September 1 - 14, 2025 Point Judith Harbor of refuge, RI to Havre De Grace, MD

*****Pictures will be added soon! Thanks for reading this far!*****

Monday September 1st

Saw a shape in the water in the morning and of course the binoculars and my phone were below. Maybe a fin,maybe a dolphin or mola mola, could have been a ray.

Left by 1100, good winds, started from the E then moved so we didn't need to jibe.  negotiated the tricky bit at Sandy Point and anchored by 1530. Got Boji together for a ride to Napatree Beach. Took a walk to the far end of the beach and back. What a wonderful place!

Back to shower and take Boji over to Watch Hill for dinner. Went to the Olympia Tea Room. Zucchini ribbons were excellent as was the lamb special and the crispy chicken on the Bermuda salad. Finished with a swan!

Tuesday Sept 2nd 

Up before 0700 and anchor up by 0730 as high tide was at 0530 and we wanted to go through the channel at Sandy Point at a higher tide. It went well until can 5a which I took too closely to port (a clear error) and we went hard aground. The usual tricks did not work so Laz called Towboat US who got to us by 0845. Quick as it was a falling tide. The nice TowboatUS guy said they pull people off of there all the time, we put the bridle on and his big engines pulled us off. We bumped twice more, so baji-naji with the dredging service! We were on our way again before 0900. Headed to Westbrook. Wind started from the E, then built and moved S so we were able to use the code-0.  Got to Safe Harbor Pilots Point by 1600, in time for me to catch a nap before dinner. Laz refilled the aft water tank. Picked up by Cammy and Keith at 1745 then to Westbrook Lobster House where Jen Hauhuth met us. Fun Saugatuck Island stories! They are Barb's classmates, but at our age not so far apart. 

Wednesday September 3rd

Slept til 0930, apparently yesterday was some day! 

Met the resident swan couple who have been there for 5-6 years. Headed to the fuel dock for fuel and pump out and saw the resident osprey couple who have been there for 10 years. Off the fuel dock at 1110.

Motored past the breakwater with mainsail up, then code-0. Good SE wind that oscillates E and S initially 6-7 kts and built to 7-9kts

Heading to Milford for dinner with Amanda and her fiance Nick.

Ate at Southport Brewing Company, which oddly enough, is no longer in Southport, but us in Milford. Had yummy pretzel bites and bang bang shrimp and I had the truffle burger with mushrooms,  carmelized onions and Swiss

Walked Amanda and Nick back to their car and then walked over to River Street Cones and Cups to get gelato. Scoopy Doo's was closed.

Thursday September 4th

Off to Scratch Bakery for breakfast. Got the bacon egg and cheese on their delicious multi grain roll and Laz had the marble pound cake. I bought some pastries for our next several breakfasts. Off the dock by 11. Wind is from almost due S, oscillating between just E of S and just W of S. Wind built to 18kts so we reefed 1. I saw 21kts at one point. Tacked over to Mt. Sinai. Genesis Vision was a tanker that looked to be in our course, so Laz hailed him to see if he preferred if we stayed on course or tacked. The wind was strong enough that we were going the same speed so we ended up tacking back and going behind him. Took the sails down before going into the narrow Mt. Sinai channel. Honoring the last green looked like it would put us in the beach, and Ralph's didn't answer the VHF so Laz called and they told us the green was real, and assigned us to mooring C. It had two pick up lines, which Laz placed on the forward cleats and secured with one of our lines.  We took the launch over to shore to pay for our mooring ($65). 

Back to baji-naji for a brief bit then back to shore to get a cab for dinner. Cab was 30 min and I was able to get a Lyft in 15 min so we took the Lyft. Nikki the Lyft Driver gave me her number for the ride back. 631-382-1186

Sushi at Mt. Sinai Sushi was excellent. Nikki took us to McNulty's for ice cream then back to Ralph's Fishing. Had a nice long conversation with Paul the launch driver who used to work in movies and film, had a 36ft Pearson and is widowed. His wife was an avid boater. He switched to a trawler 16 years ago because of arthritis. Very nice man. We swapped sea stories as sailors do.

Friday September 5th

Up at 0930, l was up late again reading. Split a chocolate croissant with Laz and had my usual berries with yogurt and granola. Since it was late and the wind was supposed to build later, we didn't go over to shore to get breakfast. Put up the main while on the mooring, as we needed to shake out the reefing lines, since we were reef 1. Wind was from the SW so we put out the code-0. It was pretty soft and then shifted to the N and remained light. Furled the code-0 and put out the jib for maybe an hour but the wind was so light we gave up and put the engine on. As we approached Peck's Ledge the wind was 8-10 kts from the S, so we put out the code-0 again. Wind built quickly to 13-15kts and we sailed quickly past Peck's into Norwalk Harbor. Had to furl after Peck's as there are a lot of rocks. Headed to the fuel dock at Cove Marina for pumpout. We are on M dock M11, a 100ft finger, and M seems to be where all the superyachts are. Scott Hartmann is captain of Time Out, a large motor yacht two slips over from us. After docking now in, we went over to say hi to Scott. He is enjoying his work as Captain and asked after Jacqui. Enterprise Rent a Car on Westport Ave was supposed to pick us up for a car but when we called, he had no one to pick us up and did not have the car we requested. He offered a minivan for $90 a day instead. Laz called the Enterprise on Main Ave and they have plenty of cars. They could not pick us up either. Took a Lyft there, driver whose name is Danger, who did drive too fast. Got a nice white Toyota Corolla with VA plates. Over to check out the Norwalk Wegmans to pick up OJ, lettuce and deli meat. Back to Cove then over to Sunset Grill for dinner. Great fried artichokes Dan's mahi seriously overcooked so sent back for a much better one. My swordfish was decent but the balsamic glaze on it did not work. The risotto was a bit mushy but the asparagus was excellent. A cheesecake with chocolate mousse and ganache topping was a great dessert to share. Back to baji-naji to watch the Chiefs-Chargers game in Brasil on Dan's laptop on YouTube TV

