Early September we had Caprivi’s mast removed. The standing rigging was a big project to finally cross off the list. The evening prior we entered Rockland harbor, put down anchor and began to disassemble our sails and boom in the rain in preparation for the following morning.
From the floating dock at the yard, the crane stretched high and outward as it attached to the toggle halfway up the mast with all rigging strapped securely, and was then freed from the keel step. Five of us wheeled the mast to a corner of the yard which in turn became our stomping ground for the next month.
Once disassembled, Jay our rigger came and picked up the rod to be measured and replaced, as well as the turnbuckle assembly for dye-penetrant testing. We typically perform projects ourselves, however, rod requires special machinery to head the ends of the stainless steel as well as facilities for testing, and knowledge is key with such material and forces. During this time we repaired and painted the mast, spruced up the hardware and fittings, and fine tuned our running rigging.
I must make a note that pertains to my previous post about lobster pots, in which during our short period here, Caprivi MOSTLY sails through the lobster bouys without a hitch. However, our luck ran out and a buoy got caught up in the propeller. We had some lobstermen nearby who were concerned only that we had picked up their competitors trap and didn’t want us dragging it into their territory. They warmed up as we exchanged words and offered to help but were only making it worse by circling us, creating a wake slapping against the hull as we were trying to free to line. They just said to cut it but we wanted to be ‘good cruisers’ and take care of the fishing gear. Ben eventually took his shirt off and jumped in to the water which surprised the fishermen.
Rockland became the perfect spot for this project. We fortunately had a friends vehicle to use for the duration, and don’t know how we could have done it without. Thank you Erin and Josh!! We also lucked out and were offered a mooring to use in the anchorage. As it were, the sailing season is short in Maine and locals had begun the process of preparing their boats for the winter. We were kindly offered the mooring from a sailor who had finished for the summer and was hauling his boat at that time. The coastal town also had a marine chandlery close by and a great farmers market to boot.
An initial concern we had was still being so north late in the season – mostly for the comforts of our tropical, acclimatized bodies. Concerns quickly dissipated as perfect sunny days took the most part of September and we were pleasantly surprised. During this time it became curious how at home one can feel while working out of a boat yard, on a gravel lot and surrounded by dying dreams. But with hot showers, laundry and an array of people coming and going, it is a place to embrace.
In early October we ducked down (by car) to Cape Cod for our dear friends wedding and had an excellent few days spent with a many Key West’ers who were able to make the journey north, after Hurricane Ian had just come through, and of which we were feeling the effects of on the wedding day.
We raced back north, applied one more coat to the mast and began assembling her for up-rigging a few days later. The crew at the yard did a fine job placing the mast back in, many thanks to Jerome. She finally looked normal again, and we no longer had to put up with the strange movement of our home without her 65ft of counteract weight.
The next week we finished putting her back together and spent some time enjoying the cooler, still sunny, crisp days in Maine. The gorgeous fall foliage was simply stunning. We topped off with a spontaneous rafting trip down the Kennebec River on the second to last run of their season. Our diesel heater that we’d had for three years was finally fully installed by necessity and she warmed Caprivi for the days that followed.
I think we were enjoying ourselves here. So much so that dingy docks and mooring balls were being hauled out all around us in preparation for winter and it’s gales. With that sign we took the next possible weather window to get back through the Cape Cod canal and into more protected waters. 33hrs later and more motoring than one wants to admit, we nestled ourselves in the sheltered harbor of Onset just south of the canal.
We attempted to leave a couple of days later down Buzzards bay but were headed with 26kts and current, making for a nasty chop. So we flipped around and went back to our calm, cosy spot in Onset. Here we spent the next days spring cleaning, going through the entire boat and began diving deep into planning for our offshore passage south.
Once the weather was clear we sailed 15nm into the lovely Hadley Harbor on Naushon Island, which is owned by the Forbes family. The 360 degree protected inlet was gorgeous and certainly a spot for a classic summer. We dingyed around the inlets and over to Woods Hole for a few hours; learnt about Alvin the submarine, and then tested the channels 4kt current with the dingy. Just before slack tide we let go of the complimentary mooring and headed through the channel onwards to Vineyard Haven on Martha’s Vineyard.
On Marthas we didn’t have the best of weather with fog and a NE wind to disrupt the harbor but we were fortunately tucked away cosy behind the breakwater. One of the benefits of being behind in the season is there aren’t too many people around and we’re able to get the nice protected spots. We had a couple of evenings spent with friends who work the wooden boat sector of the island. It’s an interesting spot and we wouldn’t mind spending more time here.
Bound for Newport, we caught the midday ebbing tide in the fog to push us to our overnight stop in Cuttyhunk Island. The narrow inlet had a chartered depth of 7ft so we slowly creeped in after sunset, at low tide of course, and dropped anchor in the corner with no mooring balls. At dusk we picked back up in the drizzly weather, flying our new-to-us asymmetrical and six hours later laid the hook down in the large harbor of Newport with the anchorage to ourselves.
Newport was to be our base to prep for and head offshore to Bermuda and onwards to the Caribbean. We had a few last minute things to get sorted, like obtaining flags and scrounging the vast marine consignment shops. We picked up a third staysail, a bbq and some greatly reduced spectra line. The city/harbor is a sailing mecca and we were glad to spend a week getting to know her a little. There are a lot of well known boats that call this place their homeport and it hosted the Americas Cup for fifty-odd years. Caprivi was also built nearby and the Navy 44’s boats are well known.
A couple of days in, twenty boats left in an organized rally headed for Bermuda. The forecast didn’t look the best with a lot of motoring and some heavy variable winds towards the end, plus we weren’t all that ready. Here, Caprivi is one of the small guys with 50-70ft boats departing with crews of at least four people. So we wanted to be comfortable with our passage and not just follow the crowd.
We met a few other folk heading south and were able to get a gist of local knowledge. We also ran into an old client of Ben’s crewing for another boat. You must cross the powerful Gulf Stream in favourable conditions which isn’t reached until a couple of days offshore, and by which conditions can deteriorate with a high prevailing northeaster. We were aware that the passage shouldn’t be taken lightly. It’s a delicate balance of leaving early enough before the winter gales and late enough after hurricane season.
After a week spent cosy-ing up to our diesel heater, fine tuning Caprivi, a dash to New York and a gorgeous afternoon visit with Emily and Terry; my former Key West canvas employers, we decided last moment to catch a northerly wind 380nm south to the Chesapeake Bay. Here we would have more favorable weather to catch onwards to the Lesser Antilles, as well as a warmer climate as we waited.
Safe sailing, look forward to the next blog.
Mum xx