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!)

The Usual Chaos of Living Well...

Somehow we'd imagined our life aboard as being entirely different from land life, and though things are different, from the daily chores to the sounds and smells, life is still life. There's still a lot of life that goes on whether we're floating or still. That means life commitments, job commitments, house/boat guests, life events to celebrate...overall, time spent off the boat living life. One of our favorite quotes to describe our lifestyle is by poet Robert Lowell, "The usual chaos of living well."  And living well is exactly what we've been doing these past couple weeks.

Carrie from Texas comes to stay aboard in torrential rains! 

We haven't gotten as much time sailing as we'd like, no thanks to the torrential rains & 40 degree temps of Memorial Day weekend, we have been having a wonderful start to the summer. Full of laughs, visits and celebrations with old friends, happy hours with new friends, special times with family and adventures in OJ, the orange bus. If we can't be adventuring in our sailboat we can at least adventure in our other love, the VDub! There's just something about slow rolling around New England in a VW bus...

We found enough sun to visit Seapoint Beach in Maine, Carrie's never been to Maine!

Jill, Meggie & TK, also known as the 3 Musketeers at Notre Dame Academy

Meggie and Seth got married in Scituate on Memorial Day weekend. Fantastic catching up with Jill's old friends from high school & celebrating a wonderful couple! 

Wouldn't be Jill & Tim without some funny photo-ops 

Memorial Day Monday was spent 'straight chilling' on the bow. The sun was shining, the breezes blowing and we just laid about the boat doing nothing, answering to no one, enjoying the sweet life of living aboard.We hit some golf balls at the range, had some late afternoon beers at The Green Bean with some boat neighbors and took a long walk with Toby at sunset. Perfect kick-off to summer! 

Our neighborhood sure is glorious in the waning light of day...

Following the cold and rainy Memorial Day, in classic New England style, the temps rose 50* in less than a week and ushered in HOT and HUMID weather! It was pushing 95 on Friday! Lo and behold we discovered that Zephyr has a working A/C system - WHAT?! So we may not have had central heat all winter but we'll take central A/C! We took a fantastic dip in the Wentworth pool and sipped on frozen pina coladas Friday afternoon before hosting some new boat neighbors and friends for happy hour. 

The heat arrived just in time for a trip to Newport/Portsmouth, Rhode Island to celebrate Kate and Andrew's wedding. Tim grew up with Kate and her brother Tom was Tim's best man at our wedding. Rather than spend tons of money on a hotel we chose to get a campsite and park the bus for the night. The adventure to Rhode Island was a bit worrisome, you see, an air cooled bus + 95* heat + Boston traffic can make one very nervous...

But OJ rallied through and we made it just fine to our wonderful little patch of forest in Portsmouth, RI. Getting ready for a formal wedding out of the back of a VW bus at a campground is so much fun because of the sheer irony! 

We clean up pretty good! 

The wedding was GORGEOUS! In a mansion on the shore of Narragansett Bay. It brought back fond memories of our fantastic week sailing those waters last summer and elicited more planning and scheming for future trips! The celebration was so full of happiness and love CONGRATS KATE & ANDREW! 

The dudes on the grounds of the mansion 

 

Kate was a GORGEOUS bride - why she chose to include us 2 jamokes - not sure! :) 

The "Tim and Funny Portraits" series continues...

A flashback to another time at the Glen Manor House 

Gorgeous tablescapes with a fantastic backdrop

The adventure home in OJ had an additional two passengers/friends who ended up camping with us the night prior - I think they just wanted to experience the awesomeness that is rolling in OJ. 

Danielle, Matt & Toby Post-wedding snoozing in the back of the bus - Toby was all partied out!

Deluca and Timbo bus posing in East Boston - thanks for riding along Del!

So though we might not be getting as much sailing in as we'd thought we would we have been soaking up this special time with family and friends. In the not so distant future we'll be off cruising in the Caribbean and we won't have the opportunity to rejoice in all these special moments and celebrations and I know we'll be sad to miss them. So from now until we cast off the lines for good we'll be playing the balancing act that is life and loving every second of it, in other words, living very, very well! 

First Sail of the Season + an Awesome video!

We're blissfully living the good life at the Wentworth Marina now and loving it. The calmness of the harbor, no boat wakes rocking us awake at 6am, no jack hammers or beeping cranes or f-bomb dropping construction workers building bridges above our heads, no 6 knot currents and constant winds. It's glorious and all the more sweet because we can appreciate it after our winter in the river. 

On Cinco de Mayo we left Kittery, the whole marina gang came out to send us off & bid us farewell (till November). Our friends and boat neighbors from the houseboat "POUR HOUSE" Justin & Kim came aboard for the day, excited to get some time on the water as their sailboat "Lib" is still being commissioned for the spring. Our other boat neighbors Kristin and Bob from "Nautorious" were also moving over to the Wentworth the same time. Since you can only really operate on the river at slack tide we both cast off within 5 minutes of each other. 

S/V Nautorious casting off with the Badgers Island Marina Gang Send Off

As we motored down river Kristin, who is a fantastic photographer (check our her website), slowed their boat down a bit to take photos of us...how special it is to have these INCREDIBLE images of "Zephyr" - thank you Kristin!

