Rode my bike to the post office after breakfast and picked up fifty pounds of mail. At long last, our mail has caught up with us. Some of it is three months old. Got the old phone bill with $700 worth of phone calls to and from the Netherlands. Fortunately, Steve straightened that out. Neither of us ever phoned the Netherlands in our lives.
Spent most of the rest of the day going through the mail and responding to some of it. Still a lot more to do. My Kaiser claims are still hanging fire, and Roy found out his mother died a year ago.
The weather here is hot and muggy. A shower sure felt good.
In the evening, a big freighter came in to this little harbor. We don't know how it fit. It draws 26 feet, and the place it went is only 4 or 5 feet deep according to the chart. It brought in tons of crude salt for next winter. They ran a conveyer belt from the ship to the parking lot near here and began dumping piles of salt.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Tuesday, July 5, 1994 - New Bedford, MA
Here we are again, right back where we started from last November.
Jay Jay was tickled pink to see us. Gave us a good slip, almost the same one we had before. He even came out in a motor boat with a welcoming committee!
Roy and I had been wondering what rate we'd be charged this time. To our amazement, it was the same--$30 a week! How can he do it? We can stay here ten weeks for less than it cost us for one week in New York. And we're familiar with everything here; we know where the stores are and the post office and the buses. We feel right at home.
Got here too late to go to the post office, so we'll do that in the morning. Got our bikes out and rode to the store for some groceries. Much better prices than on Block Island, but higher than down south.
Jay Jay was tickled pink to see us. Gave us a good slip, almost the same one we had before. He even came out in a motor boat with a welcoming committee!
Roy and I had been wondering what rate we'd be charged this time. To our amazement, it was the same--$30 a week! How can he do it? We can stay here ten weeks for less than it cost us for one week in New York. And we're familiar with everything here; we know where the stores are and the post office and the buses. We feel right at home.
Got here too late to go to the post office, so we'll do that in the morning. Got our bikes out and rode to the store for some groceries. Much better prices than on Block Island, but higher than down south.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Monday, July 4, 1994 -Block Island, NY
When I got up this morning, the boat next to us was getting ready to leave and I didn't see any sign of the flashlights, so I dressed quickly and got my Royak ready. Woke Roy up and asked him if the flashlights had been returned. He said they hadn't, so I jumped in my Royak and paddled to the other boat, just as they were pulling up their anchor. When I asked about the flashlights, the man said he'd taken them over in his dinghy and laid them on the starboard deck. Sure enough, there they were. I had looked around on the deck but hadn't seen them. Anyway, I was glad to get them back.
What a perfect day for the Fourth of July! Blue sky for the first time in days. Calm, sunny, warm, with a light northeast breeze to keep it from getting too hot.
The exodus began early in the morning. Boat after boat, going out the channel. We watched them for a while and then went paddling, again in different directions but agreeing to meet near the ferry dock to watch the one o'clock parade.
At 11:30, I returned to the boat, ate lunch, and set out for town. As I was paddling across the harbor, I saw what looked like another yellow Royak in the distance, so I paddled towards it, thinking it was Roy, but when I got closer, I saw it was just a plastic kayak, so I continued on. The guy in the kayak paddled over to me and struck up a conversation. Turned out he rents kayaks here on Block Island. He has fifty of them that he rents for $35 a half-day. Of course, I sang the praises of Royaks, and he seemed interested.
I figured Roy would have gone to Harbor Pond, which is close to town, so I paddled over there, but didn't see any sign of his Royak. I pulled up on the far side of the pond, near the road. The tide was low, so I pulled my Royak up about twenty feet and put it in back of a large rock to protect it from the rising tide. Walked to the road and up towards the ferry dock and even past the ferry dock, looking for Roy. Thousands of people lined the streets, but none of them even vaguely resembled Roy. After twenty minutes or so, the parade started, so I gave up looking and stood at the side of the street, watching the parade. One group that went by was throwing out salt-water taffy, so I grabbed a couple of pieces and was eating one when I noticed a familiar-looking blue shirt out of the corner of my eye. Looked more closely, and sure enough, the shirt was on Roy. He had walked right in front of me without seeing me. I scurried up to him, took his arm, and asked, "Are you looking for a parade?" He was so startled, he jumped! But he was very glad to see me. We happily watched the rest of the parade together. We were really impressed by what a good parade this little town put on. Best we've seen in years. They had several brass bands and a bagpipe band. Very good and lots of fun.
