and Samalot only carries Stainless steel, so we now have dis-similar metals together, but we need to move on. A very windy afternoon here, much like our experience last year. We were able to go online with 5 mile wifi for the first time, so it was great to get online to check email!
A note about 5 mile wifi: Until now, we had email capability on one of our phones, so we could check email daily. (The cost was $60 per month.) Actual internet connection for other purposes was very spotty last year. So after some research, and on the recommendation of Practical Sailor magazine (the Consumer Reports of sailing gear), we decided to drop the email service on the phone and purchase 5 mile wifi, in an attempt to lower our expenses. Supposedly we can pick up wifi connections up to 5 miles away, for free! The antenna is installed, and it worked at Haverstraw. Since then, we have had no luck getting online. We get a message that we are connected, but cannot pull up a webpage. Not sure if it is the weather or something else. Have emailed the folks at 5 mile wifi, and waiting for a response. Communication is very important on a trip like this, so we hope to get the problem resolved soon! Lots of people use an aircard with excellent results, but we are trying to avoid the $60 per month fee.
October 11--Traveled to the anchorage at Liberty State Park. We had anchored there in the spring and enjoyed it. Great view of the Statue of Liberty, Manhattan, and the Verazzano Narrows Bridge. Brisk wind during the night, but holding is good here. Ishmael followed us in to the anchorage.
October 12-- On to Manasquan, NJ. Anchored again at "Dog Beach", where Colby and Kooper (Ishmael's resident pooch) had a great time. Decided to stay here an extra day as winds were forecast to pick up considerably in the late afternoon, and that could make the entrance into Atlantic City difficult at the end of a long day. (Remember last year's arrival at Atlantic City?)
As it turns out, this was a good choice, as we discovered that, ADVENTURE #5, our centerboard was in the down position. The square part of the centerboard pin had slipped, and we can no longer raise the board. It was actually acting as our anchor! We took a long rope and worked it back from the bow, managing to raise the board, and we tied it up. Then Dick started to work on the mechanism (the Tartan manual does explain that this does sometimes happen, and can be fixed from inside the boat, with one's head in the bilge and one's mouth held in just the right position!). Karen went out into the cockpit about a half hour later, and discovered that, ADVENTURE # 6, we had blown down the channel and were quickly approaching the railroad bridge!!!! Yikes!!!! Quickly stared the engine, powered back to the anchorage a few hundred feet away, and put the anchor down. Engine in reverse to check that the anchor was set, and ADVENTURE # 7, the engine quit again! Realized that the rope we had used to tie up the centerboard had slipped, and wrapped around the prop!! (As Karen said, "We didn't used to be bumbling idiots?!") We called George on Ishmael to warn them of our plight, and George mentioned that he had seen a Towboat US boat on the other side of the harbor. So we called them, and about 45 minutes later, Captain Tom and his son Thomas arrived. Tom dove under the boat, raised the board so we could tie it again, and removed the rope from the prop. Thank you!! A lot of adventure for one day. Heavy winds in the night, but the anchor held well. Not much sleep, however.
October 14--Underway before 6:30 AM, in the dark. A good day of motor sailing along the coast. We did hear a loud noise at one point, but engine ran well, temperature was fine. Arrived at Atlantic City, Gardiner's Basin, about 4:00 PM. Glad to be here. Ishmael arrived a few minutes ahead of us, and helped us tie up. On the end of a dock, but better location at least from last year. Out to dinner with George, Kathy and Ben at the Back Bay Ale House, a fun evening!
About 10:00, we were hearing a banging noise, and realized that the centerboard had somehow dropped again. That was the loud "Ka-bam" we had heard underway today. So out on deck with a rope again, pulling it back from the bow, and tied up the centerboard again! A calm night, great night's sleep for the first time in days.
