JULY 2-18, 2023

7/2 Had done a lot of pre-packing on 7/1, except perishables. Loaded the car and hoped I could get all the provisions to fit. The Tidewater BBQ party is today, before the fireworks. Agreed to eat with Christiane and her family, and used a separate cooler for those items. Managed to barely fit everything in the fridge and freezer that I had brought. Stowed the clothes, so much easier with summer gear and a few layers than for the spring trip. Topped off the fuel tank, 17 gallons so about 0.75 gallons per mile roughly. Washed down baji-naji with water, she was filthy with all kinds of muck sluiced off. Probably should have used soap, but I got all the bits off. Laz helped me clean the head and shower stall, all fresh for the journey North. It was a hot sticky day with sprinkles of rain, felt nice to have the water spray and raindrops. BBQ started at 5p, but Happy Place was not back in her slip. Called Christiane and she said she would be back by 6p. Went back to make the caprese salad..who know that the fresh mozzarella came pre-sliced? Tossed the strawberries (which I cut up yesterday) and blueberries with Cool Whip into my 4th of July bowl and cut up the pound cake. By then Happy Place was back. We claimed a picnic table and put on a tablecloth. Christiane had smoked brats which we grilled and watermelon. I put out the caprese. Wayne and Barb from the sailboat next to Happy Place joined us, bringing potato salad and spinach artichoke dip with carrot chips.

We even had a rainbow, with all the storms around us.

Watched some cool drone footage that Jonathan took for Happy Place heading out. Nice quality camera work. Fireworks at 9:15p! 20 min as usual and some gorgeous ones. We decided to watch from the picnic table as we were planning an early start tomorrow.

7/3 Sun's up, fun's up! Up at 0600 and off the dock and underway at 0640 to catch the favorable tide through the C&D canal. The Capt. Tom came out at the same time to take away the fireworks barge. We saw some sailboats that had anchored out overnight. They were close enough to the barge to have had a most excellent view. Got our trip start selfie in the bright early morning sun.

Saw a bald eagle on one of the cans as we came out the channel from HdG. Plus a mama duck and several ducklings.

Definitely caught the tide with 2 kts in our favor during much of the way down the C&D. Saw a very pretty ketch going the other way.

Got to Delaware City Marina by 11:40 am, thanks to the tide in our favor. Traveled ~35 miles in 5 hours thanks to the current. Pumped out, because the Purasan is acting strangely again, but seemed like the tank was empty. We came in with starboard tie and the dockhands flipped us on the bow to a port tie for easy egress in the am. We checked in and got a recommendation from the dockmaster for lunch as well as a map of town. Walked to Kathy's Crab House and had excellent egg salad with fries and onion rings for lunch. Walked over to Cake Sisters to pick up some cupcakes for dessert tonight. So many yummy flavors! Ended up with a lemon and a chocolate salted caramel as well as a mini pecan pie and a mini apple pie. Picked up a chocolate mousse/marble cake parfait as well. Back to the docks to cool down. At 88° and forgot sunscreen, my shoulders were a little warm. Put on the AC on the boat and I took a short nap and iced my L knee. Off to the Captain's briefing at 4p where we learned about the DBOFS (Delaware Bay Operational Forecast System). Great current and wind predictions for the DE Bay and a very informative talk about how to navigate the Bay safely. Early night as best time to leave will be just at dawn. Will make some light salads for dinner. Too hot to cook!

We are the second sailboat down from the very short bridge.

Lovely green snake outside the port window 😉

7/4 Independence Day. Up and off the dock at 0530 to take advantage of the outgoing tide in the DE River. “By the dawn's early light”

A truly beautiful sunrise and moonset.

