FIRST MATE'S LOG - August
Friday, August 27 &30, 1999
Saturday, August 21, 1999
Monday, August 16 & 17, 1999
Thursday, August 12, 1999
Monday, August 9, 1999
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I did a bunch of boat chores and showered up and dinghied in to the public landing. Mary was waiting in her 4-wheel drive and up we went to the bottom of the mountain. She knew I was still recovering and gave me the choice to drive or walk but I wanted to get my strength back so we hiked it. We talked along the way and I learned that she had been married for 25 years to a wonderful man named Ben who had passed away a year ago. In between Mary asking me
questions of our plans, I found out that Ben had been a doctor. And a writer. Of children's books. I asked, "what was Ben's last name?" as Mary's last name is Morgan. She said, 'Spock; that's S P O C K" and she spelled it. I said, "Dr. Spock?" She said yes. What a trip! So here I was hiking with this wonderful lady who is Mrs. Dr. Spock. We had a great hike and a wonderful lobster dinner complete with appetizers and dessert. I picked up the tab as her helping us was most generous. Tomorrow we are meeting and she is going to take me to a sailing clothes store and get me suited up for this c o l d Maine weather. After we will go to lunch and then she wants to swim. Brrrr. I may beg off due to being sick but I admit I would love to swim. Mary has much to offer in the way of directing us to the many beautiful places to visit here in Maine, where she resides in the summer and also the Virgin Islands, where they resided in the winters. I have invited her to sail with us to the islands. She is tempted and may join us.
Today is Saturday and we have accomplished much in the last week. Kathy has been great company and patient as a saint while I oversee the workmen. I think we're finally as repaired as we are going to be for now. Our generator switch was replaced and the generator now works. We are able to be on shore power again. Our salt water washdown pump was fixed (twice) and now operates nicely. This is really a treat for me, as I have to use it for two specific purposes: 1. To wash down the anchor as I'm bringing it up and 2. To wash down the teak decks. When he got it working I think I did a dance. Three light switches were replaced and now shine brightly for those chilly, cozy nights. The engine and generator oil and filters were changed. The batteries are now charged and restored. The dinghy motor was "tweaked" and now purrs instead of stalling and flooding and a pin was replaced to hold the motor in place so when I rev it up (just a little, of course), the engine doesn't come flying up to give me a kiss. Three pieces of out-of-date equipment were removed from the nav station and matching board replaced the holes. The main autopilot got a new computer and is now working; although it's hard to tell for sure at the dock. I probably missed a thing or two but I'm sure the bill won't. 
Kathy was our driver and we had a long way to get back to Camden. The unanimous decision for ice cream held us all of the way home. We needed to get back to our dock by 9:00pm for the last water taxi to our boat and we made it by 8 minutes. We were 3 tired girls and we fell asleep immediately. 
Kay Harris arrived yesterday for leg four, a sail of just two days, from Newport, RI to Camden, Maine. We set sail early; Bob had the tide charts all worked out for the Cape Cod canal which we needed to be in by 5:00pm. If we went against the tide, we could lose up to 4 knots of speed, which means we may only be moving 1 knot, and we may never come out. All went well and we were in and out of the channel in about 45 minutes. We then entered Cape Cod Bay and had a beautiful motor/sail for the rest of the evening and night. This was Kay's first experience at the helm at night and she had no problem. She enjoyed the stars and the phosphorescent fish. About 3:00pm on the 13th, the fog started to roll in to the point where visibility was way down and boats became very difficult to spot until they were very close. We decided at this time to double up on watch, which meant two people on for two hours and one off for one hour. We knew we weren't going to get much rest but even with the radar on, we decided to continue on this watch system. The person off watch would come up and take the wheel for one hour, the person just on the wheel would move to the side of the cockpit and keep watch and the other go below for rest. This worked well up until about 6:00pm when the wind kicked up to 25-30 knots. The fog disappeared. I was having the time of my life. We just had the staysail up and we were moving. The waves were slamming into the side of the boat; some huge rollies. I love steering under these conditions…for a while. After one hour at the wheel, you were plenty ready to be switched to watch. The only problem was the off watch person couldn't sleep.
well as hers and at the end, I had to ask Bob to take over. My legs and arms were shaking from the exertion. As I later in the night found out, Kay had been on antibiotics and the combination of that and the rough seas were causing her seasickness as well. So, now we have 2 crewmembers impaired to various degrees. I was able to relieve Bob at the helm for ˝ hour periods although I did much groaning. Kay kept up her end by keeping excellent watch all night. And once again, Bob and his GPS, with all of the waypoints that he put in came through with flying colors. It was 12:22 am when I came up from a 5 minute warm-up below when I told Bob that we simply couldn't keep up with this pace until 5:30am (the new ETA). He very gently asked me what I thought our second choice would be. I said we should stop and hove-to (a tactic to stop the motion of the boat for rest). He said there were islands and rocks too nearby and we must continue. Life aboard Mutual Fun continued at a 25-30 knot pace for the next 5 hours. We were totally and wholly physically spent. I was seasick up to the very moment we pulled into port. At one point, I was shaking so bad that Kay got me a blanket and I sat in the cockpit all covered up nodding off. I woke up suddenly and yelled to Bob that something was in the water. He asked "where?" I pointed and he so sweetly asked, "did you just wake up?" I apologized. Kay told Bob that she saw porpoises in the water. When he looked, all that was there were waves. We were so exhausted that we couldn't distinguish real from imagination. Bob and Kay started talking about what we would do when we got into port. Whether we would dock or anchor. I remember thinking that I was astounded that they could even think about moving into action. As we approached our last waypoint, there were buoys marking treacherous rocks and tiny islands. We all 3 had to be on our toes and sharp. All considering, we did a bang-up job for the condition we were in. Right as we were entering the harbour, I told Bob to be careful not to hit the billboard in the channel. Kay and I are still laughing hysterically about that one. We made it in to the harbour and after a few misplaced attempts at picking up a mooring ball, a very nice lady rowed over (5:00am) to help us out. We thanked her immensely and went below for badly needed sleep.