October 15--Here it comes! The advertised storm, with winds gusting to 50 knots. The docks are sound, we have 6 lines holding us, and chafing gear on the dock lines. Lots of noise, boat moving around a bit, but we are OK. This is really a re-run of our experience here last fall!! Couldn't sleep comfortably in the v-berth that night, so we slept on the settees in the saloon. Colby likes the company! Around 10:00, we thought the centerboard might have come loose again, so we were out on deck with another rope, to be sure it was up. Limited sleep that night!
October 16-- A bit calmer for a while during the day, the lull between the two fronts. Then here comes storm #2! Winds gusting to 35 knots, expect to be here until at least Tuesday. Would have loved to get to Cape May for this series of storms, but this is OK. We have power, water, rest rooms during the day, a convenience store, and free access to the Aquarium with its DSL connection! Still need to get the centerboard pin back in place, but hard to work when the boat is bouncing around.
Maybe we'll have an Indian Summer?
A note about 5 mile wifi: Until now, we had email capability on one of our phones, so we could check email daily. (The cost was $60 per month.) Actual internet connection for other purposes was very spotty last year. So after some research, and on the recommendation of Practical Sailor magazine (the Consumer Reports of sailing gear), we decided to drop the email service on the phone and purchase 5 mile wifi, in an attempt to lower our expenses. Supposedly we can pick up wifi connections up to 5 miles away, for free! The antenna is installed, and it worked at Haverstraw. Since then, we have had no luck getting online. We get a message that we are connected, but cannot pull up a webpage. Not sure if it is the weather or something else. Have emailed the folks at 5 mile wifi, and waiting for a response. Communication is very important on a trip like this, so we hope to get the problem resolved soon! Lots of people use an aircard with excellent results, but we are trying to avoid the $60 per month fee.
October 11--Traveled to the anchorage at Liberty State Park. We had anchored there in the spring and enjoyed it. Great view of the Statue of Liberty, Manhattan, and the Verazzano Narrows Bridge. Brisk wind during the night, but holding is good here. Ishmael followed us in to the anchorage.
October 12-- On to Manasquan, NJ. Anchored again at "Dog Beach", where Colby and Kooper (Ishmael's resident pooch) had a great time. Decided to stay here an extra day as winds were forecast to pick up considerably in the late afternoon, and that could make the entrance into Atlantic City difficult at the end of a long day. (Remember last year's arrival at Atlantic City?)
As it turns out, this was a good choice, as we discovered that, ADVENTURE #5, our centerboard was in the down position. The square part of the centerboard pin had slipped, and we can no longer raise the board. It was actually acting as our anchor! We took a long rope and worked it back from the bow, managing to raise the board, and we tied it up. Then Dick started to work on the mechanism (the Tartan manual does explain that this does sometimes happen, and can be fixed from inside the boat, with one's head in the bilge and one's mouth held in just the right position!). Karen went out into the cockpit about a half hour later, and discovered that, ADVENTURE # 6, we had blown down the channel and were quickly approaching the railroad bridge!!!! Yikes!!!! Quickly stared the engine, powered back to the anchorage a few hundred feet away, and put the anchor down. Engine in reverse to check that the anchor was set, and ADVENTURE # 7, the engine quit again! Realized that the rope we had used to tie up the centerboard had slipped, and wrapped around the prop!! (As Karen said, "We didn't used to be bumbling idiots?!") We called George on Ishmael to warn them of our plight, and George mentioned that he had seen a Towboat US boat on the other side of the harbor. So we called them, and about 45 minutes later, Captain Tom and his son Thomas arrived. Tom dove under the boat, raised the board so we could tie it again, and removed the rope from the prop. Thank you!! A lot of adventure for one day. Heavy winds in the night, but the anchor held well. Not much sleep, however.
October 14--Underway before 6:30 AM, in the dark. A good day of motor sailing along the coast. We did hear a loud noise at one point, but engine ran well, temperature was fine. Arrived at Atlantic City, Gardiner's Basin, about 4:00 PM. Glad to be here. Ishmael arrived a few minutes ahead of us, and helped us tie up. On the end of a dock, but better location at least from last year. Out to dinner with George, Kathy and Ben at the Back Bay Ale House, a fun evening!