Roy hadn't had any lunch except the candy the paraders had thrown out, so we went to a nice little restaurant after the parade. He ate lunch, and I ate a dish of delicious ice cream.
Bought a loaf of raisin bread and returned to our respective Royaks. I was very glad I'd put mine in back of the rock; the tide had come in, and the water was all the way up to it. Roy had put his Royak in the same place we'd been a couple of days ago.
Roy went to the boat to paint the wind generator, and I paddled to the other side of the harbor, where the creeks are. I had tried to go up the creeks a couple of days ago, but the water was too low. Had no trouble getting up them this time, but they didn't go very far. I had hoped to be able to land on sand and walk across to the ocean side, but there was nothing but marsh grass.
Saw a lovely little doe, standing stock still. I stopped paddling and watched her for several minutes. Then she ran off.
When I got back to the boat, Roy was washing the hull. He had given up on painting the generator, because it was too windy.
What a perfect day this was, from beginning to end! We're so glad we decided to spend the three-day weekend at Block Island.
What a perfect day for the Fourth of July! Blue sky for the first time in days. Calm, sunny, warm, with a light northeast breeze to keep it from getting too hot.
The exodus began early in the morning. Boat after boat, going out the channel. We watched them for a while and then went paddling, again in different directions but agreeing to meet near the ferry dock to watch the one o'clock parade.
At 11:30, I returned to the boat, ate lunch, and set out for town. As I was paddling across the harbor, I saw what looked like another yellow Royak in the distance, so I paddled towards it, thinking it was Roy, but when I got closer, I saw it was just a plastic kayak, so I continued on. The guy in the kayak paddled over to me and struck up a conversation. Turned out he rents kayaks here on Block Island. He has fifty of them that he rents for $35 a half-day. Of course, I sang the praises of Royaks, and he seemed interested.
I figured Roy would have gone to Harbor Pond, which is close to town, so I paddled over there, but didn't see any sign of his Royak. I pulled up on the far side of the pond, near the road. The tide was low, so I pulled my Royak up about twenty feet and put it in back of a large rock to protect it from the rising tide. Walked to the road and up towards the ferry dock and even past the ferry dock, looking for Roy. Thousands of people lined the streets, but none of them even vaguely resembled Roy. After twenty minutes or so, the parade started, so I gave up looking and stood at the side of the street, watching the parade. One group that went by was throwing out salt-water taffy, so I grabbed a couple of pieces and was eating one when I noticed a familiar-looking blue shirt out of the corner of my eye. Looked more closely, and sure enough, the shirt was on Roy. He had walked right in front of me without seeing me. I scurried up to him, took his arm, and asked, "Are you looking for a parade?" He was so startled, he jumped! But he was very glad to see me. We happily watched the rest of the parade together. We were really impressed by what a good parade this little town put on. Best we've seen in years. They had several brass bands and a bagpipe band. Very good and lots of fun.
Roy hadn't had any lunch except the candy the paraders had thrown out, so we went to a nice little restaurant after the parade. He ate lunch, and I ate a dish of delicious ice cream.
Bought a loaf of raisin bread and returned to our respective Royaks. I was very glad I'd put mine in back of the rock; the tide had come in, and the water was all the way up to it. Roy had put his Royak in the same place we'd been a couple of days ago.
Roy went to the boat to paint the wind generator, and I paddled to the other side of the harbor, where the creeks are. I had tried to go up the creeks a couple of days ago, but the water was too low. Had no trouble getting up them this time, but they didn't go very far. I had hoped to be able to land on sand and walk across to the ocean side, but there was nothing but marsh grass.
Saw a lovely little doe, standing stock still. I stopped paddling and watched her for several minutes. Then she ran off.
When I got back to the boat, Roy was washing the hull. He had given up on painting the generator, because it was too windy.
What a perfect day this was, from beginning to end! We're so glad we decided to spend the three-day weekend at Block Island.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Sunday, July 3, 1994 - Block Island, NY
No fog today. Calm, cloudy, and cool, but good visibility. We took our bikes ashore in a launch and rode around. First time I'd been on my bike since the accident, but this time I wore elbow pads.
