Boat Problems from Maine to New York

Dawn departure from Robinhood Marina.

Salty Paws going by our home.

Our original AGLCA Burgee off Portland Head Light.

 Fifteen minutes into the “trip of the lifetime” the motor overheating alarm went off.  Would our adventure end here in front of our Georgetown, Maine home?  Other first week challenges included losing the boarding ladder (we forgot to take it in after a swim), the motor stopping while anchoring near the shore (the propeller was wrapped with a dock line that fell overboard), our America's Great Loop Cruising Association (AGLCA) burgee flying away from the bowsprit during a fast run from Block Island to Long Island and almost running aground when we swung at anchor in Plymouth Harbor.  Fortunately, everything was dealt with successfully, and the new stern ladder and AGLCA burgee are due to arrive at a marina that we’ll be staying at in a few days.



And we still had our burgee in the
Cape Cod Canal.

Then, while crossing the Great Salt Bay in southern Long Island, our motor overheated again, only this time the alarm kept sounding even after shutting the motor off.  A call to a local boat yard was met with the response “don’t you know it’s Friday afternoon?”  He did suggest, however, that we be patient and let the motor cool down.  After 90 minutes, however, the alarm continued to sound, and now I am thinking that the motor and our trip are cooked.  I go back to see how hot the motor still is, and I realize that the alarm is coming from the bilge.  As it turns out, my bilge alarm malfunctioned at the same time that the motor overheated alarm when on.  Once we stopped the motor, I mistook the bilge alarm for the motor alarm.  The motor is fine!

Let’s end the problems there, except that I should mention that I had back spasms on Monday, July 8^th(was this from helping my daughter and fiancé move last week?).  I called my PCP in Maine for a prescription that I have had before to be sent to a pharmacy in Newport, RI.  As it turned out it my PCP was on vacation, and by 5 pm Tuesday the prescription hadn’t been called in.  Uber brought me to an urgent care facility outside of Newport and I had my prescription for Flexiril by 8 pm Tuesday.  What a difference!  I am almost back to normal in two days.  So, I think that is enough of the problems for this post.

Cruising team of Bob, Danny and me.

My brother Bob, his son, Danny, and I left Georgetown at 5:30 am on Sunday, July 7^th bound for New York City where Molly will be joining me and Bob and Danny will use her car to go home to D. C.  Our July 7^th cruise took us past our Georgetown house, Pond Island at the mouth of the Kennebec, round Cape Small and into Casco Bay.  We motored past Eagle Island with the old Admiral Perry house (of Arctic fame), through many islands, past famous Portland Head Light and then a beeline to Isles of Shoals, 15 miles off the NH-Maine border. 

Gosport Harbor, Isle of Shoals..

Danny on the lookout for diving gulls.

Isles of Shoals has been a port of refuge for 400 years, and cruisers are welcome to pick up a mooring in the harbor at no charge.   The nine islands that make up the Isles are all private, but two islands are now inviting, rather than just tolerating of guests.  We first took our dinghy to Smuttynose Island, home to the Haley family for over a century.  We walked the trails, went by grave sites for various Haleys, as well as 

Apocryphal?

the crew of the shipwrecked Spanish ship (research suggests it never happened!) and fended off diving sea gulls who were protecting their young (I was surprised that the caretaker even allowed us on the trails).  We then attempted to dinghy to Star Island until being told that they would pick us up at our boat in their free launch.  
Star Island includes an old large wooden hotel that has served as a religious retreat for years, jointly used by the Unitarian Universalist Church and the United Church of Christ.  (My cousin Nancy Buell has been there.)  We mingled among the hundreds of guests and enjoyed the first of our almost daily ice cream cones.   

Our 2^nd day found us anchoring in front of Plymouth, MA.  We decided not to go ashore as Plymouth Rock is no longer the attraction it was once (too small, and likely placed as a publicity stunt).  Other stops and passages included the Cape Cod Canal, ritzy Newport, RI, Block Island, RI, Shelter Island, NY and off the inside of Jones Beach, NY, before going on to the 79^th Street Boat Basin in NYC.

Block Island has the best dinghy dock!

I have always wanted to visit Block Island as the marine weather forecast for my formative years was always for “Eastport (ME) to Block Island (RI).”  The island is roughly 20 miles off the RI coast and has a year-round population of 1,000 and a summer population of 15,000 to 20,000. There are many salt water ponds on the 5-mile long island, and the largest one, the Great Salt Pond, was finally opened up to the ocean in 1895, after many ill-fated attempts.  

The Pond can accommodate over 1,000 boats, mostly anchored, and probably had 500 or so during our visit. 


Our new motorcycle gang with the
Great Salt Pond in the background.

Settlers' Rock

We rented mopeds one morning and went out to Settlers' Rock, placed in 1911 as a tribute the 20 original settlers that purchased the island in 1661 from the King of England.  While there I talked with one woman who was in tears as she finally was on Block Island to find her ancestor, Trustrum Dodge, Sen., 12 generations back.  

The Shinnecock Canal.


We passed through the Shinnecock Canal without needing the lock but did have to deal with the current running 6 knots.  Then Salty Paws entered Long Island's own little Intracoastal waterway, but really only good for boats with drafts of 3 feet or less.  Water temperatures, which were as low as 49 degrees in Maine reached 80 degrees for some great swimming off the boat (followed by our new sun shower), and the scenery ranged from house-lined canals to marsh grass. 


Entering New York Harbor is always exciting, even if this is my third time. Boats are coming in all directions and it takes a diligent eye to weave through the chaos. We are now at the 79th Street Boat Basin on New York’s West Side, where we and then our youngest daughter lived at one time. Hello, Molly, and goodbye Bob and Danny, who have be great crew and card players.  

79th Street Boat Basin

Rats, I just learned that my boat air conditioning isn't working and temperatures are hitting 90+ degrees this weekend.  One bit of good news is that today's (Saturday, 7/13) blackout in Manhattan went up to 72nd street, but not where we are off 79th Street.  Stay tuned!