Last night there was a crazy storm, lots of lightning and thunder, with one lightning strike pretty close by. Hard rain as well , which cleaned the deck a bit but also brought storm debris into the water. A good day to travel as there was minimal commercial traffic out. There were at least 4 dolphin sightings, one came pretty close to the boat

We started with just the engine. Down the river there was an area where the waves were nose on, short interval and slamming. When we raised the main and put out the jib, everything became smoother, plus we gained some speed. Followed just outside the aitons (aids to navigation) as per the Captain's briefing and had a pretty smooth trip. Gained 2.5 kts by getting up early to catch the outgoing tide. The incoming tide didn't affect us as much. Over the course of the day the tide turned again. The wind was from the W but later from the S, which was very helpful as we turned E to get to Cape May inlet. Averaged 7 kts and got to Cape May in exactly 10 hours. Of course it was so beautiful out, by the time we got to the marker for the inlet, we decided to sail a little bit with engine off. Glorious sailing in open Atlantic when the ocean is being mellow. Rollers were gentle. I had been nervous about them as I have not enjoyed them in the past, but these were OK. Guess it depends on wind direction and fetch.

View of Cape May from the outside:

Getting into Utsch Marina was interesting. Spring tide more than usual, so only reading 3+ feet at the slip. Got her in without feeling like we hit bottomor dragged through the mud. Our close neighbor to starboard complimented me on a nice docking. Received a goodie bag when we checked in, with sparkling juice wine, soap and biscotti, as well as maps of Cape May.

The Purasan is acting up again, fast red flash Laz checked the troubleshooting guide and basically it all sounds right but the chlorine tank is not discharging. Turns our Raritan Engineering is about an hour away. Laz emailed the guy he's been talking to to see if we can fix this.

Fourth of July sunset selfie, then dinner at The Lobster House followed by fireworks off Cape May.

7/5 Laz up at 0630, I slept in until 0830. Laz called Greg at Raritan about the error message on the Purasan. Greg gave him a few things to try. I went out to hunt down coffee and breakfast. After finding out Madison's was closed, and the coffee shop at the Lobster House completely full, with the wait staff not even making eye contact, I decided to walk to the South Jersey Marina where they have a lovely restaurant named Brine. Ordered an avocado toast with Mexican crema, lime, corn, chili and cotija cheese for me and a omelette filled with bacon, cheddar, spinach and tomatoes with home fries and white toast for Laz. I was so hot from walking around to find a place, I had a large water and a coffee. Back at baji-naji, Laz had gone through the steps and apparently the check valve got stuck. He spent some time cleaning all the chlorine crystals from it a couple of times (we will need to order a spare) and then got the Purasan to work just fine. We enjoyed some brunch outside. With a good weather window we decided to fuel up and go. Got 9.5 gallons for 15 hours=0.6 gallons per hour. Pretty good. Left Utsch's fuel dock at 11:15am. Tide was just past high and now there was at least 9ft of water in the marina. Navigated out of the marina, Cape May Harbor and the Inlet with a fair bit of large boat wake and traffic. Put up the main as soon as we could and headed up the coast! It's a hot day, making sure we are hydrated. Sent Laz for a nap at noon since he was up early. My first watch at helm:

Laz was awakened by a horrible sound out of the fridge, sounded like a screech. Tried to troubleshoot and texted with Nate Horton. Laz sent a video, Nate has not seen that issue before. We ended up switching it off for a few hours and when we turned it back on it seemed to work fine. We'll see.

We talked to Pleaides, an Island Packet via VHF. We had seen her in the C&D canal at Chesapeake City. She stopped there for fuel then made her way to Lewes, DE before the big storm on 7/3. She hails from Charleston, SC and is headed to Narragansett Bay, planning a couple or more overnights. It was nice to chat with them. I emailed Jason MacNeal the pictures I took as we sailed by.

A different perspective of Atlantic City as we sailed by. Laz used the tethers when rigging the code-0 and we were able to fly it for a few hours as the wind switched to the S and SE.

I took another 1/4 tab of Bonnie as the rollers did bother me some. A nap, some Tylenol and some food helped as well. We watch a storm cell which looked like it was staying on land. Radar on Wunderground didn't show anything either. Laz went for a nap at 1930 and I had the sunset watch all to myself.

Laz and I switched 3 hr-ish watches through the night with maybe an hour overlap each time. There were fireworks through the night on the Jersey shore, including some at 0100. Likely private celebrations. We followed the Carolina Coast, who was a few miles ahead of us, through the night. Laz had the sunrise watch, which looked similar to sunset, with a very red sun.

Sunrise from the mouth of New York harbor.