Block Island is about six miles long and three miles wide. In 1661, it was settled by a small group from the Massachusetts Colony who wanted to create a different type of society. There had been Native Americans living here for centuries, of course. We went by the place where the Europeans first settled. They had a large fresh-water pond but lived in caves and primitive shelters.
We were surprised how many ponds and small lakes there are on this little island. They're all over. Lovely scenery, too. Green trees and bushes and grass. Lots of hills. Quite different from Nantucket, which is mostly flat and treeless.
There are miles of paved road, and we rode just about all of them. There were lots of other people on bicycles and mopeds. We saw a group of about half a dozen young bicyclists coming towards us. All of a sudden, one of the girls flew up in the air and crashed to the ground! Somehow or other, she had managed to get her foot caught between the spokes of her front wheel!!!??? Fortunately, she was wearing a helmet. She landed on her head on the pavement, but her head wasn't damaged. She seemed to have broken some ribs and maybe some other bones. Of course, her friends stopped to help her, and we stopped, too. Roy flagged down a passing car. The driver drove down the road until he found a policeman. The police car arrived within minutes and called an ambulance, which also arrived within minutes. Poor kid. Her holiday's ruined.
We stopped at Mohegan Bluff and the old Southeast Lighthouse. What a view! In 1590, warring Indians drove 40 braves of another tribe off the bluff to their deaths. The bluffs are 168 feet high. They have been steadily eroding. Last year, the big stone lighthouse had to be moved back 240 feet to keep it from falling into the ocean. That must have been quite a project.
We stopped in the town of Shoreham for lunch and then rode out to the north end of the island. Walked out to the old lighthouse that was built in 1867. The first lighthouse, built in 1829, was too close to the point and took too much pounding from the sea, so they dismantled it and built another lighthouse farther inland. Unfortun-
ately, it was too far inland and led boats into the land instead of away from it, so they built a third lighthouse. This one, like the first, was too far out on the point. Finally, they built the present lighthouse, which was used for over a hundred years. Now it's a museum.
Hundreds of boats have come to grief on Block Island. One problem was that skippers would mistake the Block Island Light for the Point Judith Light, eight miles to the north, so they'd try to stay south of it and would run right into Block Island.
Walked out to the point and watched the waves coming from both sides of the island and crashing into each other. Quite spectacular!
Rode back to the launch dock, but there were so many people in line, we figured we'd never get on with our bicycles, so we rode over to the other launch at Champlin's Marina. Not so many people waiting there. When the launch came in, we were able to get on it and eventually got back to the boat. We decided taking our boats ashore was more hassle than we cared to go through a second day, so Roy folded them up and put them away, while I fixed supper.
A guy on a neighboring boat came over in his dinghy and borrowed a flashlight. Roy let him have two flashlights. I hope he returns them before he leaves.
We had a perfect view from Jofian's deck of the fireworks display on the other side of the harbor. For such a small town, they put on quite a display. Boats all over the harbor were blowing their horns.
When the official display ended, some boaters started setting off their own fireworks, and Little Boy Roy just couldn't resist the temptation to fire a couple of old flares, even though I kept warning him not to. Fourth of July or no Fourth of July, it's against the law to shoot off flares unless you're signaling for assistance for a vessel in distress. Roy knew that, of course, but he shot them off anyway. All of a sudden, here came a harbor patrol boat with its blue light flashing. Fortunately, he let Roy off with a warning. If the Coast Guard had caught him, Roy would have been in serious trouble.
Block Island is about six miles long and three miles wide. In 1661, it was settled by a small group from the Massachusetts Colony who wanted to create a different type of society. There had been Native Americans living here for centuries, of course. We went by the place where the Europeans first settled. They had a large fresh-water pond but lived in caves and primitive shelters.
We were surprised how many ponds and small lakes there are on this little island. They're all over. Lovely scenery, too. Green trees and bushes and grass. Lots of hills. Quite different from Nantucket, which is mostly flat and treeless.
There are miles of paved road, and we rode just about all of them. There were lots of other people on bicycles and mopeds. We saw a group of about half a dozen young bicyclists coming towards us. All of a sudden, one of the girls flew up in the air and crashed to the ground! Somehow or other, she had managed to get her foot caught between the spokes of her front wheel!!!??? Fortunately, she was wearing a helmet. She landed on her head on the pavement, but her head wasn't damaged. She seemed to have broken some ribs and maybe some other bones. Of course, her friends stopped to help her, and we stopped, too. Roy flagged down a passing car. The driver drove down the road until he found a policeman. The police car arrived within minutes and called an ambulance, which also arrived within minutes. Poor kid. Her holiday's ruined.
