Moving Onboard - Finally!

Jamestown Bridge, Newport, RI

A visit from Steve 

Today is moving day and we are out of our house.  With a one day stop in New Rochelle to visit Mom we should be living aboard Atalanta by Friday!  Recent days have been focused on packing all of our belongings in a 40 foot container and stocking Atalanta with what we think we will need for the next two years aboard.  With the transition in full swing, the magnitude of our adventure is finally hitting.  Spending time with family and friends has even more meaning.  Kay and I are looking forward to visits from friends and family.  We have our first booking for the end of February and are very excited to think about hosting Sue and Dennis in paradise. 

Atalanta is having some final work done on her this week.  Custom Navigation is installing our AIS system, which will allow us to identify other boats by name on the open seas.  This is a key piece of safety equipment for open water passage making.  We are also getting our SAT phone set up so we will be able to access phone and data regardless of our location, including out at sea. 

With a little bit of luck, we will be leaving Bristol, RI the first week in September.  Our first leg of the journey will take us to familiar waters in Long Island Sound, culminating with a visit with Mom. 

Many of you have helped us greatly to prepare for this trip.  Kay and I are very grateful.  From Paul allowing us to store our container, to Rachel and Pat baby sitting our Truck, to Tara and Chad helping us move, to Dennis and Susan with all their advice, ideas and experience.  There are others, too many to list including all the venders, mechanics, and Bristol Marine.  Thank you one and all.

Our next posting will be the first of the actual voyage.  Stay tuned and stay in touch.

Engine Work a Success

Murray Grooving on the Wind

We just returned to Vermont after a great cruise east.  The overall purpose of the trip was to get our engine repaired at Hanson Marine Engineering in Marblehead, MA.  On the way we decided to have some fun and relaxation.  After a strong wind, high waves and rain, we arrived in Cuttyhunk.  Getting into the protection of Cuttyhunk Harbor gave new meaning to the phrase "shelter from the storm."  The next day we advanced to Quissitt to pick up Chad and Tara for a little R and R on Martha's Vineyard (see prior post).

Cape Cod Canal
Heading East

The sail to Marblehead (2/3's the way to Maine) was beautiful.  Fortunately, we were able to sail most of it and avoid using the engine which was leaking oil at a rate of 2 quarts every 4 hours.  Hanson Marine Engineering provides high quality work including a specialty with older Perkins engines like ours.  Fred Knowles has been our engine guru for the past three years.  He indicated that the rear main seal needed to be replaced.  Hanson was the only operation willing to do it with the engine in the boat.  All others wanted to pull the engine at a cost of over $10,000 (which doesn't include the engine repair).

We were on a mooring at the Boston Yacht Club for four days while Dan and Robbie did the Job.

Dan figuring out how to Lift the Engine 

Day one: problem solving how to raise the engine in the boat (6 inches or so) so that they could pull off the shaft, transmission, bell housing, and rear fly wheel to get to the rear seal.

Engine Lift Plate
In Cockpit

Day two: actually lift the engine, disassemble and get the part to the shop for the install of a new rear seal.

Pulling the Bell Housing
Off the Perkins

Day three:  Put it all back together and make sure it works.

Tight Engine Space

Robbie and Dan worked tirelessly. Some amazing problem solving to issues that they were constantly being challenged by became the order of the day.  It was amazing to watch them work.  What a great team.

By 4:00 PM on Saturday, the work was complete, the engine ran flawlessly, and the problem was solved.  Hard to believe how much work it was to put in a $75.00 part.  I cannot say enough good about Hanson and the job Robbie and Dan did.  Thanks Fred for making it all go so smoothly.  Now Kay and I feel the engine is ready for our journey south!

Robbie

Tools of the Trade

Home Sweet Home

Points East

Kay and Murray in the Narragansett

On July 24th, with Leo and Inky, we left Bristol, RI bound for Newport.  With the wind out of the south, we tacked our way out of the Narragansett.  After a wonderful day of sailing and a great dinner at the Moorings in Newport, we said goodbye to our guests and prepared to leave for points east the next morning.  The weather on the 25th was poor. With high seas and winds and fair to poor visibility we sailed to Cuttyhunk.  Cuttyhunk is the last of the Elizabeth Islands, a chain of islands that extend from Cape Cod into the North Atlantic and define Buzzards Bay to the North and Vineyard Sound to the South.  A tiring ride as the seas reached 4-6 feet and the winds were over 20 kts.  After a few bourbons and a good nights sleep in the protected inner harbor, we headed to Quissett Harbor to pick up Kay's daughter Tara and Chad.  

On Charlie and Cathy's mooring
in Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard

Once they were on board, the weather became beautiful.  We sailed to Edgartown and Vineyard Haven, both on Martha's Vineyard.  After returning to Quissett and saying good bye to Chad and Tara, we began our journey to Marblehead to meet Hanson Marine and Engineering for some fairly extensive engine work.  The journey to Marblehead is about 2/3 the distance to Maine.  Seems a shame not to continue there but unfortunately, time doesn't allow us this pleasure.

Chad and Tara

After one night in Plymouth, we were able to reach Marblehead with calm seas and clear skies.  Thursday and Friday will be engine work days, with Bobby and Dan pulling the rear end off the motor and replacing a rear seal.  Not a small or easy job to do while the boat is in the water.

Super Yacht on the Rocks in Woods Hole

In the Cape Cod Canal on way to Marblehead

While the boat is being repaired, we will explore Marblehead, a beautiful old sailing port, filled with homes from the 1700's, history, and stories.