Saturday September 6th

Headed to 0900 dance class with Sue! Packed but I found a spot. So much fun to see zoom friends and dance with Sue. Drove past the old house in Saugatuck Island on the way home, which is, of course, unrecognizable. The Lissy's old house is the same, but later found out it was recently sold, so may get renovated or converted to a McMansion.

Ben, Yanessa and the kids came over just before it started to pour, and we hung out on baji-naji until the rain subsided. We watched minnows and looked at the oysters and barnacles at low tide. Went to the Sherwood Diner for dinner.

Sunday September 7th

Dance class at 10:30 with Sue subbing for Luisa. Another fun class. Popped next door to the yoga and dance apparel store. Bought a top, which I couldn't try on since I was so sweaty post dance, and got a free top. Back to baji-naji for a shower, then Vlad and Mitch came by. Harkness in the cabin. Drove to Peter's Bridge area to ice cream shop called Momo to meet Steve, Ben's best friend when we lived in Westport, his wife Emily and 2 of their 3 boys. They have 2 month old that fell asleep so is staying with Grandma, who lives in Bermuda in Saugatuck Shores. A great visit and lots of exploring and playing with William and James who are 3 and 2, I think. And ice cream. Back to Cove to meet Karl Marayuma for apps and drinks then Lisa and Rob for dinner. Big social day that got packed in because of the rain Sat afternoon through much of Sunday.

Monday September 8th

Picked up bagels at LizSue2 and returned the rental car to Enterprise. They were able to drive us back to Cove. Pumpout at the fuel dock.

S winds with E component, sails up by Sheffield Island. Shifted to SE ranging 5-8kts so switched to code-0 by Stamford.

Tuesday September 9th

Breakfast with Maggie

 Left Orienta Yacht Club at 1130

Windy day, very choppy due to E wind sailed towards the East River. Dropped sails before going through. +4 to 5 kts, saw 11 kts over ground at one point. Lots of roils in the East River. Wind looked to be NE in NY Harbor but was SE and 20kts+ leading to some standing waves when we came out from the Verrazano. Pretty choppy getting to Jamaica Bay and then into Sheepshead Bay.

Arrived 1718 mooring 

Wednesday September 10th

Slept in til 11!!! Lay day in Brooklyn. Brunch of leftover mushroom goat cheese omelette, scrambled eggs with zucchini (to use the last zucchini), leftover bacon and the delicious corn muffin from Scratch Bakery.

Laz cleaned the speed and depth sensor...there were brine shrimp or some kind of living thing on it!

Took the launch to shore around 1500. Chatted with David the Commodore for a bit. Walked to Cherry Hill Market to look at what they had, then to Anatolian Gyro, recommended by David. Yummy Turkish food! I had shish kebab in yogurt and Laz had a gyro platter. I took home some of their baklava. Stopped at Sheepshead Bay Marketplace for milk and a few provisions, then back to Miramar Yacht Club. While waiting for the launch, we saw an immature night heron on the beach. 

Thursday September 11th

Miramar to Cape May

Dolphin! Off the coast past Sandy Hook 

Sailed some, then with change in wind direction and velocity had to motor.

Laz napped after dinner to ~2200, while I listened to the football game (Commanders vs Packers) then I napped 2300-0145. Lumpy seas and wind softened so I was seasick, over the aft lifeline with my tether on. Better after that but at the helm. Laz went back down to nap 0230-0500. Put up sails as we were due into Cape May before dawn and sailed out a bit. I napped in the cockpit. We went in towards the channel after it was fully light and at the fuel dock by 0800

Saturday September 13th

Up by 0740 and off the dock at 0820. Put up the main just outside the Cape May channel, but not really enough wind to sail. At one point after the Salem nuclear power plant, there was 8-10kts in a favorable direction so we pulled out the code-0 and sailed to the C&D. Had to take the sails down to go through. Got the current the whole way up to the C&D canal and then through, so we were going 7-8kts speed over ground the whole time. 

Anchored at 1905 in the Bohemia where we found a lot of other boats anchored. 

Leftovers for dinner..pizza and lamb. Made a peach crisp with fresh peach, maple syrup, butter and granola.

Sunday September 14th

Pretty spot. When we got up, most of the boats had left already, likely to go through the canal. There was very little wind. Motored all the way back to HdG.

No lines when we got back. Had to manage and then reset. Met a nice person fixing up his boat on the hard, had a nice chat about the trip. Said Hi to Johnnie and Tina who were fueling up the Byng, and waved to Will and Emily on Altair as they headed out with friends. Got a chance to catch up with them when they came back.

Picked up some Red Sombrero on our way home to the HOUSE.