Block Island

New Harbor our destination is located on the west side of Block Island. We gybed just outside the breakwater and sailed up the entrance channel on a broad reach. Once inside of Great Salt Pond we sailed from one end to the other just looking things over and scoping out a good spot to anchor. We have visited New Harbor several times in the past. In fact Sally rode out hurricane Carol in 1954 with her family on a small boat anchored in Great Salt Pond. We finally settled down in a little cove on the eastern edge of the Pond.

A group of Cormorants also liked our cove. They were diving for fish in the relatively clear water. We could see the bottom in some detail at a depth of 8 feet. We dined on pasta and tomato sauce as the skies began to darken. In the morning the wind had not yet switched to the N and was just 5 kts from the SW. We decided to have a more relaxed morning as it seemed like we were almost home.

We stayed very comfortable though it was in the 50's by morning.

You can see it is broad daylight as I am packing up my sleeping gear. The new stove box is visible on the galley table.

 Raising sail around 8am. The mizzen always goes up first.

 The wind was light as we glided around the Harbor looking over the old Coast Guard Station.

 The skies are looking pretty interesting and we still have a 12nm crossing to make.

 This opening to the sea was dug in 1895. We slipped out with a light wind from the W. Several boats were coming and going.

We headed North along the Bock Island shore wanting to get a look at the North Light House.

 The North Light was built on Sandy Point in 1867. Much of the north end of Block Island is a nature preserve and it is incredibly beautiful.

 Right in here somewhere the wind began to shift to the NW and gust. The clouds seemed to darken and lower. We had been sailing within a hundred yards of what was becoming a lee shore. I decided to put a little sea room between us and beach while we discussed one reef or two.

I put one reef in the main and there were times over the next few hours that I wished I had reefed down harder. The wind began to build and continue to veer to the north. Just the direction we wanted to sail. One thing in our favor. The Long Island Current was flowing north along this eastern side of Block Island and the current was flowing east between Block Island and the mainland. We could see a distinct line of funny water paralleling the sand bar that extents about a mile from Sandy Point north towards the mainland. Even though we had plenty of water we did not like the look of that line and so we pushed further north. Finally we set our course for Point Judith just crossing the northern edge of the rip. I was plenty warm when we left New Harbor but now I was beginning to chill as the air cooled and we started getting wet from the intermittent showers and spray flying back at us as Skorpa shouldered into the building waves. The boat felt solid but I did not feel like I could relax as the wind was gusty. There was a tug towing a barge across our course and we helped each other keep track of it and other smaller traffic in the lowering visibility. There was a time when we were a long way from Block Island and Point Judith was just a smudge on the horizon and each tack seemed to bring us no closer. I brought up the line from the song the Walloping Window Blind.

 The man at the wheel was made to feel
Contempt for the wildest blow-ow-ow
Tho' it often appeared when the gale had cleared,
That he'd been in his bunk below.


 Well there was no hiding in a bunk below for us. Just tack and hike, and tack and hike and duck the spray, and trust that we were making progress. And sure enough first Point Judith Light came into view and then the breakwater was visible. We could see the ferry coming from Block Island and making in through the west gap. The wind grew light as we entered the Harbor of Refuge. I lit the stove and made some tea. The incoming tide welcomed us as we sailed through the breachway and headed for home.

Fata Morgana

Stratification of layers of air of differing temperatures and densities producing optical illusions, mirages. Named after Morgan le Fay the powerful sorceress and antagonist of King Arthur. At sea Fata Morgana can make distant objects appear to float above the horizon, it can make objects appear larger and or much closer than they really are.
I cooked some hot cereal and fixed coffee while the stars were still out and we left Napatree just after 7am. The wind was NNW about 5 kts. That made for a very gentle sail but since the wind was behind us we made nice progress. We could see surf breaking occasionally over the Catumb Rocks. We kept them to our left and Fisher Island away off to the right. The tide was just beginning to ebb out of Long Island Sound so we kept our course about 10 degrees further west to compensate for the eastward drift. When I hear the weather forecast saying Winds NW 10 kts becoming SW 10-15 kts by afternoon. I imagine the wind blowing NW for awhile then switching and blowing from the SW. It is usually more like wind starts to fade from the NW, wind calm, a little breeze from the W, wind calm, a little breeze from the NW, wind calm, a little breeze from the W. This goes on for what seems like a very long time before eventually the wind is strong from the SW. A few Lions Mane jellyfish drifted by and Sally rowed for awhile before the wind gradually began to build
Long Island began as a few smudges on the horizon. They slowly grew and filled in as we worked our way south.A particularly unusual looking bump near the eastern tip on Montauk is a radar antenna built during the cold war. Morgan le Fay"s witchcraft caused it to grow into what looked like a giant toadstool floating a bit above the horizon. Sorry but these kinds of things don't photograph well.

