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(Apologies that this post is coming a bit late- been pretty busy lately)
Since Libby is convalescing from her fall on Cuttyhunk a couple of weeks ago, John is committed to helping her around the house and needs to stay nearby. This left me with on my own for the weekend, and I resolved myself to make a fairly ambitious voyage. I had been to Fishers Island several years ago to visit my cousin, Margie, and her husband, Joe. They live near the water on the north side of the island with beach access to Chocomount Cove. Fishers would be a cruise of about 50 miles and the weather looked to be mixed. Since it would be a fairly long day of beating into the wind to get there, I decided to sail to Dutch Harbor on Narragansett Bay’s West Passage on Friday. Staying in Dutch for the night would make Saturday much easier.
I departed my slip Friday afternoon in unsettled weather. There were thunderstorms in the area on which I was keeping a close eye. The wind was from the SW at 5-15 knots. I made pretty good time, despite some fluky winds at times and was at anchor before sunset. There was not much happening in Dutch, other than some sort of outdoor auction at the RV park on Beaverhead point. That died down before too long and I was able to get a sound night of sleep.
I arose at dawn to a foggy scene out the port hole. There was a breeze blowing from the SW but the combination of warmer air over still very cold water made for some pretty low visibility. It went in and out, as fog is want to do, and there were times where I could see less than a quarter mile. After coffee and breakfast, I pulled up the anchor and got underway for the 32-mile sail to Fishers. The weather was forecasted to improve later in the day and perhaps I should not be so anxious to get started first thing in the morning. It would have been a better experience if I waited a few hours before heading out to sea. In the future, I’ll think things over a little more thoroughly and maximize favorable weather. As it was, I arrived at Fishers with a stiff breeze blowing and I could have avoided some of the becalmed conditions I encountered earlier if I had waited in Dutch.
It wasn’t necessarily bad; I did gain experience sailing with radar and AIS (Automated Information System) in the fog. Sailing in low visibility is a good skill to develop as there will be times when I can’t choose the conditions, on longer passages when I’m already out there and visibility deteriorates. What I didn’t expect was to start feeling a little queasy, but the mix of beam-on seas, no horizon to look at in the fog, and my lack of adequate sea legs made for some uncomfortable moments off Point Judith. Nothing terrible and I made it through without losing my breakfast, but there were a few burps happening out there. A combination of keeping my face to the wind while scanning the seas around me helped to settle the perturbations of my inner ear. Soon, the fog burned off and I was able to enjoy the sunshine and the view sailing along the RI and CT beaches toward Watch Hill Point, which marks the reefs at the east end of Fishers Island.
The most critical piece of equipment I have aboard Sans Souci, besides my own brain, is the autopilot. I had noticed that it was starting to become a bit “squishy,” not crisply controlling the direction we traveled. Sans Souci is equipped with a hydraulic, linear-drive autopilot, and I suspected that the unit was low on oil. The previous owner, Jeff had mentioned to me that this had happened before and that the drive had leaked some hydraulic oil under heavy load. Once I was anchored in Chocomount Cove, I surmised that I should look into the situation more closely. Luckily, there is relatively easy access to the unit behind a hatch aft of the quarter berth. As suspected, the drive was very low on oil. I topped it off and replaced the oil absorbing pads that had been placed around it so I could more easily monitor the location of the leak. This particular drive is original equipment, 24 years old, and may require a rebuild soon. I haven’t decided if I’ll buy a replacement and then get the original one rebuilt to keep as a spare; they’re about $800, so I’ll take some time to think about it.
I puttered around at anchor, working on some odd projects for the rest of the afternoon and then made myself a nice dinner of a hamburger, sautéed potatoes and Brussel’s sprouts. The sunsets on Fischer’s are famous and I was not disappointed this evening. I was able to get another solid night of sleep at anchor, although I will be a bit more choosy on anchor spots in the future. It did get a little rolly when the wind shifted to the west and my spot became a bit more exposed.
Sunday morning broke brightly and the wind forecast was W 10-15 turning SW 15-20. This would make for a perfect chance to break out my spinnaker (technically called a gennaker or drifter since it has a fixed clew). The drifter is a top-down furling sail which scoops the wind when sailing downwind.