Laz woke me at 0630 or so as we were approaching the Verrazano Bridge. Lots of big ship traffic, including our beacon, Carolina Coast (next two photos). NYC in our sights on a hazy morning. A lot of dew overnight leading to very wet seat cushions and the need for quick dry long pants for me.

Had to carefully watch all the big boat traffic in NY Harbor as not every boat has AIS for identification. Small boat traffic too! Cut across the container ship and barge anchorage, dodged the multiple ferries to see NYC to starboard and Lady Liberty just in front of us

Looked like our friends Altair following us, but turns out it was a 72 ft French boat, Cap ll from Bordeaux.

Laz: You never forget your first time. We had light winds and calm seas, but still it was an overnight sail with just the two of us - no extra crew. Laura swore off overnights - it’s the main reason she left clinical medicine. On top of that, she still gets queasy from ocean rollers. I am insanely proud of her. She is a true partner on our boat. Sometimes she lets me drive.

We stopped at the fuel dock as we had long run. Arrived at 0830. Still getting 0.64 miles to the gallon or so. We have traveled 237.4 miles since 7/2. Saw a mama duck and ducklings while we were at the fuel dock. In our slip, #13 by 0900, tired but happy that it was a mellow overnight and that we had made it! Checked in and got a lovely cooler bag as swag with info on the marina. Helped the Cap ll tie up to the fuel dock and found she has no bow thruster. Crazy for a sailboat that length.

Decided to shower in the marina facilities, very nice, and then walked to Liberty House for a delicious light lunch of bibb lettuce salad with pine nuts and carrot shavings topped with grilled shrimp. Laz had a citrus grilled shrimp and shared some of my salad. We split the sunchokes side dish. Walked back for a long nap! Dinner at Maritime Parc. Kung Pao pork belly appetizer to split and a chicken dish for me and scallops on short ribs for Laz. Tasty. Then a walk to see NYC from our side of the Hudson.

Sunset over the marina

The marina is quite large, we walked all the way to the end where the boat yard is. Part way through we tried to find the guy we met on the fuel dock, from Perseverance, but he was out. We saw two Dufours, a 500 and a 530, both very nice, as well an interesting Italian boat that seemed to be metal. Met Colleen and Neil from Annapolis, who had been dining near us, and chatted for a while. They are on a 42 Sabre motoryacht, Distraction, and are also headed to LI Sound. Back to baji-naji for a good night’s rest!

Fri 7/7 Up at 0800, this crazy schedule is like being on/post call. Walked ~a mile to Wonder Bagels for a real everything bagel with cream cheese, lox, capers, red onion and tomato! Laz had sesame with scallion cream cheese. They had fresh squeezed OJ as well. So good!

Lay day as we thought we would need a little time before setting off again with the overnight. Time to wash baji-naji thoroughly! Last time was a hose down, no soap. Went to the marine shop and bought a sponge with a scrubby side and microfiber side as well as some more of the magic sponges. Got our our blue Ace Hardware bucket and put soap and water in. As suspected the water pressure was excellent. Laz washed down the starboard side from the floating dock, getting the scum and scuff off with a magic sponge and soap. He got on Boji to do the port side. I scrubbed the deck thoroughly. The microfiber side works well on the non skid sections and the scrubby side works well on the smooth sections to get rid of marks and dirt. Washed the cushions and set them on the dock to dry. Washed the underside of the canvas as well. baji-naji looked spiffy when we were done. Cheese and crackers time. Enjoyed the classic Lasley cream cheese and Worcestershire on Stoned Wheat Thins. Sad side note; they have been discontinued for a while. The only reason we have any is that Laz bought a case a year ago. Also had cheddar and honeycrisp apple slices as well as some Boursin. Relaxed, got showers in the very nice head. Apparently there was a water issue in town and that's why all the water was shut off overnight last night. Had leftovers for dinner and the last of the pound cake with strawberries and Cool Whip for dessert. Enjoyed a beautiful sunset.