About 10:00, we were hearing a banging noise, and realized that the centerboard had somehow dropped again. That was the loud "Ka-bam" we had heard underway today. So out on deck with a rope again, pulling it back from the bow, and tied up the centerboard again! A calm night, great night's sleep for the first time in days.
October 15--Here it comes! The advertised storm, with winds gusting to 50 knots. The docks are sound, we have 6 lines holding us, and chafing gear on the dock lines. Lots of noise, boat moving around a bit, but we are OK. This is really a re-run of our experience here last fall!! Couldn't sleep comfortably in the v-berth that night, so we slept on the settees in the saloon. Colby likes the company! Around 10:00, we thought the centerboard might have come loose again, so we were out on deck with another rope, to be sure it was up. Limited sleep that night!
October 16-- A bit calmer for a while during the day, the lull between the two fronts. Then here comes storm #2! Winds gusting to 35 knots, expect to be here until at least Tuesday. Would have loved to get to Cape May for this series of storms, but this is OK. We have power, water, rest rooms during the day, a convenience store, and free access to the Aquarium with its DSL connection! Still need to get the centerboard pin back in place, but hard to work when the boat is bouncing around.
Maybe we'll have an Indian Summer?
Friday, October 16, 2009
There oughta be a song, "Stuck in Atlantic City again...!"
Well folks, we thought that leaving 3 weeks earlier than last year would ensure perfect weather this year (well, one can always hope!). Here we are in Atlantic City, in a big nor'easter, almost exactly like the conditions we had last year. The perfect opportunity to listen to all of the noises a boat can possibly make while tied to a dock in 50 knot winds!
Internet access has been spotty at best so far, so there has been no opportunity until now to update the blog. The good thing about being here is that the friendly folks at the Atlantic City Aquarium, where we are docked, allow us to use their DSL connection, so we can finally catch up with email and the blog!
So here is a synopsis of our trip so far, and it has been one ADVENTURE after another:
September 26--We left Van Slooten Harbour Marina in Port Henry, at 5:00 PM. A late start, but we wanted to just get underway, thinking that we would just go a ways and then anchor. Well, ADVENTURE #1: We thought we might put the hook down in Crown Point, near where we had anchored before. Well, we got caught up in a weed bed, and were happy to get out quickly! We headed across the lake to another bay, did get some protection from the wind there, and anchored. But we realized that our speed was down, and that we must have wrapped some weeds around the prop. So, do we return to Port Henry or go on the Chipman Point Marina? We decided to continue on, and powered at reduced speed there in the AM. We asked Chip, the owner, to dive on our prop to cut away the weeds. The next morning he was under the boat at 8:00 AM, and said he cut away a basketball sized mass of weeds from the prop!
Under way shortly after, motoring down the channel, and all of a sudden, ADVENTURE #2! We went aground at Red Marker #14. In our years of sailing, we have never gone aground before! We finally were able to kedge ourselves off with a stern anchor after about 1 1/2 hours of hard work. On to Whitehall and through the first lock. A quick stop in Whitehall to get ice (our cooler had filled with lake water and melted all the ice, but that doesn't even count as an adventure!).
A peaceful trip through the Champlain Canal, overnight at Lock 9, where there is a good floating dock, and arrival in Waterford on September 29. So nice to be there, great docks, friendly dockmaster, lots of nice folks! Always people coming and going in different directions. And our good friend Larry lives in Waterford, so we had a very enjoyable dinner with him that evening.
We spent a day in Waterford, did some provisioning, made arrangements to leave the boat there for a few days, then rented a car. Up to Port Henry to pick up one vehicle we had left there, and home. The wedding on October 3 was beautiful and we were happy to be there for this special event! A quick trip to GlensFalls for some last minute things, closed up the house, and back to Waterford Sunday afternoon.
