8/7/05

Well, I am sorry that this update is so late coming. The combination of finally getting Cénou in the water after the sail-drive fiasco, sailing Cénou up to Rhode Island and having an outdated three year old computer made it difficult to get the e-mails in or out.

All is well with us and with Cénou which did well after a year and a half away from the ocean. Cénou went back in the water on July 22. Olivier our friend who, with his family, will be staying and caring for our place during our trip, went up the mast the same day Cénou was splashed. We changed our old steel 14-mm shrouds for the Dynema rope with Precourt dead eyes. Next day we spent a couple of hours sailing around to tighten the new shrouds, set up our reefs and met up with Zia. You can check Zia at www.zialater.com

On the 24th we headed into the Chesapeake and Delaware canal.

Two days after getting Cénou in the water and after a frontal passage, on Monday the 25th, we headed into the Delaware and did not stop until we reached Block Island on Wednesday at about 8 AM in zero visibility and about 25 knots of wind pushing us. An autopilot failure in the middle of the night, just about when we hit the fog bank, made things even more exciting. We traveled with Zia during the whole trip, sometimes miles apart and sometimes yards apart loosing each other about a mile from the entrance to Block Island.

Once in Block we hung around the beach. The kids from Cénou (Anouck and Celine) and the kids from Zia (Cassie and Juliana) played for days together, gathering shells, making sand castles and I gathered clams every morning on which we feasted. Anouck and Celine actually gathered 100 clams which they set back in the sand. So the clamming is good on Block Island.

Zia left us and we headed for Narragansett Bay where Newport is located. This was our third trip into the Bay so we decided to explore the less traveled areas and had mixed success.

The lowest point was the visit of Prudence Island (should have paid more attention to the name) which our guide touted as a great anchorage with beautiful walks. Well, Rike was hassled as she walked along a deserted dusty road. A group of guys went back and forth in a truck yelling at her all the while covering her with dust. About an hour after that we had the visit of the police wanting to fine us for having Cénou on a mooring. The "great anchorage" was in fact a mooring field devoid of boats, with no space to anchor, so we did what everyone else does there, take a private mooring.

The irony of this story is that after asking us about our life jackets and taking the necessary info the cop told us to leave the mooring just as as thunderstorm was coming down on us. About three minutes after we "slipped" our mooring the squall line came with about 35 knots of wind. I first opted to run with it with the engines on idle, but we were going so fast and visibility was so bad, and land so close, that I decided that we were better off hoving to with the engines. It was a very wet event which only reinforced my feeling about most cops.

Next trip was Wickford and Jamestown, where the people are much friendlier. Narragansett has its share of sailboats, everything from the common mono-hull to schooners, and restored America's cup 12 meters. Nice scene with lots of canvas going in all directions mostly without purpose like us.

As far as Cénou, all is holding well although some more work will be needed before we head to the islands.

-We will mechanically fasten the big windows that are now coming undone and are somewhat of a liability at sea, not to mention leaking.

-We will install curtains on the hardtop to shelter us from the morning and afternoon sun as well as a covering on the windows to cut down on the sunlight entering the cabin.

-Install a watermaker.

On the positive side:

The night in the fog bank surprised us, and I am happy with the way I could drop the sail on a run. We had taken one reef for the night, as will be our practice when sailing with just Rike and I. When the wind went to 25 knots I set the second reef relatively easily, although cranking in the clew was not a two minute affair.

Once we realized we were in a fog bank we dropped all sail and motored at idle to ensure a daylight arrival into Block.

The Precourt shrouds have been what they are supposed to be. Super stiff, easy to readjust, weighing nothing, costing a fraction of steel replacement and so much more esthetic than steel. The only snafu is a protective sock that was installed over the line and that is not staying put very well. A trip up the mast with electric tape solved that issue so far.

The other big advantage of synthetic line is that it does not suffer from bending. Stainless steel will fail with too much bending back and forth and that is what happens to the leeward shroud on a rotating mast. It goes slack and swings around. The stress happens inside the swage, which is not visible, and the impending failure is undetectable until the mast falls.

Ian Farrier, the designer of our old F31 is a big proponent of synthetic and so is Erik Lerouge, the designer of our Freydis. So there you go.

The Freydis is a great boat at sea with easy movement around deck,(although the anti-skid needs improvement) great view from inside which enables one to stay mostly inside during cold or wet nights, and a nice snug cockpit that is safe for the girls to be in. Anouck and Celine are not allowed on deck unless we are sailing in ten knots of wind or less. That said the cockpit is deep and secure. It offers us plenty of space to lounge around while the boat takes care of itself.

That's about it for now, our camera did not enjoy the orange juice bath it received, but we hope to have a few photos on our next post.

A bientot

Cénou


8/7/05

Well, I am sorry that this update is so late coming. The combination of finally getting Cénou in the water after the sail-drive fiasco, sailing Cénou up to Rhode Island and having an outdated three year old computer made it difficult to get the e-mails in or out.

All is well with us and with Cénou which did well after a year and a half away from the ocean. Cénou went back in the water on July 22. Olivier our friend who, with his family, will be staying and caring for our place during our trip, went up the mast the same day Cénou was splashed. We changed our old steel 14-mm shrouds for the Dynema rope with Precourt dead eyes. Next day we spent a couple of hours sailing around to tighten the new shrouds, set up our reefs and met up with Zia. You can check Zia at www.zialater.com

On the 24th we headed into the Chesapeake and Delaware canal.