7/8 Sat. I have no idea what day of the week it is, apparently it is Saturday. Left the dock at Liberty Landing Marina at 0900, took a picture of the Liberty Science Center where Jacqui had multiple field trips as a youngling, dodged the large Staten Island Ferry as well as others, including the awesomely named Tooth Ferry. Into the East River with +2kts from the current. Beautiful views of NYC. Attempted a panoramic view. Went under multiple bridges.

Brooklyn Bridge

Manhattan Bridge

UN building

Throgs Neck or the Whitestone, there were so many bridges!

At one point the tide rip added 4 kts to our speed, whee! We exited Hellgate at 10:30a and was into LI Sound at 11:00, with sails up at 11:30a. Winds ~8-10 kts from the NE, so tacking our way up LI Sound. Beautiful Tall Ship Spirit of Bermuda passed aft.

Lovely to see so many beautiful sailboats out on the Sound. This one was old school and very nice under sail.

You could see storm cells all around us, so we headed into Rye to the American Yacht Club, as guests of an Exeter classmate, Cindy Prescott Kuster. We were directed to a guest mooring ball (yellow topped) and took the launch into do paperwork. $55 a night for a mooring ball. Docked at 4:45p with permission so we could show our friends baji-naji. Cindy, her husband Jim as well as Hillary and Chuck Jackson came out to see us and we were able to sit at dock for a bit. ‘78!

Beautiful view from AYC with a great American and a snowy egret

After everyone left for their dinner dates we enjoyed Bison burgers stuffed with spinach, mushrooms, parmesan and romano cheese, with cheddar on top, and a lovely sunset.

Sun 7/9 Up just before 8a, checked the radar and the rain expected at 6a didn't happen, but was expected around 1p. Changed plans for leisurely breakfast to off the mooring by 0830. Winds built from 3 to 6kt from the NE, so sails up by 0900. Wonderful breeze from the NE, of course the direction we wished to go. We tacked to and from Long Island. Other sailboats were out including this one with a spinnaker headed downwind.

So exciting when we could see the 4 iconic stacks of Asharoken through the mist and fog; almost back in familiar waters!

Looked back at Oyster Bay where the clouds were thicker and darker and we could see the rain coming our way. Furled the jib, engine on, dropped the main, and motored on. Minimal visibility as the rain was coming down hard. Was not sure if I was seeing a barge or a lighthouse and the chart was not clear. As I looked further, decided to keep it to starboard based on where the channel should be and it turned out to be Green’s Ledge light! As we got closer we could hear the foghorn. Our Raymarine chart was not at all clear that was a lighthouse. Hmmm. Visibility still poor, but the storm was passing and we were able to make out Sheffield Island and the lighthouse to starboard.

As the rain was letting up we noticed a sailboat with its jib still up sailing toward us. It was headed directly to us and as it passed there were a dozen shirtless young men aboard, partying it up. Went through the narrow channel by Manresa, across the Norwalk River, carefully following the marks, and right to Cove Marina’s fuel dock.

Did a quick pumpout, as we found out all of LI Sound is a no discharge zone and then to our slip, B-10 West

Had just enough time for showers and a little boat cleanup before the baji-naji open house at 3p. Reedie and Marshall were the first to come by, followed by Lorraine. David Pearlstone came bearing food; I cut up 1/2 the baguette and served the cheese and salami up to all. Francoise and Rick came by after their fundraiser for the Ukraine. Mark Jaffe also came by as well as Michael Crouch. Delightful to see everyone and catch up. So sad to learn of Maureen Kenefick’s death. Michael promised to hug Tim for me. Got pix with all, posted the PEA ‘78 crew on the ‘78 FB page.

After a quick clean up, Lisa Hartmann came to pick us up for dinner. Got a tour of Sauguatuck Island, so many changes. Learned that Betty Lou is still going strong, but that Nanette Hauseman has recently passed away. Had a marvelous time catching up with Rob and Lisa, and met Erin, Ryan's girlfriend. Ryan and Erin are living there temporarily. A delicious dinner; Rob had just caught tuna off of Block Island less than 12 hrs before and we enjoyed it for dinner, along with delicious salad and rice. A late evening but good to catch up with everyone.

