We are slowly working our way east.  We traveled along the Connecticut coast and visited Charles Island, The Thimble Islands and Mystic.  We had our foulies and toured the Mystic seaport in pouting rain.  We were one of 2 visiting boats the weekend we were there.  That’s been our experience in most harbors so far. Not many boaters , yet?.  It’s been wet and cold but I’m not sure if it’s due to that, or the economy.  We’re bound to run into nice weather at some point and then we’ll know.

We spent a few days on Block Island and we had a glimpse of summer weather. We arrived in afternoon fog, but then enjoyed a couple of sunny days and biked all around the island.  Not much has changed in the 30 years that I’ve been going there – except for the price of real estate.  Literally a one room shack was on the market for $500K

I spent a rainy day travelling back to Long Island to visit family and bring the car up to New England.  After Block Island we travelled to Point Judith and yesterday sailed into Rhode Island Sound and the southern tip of Naragansett Bay.

I’m trying my hand at whipping and knots – sounds kinky doesn’t it.  Today I mastered a Turk’s head, which is a great flat knot for trivets and rugs.  I bought an awl and have been repairing canvas and the catamaran’s trampoline. Tim was in the dinghy under the boat and he waited while I fed the line to him so he could act as the bobbin tension.

Photos my follow if all goes well with Pixelpipe

We’ve finally made some movement.  We left the Great South Bay out the Fire Island Inlet and headed west.  Our first stop was Jones beach, where we were fogged in for a few days. Then to Rockaway Inlet, where I went ashore and relied on mass transit to get around.  We had dinner at Randazzo’s on Sheepshead Bay, a throwback to my past in Brooklyn 30 years ago!

Winds have been in th 15- 20 knot range and we’ve worked with our reefing system but lost a batten to the seas one day.  We ventured up the East River and met some big boats – almost too close- at Hell Gate.  That day we passed under 9 bridges – all of which we cleared and made it to City Island, where we were able to replace the batten and get ice cream!  Then it got cold and windy again.  We headed to our last home harbor in Cold Spring Harbor and spent several days there and got to see family.

We’ve both been atop the mast with more trips planned.  Most of our rain leaks seem to be in check and we are presently in Stony Brook Harbor.  We biked an hour and a half yesterday to have dinner with friends and I think after we head to Port Jefferson later today when the rain lets up, we’ll pick up the car again.

I’m working with a new photosite and expect to see pics here at any minute.

Well we have moved aboard our catamaran.  We have been finishing work on the boat and addressing new challenges as they occur.  The most traumatic part of the move was leaving my cats with my son.  One had not been seen for about 2 weeks but we suspected he was coming in to eat.  I brought my daughter home from college yesterday and after she was home for about 2 hours at her dad’s house, the missing cat appeared.  My son thought he was dreaming when he awakened in the middle of the night to find his cat in bed with him!

We are adjusting to our new space.  We may have more storage room than anticipated.  Food, clothing, boat gear and most knitting supplies are neatly tucked away.  The sceond stateroom is largely a storage space.

It rained the week before our launch and then during about the first week on the boat.  Leaks sprouted, we broke a solar panel, we had the sailmaker here to adjust the sail cover, lazy jacks and third reef point.  We caulked and caulked again.  Both DH and I have been aloft to work on the mast.  DH rebuilt the marine head when it stopped functioning. There was so much to do, at times I didn’t appreciate the settings.

We left Fire Island and sailed to Blue Point where we stayed for about 3 days.  That was where there were torrential rains and winds and all sorts of leaks were found.  From there we went to Watch Hill on Fire Island, which is a beautiful national park and the marina hadn’t opened yet so noone else was there and the price was right.  From there we headed to the Patchogue River for mother’s day weekend because we had a lot of commitments with family and friends.  The setting was lovely and the sun finally broke through.  We sailed with friends and walked the boardwalks at Watch Hill.

Early this week we headed to Timber Point, another beautiful park.  There are ospreys, terns, red winged blackbirds, barn swallows and i think yellow warblers.  I am beginning to settle in and enjoy the sights and sounds.  Today we’ll head towards New York Harbor and we’ll spend next week in harbors on the north shore of Long Island.