We stopped at Mohegan Bluff and the old Southeast Lighthouse. What a view! In 1590, warring Indians drove 40 braves of another tribe off the bluff to their deaths. The bluffs are 168 feet high. They have been steadily eroding. Last year, the big stone lighthouse had to be moved back 240 feet to keep it from falling into the ocean. That must have been quite a project.
We stopped in the town of Shoreham for lunch and then rode out to the north end of the island. Walked out to the old lighthouse that was built in 1867. The first lighthouse, built in 1829, was too close to the point and took too much pounding from the sea, so they dismantled it and built another lighthouse farther inland. Unfortun-
ately, it was too far inland and led boats into the land instead of away from it, so they built a third lighthouse. This one, like the first, was too far out on the point. Finally, they built the present lighthouse, which was used for over a hundred years. Now it's a museum.
Hundreds of boats have come to grief on Block Island. One problem was that skippers would mistake the Block Island Light for the Point Judith Light, eight miles to the north, so they'd try to stay south of it and would run right into Block Island.
Walked out to the point and watched the waves coming from both sides of the island and crashing into each other. Quite spectacular!
Rode back to the launch dock, but there were so many people in line, we figured we'd never get on with our bicycles, so we rode over to the other launch at Champlin's Marina. Not so many people waiting there. When the launch came in, we were able to get on it and eventually got back to the boat. We decided taking our boats ashore was more hassle than we cared to go through a second day, so Roy folded them up and put them away, while I fixed supper.
A guy on a neighboring boat came over in his dinghy and borrowed a flashlight. Roy let him have two flashlights. I hope he returns them before he leaves.
We had a perfect view from Jofian's deck of the fireworks display on the other side of the harbor. For such a small town, they put on quite a display. Boats all over the harbor were blowing their horns.
When the official display ended, some boaters started setting off their own fireworks, and Little Boy Roy just couldn't resist the temptation to fire a couple of old flares, even though I kept warning him not to. Fourth of July or no Fourth of July, it's against the law to shoot off flares unless you're signaling for assistance for a vessel in distress. Roy knew that, of course, but he shot them off anyway. All of a sudden, here came a harbor patrol boat with its blue light flashing. Fortunately, he let Roy off with a warning. If the Coast Guard had caught him, Roy would have been in serious trouble.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Saturday, July 2, 1994 - Block Island, NY
Awoke to dense fog. Around noon, it lifted somewhat but then came in again, thicker than before.
We got in our Royaks and paddled in different directions. Roy went ashore for a while and then went looking for me. I explored all the little coves and ponds and inlets. Went completely around Great Salt Pond. The wind was pretty strong. Saw a small sailboat that had turned turtle, but the two guys managed to right it.
The three marinas are completely packed, and there are docks where cabin cruisers are rafted eight deep. What a mess! The ones closest in won't be able to leave until the outer ones leave. Monday afternoon is going to be chaosville, with all those boats trying to get out the narrow channel at once. Sure glad we don't have to leave then, and I'm glad we're anchored, not docked.
Roy and I met back on the boat around two. Ate lunch and then paddled to a pond close to the little town, so we could buy a few groceries.
There are water-taxis here that take people ashore from their boats for $1.50, so tomorrow we'll take our bikes ashore and ride around.
We got in our Royaks and paddled in different directions. Roy went ashore for a while and then went looking for me. I explored all the little coves and ponds and inlets. Went completely around Great Salt Pond. The wind was pretty strong. Saw a small sailboat that had turned turtle, but the two guys managed to right it.
The three marinas are completely packed, and there are docks where cabin cruisers are rafted eight deep. What a mess! The ones closest in won't be able to leave until the outer ones leave. Monday afternoon is going to be chaosville, with all those boats trying to get out the narrow channel at once. Sure glad we don't have to leave then, and I'm glad we're anchored, not docked.
Roy and I met back on the boat around two. Ate lunch and then paddled to a pond close to the little town, so we could buy a few groceries.