Sun 7/9 Lots of rain overnight, some torrential. Forecast had been for a rainy day, so we planned a lay day for laundry, lunch at Nik’s Place and dinner with the Lissys. No rain all day and of course it was great breeze. We did a load of wash ($1.50 in quarters) only to find that the dryer did not work. Laz hung a clothesline in the cockpit and I hung things below. With the great breeze everything dried nicely by the time we got back from lunch. Walked to Nik’s which is ~a mile away and found out this is their last season! So glad we came. I had their delicious chicken souvlaki and Laz had a gyro, we split their fantastic onion rings and we had a funnel cake for dessert. Nik's has been open for 43 seasons, we've been going there for many of them, before we moved away. So glad we got to talk to them and order one last time.

Put our now dry laundry away and took Boji out into Norwalk Harbor. Looked like Shore & Country added a large building. Went by 3 Sylvester; looks like it had been raised. Saw a gorgeous ketch, Eagle, near the Washington St bridge then later saw her under sail. Rowers were out in shells being exhorted by coaches in chase cats.

The Eagle, at dock and under sail, jib only.

Had a delicious meal at Rive Bistro with the Lissys. Always so good to see them. They were kind enough to pick us up and drop us off. A full day!

Shrimp and avocado salad

Branzino with summer corn salad

Feuillette with strawberries

Tue 7/11 Got a nice latte and toasted sesame bagel with cream cheese at the Galley at Cove. Quick pumpout on our way out. Dockhands were crushed to hear that this is the last season for Nik's Place. It seems like everyone will be rushing over for a last whatever. Picked up a quick dry towel with a chart of Stamford to Westport on it. So cool! Went to get my phone to take a picture of Sauguatuck and found it was completely black. Sigh. Had to do the long restart and then turned it off to give it a rest. Most of the pictures are on Dan's phone which we will upload when we have wifi. A lovely downwind sail from Norwalk to Milford in 2 tacks. Went out from Norwalk past Middle Ground, Stratford Shoals light. Two of the ferries, the PT Barnum and one other passed us as they went in opposite directions. Jibe tacked and headed just East of Charles Island. Sailed all the way into the Gulf, and took down sails just before the channel. Motored into the channel and apparently the Milford Yacht Club has expanded to floating 50 ft docks that you can tie a boat to on both sides. Turned around in the channel then Laz hailed the yacht club to see if we could dock anywhere for a 10 min tour. Nope. Busy summer day, as it should be.

Sauguatuck Island with Cockenoe in the foreground

Swim platform down, jumped in to use the new pool saddle. It felt a lot colder than the 82° reading from our Raymarine! Perfectly salty though. Apparently I am not the first Lasley to swim behind Charles Island, as we found in the log for *Blue Bug*.

This sailboat pulled anchor and sailed past us, saying hello as they went by. A wonderful day.

Homemade spaghetti sauce over rotini and bow ties and garlic bread for dinner

Wed 7/12 Big wake rocking and rolling the boat woke me at 7:40am. We had a long way to go in light air, so anchor up and left Charles Island at 0830. My now routine quick breakfast of yogurt, blueberries and a little maple syrup as well as sharing the last Oso chocolate croissant and Oso coffee with Laz. Decent wind 4-6 kts from the W/SW in the morning and we had the code-0 out.

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Dropped sail behind Duck Island breakwater, hailed Safe Harbor Pilots Point and headed to our slip C3. A 60ft Swan, dark hull, Bounty, is our neighbor.

*baji-naji* and *Boji* together are not as long as the *Bounty*

Washed the foredeck, the port side and the cockpit to clear the mud that came up with the anchor line Laz had to untangle last night. Went for a swim in the pool and headed back to baji-naji for showers. Went to the restaurant at the marina for dinner. Great NE style clam chowder. Also had shrimp ceviche and a salad. Laz had a chicken sandwich which came with a Caesar’s salad and finished with apple crisp and vanilla ice cream.

The shrimp ceviche was served with fried wonton triangles

Early evening as it was an early awakening. Heading to Stonington tomorrow

Thu 7/13. Up at 0730 slept well. Made fresh baked croissants and hard boiled eggs for breakfast. Off the dock at 0900. No wind initially, what little there was from due E. Put up the main but motored for a ways. Wind started to build and moved slowly S. When Laz used the autopilot using wind angle, it shifted to SE then S then picked up so we had 13-15+ kts in Fisher Island Sound.

