Categories
Ashore Travel

Portland

Sailing into Portland was another bucket list experience – we’d vacationed here almost 20 years ago and I remember talking way back then about how cool it would be to arrive on our own boat someday. For a lighthouse nerd (me), it was so incredibly cool to pass so many (I promise you’re going to […]

Categories
Ashore Travel

Portsmouth

Friday morning we sailed for Portsmouth. We chose to get an early start so we could catch what little breeze was forecast for the day, and sailing out past Beverly was beautiful. We sailed past little rocky islands that looked like what we imagined Maine would be like, past Hospital Point Lighthouse and Bakers Island […]

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Ashore Travel Under Way

Cape Cod Canal to Salem

The Cape Cod Canal has been a bucket list thing for both of us for years, and we were super excited to finally do it. It was a gray, damp and chilly morning, and Chris and I were dressed for full-on winter… we even put on sneakers. But nothing could dampen our spirits as we […]

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Ashore Travel

(Almost) Home

Buzzards Bay has a (well earned) nasty reputation. In the summer, there’s a consistent southwesterly afternoon sea breeze, and with up to 5.5kts of current at its peak, the ebb tide flowing out of the Cape Cod Canal can cause some gnarly standing waves. Growing up nearby, this was not news to us, so we […]

Categories
Ashore Travel

Back to Block

Arriving back on Block is one of my favorite things in the world. I always look forward to our time here, even if this year it’s unusually short. We arrived to find another club member already on the HYC mooring, and while we normally would have rafted up, the wind was blowing 20-25 and they […]

Categories
Travel Under Way

Long Island Sound

We slipped the lines just before 1900, excited to return to cruising life and explore new places but sad to leave after such a short time. The temperature was SO much more comfortable as soon as we got out from behind David’s Island – it had been almost unbearably hot all week. We raised sail […]

Categories
Life Aboard

Just Visiting

We pulled into our slip on Friday morning, and at first I was so excited to be back. However it was admittedly strange… I couldn’t help feeling a little like an outsider. We’ve been away for so long, and we didn’t really see anyone all day, so it didn’t feel that much different than pulling […]

Categories
Travel

Preparing for Re-entry

Even though HYC is only a short hop from Port Washington, we always spend a little time here before heading home. I think part of it is preparing ourselves for re-entry… it’s a bit of a shift from cruising mode to life at home, and Port Washington is a good spot to make that transition. […]

Categories
Travel Under Way

The Final Stretch

…And what a doozy it was! Objectively this was the worst passage we’ve had to date. I enjoyed it, but the weather definitely decided to test us. We got an early start on Friday, stopping for fuel in the C&D Canal. We were overtaken by a giant ship but otherwise had an easy transit but […]

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Ashore Travel Under Way

Naptown to Charm City and Beyond

Saturday morning, we slipped the morning lines to sail up to the Chester River. We were determined to get in at least a little bit more Chesapeake Bay cruising, and the Chester River looked like a great place to start. We raised the sails just past the mooring field and had a wonderful, fast sail […]