There are water-taxis here that take people ashore from their boats for $1.50, so tomorrow we'll take our bikes ashore and ride around.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Friday, July 1, 1994 - Block Island, NY
Dead calm in the morning and foggy. Visibility about half a mile.
We motored for several hours, and then the breeze began stirring and the fog lifted, but there was still a lot of haze. The wind kept getting stronger and stronger. By afternoon, we were sailing nicely without the engine.
We needed a place to stay for the night. I suggested Block Island. Neither of us had ever been there, though we'd heard of it all our lives, so we headed in that direction. Without the GPS, we might never have found it. There was still so much haze that we couldn't see the island when we were two miles from it! But the GPS took us right to the entrance buoy. For once, we arrived at a good time. It was still daylight, so we had no problem entering the channel and finding a good place to anchor.
The harbor on block island is called Great Salt Pond. It's about a mile long and half a mile wide. What a forest of boats! There are well over a thousand boats anchored or moored here, mostly sailboats. Most of them anchor using rode (line) instead of chain. We, of course, use chain. We found a good spot to anchor in fifty feet of water. This is going to be a fun place to explore. We'll spend the whole weekend here.
I went to bed early and was fast asleep when BLAM! -- the whole boat shook. In all this vast harbor, some idiot had dropped anchor directly in front of us, using rode, and then had gone below without checking to be sure their anchor was holding. The anchor dragged, and their boat smashed right into ours. I was afraid it had damaged the prow that Roy had so carefully repaired, but luckily it hit the metal where the bow rollers are. Did more damage to their boat than to ours. I heard Roy yelling, "You're ramming our boat!" The woman said, "OK," in a cheery voice, as if it were nothing, but later Roy told me she did say, "I'm sorry."
We motored for several hours, and then the breeze began stirring and the fog lifted, but there was still a lot of haze. The wind kept getting stronger and stronger. By afternoon, we were sailing nicely without the engine.
We needed a place to stay for the night. I suggested Block Island. Neither of us had ever been there, though we'd heard of it all our lives, so we headed in that direction. Without the GPS, we might never have found it. There was still so much haze that we couldn't see the island when we were two miles from it! But the GPS took us right to the entrance buoy. For once, we arrived at a good time. It was still daylight, so we had no problem entering the channel and finding a good place to anchor.
The harbor on block island is called Great Salt Pond. It's about a mile long and half a mile wide. What a forest of boats! There are well over a thousand boats anchored or moored here, mostly sailboats. Most of them anchor using rode (line) instead of chain. We, of course, use chain. We found a good spot to anchor in fifty feet of water. This is going to be a fun place to explore. We'll spend the whole weekend here.
I went to bed early and was fast asleep when BLAM! -- the whole boat shook. In all this vast harbor, some idiot had dropped anchor directly in front of us, using rode, and then had gone below without checking to be sure their anchor was holding. The anchor dragged, and their boat smashed right into ours. I was afraid it had damaged the prow that Roy had so carefully repaired, but luckily it hit the metal where the bow rollers are. Did more damage to their boat than to ours. I heard Roy yelling, "You're ramming our boat!" The woman said, "OK," in a cheery voice, as if it were nothing, but later Roy told me she did say, "I'm sorry."
Thursday, June 30, 1994 - Fort Jefferson, NY
Departure day. Right after breakfast, Roy rode his bike to the grocery store and bought a few things. I washed the dishes and began getting the boat ready. We left right at ten o'clock. No problem getting away from the dock.
We motored around the Battery, up the East River, and under the Throg Neck Bridge. Once on the Sound, our course was almost due east, and there was a Southwest wind blowing around twenty knots, so we were able to sail. Zoomed along at seven and eight knots under full sail.
Long Island Sound is 100 miles long. I didn't want to keep going at night, so we pulled over towards the shore just past Fort Jefferson and anchored in 12 feet of water. The wind soon died, and we enjoyed a calm, peaceful night.
We motored around the Battery, up the East River, and under the Throg Neck Bridge. Once on the Sound, our course was almost due east, and there was a Southwest wind blowing around twenty knots, so we were able to sail. Zoomed along at seven and eight knots under full sail.
Long Island Sound is 100 miles long. I didn't want to keep going at night, so we pulled over towards the shore just past Fort Jefferson and anchored in 12 feet of water. The wind soon died, and we enjoyed a calm, peaceful night.
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