Where have we been? Big City Living!

I can't believe we haven't updated this blog since the end of March, and here it is mid-June! It's 70 outside, the sun is shining and I'm listening to the sounds of a rocking concert across the harbor in the Seaport. Yup - that's right, we're living it up in the big city, Boston - East Boston to be exact. We're at the Boston Harbor Shipyard & Marina in the Jeffries Point neighborhood of "Eastie". We are right across the harbor from the Seaport District and the World Trade Center. We've been here exactly one month today. We have lots to share about our projects and prep this spring and then our trip south from Portsmouth to Boston, but for now I'll share a little slice of life from this first month here in Boston. 

The view off the stern of Zephyr - that big 'ole red boat is the Nantucket Light Ship

The transition has been a bit tough, not going to lie, the change from the quiet, quaint, forested lands of New Hampshire and Maine to the constant hustle and bustle and WAVY, ROCKY waters of Boston Harbor has taken some getting used to. The marina is a bit more 'industrial' and with not so many luxuries but the view is quiet something! The whole city skyline is laid out before us. Not to mention the entire city is at our fingertips, the T into downtown is a 10-minute walk and the city water taxis pick up right on our pier! There's a funky, fun place called KO Pies right inside the Shipyard that serves authentic Australian pies and Harpoon on tap. It's a lot of fun and only a 3 minute walk from the deck of our boat. 

Toby is getting used to city living, loving all the smells! 

Our dock, F-Dock is almost entirely sailboats and a few young liveaboards! We're all the way at the end on the right.

The skyline at night is quite spectacular 

The Shipyard is part of Harbor Arts Shipyard Gallery so throughout the piers and buildings are fantastic works of murals, sculptures, installations and more. 

My two loves on our new dock 

Great view for walking Big Guy 

 We've been trying to fall into our groove here in Boston but with the onset of summer weather life's been busy with F-U-N! We have also been spending a lot of time at the Cape House getting that place ready to rent for the summer. The couple of weekends we've spent in Boston have been great fun! Tim's brother Andrew and a bunch of his good buddies all live around the corner from the marina so, needless to say, this first month has included A LOT of boat drinks! Bridget from NYC even came aboard for a few and crazy thunderstorm!

We are definitely liking the array of options in front of us for going out - the options for live music especially, but also for going out to eat - innumerable cuisine types from every culture, loads of delicious Latino food in Eastie. On a Tuesday we were able to go to a really cool club in Cambridge and catch a nationally touring bluegrass band that we love - Chatham County Line. Great craft beer line up, delicious food and incredible music. It was AWESOME! And on a Tuesday! Certainly not something we could do in Portsmouth! 

Toby got his summer shave - he's ready for the beach!

The highlight of the past month by far was definitely this past weekend - we finally got off the dock and went sailing! Woo Hoo! On Sunday morning we hit up The Green Bean Food Truck that parks every Sunday morning in the Shipyard - bombing breakfast sandwiches & iced coffee. Crowds of folks show up in the Shipyard - Dogs Welcome - and chow down while overlooking the harbor. 

After that we welcomed Andrew and his bright, short-shorts called Chubbies aboard and prepped the boat to cast off. It was GORGEOUS out, 80 degrees, full sun and a light breeze. After talking to our next door boat neighbor we set our sights on Great Brewster Island, part of the Boston Harbor Islands National Park. He raved about its seclusion, easy anchoring and breezes. We haven't yet upgraded our anchor, though we very much upgraded our chain and rode - keep posted for another post on that topic - so we thought, well, we can at least try a "lunch hook". 

Sailing out of the marina you're right in the mix and mayhem of Boston's Inner Harbor, the "Rules of the Road" that we learned in sailing school were very much put to the test. We had an upwind sail tacking back and forth to make our way out to the outer harbor. There were ferries barreling past, booze cruise boats, jet skis, powerboats, sailing school boats, yachts and more! Not to mention 747's flying overhead and a giant container ship! WHEW! The crew did great! We had great boat speed and made meaningful tacks to make our course. 

Great crew - brings mimosas & steaktips & a mean Farmers Tan, thanks Dupree!

I wasn't kidding about the short-shorts - long live Chubbies!

Spectacle Island

As we got out to the outer harbor the winds picked up nicely and we were making 6.5 knots on a close hauled sail - very nice! The temperature was at least 15 degrees cooler out there and it felt amazing! Zephyr was loving it! We approached Great Brewster Island and pulled in close to shore and Andrew and I started to deploy our anchor, she set in, we all took a visual spot on shore and made sure the boat wasn't moving and then we set about CHILL-LAX-IN! We grilled up steak tip sandwiches, I cast off the fishing pole to troll for stripers we jammed out to the Dead and enjoyed the solitude and sun. 

The sandy cliffs of Great Brewster - gorgeous! 

Trolling for stripers with the city skyline off our stern

Toby LOVED roaming around while at anchor

Toby loves to sail, motoring not as much.

