Day 105, 9.9.18, Finale

Our first cool morning since we left Narraganset Bay in May, and we turn on the diesel heater. Florence looks worse, so the decision is made to end our adventure here in Wickford. My father will drive down with Eclipse's trailer, and we'll haul out and be towed home. 

It's been a fabulous journey over some historical rivers and lakes and bays, with some great sailing, many hours of motoring, and many wonderful people met. Special thanks to many old friends including Roger and Mark, new friends like Bob and Barb Schumacher, Michael, and more, plus those who traveled with us – Peter, Mark, and Ira. 

Eclipse berthed at the dock in Wickford, RI - Awaiting our chariot to collect us and her

105 days upon this boat.
It has been home for nearly all of those 105.
By wind, by motor, by sun, by storm.
It was a place where summer's adventures were born.

105 days and today is 105.
We sit and wait amidst a flotilla of yachts.
What amazing memories this journey has brought.
Canals, Rivers, Ocean and Lake.
How many waterways did we actually take?
Business cards exchanged and friends we did make.
Now we sit in Eclipse, her mast is down.
Securing goods for travel as we await our chariot to arrive.
Eclipse shall mount upon wheels and take to the road.
Hurricanes loom with gales in the sound.
Alas we by water can't be Portsmouth bound.
Of all the places we visited, we could have driven in a day
For 105 days on this boat we steadily made our way
So much history to learn and stories that were told
The path we took, we saw each one unfold.
Each town, each place, offered a perspective unique
But an intertwined story between each was a surprise
Distances of a day were achieved in a week
But the places visited had stories reprised
105 days on this 26 foot boat.
104 of those days seemed to fly quickly through.
Day 105 is our last day afloat
And it feels like an eternity as we wait for the end.

Day 104, 9.8.18, Mystic Museum

Eclipse stays put today, and my friend Roger and Collette, his wife, who we visited with at the end of May, pick us up and we share the day at the Mystic Seaport Museum. What an amazing place. In addition to historic and period boats, they have extensive shop facilities for repairing and rebuilding wooden boats of considerable size, where the Mayflower II is currently under restoration. They have set up a rope walk, cooperage, chandelry, and a display of art on boats including figureheads. 

And we're constantly looking at the upcoming weather. Florence is playing hard to predict. And the remains of Gordon wash across the midwest. Different prediction models with different assumption parameters produce different scenarios especially this far away from the center of the storm. 

Steam powered cider mill on the way back from the museum.

Back at Eclipse for dinner, after picking up shrimp and flounder at a local seafood purveyor, we add a salad and enjoy the evening with Roger and Collette. 

Day 103, 9.7.18, Wickford

After the storm yesterday evening (west winds at 30knots), the wind shifted around to the north during the night. Our little bay doesn't provide shelter from this direction. We're rocking all night. Come morning, our first order of business is to find a better anchorage, which we do just beyond the Wickford Marina. Getting there involved bucking a 15 knot wind with waves. I can't imagine what the open ocean is like. 

But when we return to Eclipse after going ashore and checking out the town, the local gendarme has paid us a visit. It seems that anchoring is not allowed in Wickford harbor. We are forced to support one of the local marinas, and the town council and police support this.

So we're securely ensconced at the Wickford Marina, where we also have a shower, jacuzzi, laundry, wifi, and a kitchen at our disposal. 

Day 101, 9.5.18, Fishers Island

We're a little concerned about Tropical Storm Florence, making her way up the eastern seaboard. Early predictions were for 3-4 meter high waves, but now they've scaled that down to 1.5-2 meters. Still too much for us, plus winds over 20 knots. In two days we can make it to Narraganset Bay and find a secure place for a few days. But to get there we need to keep heading east. 

We've got a good wind today, but it's out of the East, so we're close-hauled all day. Once the tide turns against us, about 1pm and as we pass Old Saybrook and the Connecticut River, we have no choice to but to motor-sail until evening.

Home for the night is in West Harbor on Fishers Island, NY. A few other sailboats are anchored with us. Pork chops and rice pilaf completes the day.

Wednesday afternoon sailboat races off New London

Sunset, prayer flags, and Partial Eclipse

Day 100, 9.4.18, Clinton CT

One Hundred days on Eclipse!

Gentle winds all day that sometimes went to nothing. We sailed when we could and motored when we had to. Along the way we saw two seals.

As evening approached we pulled into Clinton CT, and as if on cue, the wind finally picked up for a bit, then died again.

Perfect timing, as we tied up to the dock at Shanks Seafood restaurant, my sister was parking her car here too. We enjoyed a nice seafood combo platter and salad together, then shared a sundae. The staff were generous with giving us ice for the cooler and letting us stay tied up for the night.

View from the deck at Shank's

Dy 99, 9.3.18, Charles Island/Milford CT

Great sailing today. Nice wind out of the south, turning to more Southwest mid afternoon. We stopped in Black Rock harbor at Captain's Cove Marina were we met Tom who drives the courtesy launch. He let us tie up for free and enjoyed tales of our adventure. The gas dock jockey was surprised to hear that one can go by boat to all the places we visited. It's a short walk to a good grocery store, so we are well stocked again. 

Back out on the Sound we found ourselves looking at building cumulous clouds. We checked the radar and forecasts. But none of them developed into a serious threat. Home for the night is just off Charles Island near Milford, CT. 

Day 98, 9.2.18, Sheffield Islands

The forecast is for winds from the South. Ha! Clueless weathermen. More winds from the East, and very light all day until 3pm, when we finally get some SE winds. But they don't last very long. It's a frustrating day of drifting and ghosting and hoping for winds, and using the motor. 

With very light winds we head for an anchorage in the Sheffield Islands. As we're scoping out the possibilities, the wind picks up. Shall we sail on? Shall we drop anchor? We choose to anchor, which was the right choice, as the winds soon died again.

Along way, we did our part for the environment by picking two helium balloons from the sea. 

Day 97, 9.1.18, Oyster Bay

Getting out of New Rochelle at low tide is a slalom course between buoys and rocks and twisty channels. But soon we are out on the broad Sound. The wind is in our face (what a surprise, eh?) but strong and steady, so we make good progress often sustaining 5+ knots. 

For lunch we take a break and swim ashore to Little Captain's Island, a park owned by the city of Greenwich. Most people come here by ferry, and being the start of Labor Day Weekend, there's a good crowd.

Little Captain's Island

Back at sea, we cross to the Long Island side of the Sound and find an anchorage in Oyster Bay. We joined a veritable traffic jam of sailboats coming into the harbor. We heard there might be music at a local bar, so we rowed ashore but alas 'twas not to be. We strolled through town and learned that Theodore Roosevelt had a summer home here.