Does not show up well in photos but there was brown coming out of the river, not unlike when the Conowingo lets go during storms.

Lots of logs and debris but the most amusing was this floating dock, complete with umbrella and a skiff tied off to it, just freely floating in the Sound.

As the wind picked up, we passed this beautiful Tartan going the other way.

A lovely tall ship, unfortunately no AIS identification

It wouldn't be Fisher's Island Sound without many lobster pots! Although to be fair, this was the only clump we saw. Most were singles.

All these boats on moorings behind the Stonington

Breakwater just outside Stonington Harbor Yacht Club where we are docked.

View of the 70’ motor yacht that pulled in behind us. The captain did a great job of getting her in through all the moorings and the narrow space

Jenn Hatch from NRS came to say hi and see *baji-naji*

We got a tour of her apartment and dock where she and her husband keep their Whaler

Dinner with Jenn and Travis at Noah's. Local black sea bass. Dan had the hand rolled Asian noodles with shrimp

Chocolate cake and a rich flourless chocolate pie with almonds and a coconut crust finished off a lovely evening.

Jenn ran me to Stop & Shop after dinner for more provisions as we were out of milk, deli meat and low on OJ and yogurt. Since there is no cell signal or wifi at the dock, read for a short bit then to bed. Unfortunately still allergic to cats (Jenn and Travis have two) as the asthma woke me at 0130 and the rain woke me at 0430 when we had to batten down the hatches.

Friday 7/14 Bastille Day. Up at 0800 despite the rough night of sleep. Rainy day. We started a load of laundry at the club and then walked to Indulge for coffee and breakfast sandwiches. I bought some breakfast pastries for later. Heard and saw the torrential downpour while we had breakfast and left when it was dry. Got back to find the wash almost done. We were told the dryer at the club is wonky. We were able to to all the wash but dryer needed two cycles. Went back to the boat between. It was nice to have clean linens and towels. Made lunch at 1pm, Dan had his leftover chicken sandwich and I had a roast beef roll up. Jenn picked me up at 1:30 to drive me to the Velvet Mill. Bought more breakfast goodies (peach muffin, strawberry lemon muffin and two chocolate croissant s) and then had my massage at Shine with Carrie who was wonderful! She really helped the pain in my left shoulder, which was still hurting from who knows what. We think in might be a pinched nerve. So grateful to have Carrie do her awesome work.

Jenn showed up with a box of Deviant Donuts for me when she picked me up. She claims it's my fault as I introduced her to them in the first place!

Saw this boat on the docks on the way back to *baji-naji* and had to take a picture for my friend Kathy.

Relaxed and read in the cockpit while icing shoulder and knee. Wind picked up and the trimarans were enjoying a good breeze for Friday night races

Dinner at the Yacht Club was exquisite. I had Stonington day boat scallops with pacceri, peas, garlic, shitake mushrooms and bacon. Laz had the duck with an incredible cherry sauce.

We split this fabulous profiterole filled with dark chocolate salted gelato with chocolate sauce and whipped cream for dessert. Writing my log in the lounge at the club since there is no wifi at the dock. A lovely relaxing day
Saturday 7/15 I actually have to check my phone to see what day of the week this is. Up at 0800 but took a little bit to get up. Called the Westerly pumpout boat (on VHF 8 not 9 as one of the books suggested) at 0900 and they would be by “in a few minutes”. They service all of Stonington, Watch Hill, Pawcatuck River with 2 boats. Made coffee, put the baked goodies in Ziplocs or containers, leaving the pineapple Deviant Donut out to share. Chatted with the owner of the Dufour 36E, a 2013. He was giving sailing lessons. Laz went to the club for wifi to check weather and fill our gallon jug with water. Another large motor yacht pulled in in front of us as the smaller one left around 0900. Chatted with the owner a bit, boat is stored in Annapolis and he is from NJ? He was driving back to NJ for 135 year anniversary of the Manasquan Yacht Club and then fly back to Stonington tomorrow. Pumpout boat arrived about 9:45 am, just as I was asking for an updated ETA, lol. Two older gentleman, one with Paul Newman baby blues “who cut back to 3 days a week when he turned 80”. Off the dock at 10:15 or so and headed to Napatree at 2 hrs past high tide. Even still, there were areas that were 4.5-5ft in the marked channel. Favored the green at Sandy Point, lovely grandfather in a Whaler with family and grandkids pulled close to reinforce that. Motored the whole way and anchored at Napatree by 11:15. We overran the anchor as tide and wind in opposite directions, but luckily did not tangle on the keel.