At anchor in Hadley Harbor (Woods Hole)

Ready to Go East

As Richard recovers from his back going out, we are continuing to prepare for our transition to live aboard.  Activities are both continuing to prepare Atalanta and to pack up the house so that Liz and Stan can move back into their home now that they have returned from their two year sail. 

While most preparations are on the boat, some require one to go aloft.  Fortunately, Kay loves the view and is happy to go up, above, and beyond.  Today’s mast work included checking the spreader boots and repairing a broken flag halyard.  Once back down, Kay was ready for her next adventure.

We are hoping that Richard’s back will be better for our next adventure.  This coming week we are welcoming a friend of ours who spent years sailing with Richard’s father.  Meeting in Bristol and sailing to Newport with Leo will begin our trip east to the Vineyard once again.  We look forward to having Kay’s daughter, Tara and her partner, Chad on board for that leg of our cruise.  After relaxing for a few days on MV,

Kay and Richard will continue east to Marblehead, MA to have Fred Knowles and his mechanics at Hanson Marine work on the engine so that it is in tip top shape for its journey south.

Stay tuned.  

Cape Cod Cruise

The first week long cruise of the season took Kay, Murray, and Richard to points east.  It felt great to finally get beyond the Narraganset Bay and into open waters.

Our first night out took us to Cuttyhunk.  The winds were out of the SW at about 15.  While the seas were behind us, the "yawing" wasn't too bad and the ride was comfortable.  We arrived as the winds were picking up and decided to anchor inside the harbor.  There we found refuge and had a great night's sleep.  By 9:00 we were on our way to Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard.  We decided to go down Buzzards Bay and through Wood's Hole to catch the considerable current.  Fog was thick on the Vineyard Sound side of Wood's Hole.  Once in Nantucket Sound we had very limited visibility (less than 100 feet).  Fortunately, we have gotten used to navigating in the fog and had a great sail up to E-Town.  Once there, we took a town mooring and were tucked in for the Fourth of July celebrations to come.

Terry and Murray on a Starbord Tack

While in E-Town, we were able to connect with Vermont friends, Terry and Dan.  We enjoyed a dinner together on the fourth but missed the fireworks due to more fog.  The following day brought nothing but sunshine, great winds and a fabulous sail with Dan and Terry to Vineyard Haven, also on the Vineyard.

Martha's Vineyard coming into sight

While in Vineyard Haven, we joined our friends from Bristol and three other boats for a three day cruise.  After a wonderful dinner in Vineyard Haven, we all sailed to Menemsha Pond on the Southern end of the island.  We were one Sabre 402, two Little Harbor 44's, a Alden Sloop and a Lobster Boat.  Once in Menemsha we dinked in to get fresh swordfish (harpooned) for a beach cookout with the group.  We have to thank Dennis and Susan for inviting us to sail with the highly experienced group of travelers.  It was wonderful making new friends and hearing all the stories of so many miles of sailing.  New friends, new adventures... what could be better.

Music on the streets of Edgartown - 4th of July

Safely at anchor in Menemsha Bight

Kay makes landfall in Menemsha.

We finished up the week with a great sail back with "Blue Moon" to Bristol. After nine hours, it all ended with a bourbon with Kay, Dennis, and Sue at the Bristol YC. Perfect end to a great week.

Now back to the repairs of Atalanta as we get her ready for our great adventure.

Mark Twain

June is almost gone

June has slipped by so quickly and we are making steady progress toward our goal of living aboard.  Kay is officially retired, the container is safely placed at Paul’s homestead in Westford, VT, and the owners of our rental, Stan and Liz, are making progress back from their sailing adventure toward home.  

There are medical matters to get squared away (medications, immunizations, etc.), a few loose ends with insurance, and finishing our packing.  All should be completed by the end of July.

We are finishing up a few repairs on the boat (main furler rebuild, some electrical issues and head repairs) but that should all be squared away by the end of the week.  Kay and I should be ready to move full time to Atalanta by mid August and depart New England waters by the beginning of September. 

In the meanwhile, we are hoping to get some great sailing in with friends in some of the most beautiful sailing grounds on the east coast.  This weekend Tara and Chad will join us.  For the fourth, we are looking forward to joining Blue Moon for a long weekend celebration. 

More to come.

Weekend in the Narraganset

The weather has not been cooperating lately.  This week brought more rain than anyone deserves.  Nevertheless, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday relented and gave us a wonderful weekend aboard with our good friend John.  While the winds did not make Block Island an ideal destination, we did find Newport and Potter’s Cove to be beautiful anchorages.  Once in Newport, a port that John had never been to before, we went on long walks and visited The Breakers and The Elms, two magnificent mansions of the Gilded Age.  While it is great to see such magnificent architecture and art, they also remind us of how our history has and may always be defined by the distance between those that have too much and those that struggle to get through each day.  It is clear that one cannot exist without the other.  Each owes to the other for their quality of life.

We also went to the Newport Shipyard to look at some of the most spectacular yachts in the world.  This is a yard designed to accommodate super yachts, mostly sail.  They had just put together their new travel-lift that took 8 tractor-trailer loads to bring to the site for assembly.  It can lift a mighty 500 tons!  We have never seen a lift with this capacity.  This lift can pull two hundred foot sailboat, rig out. 

Our preparations for traveling south are now focusing on packing up our belongings and placing them in a forty-foot trailer that Paul has so graciously allowed us to place on his property.  Load by load, we will be packing our possessions.  As we are packing up, Stan and Liz, our landlords are in the middle of a five-day sail to a U.S. port after two years in the Caribbean.  We wish them a safe journey and fair weather. 

More to come!