Day 55, 56, 57, 58 & 59 of The Trip Home

There hasn't been to much to report.  I was running low, okay maybe to the point of running out, of my medication.  I had my daughter, sweetest girl ever, send me my prescriptions.  To ensure I got them in time she sent them by Fedex.  Okay, that was a mistake.  The FDA go involved and instead of my meds getting here on the 24th they finally arrived on the 29th.  

So, on Saturday night we anchored in Mackerel Cove and ended up spending four nights waiting for the meds to be delivered to Southwest Harbor.  

On Wednesday we went to Dysart's Great Harbor Marina.  We picked up my meds, did some provisioning, did laundry, pumped out, took on water and fueled up.  Busy day.

We left there and decided to go to Prospect Harbor in order to make our day on Thursday shorter.  That was a good decision.  We had a nice anchorage in Prospect Harbor.

The seas were suppose to be relatively nice all day Thursday.  I am not sure who puts out these reports but it wasn't quite accurate.  It wasn't what we were expecting, again, but we managed fine.

We are spending the night in Mink Island tonight.  Right next to the US Navy Antenna Farm.

Mink Cove

US Navy Antenna Farm

Tomorrow we will enter Canadian waters.  We are both looking forward to this.  We will call Canadian Customs when we enter Canada.  We are not sure if they are on strike or not but we will deal with that in good time.

Day 50, 51, 52, 53 & 54 of The Trip Home

I tried posting a couple of days ago but the connection was very weak and I couldn't get anything to work.

The anchorages have been pretty much all the same.  Rough, windy, and tide swells.  Not necessarily good for sleeping but you do get use to it.  

We anchored in Casco Bay, which wasn't too bad (or so we thought) but it seems that the wind kicks up around 9:00 pm regardless of where you are.  

The water has been fairly consistent the last few days, not calm but we have been able to manage fine.  I know, we are probably just getting use to it.  

Brian found a lovely little spot called "Christmas Cove" which he figured would make me really happy.  I was really happy with being in Christmas Cove.....until....well we had problems.  We were a little too close to the rocks so we decided to move.  That is when the anchor caught, frigged up the winch and chain.  I looked to see if  Santa was coming to help but didn't find him.  Brian had to pull the anchor up by hand.  We moved to Little River and spent the night there.

Last night we anchored in Lawery Cedars.  We had to move once which meant Brian had to pull up the anchor manually.  It was a bit rough and again the wind and waves picked up around 9:00 pm.  In the morning he managed to get the chain untangled some and was able to use the windlass some.

Lawery Cedars - As you can see it was a beautiful spot

Tonight we are anchored in Mackerel Cove.  My figures are crossed.  It is beautiful and calm.

Day 48 & 49 of The Trip Home

We made it to Kittery, ME which is right next to Portsmouth, NH anchoring in the same place we anchored on our way south.  It was a great anchorage then.  We spent the night rolling with the big swells.  It is a really nice spot but not when the water are rolling all night.  We were just over the state line into Maine.

We decided to leave early because the seas were to get rougher as the day progressed.  Overall it was a nice day on the water, we had sun in the morning and it turned cloudy in the afternoon.  The seas weren't too bad or maybe we are just getting use to them.

Our goal for today was to make it to Portland, ME.  We are anchored just south of Portland.  So far it looks like a really nice spot.  CALM...... 

Day 46 & 47 of The Trip Home

We ended up staying in Plymouth until Monday morning.  The seas, winds and wave periods were to much for us.  We had a good opportunity this morning so we left.  However, as usual the posted weather conditions were not exactly accurate.  The only saving grace today was the 9 second period in the waves.  It made it bearable.

We planned on anchoring in Marble Head, stopping at the town dock to top up the water and pick up just a couple of things at the grocery store.  We did stop at the town dock and Brian topped up the water and made the 3 minute walk to the grocery store.  However, as you can see from the pictures below, space was very limited.