Napatree with Watch Hill in the distance

Took *Boji* to Napatree and found a convenient rock to tie her to as we do not have a dinghy anchor

Picnic lunch of chicken salad on croissant from Noah's. Love the new quick dry towel as the sand comes right off it with a few shakes.

View of the Bay from the top of the hill up from the ocean side beach. I walked to town.

Laz took *Boji* to the town dinghy dock, where I met him and tied up *Boji*

Where we spent our 5th anniversary 35 years ago. Still looks fancy

Walked to the carousel and watched some kids riding and trying for the brass ring. Video to follow. Talked to the man at the booth and told him that Laz caught the brass ring 3 times in a row 53+ years ago. Donated to the upkeep of the Carousel. Got ice cream cones at the local shop, I had Almond Joy and Laz had Black Cherry Chocolate Chip.

Took *Boji* back to *baji-naji* . Goodness the boats filled in once everyone realized what a beautiful day it is. Good thing we got here early!

Saw many boats racing from WHYC, as well as other boats sailing by us. Great breeze today and sunny, so lovely to hang on the hook and watch it all go by. Swam for a bit, the water had a very chilly current from the ocean but was nice. Went around baji-naji once and then my shoulder hurt more so I decided not to push it and came into the cockpit to dry off, watch the world and read.

Not familiar with this sail logo but they had fun sailing her.

After quick showers we took *Boji* into town for dinner at the ice cream shop, St. Clair Annex. I got the lobster roll and Laz had a burger. I got the better end of the deal. Fries were excellent! Walked the shops and picked up a SPF 50 long sleeve sun hoody at Seaport Studios. Pretty sure I've bought something there years before, likely a T-shirt.

Back to *baji-naji* with the clouds coming in. The anchorage was emptying out now that it was 6:30p

Definitely empty by 7:30 mostly a few sailboats and a couple of motorboats left. Clouds really moving in, making for a truncated sunset view

Storms and wind up to 20kts predicted for tomorrow so we plan to stay safely anchored here with 120’ of line out.

Sun 7/16 Rainy night with wind picking up. Up by 0800 but lazed in bed with the rainy day.

Made French toast and bacon for breakfast and pan fried the leftover omelette and potatoes from Cape May.

Rain means the anchorage completely cleared out except for a couple of sailboats, two rafted motorboats and us.

Hard to see to Stonington. Tornado watch til 3pm. Lots of dark clouds and rain with wind up to 23 kts that I saw on the navs

Good day for a self pedicure during one of the breaks in the rain

Tried calling the pumpout boat multiple times throughout the day but no answer. I did hear another boat hail them, but did not hear a reply. Even though we did pumpout yesterday am, the tank is nearly full. Not sure if their pumpout was working. Tried to use the Purasan but it is also not working. Will not move the effluent from the holding tank any further . Quite frustrating. Will ask for pumpout first thing tomorrow am. Something in the tank or hoses may be clogged. Too much rain to take it apart today. May need to call Raritan tomorrow. During some of the deluge, we took the guitars out and played for an hour or so. We were monitoring the VHF which had multiple Coast Guard warnings about debris from the Connecticut River, unreliable AITONs, and other things. Laz called Dodson's via cell re: pumpout boat. It is supposed to be out and about today but they did not see it in their harbor. Hmmm. Hope those guys are OK. Cleaned the head with Simply Green and a good wipe down. Should probably vacuum but it is so humid the vacuum cleaner would clog immediately.

Since it wasn't an active day, had tomato bisque soup and sourdough rolls for dinner. Shared the slice of peach and cherry pie from Noah's…pretty good.