And so we begin leg 3 of our journey with a crew change adding Alan and Denise Mikesell. This leg takes us from Annapolis, Maryland to where we are presently anchored in Newport, Rhode Island. Much of this leg was spent motoring and was quite uneventful with a few exceptions. Leaving the Chesapeake we entered the Chesapeake Delaware Canal where the trip was a bit dull but peaceful. The canal was narrow with well-marked banks and the waters calm. We were then dumped into the Delaware Bay where the ride was rolly, to say the least. The crew down below trying to rest was immediately aware of the change. My midnight watch brought an interesting event. I was watching a freighter almost dead ahead. I knew from the lights that it was coming right straight for us and I kept a close watch on it and stayed just a bit to the right of the channel. It was one of those nights that isn't pitch black but isn't bright with stars and moon, either. I got this funny feeling to my right and looked behind me to the right and saw this GIGANTIC freighter bearing down on us. Now, a real dilemma. We were in a channel and there wasn't room for all three of us. I was thinking of calling Bob up but I really wanted him to get some sleep when the freighter over my right shoulder started bearing down on us and honked this huge horn. Then, I thought it might be wise to call Bob up because I didn't know if that meant "beware, I'm here" or "get the hell out of my way." He came up and it definitely was worth waking up for because it was so close and really was a sight. We were about to become a Mutual Fun sandwich. Well, I scooted over more into the middle and let the guy on the right pass and then scooted back right and let the guy coming toward us pass. All the excitement was over and Bob left me to my watch. We then tried to proceed to the Atlantic by way of Cape May Canal, New Jersey, when we, once again, found ourselves aground. A few attempts, by the now experienced in such matters captain, and we were off the bottom and turned right around out of that channel and went around the point to the ocean. This was especially exciting for Denise, as she had never set eyes on any ocean before. We had a rather uncomfortable sail for the next 24-36 hours as the wind was shifting all over the place and this caused much rolling of the sea. Our autopilot still not working, hand steering was a chore and we were quite happy when relieved of our 2-hour watch. Because of rolling seas, we were uncomfortable and sleeping was tough. We probably averaged 4 hours a night each. Alan and Denise were having a nice time but you could see it in their eyes that a little action would definitely perk things up. They were not to be disappointed when Thursday night the skies became dark, the wind picked up and a cold front moved in. We switched on the weather and were warned that on the mainland, trees 3-4 feet in diameter were being dropped by winds up to 50mph, lightning and hail. The mariner warning was no better so we battened down; all ports closed; anything that could move was thrown into sinks, cockpit cushions below, harnesses and foul weather gear on. We sat in the cockpit, ready and waiting. Captain Bob at the helm, me making last minute trips up and down the steps, and Alan and Denise in the cockpit ready for the ride. We noticed lightning and thunder coming from the New Jersey shore, which was only about 50 miles away and we knew it wouldn't be a long wait. The wind started first, gusting to a speed of 48 mph, registered on our meter, then came cold, battering rain; just a few degrees shy of hail, and then lightning. Looking over at Denise was a hilarious sight. She had her hood tied around her head and peeping through were these little glasses and this little mouth and this HUGE grin. It was the type of grin that says "I'm trying to look serious but I just can't." Glancing at Alan I saw exactly the same expression. No wonder those two are so happily married. They had a ball and if truth be known, I think they would have opted for a longer thrill. I tried to turn into the storm to see what the shoreline looked like but I had the strangest sensation of my eyes being battered by cold rain. Bob was not looking like the cat who ate the canary but as any good captain should, takes these storms with the respect due, knowing he is responsible for the lives aboard. That doesn't mean he doesn't enjoy the ride.
We woke to a beautiful day. I had the 6-8:00am watch, Alan was up next and brought us within view of the Newport Bay Bridge and Bob brought us into port. We refreshed our water, refueled and anchored (after many false tries) and were dinghying into town about 4:00pm. In Annapolis we had filled our tanks with foul-tasting water. Even our mixed iced tea, juices and coffee tasted so bad we couldn't drink it. We had only soda for 3 days and were happy to drain our tanks and start all over with sweet water. We have 5 days here in Newport where we need to find mechanics for the autopilot and a few other odds and ends. Alan and Denise will be leaving Sunday. Kay Harris arrives on August 11 for the 4th leg to Camden, Maine. Hopefully we will be as safe and happy as we have been so far. I believe we have logged our first 1,000 miles. I'll have to check.