Consequently we had to find another place to anchor.  We found a really nice spot and are hoping it will be relatively calm.  You just never know.  The name did not deter us.

Misery Island

At one time there must have been some kind of castle on the island because the remnants are still here.  I wish we had time to explore a little.  I'm sure there is a story here.

Tomorrow we are off to Portsmouth, NH.  It will be about a six and a half hour day.  Fingers crossed for good weather.

Day 46 of The Trip Home

We went into Safe Harbor Friday morning.  They have a great Marina.  They take very good care of everything.  While we were in Plymouth they had a full size replica of the Mayflower vessel.  When we got there a school group were just entering to do a tour.  Brian got a picture of the Mayflower.  We did not realize the many colors it had.  

We did laundry, topped up our water and pumped out.  We headed back to our anchorage.  Brian thought, given the direction of the wind, we would be better on the other side of the anchorage we were on.  We tried it but as usual the information wasn't exactly accurate.  We ended up going back to our original anchorage.

The weather is not looking very good for the next two days.  We may have to wait it out here until Monday.  

Day 44 & 45 of The Trip Home

We made it to Plymouth on  Tuesday.  We found a nice anchorage for Wednesday night that was quiet and calm.  For some reason it was noisy during the night with water hitting the swim platform.  Yet the water was calm.  

We woke up to rain and a bit rougher water.  Our plan was to go into a nearby Marina and top up the water and do laundry.  We decided it was too windy and rough.  We will stay in our anchorage Thursday night and will see what things are like in the morning.

Not much to report.  We are hoping to be home by the end of May if all goes well.

In the meantime one of my granddaughters got home from a back packing trip with her friends in Europe in time to graduate from University.  One of my other granddaughters is heading to Europe this month to do the same.  Lucky girls.

My daughter-in-law and one of my other granddaughters is heading to Iceland in July with the Scouts.  Busy girls.  Then of course is my very amazing grandson who has learned how to draw and is doing great work.  So proud of him.

Little Cora is looking forward to being on dry land.  These rough waters have really bothered her.

Day 43 of the Trip Home

 We headed to Newport on Sunday and were able to find an anchorage in Mackerel Cove.  However, the anchorage which seemed really calm  at first ended up with us rolling from side to side all night.  We stayed in Newport so we could provision on Tuesday.  We tied up to the town dock.  We met some really nice people, went for a late lunch/early supper and stopped at Ben & Gerry's for ice cream after.  It was so delicious.  

We found a place in New Bedford that had cheap diesel.  That was our goal for Tuesday.  We fueled up and continued on our way.  We had a long day of about 8 hours.  We anchored outside of New Bedford in Mattapoisett Harbour.

Tomorrow we are headed for the Cape Cod Canal.  It is our hope to make it to Plymouth.  I wish I could post some interesting pictures but there isn't much.  I posted the best pictures on the way down last fall.  If I see anything of interest I will definitely take a few pictures.

Day 41 & 42 of The Trip Home

We left Old Saybrook and headed towards Newport.  We knew we were not going to go all the way to Newport but we did find a nice anchorage in Fishers Island.  Beautiful view of a Lynx golf course and calm waters.  Our plan was to head out Friday morning for Newport.  We did head out but after about and hour we were going against the current, wind and waves.  Consequently we were travelling at less that 4 knots and it was very rough.  We decided to turn back to our anchorage in Fishers Island.  We went from less that 4 knots to over 8 knots.  

We stayed at anchor until Saturday morning hoping to be able to head out to Newport.  However, the seas were about the same as Friday and we decided to stay put.  Things look better for Sunday so we will see what the morning brings.

We will take the opportunity to do a bit of work on the boat (cleaning, etc.).

Day 39 & 40 of The Trip Home

We left Bridgeport and headed to Old Saybrook Connecticut.  We decided early on that we would travel only part way to Saybrook.  Once we got going and the seas were decent we decided to keep going.  We anchored close to the Saybrook Marina.  We couldn't believe how swift the current was.  At one point in the night we could a repeating fairly loud noise.  Brian got up and finally discovered that the boat was spinning so fast the it was turning the propellers.  That is the first time that happen to us.  We have had several unusual things during our adventure.