I enjoyed an easy start to the day with winds on the lighter side. I checked the autopilot after it had been working for a while and saw no immediate signs of a leak. We continued toward Watch Hill Point in light air with drifter pulling us along. The morning wind can be variable and we motor sailed for a little while as I waited for a stiffer breeze. I did not have to wait long, the wind rose and we were able to sail east without the engine.
As we approached Newport and the East Passage of Narragansett Bay, the wind rose to over 20 knots, and I thought it best to furl in the drifter, recalling previous experiences with Sans Souci being over-powered. Furling the drifter before entering the East Passage was also a good idea since it was incredibly busy with boat traffic. It was chaos outside Newport Harbor and we transited the area as fast as I could. In the future, I’ll be choosing the slightly longer West Passage on Sunday afternoons!
Sans Souci and I enjoyed a lovely sail up the bay and made great time to Fall River. We covered the 52 miles in about 9 hours, making almost 6 knots– pretty good, considering the slow start. All in all, we covered over 100 miles and I encountered many different conditions, adding to my growing experience with Sans Souci. Upcoming, I’ve got some projects to complete before I sail again. I’m not sure how interesting the projects will be but I’ll update with anything notable.
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(Apologies that this post is coming a bit late- been pretty busy lately)
I departed my slip Friday afternoon in unsettled weather. There were thunderstorms in the area on which I was keeping a close eye. The wind was from the SW at 5-15 knots. I made pretty good time, despite some fluky winds at times and was at anchor before sunset. There was not much happening in Dutch, other than some sort of outdoor auction at the RV park on Beaverhead point. That died down before too long and I was able to get a sound night of sleep.
I arose at dawn to a foggy scene out the port hole. There was a breeze blowing from the SW but the combination of warmer air over still very cold water made for some pretty low visibility. It went in and out, as fog is want to do, and there were times where I could see less than a quarter mile. After coffee and breakfast, I pulled up the anchor and got underway for the 32-mile sail to Fishers. The weather was forecasted to improve later in the day and perhaps I should not be so anxious to get started first thing in the morning. It would have been a better experience if I waited a few hours before heading out to sea. In the future, I’ll think things over a little more thoroughly and maximize favorable weather. As it was, I arrived at Fishers with a stiff breeze blowing and I could have avoided some of the becalmed conditions I encountered earlier if I had waited in Dutch.
The most critical piece of equipment I have aboard Sans Souci, besides my own brain, is the autopilot. I had noticed that it was starting to become a bit “squishy,” not crisply controlling the direction we traveled. Sans Souci is equipped with a hydraulic, linear-drive autopilot, and I suspected that the unit was low on oil. The previous owner, Jeff had mentioned to me that this had happened before and that the drive had leaked some hydraulic oil under heavy load. Once I was anchored in Chocomount Cove, I surmised that I should look into the situation more closely. Luckily, there is relatively easy access to the unit behind a hatch aft of the quarter berth. As suspected, the drive was very low on oil. I topped it off and replaced the oil absorbing pads that had been placed around it so I could more easily monitor the location of the leak. This particular drive is original equipment, 24 years old, and may require a rebuild soon. I haven’t decided if I’ll buy a replacement and then get the original one rebuilt to keep as a spare; they’re about $800, so I’ll take some time to think about it.
I enjoyed an easy start to the day with winds on the lighter side. I checked the autopilot after it had been working for a while and saw no immediate signs of a leak. We continued toward Watch Hill Point in light air with drifter pulling us along. The morning wind can be variable and we motor sailed for a little while as I waited for a stiffer breeze. I did not have to wait long, the wind rose and we were able to sail east without the engine.
Sans Souci and I enjoyed a lovely sail up the bay and made great time to Fall River. We covered the 52 miles in about 9 hours, making almost 6 knots– pretty good, considering the slow start. All in all, we covered over 100 miles and I encountered many different conditions, adding to my growing experience with Sans Souci. Upcoming, I’ve got some projects to complete before I sail again. I’m not sure how interesting the projects will be but I’ll update with anything notable.
Sounds like you are having some very successful and exciting adventures! I’m going to be in Boston in July, arriving on the 15th, leaving on the 18th. If you are near there I’d love to see you! Let me know.
Enjoying your posts cousin, keep it up!