2008 Cruise field reports
Fleet captain Ernie Odierna has agreed to send back updates about this years cruise as they happen. Watch this space for frequent updates as the reports come in.
Sunday, July 13
Last night, Saturday, we had 10 boats in Cove Neck for our Bon Voyage party, having been joined by Wind Runner, Dancing BearFoot and Cambell.
Except for a few of the early cruise dinghy motor problems, everything went well. We had plenty of snacks, wine and cold beer. At one point, we had 25+ aboard BLAST, not including Noah, Jake and Ruby (my grandkids) who were gobbling up chips and dips like the experienced pros that they are.
Sunday (today) we traveled to Port Jeff. Thanks again to Selwyn, the current was great and the wind was kind to our sailors. We made it in record time to Port Jeff where 6 Harlem boats are at Setauket Moorings. Cameo is heading directly for Watch Hill, where he is preparing our welcome when we hope to arrive on Tuesday.
It's off to dinner now in Port Jeff, probably a great Spanish restaurant we discovered last year. It's the Schulman's anniversary tonight.
Sunrise joined us right after the party shut down.
More tomorrow from North Cove.
Fleet Captain (Ernie)
Monday, July 14
Sunset at Port Jeff
Cameo made it to Mattituck last night and Watch Hill late this afternoon.
Annadale left at 9:15 this morning and with no wind was still tooling around North Cove looking for a mooring at 6:15 this evening.
The rest of the fleet expects to set sail at 8:00 tomorrow morning for North Cove.
We are planning to cut short our Watch Hill stay by 1 day and have our "Asian" theme night on Wednesday.
Fleet Captain (BLAST)
Tuesday, July 15
North Star, Kerry Ann and Blast are here in North Cove . Annandale and Cameo are waiting for us at Watch Hill.
Fabjous went to Branford for the night.
It's very peaceful here. Bruce finally finished cleaning off his bow from all the little critters that came aboard when they picked up the mooring line. Kerry Ann is floating again. That's a good thing. Not too much water here at anything but 2/3 tide. No bugs yet.
The Fleet Captain
Wednesday, July 16
Asian Night at Watch Hill
Kerry Ann is afloat again, another good thing. This time after a pit stop in Stonington for fuel and ice.
Great surprise visit from the crew of Summer Wind who drove out to join us for Asian night. They even brought "take out" Chinese food with them.
The Fleet Captain's outboard didn't start to take them back to The Watch Hill Yacht Club, so Cameo's skipper volunteered.
It's off to Block tomorrow.
Annandale hoped to make it back as far as Westbrook, CT tonight.
The Fleet Captain
Thursday, July 17
We all arrived between noon and 2:30 with Cameo, who was last in, having to deal with a very crowded anchorage area. After 45 minutes of trial and error, they too were safely "on the hook." None of us were able to snag Town Moorings. Probably 2-3 hours too late.
Most of the crews enjoyed a quiet afternoon at The Oar and the Fleet Captain got his One Dollar Clamming license. (Senior Citizen Rate.)
Evening brought cooling breezes, a clear sky with a beautiful full moon.
The Fleet Captain
Friday, July 18
Most folks went to town for the day or sipped concoctions at The Oar where we had a very nice dinner this evening.
The fleet captain went clamming and exhausted after 2 hours of raking, returned to Blast with about 30 clams and two limp arms and a back that wouldn't stay straight without pain.
Kerry Ann's dink is floating again. That's good news. The Block Island Boat Basin's dinghy dock was really crowded and nearby water was very scarce.
Really big red full moon is just now rising.
The Fleet Captain
Photos: Dinner at The Oar on Block Island (top and center). North Star en-route to Block (bottom).
Saturday, July 19
A steady 15 knot wind, with gusts from 20 to 30 knots kept us close to our boats today with a minimum of dinghy activity.
The crews of Kerry Ann and Cameo did make it to The Oar for lunch and libations. Evelyn Schneider crafted and delivered an HYC oar to be added to their vast collection. Hopefully it will be up before we are scheduled to depart and we'll take a picture to show you what it looks like and where to find it.
Kerry Ann and Cameo are supposed to be heading toward Coeckles Harbor today to give Charlie Schneider a head start in making it back to the club by Friday so he can leave again for the Stonington to Boothbay Harbor race. Right now, at 5:30 AM, it's foggy, and no one is going anywhere.
North Star and Blast are heading for slips at The B.I. Boat Basin later this morning.
The ferry from New London is bringing The Fleet Captain's Connecticut family to be with us for a few days.
The Fleet Captain
Sunday, July 20
Sunday started out with everyone, because of the fog and strong winds, changing their plans.
Blast, after lifting anchor, drifted backward and their rudder got entangled with a sailboat's anchor line. There was no damage to either boat but the fun started when a pirate tow boat operator and the local Tow Boat U.S. Operator along with the harbormaster got into it when Blast selected the Boat U.S. vessel to offer assistance.