In the morning we went into the Marina and pumped out and topped up our water.  We didn't leave until around 11:00 because our day was a nice short one of only three hours.  Again the seas were what we now consider calm.  The first part of the day was nice with the sun shining.  However, that didn't last.

There was not much to see along the way.

This is the view when you are boating on the ocean

We made it to our destination of Fishers Island and anchored in a very beautiful spot.  We won't be spinning tonight.  The water is calm and the view is a beautiful golf course.

Tomorrow our destination will be Newport, RI.  Closer and closer to home.

Day 36, 37 & 38 of The Trip Home

We left for New York City on Sunday.  The water was calm and we planned on hitting it at the right time.  Consequently it was smooth sailing through New York.  At one point we had a drone just in front of us.  We called out to it and it turned and filmed us.  Whoever was operating it new how to handle it.  It stayed a few minutes and then flew off.

I took anther picture of the statue.  The day was foggy, as you can see.

Staten Island Ferry

This cruise ship passed right in front of us.  I waved to the people on their balconies.

I waved to a lot of people through New York City,  Only two waved back.  Not a great average for a city of 20 million people.

We anchored in Port Washington, a place we had anchored in on our way down.  The houses are amazing.  More like hotels than houses.  I sure wouldn't want to have to clean them.

We had a great anchorage and left in the morning for Bridgeport.  We are getting closer to home every day.  

Day 35 of The Trip Home

Nothing to report today.  We stayed put in our anchorage on Staten Island.  Tomorrow we will head for New York City and the Battery.  We have to hit it at the right time of the day.  Something similar to the Reversing Falls.

I will let you know later how things went.

Day 33 & 34 of The Trip Home

We left Atlantic City making our way to New York.  We planned on going about half way to New York.  We anchored in Metedeconk, NJ.  The houses are absolutely amazing along the way.  

I know the picture isn't real clear but that's what happens when you take it from a moving boat.

Gotta love Atlantic City with all it's hotels.

Today we travelled about 5-6 hours  and have anchored in Great Kills Harbour, which is off of Staten Island.  The water was rough and it made the day longer than it should have been.

We will likely go through New York tomorrow.  We have to make the tide at just the right time.  On our way down we didn't and it was rough going through New York.  

Cora has been doing pretty good.  When it is really rough she will usually just sit up on the seat with me curled up in a blanket.  She knows the sounds of the boat and the minute we slow down she thinks we are close to land.  Up she jumps and is looking out the window.  When it is calmer she likes to be close and drive the boat with Brian.

Ahhh she is so sweet!!!

Day 30, 31 & 32 of The Trip Home

Unfortunately I do not have any interesting pictures to add to the Blog.  We left Cape May and  headed for Atlantic City.  We anchored close to where we had anchored on the way to North Carolina.  This anchorage was much better.  Atlantic City is definitely a busy city.  There are lots of high rise hotels.  The gambling must be good.

Our next stop was in Waretown, NJ.  On the way there we ran into some nasty seas.  Eventually things calmed down and the going wasn't too rough.  We went to the Holiday Harbour Marina.  This is where I had my accident last fall.  The owner Bob and his wife had taken us out for Chinese food the night I fell.  I, for some reason, could not eat a thing that night.  So, we went for Chinese food again and I took advantage of being able to eat this time.  We had a pleasant visit with Bob and his wife.

Our day on Friday was a nice short day.  Only 3 hours and on the Inter Coastal waterway.  From here on we will be in the ocean until we get home.  We should be in New York City on Sunday.  Of course, it will be weather dependent.  

One thing we noticed.  Every shore is lined with houses.  It is not very often that the shore is not lined with houses side by side and so close together.  Of course some of the houses are extremely large.  

I will try and get some good pictures going through New York.