Montauk Lighthouse built in 1796. The radar antenna is off screen to the right. Not as pretty. Our original plan had been to spend the night in Lake Montauk. However Monday the winds are predicted to switch to the North as a cold front sweeps in. That could make for a long slog directly into the wind back to Point Judith. There is much here that I would like to explore, but our slow passage from Watch Hill, and the deteriorating weather forcast means there is insufficient time to explore the harbors and islands of eastern Long Island so they will have to wait for another time. We set a course for New Harbor on Block Island. The stiff breeze from the SW made for a rollicking ride. The wind was off our stern and we surfed some of the two foot waves.

It was about 1pm when we left Montauk astern and not yet 3pm when we completed the 15nm crossing.

Gone Sailing

Point Judith is a nice place to sail from. You can head south and west to Long Island Sound or north and east to Narragansett Bay or the Elizabeth Islands. Summer is coming to a close so it is now or never if Sally and I are going to get a trip in this year. We have been out sailing several times including an overnighter in the Harbor of Refuge. I did a solo trip over to Block Island returning the same day, but I really wanted to do a multi day trip, cover a few miles and explore some new places. On one day trip in the Harbor of Refuge we spotted the intriguing shape of a small cat ketch. We came about and sailed over for a closer inspection and were pleased to recognize that it was Jeff and his two sons in his Core Sound 20. In a brief shouted exchange Jeff reported that they had just sailed in from Montauk. That was a 25 nm sail with a 15+ knot wind off their stern quarter. That would have made for an incredible 4 or 5 hour sleigh ride. Wow I've always wanted to go to Montauk. I shouted back.

 That was the nudge I needed. I started looking for a three day block of available time with a decent weather window. Then a menu and check list and finally packing the boat.

Sally is at the tiller sailing past Jerusalem on the way out of Point Judith Pond.

Wind NW 10-15 knots heading west along the Rhode Island coast toward Watch Hill. Watch Hill came into sight around noon about the same time the wind backed around to the West. This necessitated tacking back and forth through Watch Hill Passage.

A few years ago Sally and I drove to Watch Hill and hiked around Napatree Point. We spotted several interesting shore birds including some Piping Plovers. It was exciting and very different approaching the area from sea, but having visited the area before from land was comforting and made it easier to get our bearings.We rounded Red # 6 taking us around Napatree Ledge. I was pretty sure there was plenty of water inside the bouy and I could see a small boat taking the shortcut over the ledge but we decided to play it safe and round the point well outside all of the rocks. As we rounded the point and looked inside towards our intended anchorage we could see surf breaking. That gave us some additional incentive to stay outside and approach cautiously.

We headed towards the large sandbar that clogs the entrance to Little Narragansett Bay as we approached the bar we hove too for a few moments to plan our next move. We could head over towards Stonington and pick up the marked channel. That would take us over to Watch Hill Cove but it was a couple of miles out of our way following a narrow but marked and dredged channel. Our anchorage was in sight less than a mile across the shallows. As we were discussing the situation we observed a small power boat cutting across the flats and we could see he was following some private markers. Then another boat did the same and we decided to follow. We had a fair wind so in no time we were in deep water just outside Watch Hill Cove.
There were quite a few boats around from power boats to a 45 foot ketch. We moved as far towards the point as we could until the water began to shoal then we dropped the hook a couple of hundred feet from the sandy beach.

This is the sound side of Napatree Beach. Skorpa is facing NW into the shallows of Little Naragansett Bay. Watch Hill is in the background. I let out an extra 100 feet of scope and by pulling on an oar we were able to force the stern towards the shore and step out into a few inches of water. Nothing like getting your feet on solid ground after a passage.

Sally enjoys looking through the wrack for interesting stuff.

Sally is on the short path that leads through the dunes from the sound side to the ocean. After a nice walk we clambered back on board and started supper. Curried rice and vegetables cooked in our pressure cooker made a tasty meal. We had a very quiet night. The wind veered north and eased off a little. The tide went out making the water surrounding our anchorage quite shallow and offering us more protection from the waves.
The wind was predicted to shift from NW to SW on Sunday. We decided to try for an early start so we could ride the favorable winds as far as we could toward Montauk.