Our windlass which brings up the anchor had a bit of a snafu since we've upgraded our chain to a 3/8ths size it was jamming up the windlass. Lucky for us Andrew has been hitting the gym and was able to haul the anchor by hand! We 'weighed anchor' and set sail back towards the city. It was a nice, peaceful downwind sail at about 3.5 knots, not bad. We even had a wing-on-wing sail set up going on for a bit. We had bluegrass tunes spinning and soaked up the late day sun, feeling quite good about our first anchoring success.

That is until we were very closely buzzed by 747 transatlantic jet! WHOA! That was close and very loud! Poor Toby was shaking for the next 1/2 hour...sorry Boo!

We sailed right into the harbor only furling and putting the engine on as we were outside the marina entrance. 

Relatively smooth docking - still have things to learn - and then some cold beers at the KO Pie Shop as the sun set. All in all it was a FANTASTIC Sunday! We can't wait to get back out there! 

We are still finding our comfort zone here in Boston and find there are moments of homesickness for the fabulous Seacoast we left and all the awesome friends and boat neighbors we left, but so far, we've been enjoying the newness, the change and the challenges. Life's richness is found in moments of change and challenge. 

Reliving our Summer Cruise: Part 2

As winter rolls on we did get a small glimpse of spring this past weekend which just whet our appetite for warmer days and sailing! We cranked up Mr. Perkins (our diesel engine) and he started right up! After months of dormancy, he was a total rock star and cranked up and purred like a lion (not as quiet as a kitten, let's be honest, it's an old diesel). Just the smell of the diesel and the grumbling of the engine in our home reminded us that this isn't just a floating apartment, but it's a vehicle to freedom and following our dreams. It feels so good to have had even the littlest promise of warmer weather and open waters. Not going to lie - this winter has been a tough one. 

So, in keeping with our escapism, we thought we'd write the second part of our summer cruise in Casco Bay. Last we wrote, we were moored in Cape Porpoise Harbor and were about to celebrate Tim's 34th birthday. We set off heading north with Chebeague Island as our destination. 

We cast off the mooring, the sun was shining, sky was blue, fog had lifted and it was a perfect breeze to unfurl ALL THREE sails. Though we don't have a lot of experience sailing ketch rigged boats we started very quickly realizing how great it is. There's a lot more options for sail configurations dependent upon the wind direction and strength. The mizzen sail is aft of the cockpit and that allows for a lot more stability on the back side of the sailboat giving the boat a better ability to hold a line. 

A very happy 34 year old skipper -great way to celebrate his birthday! 

 Sailing is very peaceful and there's also A LOT of time to sit and relax, enjoy and talk. 

One fun thing we did to pass the time was to read all about the travels of Captain Cook. This book is a modern day reliving of Cook's voyage with fantastic glimpses into Cook's original logs and travels. Juxtapose to our travels through Casco Bay this was a cool way to have your mind engaged while we sailed. Highly recommend this book! 

Sailing through the rocky coast islands of Casco Bay on our approach to Great Chebeague Island

We reserved a mooring off the Chebeague Island Inn, a classic 1920's hotel with grand porch up on the bluff overlooking Casco Bay. It was perfection AND the mooring was free for Inn dinner guests! 

Before dinner we took a swim, diving off the boat and had some birthday cake that I baked while underway - my first underway baking experience!

It supposed to say "Tim" in strawberries...good try! 

The mooring field and all the islands of Casco Bay off in the distance - absolutely gorgeous. 

The golf course leading up to the Inn, the mooring field basked in the pink sunset

We got all "dolled up" -- as best we can from a boat -- and made our way up to celebrate Tim's birthday dinner. 

A very happy birthday boy & the grand Inn in the background

Classically Maine 1920's lobby with the deck beyond

View from the porch - you can see Zephyr just beyond the house on the right

Dinner of lobsters, mussels, steak and wine finished with some birthday cake in the cockpit! Quite a perfect 34th birthday for Tim, and to think his 33rd birthday was celebrated aboard a training sailboat outside Newport - think we might be on the right track! 

The next day we decided to explore the island a bit on foot, we needed to provision and get some ice so we set off with Toby across the island. What a FANTASTIC island. The roads are narrow, forested and no joke, EVERY SINGLE person in a car waved at us. Apparently that's 'the thing' on Chebeague, the locals wave to everyone. What a fantastic feeling! We passed this funny little roadside bar called the Slow Bell Cafe, and the sign out front said - BAND BEYOND DESCRIPTION, yup, that's right, that night was going to be a Grateful Dead cover band - how perfect. We did consider sticking around on the mooring so we could go to the show but the nature of cruising and sailing is that you get itchy to move onto to the next adventure...Next up...we head further north to Potts Harbor and onto to Sebasco Harbor Resort in Harpswell. 

Stay tuned...