Everything worked out O.K. It turned out that the sailboat owner had been a member of the Harlem over 20 years ago. The pirate, after T-Boning the harbormaster's vessel, was arrested when he came ashore.
After the morning's excitement the weather and fog lightened up and we all spent a delightful day. Some went to the beach and others hung around The Oar and enjoyed the day.
Cameo, Kerry Ann and North Star are now thinking of heading back toward home on Tuesday when the weather is supposed to improve.
No unintended groundings to report.
Blast and family enjoyed delightful lobster dinners at Ballard's, in town, along with the obligatory Ice Cream Place visit for desert.
The Fleet Captain
Monday, July 21
Monday started out with fog and teeming rain which made the decision to hang out another day by Cameo, Kerry Ann and North Star a wise one. Things got better as the day progressed.
Blast's guests went bike riding to the bluffs and after drying off from all the sweating joined us for lunch at The Oar.
Retrieving Blast's dink from floating off the bow of the boat was somewhat of a challenge. With the rest of the fleet crews observing in anticipation of another mishap, the fleet captain launched his inflatable kayak and successfully towed the dink to an availabe slip on the dock. What the observers missed was after loading the dink with underage clam diggers and "observers" they got half way to the clamming grounds and the outboard quit, eventually necessitating a tow back to the dock by a very nice sailboat person on his way out fishing in his dink. As a token of appreciation we took his garbage to the dumpster ashore. The only other noteworthy event in this escapade was Michael, the fleet captain's son-in-law, turning over in the kayak while returning the dink to Blast's bow.
The rest of the day was spent on the beach with a brief stop at Finn's fish store for more clams for the evening meal of spaghetti with clam sauce.
The day ended with a walk to Aldo's shop at Champlain's for ice cream.
Tuesday looks beautiful and we are all heading off Block. Blast toward Noank and the balance of the fleet likely toward Matticock.
The Fleet Captain
Tuesday, July 22
The lobsters at Abbot's were great for dinner and the fried clams at Costello's were
veey good too, for lunch.
The weather has been deterioating all day. We are at a beautiful long concrete dock
at The Noank Shipyard. We are getting rain, lightning, wind and waves. The family
thinks I am magic having bungeed off a nearby sailboats flapping halyard.
The outboard ran good today.
Possible, if the weather let's up, we go to The Essex YC for tomorrow night.
The other vessels were intending to stay close to the Long Island shore for the trip
home. I'll call them tomorrow to report their whereabouts.
The Fleet Captain
Wednesday, July 23
Essex Yacht Club
Kerry Ann and Cameo are safely tucked away in Port Jeff and North Star is back home at The Harlem.
Blast is peacefully swinging off a mooring at the Essex Y.C. After enjoying a very nice "PUB" style dinner at The Club. They serve food here Wed. Fri. and Sat. evenings.
We got to the mooring just before the skies opened up, stayed aboard for a half hour till the storm passed then went ashore and said goodbye to our crew.
For Blast anyway, it's off for Guilford tomorrow, weather permitting. Cameo heads for home and Kerry Ann may visit Oyster Bay.
It's 9:00 pm and fog is settling in now on the Connecticut River.
More tomorrow.
The Fleet Captain
Thursday, July 24
Wind, rain and fog kept Blast at Essex as well as Kerry Ann and Cameo in Port Jeff. No point doing dumb things.
A relaxing dinner at The Black Seal Restaurant here in Essex and a stop at the local ice cream place were the highlights of our day today. Enjoying the wide variety of birdlife along the river while seated on river viewing benches at the Connecticut River Museum or the yacht club were pleasureable passtimes this evening as well.
We decided to skip Guilford tomorrow, with a NOAA promise of a good weather day, and head for the Black Rock Y.C. in Bridgeport or, depending on our progress, possibly even further West.
The Fleet Captain
Friday, July 25
Friday saw Cameo, after weathering some very rough and stormy conditions on their Thursday voyage from Mattituck to Port Jefferson, make it back to City Island. They arrived in time for Charlie Schneider to get back out to Stonington for the start of the Stonington to Boothbay Maine race which begins Sunday.
Kerry Ann got their battery problem solved and made it back safely to City Island with a nice smooth, but long, day of sailing.
Blast spent a rolling night at the Black Rock Y.C. where, like most clubs, they put the larger visitors as close to the open Sound as they can get them. Dinner at the club was good but a little pricey. Picking up a mooring at the club was difficult due to strong afternoon winds and a continuous stream of wakes generated by vessels entering and leaving Black Rock Harbor. The trip back to City Island on Saturday was quite pleasant because it began before the current turned westerly, even it was a little slower than our other legs of the trip.
North Star made it back safely to the club I believe on Friday and rumor has it, immediately sold their dink and motor.
All in all, we all survived the trip and I think enjoyed the experience with lots of stories to tell.
The Fleet Captain
