Categories

A sample text widget

Etiam pulvinar consectetur dolor sed malesuada. Ut convallis euismod dolor nec pretium. Nunc ut tristique massa.

Nam sodales mi vitae dolor ullamcorper et vulputate enim accumsan. Morbi orci magna, tincidunt vitae molestie nec, molestie at mi. Nulla nulla lorem, suscipit in posuere in, interdum non magna.

Wrap Up

Overall this was a great trip. At the outset the goal was to learn more about sailing and living on a boat. Some of the lessons were unexpected (like the fire) but all experiences were valuable. It was very helpful having Bob along. Our confidence has grown.

Helen, Timeless
Each stop was very different. Oddly enough, despite all the talk of meals, I haven’t put on weight.

 

Now back on land, both Helen and I are experiencing the wobblies as we get back used to being on terra firma.

Now we have the rest of the summer to look forward to. No more big trips but we may do the odd weekend away.

Manhasset Bay to RYC

This was our last day. Key element of planning this leg was to make sure we passed down the East River (east of Manhattan) when the current was in the right direction. At different times of the day the current can be 5 knots down stream or 4 knots up stream.We left at 6:20am made good time to the East River and got there at the best time. We actually achieved speeds of 10 knots (over ground) through Hellgate and down the East River. We got enough wind to sail under the Brooklyn Bridge, out into New York harbor and out into Raritan Bay. We had all the challenges the area offers with ferries, tankers, speedboats, barges all moving around.

As a result of the obstacles and currents, the sailing was more technically challenging than exhilarating. I had spent much of the time, like the previous day, reading and commenting on promotion forms.

Because the wind dropped, we motored the last couple of hours arriving back at our home base at 2:10pm. We had already packed our stuff so were off the boat fairly quickly going straight home.

Distance covered on day 11 was 42.3nm in 7 hours and 50 mins

Black Rock to Manhasset Bay

This was another motor sail. We had 35nm to cover to reach Manhasset Bay on the north side of Long Island. Progress was good. We left at 7:07am and arrived 3:05pm. Along the way we got in contact with the previous owners of Timeless (Larry and Laurie) who had their new boat (called Timeless II) berthed nearby.They originally had planned to be sailing that afternoon with Larry’s mother. Our original plan was to make sure we passed each other by having the chance to shout something or other. In the end, Larry’s mother was not up for sailing so they were still berthed when we arrived. We took a free berth for a couple of hours and met them on their new boat. It was a Saga 43 which meant it was 43 foot long which (by the law of volumes) meant it had two and a half times the volume of our Timeless. It was a wonderful boat and it is understandable why they are happy with it. Although I think Larry likes sailing it and Laurie likes sitting on it.

After a couple of beers and a couple of hours of chatting we bid them farewell and motored over to our mooring courtesy of the KnickerBocker Yacht Club. That evening we at a Greek restaurant in town.

Milford to Black Rock

This morning we had breakfast on the boat. I went back to the boatyard to check on the outboard. News wasn’t good. The carburetor needed the clean but the wiring was all corroded internally. This required a replacement part which would cost over $200 and need another day to arrive. Couldn’t wait for this so I paid for work done and took the outboard back to the boat where I fixed it to the rail to lessen the drag from the dinghy.This day our goal was to reach Black Rock Yacht Club.

The wind again wasn’t terrific so we motor sailed – ie we put up the sails and had the engine on.

We left at 10:13am, covered 13.4nm arriving less than 3 hours later.

Black Rock Yacht Club was superb. It had a great pool, had a wonderful setting and a great view. We walked into town and ended up in a place called Captain’s Cove. As it was during the day, it was largely empty. It was a combination between marina, pleasure pier, hangout. It seemed out of place amid industrial Bridgeport. Still, Bob had a hot dog and Helen and I had a beer before we walked back.

Resting at Black Rock Yacht ClubIn the late afternoon we had a swim to cool off, had a shower then stayed for outside dinner.

I also had a package of promotion forms delivered from work which I picked up at the club. I need to provide feedback on them by Monday evening and won’t have time on Monday at work. Reading forms while others helmed seemed the best way to accomplish this.

Milford

MilfordThis was a land day. We spent time reading and went back to the supermarket for more stuff. I tried the outboard again and it started almost straight away. I went to pick up more diesel for Timeless only to have the outboard conk out. After this I could only get it to run for a second or two.

I picked up 5 gallons of diesel in our can and rowed back to the boat. I still had no further luck with the outboard so I went to talk to the boat yard next door. They said they could look at the engine in the afternoon but could make now promises. I agreed to let them so I borrowed a cart and lugged the outboard over to them and left it there. I got a call later to say they had cleaned out the carburetor but didn’t have time to put it all back together and could I collect in the morning. This worked out ok but was a little disappointing as I had wanted to use the outboard and dinghy to explore the river.

That evening we had take away Chinese with wine on board the boat.