Isn't she beautiful?! 

Tim at the helm

View from aboard - passing the New Castle lighthouse, Nautorious off our starboard side 

Rather than go straight over to the Wentworth the weather and winds were perfect for a sail! So we shook out our Genoa (front sail) and our mizzen (back sail), our main sail is still at the sail loft being repaired from our maiden voyage debacle. Zephyr felt GREAT, she's so wonderful under sail, handles so well, even in the 3-4 foot rollers in the Gulf of Maine. 

Kristin snapped this one as they turned to head into the harbor 

We followed along the coast of New Castle, Rye and into North Hampton just enjoying the calmness and serenity only found while under sail. The Gulf of Maine/Atlantic Ocean is still quite cold this time of year, only 48*, so when the winds shifted and started coming onshore it got a bit chilly for us. We tacked around and headed back towards the Wentworth preparing to celebrate Cinco de Mayo cockpit style. 

Probably the best part of the day - our friend Justin created a FANTASTIC video clip of our voyage! We are so happy to have this great memento of our first voyage of our first summer owning Zephyr! 

We came into our new slip at the Wentworth like pros, smooth and steady. We've already had our fair share of visitors - something about the Wentworth, people just LOVE to come visit! This weekend Jill's parents are coming and we're hoping to get out for a sail on Sunday and next weekend our good friend Carrie from Louisiana is coming to stay aboard. 

Mother's Day with Tim's family in the cockpit!

Painkillers - Yum! 

The sunsets are better in New Castle so Sundowners have become almost a daily necessity for us these days - Ah, summer is FINALLY here. We can't wait for many, many more sailing adventures, we've got plans scheming for a trip "Downeast" and to the Cape but for now, we're just soaking up the good life living the dream aboard. Cheers! 

Family Sundowners in the cockpit - nothing better! 

Tight Spaces and Things That Stink

  Can anyone guess what this post is about? A few weeks back, well before our move to the Wentworth Marina, the aft head (toilet) stopped working. This project never made any "to do list" mostly out of denial, I suppose. There was an odor that required the port hole being left open most of the winter and the door to the head remaining shut. I had read about everyone's head being a bit funky and honestly thought this was something to accept...and oh god...this is boat life. This is the part the "smiling ear to ear" cruisers do not tell you.

Note the wall mounted air freshener in an attempt to mitigate the "funk"

  

We have a Jabsco Electric head on board. Besides its large power consumption (leading to yet another project) it is quite nice. No hand pumping, push a button and waalaaa it is gone..in theory. Basically the way it works is sea water comes in and is pumped into the head, you do your business, hit the button, and everything disappears. Yay! Okay well, it leaves via a macerator (large grinder), is pumped again, and then travels through something called a "joker valve" (yup...a joker valve) then through a vented loop and into the holding tank. 

  

I spent a full weekend in this position and it's still not done

 When I started the project we could flush, but the toilet filled with too much water. A few message boards and boat friends later we deemed the joker valve the culprit. I picked up the Jabsco repair kit for my model from West Marine and replaced all kinds of parts: joker valve, impeller, wearing plates, and gaskets. After pulling the pump out of the bottom of the toilet I quickly realized like everything else these things need maintenance too. It was loaded with "stuff" and clearly was not running well. I got it all back together knowing I nailed this project. AHHHHH! Nope...toilet still fills with water and now it will not flush. 

  

  It is 4pm...John and Al are coming for boat drinks in 2 hours before Saturday night restaurant week dinner at Mambo! Jill made me some late lunch and with fuel in the tank, I went back to it.

 
  I rather hastily pulled the thing apart again, rebuilt it and installed it to the same result. At least I knew what I was doing this time around. I saw nothing wrong with what I did and put it back together expecting a different result with a sinking feeling in my stomach. I think "they" call that insanity! 

Oh my god, it's a vented loop!

  Day 2 - After an excellent dinner with friends, renewed energy and a clear head I set out to conquer this thing. After some basic troubleshooting I deemed I must have a clog in the discharge line. I split open the line and sure enough it was completely jammed with calcium deposits all the way through. I didn't waste anytime and began removing all kinds of panels, doors and hatches to gain access to the hoses. I ripped them all out and ran over to Jackson's Hardware (best, friendliest place ever) and picked up some new lengths.

This was the result of over tightening  a
plastic reducer  and home depot run
Sunday 8pm...it leaked (Jackson's was clearly
closed and had exactly the right part I
needed though on Monday)

This one of those pics I take to make sure I can
put it all back together again

After struggling a bit to get them hooked up working under the sink and behind walls, the toilet once again flushed way better than it had, albeit a few leaks...which are now fixed.  And it does not smell at all!!! However it still fills with way too much water...ahhhh. The problem still persists, but I know the fix. I need a loop on the water intake line from the ocean, as the toilet sits below the water line.
I wish it had been done right the first time. 

   

Sometimes you just have to love an old boat. It is projects like these that make it your own!

It's all worth it!!! First time out this year! Kristin, our neighbor took a few glory shots of us headed out! Check out Kristin's photography here!