October 5--Underway at 8:00 Am. Feels like we are really underway now! Arrived at Riverview Marine Services in Catskill Creek that afternoon. Nice to be back at this friendly place. Mast up the next morning, and then (ADVENTURE #3) we discover that we are missing a toggle for one of the shrouds. Can't quite figure out how it could be gone, but, we need one. Defender couldn't help us, so we called Jamestown Distributors, who had one and would ship it to Haverstraw Marina, where we planned to stop. So we won't be able to sail until then, but we can make progress anyway. Here we met Kathy, George and 15 year old Ben, as well as their dog Kooper, traveling on their Whitby 42. They are from Michigan and this is their first trip south. We all seem to get along well, and enjoyed a glass of their wine with them one evening! We stayed here 3 nights, as the wind was gusting to 50 the day we planned to leave. Departed there on October 8, and did a short day to Kingston. We anchored in Roundout Creek, and spent the afternoon on some projects. Dick wired the antenna for the 5 mile wifi,and Karen handsewed a cover for the dodger. When we use the diesel heater, lovely fine black soot is emitted, and we want to protect our "oyster" colored dodger! That evening, we used the diesel heater for the first time since Port Henry. What lovely warmth! This will certainly help us to be more comfortable this fall! And Colby loves it, as his bed is right next to the heater. It is just like being in front of the wood stove at home! And it is a dry heat, which is good thing in a plastic boat.
Underway the next day, headed to Haverstraw, when ADVENTURE #4, the engine quit! Dick changed the primary (Racor) fuel filter, and the second fuel filter, then added fuel. Still the engine won't start. We called the nearest marina for a tow, as we we drifting in the middle of the river. The told us to call Seatow, and we could come there but they had no mechanic. So we called Seatow (will be there in 45 minutes), then another marina a little farther along, White's, where we had stayed last year. White's said they had a mechanic (and we learned later that they also have a tow boat). So we were delivered to White's, and Jim, a very friendly mechanic, came on board. Dick thought the problem was probably sludge in the fuel, so Jim pumped 10 liters of fuel out of the tank, got some sludge. He said that apparently what happened was that sludge had plugged the filter so that it was sucking air instead of fuel. So even though we changed the filter, it wasn't primed properly. Once he did that, the engine started and ran fine. By then, it was 4:00 in the afternoon, and we were exhausted, so we elected to stay the night. The folks here are very friendly, and like dogs! We had to leave by 7:00 AM to get out before the tide changed, so we were underway early the next day.
By the way, we haven't told you that Colby has been great! Last year, it seemed that noises spooked him, and he wasn't a happy camper. He has been much more comfortable with the whole scene this year. It is more work having him with us, but he is our best friend and we are happy we have aboard!
Enough for today, adventures to be continued........
Internet access has been spotty at best so far, so there has been no opportunity until now to update the blog. The good thing about being here is that the friendly folks at the Atlantic City Aquarium, where we are docked, allow us to use their DSL connection, so we can finally catch up with email and the blog!
So here is a synopsis of our trip so far, and it has been one ADVENTURE after another:
September 26--We left Van Slooten Harbour Marina in Port Henry, at 5:00 PM. A late start, but we wanted to just get underway, thinking that we would just go a ways and then anchor. Well, ADVENTURE #1: We thought we might put the hook down in Crown Point, near where we had anchored before. Well, we got caught up in a weed bed, and were happy to get out quickly! We headed across the lake to another bay, did get some protection from the wind there, and anchored. But we realized that our speed was down, and that we must have wrapped some weeds around the prop. So, do we return to Port Henry or go on the Chipman Point Marina? We decided to continue on, and powered at reduced speed there in the AM. We asked Chip, the owner, to dive on our prop to cut away the weeds. The next morning he was under the boat at 8:00 AM, and said he cut away a basketball sized mass of weeds from the prop!