Reliving Our Summer Cruise: Part 1

So after another foot+ of snow fell on us yesterday and I'm battling another winter cold I thought it was a prime time to finally blog about our amazing 2-week summer cruise. I've been saving the pics and the stories until I needed to relive them and since my SAD and cabin fever has set in in a big way I think now's the perfect time. Since there's a lot to share I'll split it into a few blog posts...today's: preparations and casting off. 

The first step in planning a two-week cruise is mapping out the route. We looked at our charts, did some online charting and chatting with friends and fellow boaters and laid out our route. As is the reality in all sailing adventures, plans are like sand at low tide - ever changing. Weather, boat issues and winds determine more of your plans than anything else. But, we planned to cast off on Sunday, July 28th, we'd planned to sail east to the Isle of Shoals for an overnight just to kick off the trip and then point north into Maine. 

So, first we had to provision the boat. I'd done A LOT of reading of other bloggers provisioning lists, The Boat Galley cookbook's list and about a million other lists and created our 4-page master spreadsheet. 

 Seeing that over 6 months later we're still eating some of the provisions, I think it might have been overkill. Oh well, you can never have enough cans of black beans! The pink section of the spreadsheet - "Ditch Kit" is what we had put aside in case you know, we had to ditch out on the boat! It's important to have some non-perishable snacks and lots of water on hand just in case the worst happens. It was a lot of fun to plan out what we might eat day in and day out but the reality is that it's not like we were in some remote anchorage with no shore side services most of the spots we planned on staying at had restaurants and bars right on the water that we could dinghy into. Lesson learned, less provisions, more beer money! :)

That's a lot of food! Miraculously we stored it all away safely, this boat has LOTS of great storage. 

Labels come off of cans in the moisture of a boat
so instead of playing the guessing game, we mark them

Hammock fulla snacks. My co-worker Phil gifted us this hammock from his
 family's boat when they sold it. 

So after stowing the provisions, fixing last minute things, checking engine we were finally ready to go - and that's when the pea soup fogged rolled in. We made the decision to stay put with the fog and some big seas and the fact that we didn't really have to leave on Sunday to stay on track for our trip we sat put. 

The next morning we cast off the lines and headed to the Wentworth Fuel dock, well almost, as we approached the dock we stupidly went to the inside of the red nun and OOPS - we ran aground! Yup, about 10 feet off the fuel dock we were stuck. The saying goes that any boater that tells you they've never run aground is lying. So here was our first and most likely not our last experience. Spencer, the Wentworth Manager hauled us off the mud with the launch. They told us, "If this is the worst thing that happens on your 2-weeks, you're be doing great!" With red faces and a bit humbled we passed the breakwater and set off from Little Harbor at 11:15am. 

Still quite foggy but flat seas

2KR marks the entrance to Portsmouth Harbor

Sailing with the Auto Pilot & Chief Engineer, Toby on duty 

We made way at about 2 knots until we reached Gerrish Island and then decided to turn on the "iron genoa" so we could ensure we'd make it to Cape Porpoise, Kennebunkport in time for happy hour - priorities. We connected with the Harbormaster to see about any free moorings and there was one! We were in luck and it was FREE! Baird #47, my lucky number! We hooked the mooring at 4:30 and within 5 minutes of settling the VERY thick, pea soup fog rolled in and blanketed us. We couldn't even see the harbor channel we'd just passed through! 

The entrance to Cape Porpoise Harbor

Captain and Chief Engineer relaxing as the fog rolls in

Blanketed in by fog all around us 

Zephyr moored next to a lobster dock as we dinghy into shore, there were other boats around us, but the fog was so thick you couldn't see them!

We decided to dinghy into shore to walk Big Guy and explore the town a bit, maybe grab a happy hour drink or two. The harbor is so quintessentially Maine from the briny lobster docks to the fisherman's co-op to the dinghy dock full of old steel dinks. We wandered around Cape Porpoise which is gorgeous and decided to play fetch with Toby in a lot behind the local grocery. Well, Toby found the real treat behind the lot -- a mud pit. He came out and looked like a black lab. Our first night of the cruise and we've got a stinky, smelly, filthy dog on our hands - sweet! The local church's hose was a God send - literally. 

Cape Porpoise is so quintessentially Maine, worth a trip! 

Toby looks quite satisfied with himself - mud is always worth it! 

We walked a bit more and then hit up The Ramp, a fun, funky waterside bar that's part of

a nicer restaurant. Adirondack chairs on the harbor and cold beers, sweet! Toby waited for us tied on the dinghy dock while drying out from his mud fest. We then ventured back to the boat to cook up a feast of grilled chicken - we love our stern mounted propane grill and fresh corn. Asleep on the mooring, away from the docks was fantastic. 

The fog started to lift as we dinghyed back to the boat for dinner

Next up...the fog lifts and Tim celebrates his 34th birthday in the islands of Casco Bay. 

(And I was right, reliving this fantastic trip has totally helped get me out of my mid-winter funk and gets me excited for next summer, so stay tuned for more!)