Mon July 17 Up around 8am. Laz tried to troubleshoot the Purasan now that it was daylight. The pump we replaced is fine, the check valve seems fine. He put a call into Greg at Raritan. When he called back it sounds like either the other motor or a bad valve. Either way hard for us to take care of. He gave Laz the name of a person in Newport who works on these, Brian at Head Sync. Laz left him a VM and hopefully he will call back with a date we can meet up. Meanwhile the entire area is a NDZ so we have to pumpout anyway. Good news, they don't charge for it. We hailed the Westerly pumpout right at 0900 and they were headed towards us. When it arrives the gentleman working the pump said they were having trouble with the other boat, he remembered pumping us out on Saturday. They also said they did not run in the bad weather yesterday. He took some time and we even poured fresh water in. He thought there was a lot of sludge. Laz was watching the tank to make sure we emptied it this time.

Foggy at 0800 and lifting somewhat by 0900. Watch Hill as Brigadoon.

Once pumpout was done and Laz put the Purasan back together and the tools away, we headed out. Passed my friend Jenn’s apartment (she is the one with the porch) after clearing Sandy Point. Lovely breeze so we decided to sail out a bit. 8-10 kts from the S made for happy sailing. Put up the code-0 and went ~60° to unfurl it. Tried doing it with the jib out, which we have done before, but Laz was unable to get the port side jib cam to work. Had to furl the jib before we could unfurl the code-0. Went a ways, until the code-0 looked dry (why yes it had been put away wet), furled it and put the jib out again. Some nice sailing. Took a short cut between Ram’s and Mason Islands then followed the channel exactly

Stopped at Ford's this time instead of Abbott's. I got the hot lobster with butter. So good! Laz had an excellent grilled chicken sandwich. The railroad bridge was open but we misjudged our timing and missed the 2:40pm bascule bridge opening. Meandered back and forth between it and the RR bridge, which did close at one point for Amtrak Acela.

Passed this schooner on our starboard side and got directions for our slip assignment, slip A. Very helpful dockhands. Stern in next to a beautiful wooden boat *Half Moon* and in front of a large motor yacht *Ariadne*. Safely docked at 4p and then went to walk around the Seaport Museum as it closed at 5p. Grounds close at 6p but when you stay at the marina, admission is part of docking fee and you can come and go from an after hours gate by contacting security. Some beautiful tall ships and the active boatyard is impressive, as are the restoration projects. Back to *baji-naji* and decided to take *Boji* out.

Headed under the Route 1 highway bridge, did not need to wait for the opening haha.

Live music at the park! Tried to get video but they went on break just as I had the camera out.

Back under the bridge. Have a video clip of us under which will be added when we can use the laptop

View of the Seaport and one of the tall ships they are renovating

You can just see our bow peeking out (to the right of the green)

The *Charles Morgan,* a 3 masted whaling ship

I-95 dead ahead. I'm afraid they don't raise or rotate that bridge for anyone

American or British egret fishing? Hahaha

And there's our girl, looking a bit modern for her setting.

We had a lovely view of the sunset as Laz filled the forward water tank

My version of the Farm salad for dinner.

A lovely evening. Headed for Block Island tomorrow

Tue July 18 Up before 0730 to try and catch the 0840 Mystic Highway Bridge opening. Got to Anchor coffee shop at 0755 and walked in when it opened @ 0800. Delicious egg, turkey bacon and cheese on a Kaiser roll and mixed berry braided danish. Only ate 1/2 the sammy and a bit of the danish, Laz had the rest. Got a large mocha as well.

Sirens and flashing lights, which of course took precedence, but the bridge did open just past 0840. We had idled coming up to it, letting the current against hold us in place.

Got to the RR bridge…closed! Radioed the bridge keeper and he said to standby
Video of Acela going past and the bridge opening to follow

Headed down river to Noank which was almost as foggy as I remember from 20 years ago.

Followed our previous path out to Fisher Island Sound where the fog rolled in heavily. Had to wipe our glasses to see. At one point could barely see past the bow, so we opted to anchor behind the Stonington breakwater to see if it would clear.

JULY 19-31, 2023

June 2023