Under way shortly after, motoring down the channel, and all of a sudden, ADVENTURE #2! We went aground at Red Marker #14. In our years of sailing, we have never gone aground before! We finally were able to kedge ourselves off with a stern anchor after about 1 1/2 hours of hard work. On to Whitehall and through the first lock. A quick stop in Whitehall to get ice (our cooler had filled with lake water and melted all the ice, but that doesn't even count as an adventure!).
A peaceful trip through the Champlain Canal, overnight at Lock 9, where there is a good floating dock, and arrival in Waterford on September 29. So nice to be there, great docks, friendly dockmaster, lots of nice folks! Always people coming and going in different directions. And our good friend Larry lives in Waterford, so we had a very enjoyable dinner with him that evening.
We spent a day in Waterford, did some provisioning, made arrangements to leave the boat there for a few days, then rented a car. Up to Port Henry to pick up one vehicle we had left there, and home. The wedding on October 3 was beautiful and we were happy to be there for this special event! A quick trip to GlensFalls for some last minute things, closed up the house, and back to Waterford Sunday afternoon.
October 5--Underway at 8:00 Am. Feels like we are really underway now! Arrived at Riverview Marine Services in Catskill Creek that afternoon. Nice to be back at this friendly place. Mast up the next morning, and then (ADVENTURE #3) we discover that we are missing a toggle for one of the shrouds. Can't quite figure out how it could be gone, but, we need one. Defender couldn't help us, so we called Jamestown Distributors, who had one and would ship it to Haverstraw Marina, where we planned to stop. So we won't be able to sail until then, but we can make progress anyway. Here we met Kathy, George and 15 year old Ben, as well as their dog Kooper, traveling on their Whitby 42. They are from Michigan and this is their first trip south. We all seem to get along well, and enjoyed a glass of their wine with them one evening! We stayed here 3 nights, as the wind was gusting to 50 the day we planned to leave. Departed there on October 8, and did a short day to Kingston. We anchored in Roundout Creek, and spent the afternoon on some projects. Dick wired the antenna for the 5 mile wifi,and Karen handsewed a cover for the dodger. When we use the diesel heater, lovely fine black soot is emitted, and we want to protect our "oyster" colored dodger! That evening, we used the diesel heater for the first time since Port Henry. What lovely warmth! This will certainly help us to be more comfortable this fall! And Colby loves it, as his bed is right next to the heater. It is just like being in front of the wood stove at home! And it is a dry heat, which is good thing in a plastic boat.
Underway the next day, headed to Haverstraw, when ADVENTURE #4, the engine quit! Dick changed the primary (Racor) fuel filter, and the second fuel filter, then added fuel. Still the engine won't start. We called the nearest marina for a tow, as we we drifting in the middle of the river. The told us to call Seatow, and we could come there but they had no mechanic. So we called Seatow (will be there in 45 minutes), then another marina a little farther along, White's, where we had stayed last year. White's said they had a mechanic (and we learned later that they also have a tow boat). So we were delivered to White's, and Jim, a very friendly mechanic, came on board. Dick thought the problem was probably sludge in the fuel, so Jim pumped 10 liters of fuel out of the tank, got some sludge. He said that apparently what happened was that sludge had plugged the filter so that it was sucking air instead of fuel. So even though we changed the filter, it wasn't primed properly. Once he did that, the engine started and ran fine. By then, it was 4:00 in the afternoon, and we were exhausted, so we elected to stay the night. The folks here are very friendly, and like dogs! We had to leave by 7:00 AM to get out before the tide changed, so we were underway early the next day.
By the way, we haven't told you that Colby has been great! Last year, it seemed that noises spooked him, and he wasn't a happy camper. He has been much more comfortable with the whole scene this year. It is more work having him with us, but he is our best friend and we are happy we have aboard!
Enough for today, adventures to be continued........
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