RI – MV Simple Life

We ended last winter season in the Abacos, Bahamas. It was an amazing experience to be able to spend so much time exploring the Abacos. When we heard that category-5 hurricane Dorian had made landfall on Elbow Cay in the Abacos we feared for the safety and well-being of the Bahamian people. Worse yet… Dorian seemed to stall out over Freeport in Grand Bahama Island.

Category 5 Hurricane Dorian over Freeport, Grand Bahama Island, Bahamas

Treasure Cay was our favorite spot in the Abacos and we were stunned to see that little more than the concrete bar top where we sat was left standing.

Destruction of all but the Concrete Bartop at Treasure Cay in the Abacos, Bahamas

Condos lining the shores of Treasure Cay, Abacos

I have been reading all the Bahamas Facebook group posts and find it inspiring to see how many US boaters are making their way back to the Abacos to help with the reconstruction efforts. If it works out, I would be proud to join the Abacos support group.

This summer was very busy for me and I only got to take the boat out for a couple of weekend trips to Newport, RI. Thanks Preppy for convincing me to stop working on projects and get out there. The rest of the summer was spent on boat projects and family matters.

My sister got married to her boyfriend of many decades, Michael. They were kind enough to let me officiate their marriage. Just call me Father Mahty 😉

Seeing my family after being away all winter is something I look forward to.

Spending the summer on the docks means lots of nights spent with friends.

Preparing to spend all winter cruising somewhere warm means having the boat hauled and put on the hard for new bottom paint, zincs, and hull waxing. This year I was managed to get all that done is only 4 long days. Each night after the working long days under the boat, it was time to walk over to the marina fire pit and relax.

After being under the boat all day a fire & IPAs are just perfect

There is nothing like a clean bottom.

Now it was time to use the marine travel lift and splash her back in the water.

Fall 2019 Splash Down

I got back into my slip just in time for a nor’easter that blew three moored boats in my marina ashore.

I will start off this winter’s cruise with friends and fellow cruisers, Buddy & Renee. They are long-time sailors and just fun to have aboard. They put their beautiful Tartan 44 on the hard and came aboard but before casting off. … we set out to celebrate!

Now the time has come to cast off the lines so stay tuned for the next post detailing the first leg of our odyssey.

PtJudithSunrise2 — Pt. Judith, RI – Harbor of Refuge @ Sunrise

We departed Harbor of Refuge @ sunrise this morning. We felt a sense of urgency due to a gale warning (gusts to 35 knots) which is in effect beginning Thursday afternoon. The cause is two separate low pressures that are having a complex interaction West of our current location.

Below is a rough depiction of our second leg of our journey South. Our course took us from Pt. Judith’s Harbor of Refuge, outside Fishers Island to Morris Cove Anchorage in New Haven, CT.

Today’s cruise was long but relaxing. The sun was streaming in windows making the pilothouse warm as we made way @ 8.5kts West down Long Island Sound.

We saw only a few sport fishing boats and had to dodge the occasional ferry crossing our path.

Every captain knows it’s better to take the stern of larger vessels rather than attempt to cross her bow. Ten or so years ago I had a close with a US battleship @3AM in pea-soup fog in Norfolk, Virginia’s entrance channel. Our close call was not a crossing issue but instead the warship was inbound in the channel and was not basting fog signals. After they suddenly appeared on radar from under the Chesapeake Bay bridge/tunnel we quickly blasted our horn. When they responded with their horn I swear my ears blew out. The warship quickly passed us not 100′ off our port beam (frightening in the fog). A shout out to that day’s offshore crew – Eddie, Sean and Amy who can attest to this poop-your-pants experience.

After this harrowing experience, we installed Kahlenberg triple trumpet air horns as well as AIS (Automatic Identification System) in Simple Life.

AIS equipped vessels can each view on their chart plotter the other’s vessel name, size, speed, heading and course-magnetic. AIS works by sending & receiving digital data over VHF channel 70 so that two ships can see each other on their chartplotter screens even without radar. I have also learned to that programming your marine VHF with a MMSI # make ship2ship communications easier when it’s dark or foggy.

Tomorrow our plan is to push west down the coast of Connecticut with hopes of catching the 4.8kt ebb tide through the East River (where the dead bodies are found on many Law & Order episodes). Kelly & I always enjoy the East River’s Hell’s Gate (where the Harlem River meets the East River). Hell’s Gate is infamous due to the strong currents that mix in the way a washing machine mixes water.

We hope to make the Liberty Island Marina in Jersey City by sunset on Thursday. We’ll spend two nights at the marina while we wait for more favorable weather for our trip down the Jersey coast. Until then we’ll just sit on anchor watching the lights from New Haven.

Tag: RI

MV Simple Life – Summer 2019

New Haven CT & Gale Warnings