Two days after getting Cénou in the water and after a frontal passage, on Monday the 25th, we headed into the Delaware and did not stop until we reached Block Island on Wednesday at about 8 AM in zero visibility and about 25 knots of wind pushing us. An autopilot failure in the middle of the night, just about when we hit the fog bank, made things even more exciting. We traveled with Zia during the whole trip, sometimes miles apart and sometimes yards apart loosing each other about a mile from the entrance to Block Island.

Once in Block we hung around the beach. The kids from Cénou (Anouck and Celine) and the kids from Zia (Cassie and Juliana) played for days together, gathering shells, making sand castles and I gathered clams every morning on which we feasted. Anouck and Celine actually gathered 100 clams which they set back in the sand. So the clamming is good on Block Island.

Zia left us and we headed for Narragansett Bay where Newport is located. This was our third trip into the Bay so we decided to explore the less traveled areas and had mixed success.

The lowest point was the visit of Prudence Island (should have paid more attention to the name) which our guide touted as a great anchorage with beautiful walks. Well, Rike was hassled as she walked along a deserted dusty road. A group of guys went back and forth in a truck yelling at her all the while covering her with dust. About an hour after that we had the visit of the police wanting to fine us for having Cénou on a mooring. The "great anchorage" was in fact a mooring field devoid of boats, with no space to anchor, so we did what everyone else does there, take a private mooring.

The irony of this story is that after asking us about our life jackets and taking the necessary info the cop told us to leave the mooring just as as thunderstorm was coming down on us. About three minutes after we "slipped" our mooring the squall line came with about 35 knots of wind. I first opted to run with it with the engines on idle, but we were going so fast and visibility was so bad, and land so close, that I decided that we were better off hoving to with the engines. It was a very wet event which only reinforced my feeling about most cops.

Next trip was Wickford and Jamestown, where the people are much friendlier. Narragansett has its share of sailboats, everything from the common mono-hull to schooners, and restored America's cup 12 meters. Nice scene with lots of canvas going in all directions mostly without purpose like us.

As far as Cénou, all is holding well although some more work will be needed before we head to the islands.

-We will mechanically fasten the big windows that are now coming undone and are somewhat of a liability at sea, not to mention leaking.

-We will install curtains on the hardtop to shelter us from the morning and afternoon sun as well as a covering on the windows to cut down on the sunlight entering the cabin.

-Install a watermaker.

On the positive side:

The night in the fog bank surprised us, and I am happy with the way I could drop the sail on a run. We had taken one reef for the night, as will be our practice when sailing with just Rike and I. When the wind went to 25 knots I set the second reef relatively easily, although cranking in the clew was not a two minute affair.

Once we realized we were in a fog bank we dropped all sail and motored at idle to ensure a daylight arrival into Block.

The Precourt shrouds have been what they are supposed to be. Super stiff, easy to readjust, weighing nothing, costing a fraction of steel replacement and so much more esthetic than steel. The only snafu is a protective sock that was installed over the line and that is not staying put very well. A trip up the mast with electric tape solved that issue so far.

The other big advantage of synthetic line is that it does not suffer from bending. Stainless steel will fail with too much bending back and forth and that is what happens to the leeward shroud on a rotating mast. It goes slack and swings around. The stress happens inside the swage, which is not visible, and the impending failure is undetectable until the mast falls.

Ian Farrier, the designer of our old F31 is a big proponent of synthetic and so is Erik Lerouge, the designer of our Freydis. So there you go.

The Freydis is a great boat at sea with easy movement around deck,(although the anti-skid needs improvement) great view from inside which enables one to stay mostly inside during cold or wet nights, and a nice snug cockpit that is safe for the girls to be in. Anouck and Celine are not allowed on deck unless we are sailing in ten knots of wind or less. That said the cockpit is deep and secure. It offers us plenty of space to lounge around while the boat takes care of itself.

8/17/05

Newport to Cuttyhunk, Cuttyhunk to Pocassett and on to Boston.

We spent a few days in Cuttyhunk, our favorite stop for the past three years we have cruised this area. The island of Cuttyhunk is located south west of Woods Hole, Cape Cod. It is dry, meaning no alcohol is sold but it can be consumed. This keeps the party boats out and makes for a beautiful, quiet and well protected anchorage. There are very few cars on the island and it is filled with children who roam free and are perfectly safe doing so.

The girls got out our second and small rowing dinghy. Celine and Anouck rowed by themselves through the small and protected harbor , and spent a few hours on the island by themselves. Meanwhile I went up the mast with Rike's assistance to work the protective sock on the shrouds (what holds the mast up) back up the mast.

Anouck and Celine came back very satisfied with their newly found independence. While in Cuttyhunk we also managed to meet up with the Tamblyn's, friends from Charlottesville, who took the ferry out to the island and spend 24 hours with us. It was for us and the girls the first bit of socializing they were able to do since leaving Zia.


We met up again with Zia in Pocassett, spent the day there and left for Onset while Zia headed straight to Boston with a forecast of 15 to 20 "on the nose". This assured them contrary winds and a rough ride. We opted out and met them the next day in Boston where we are currently berthed. The marina where we are staying is next to the USS Constitution, the oldest commissioned war vessel in the world.

While a very impressive vessel to look at, it also comes with all the military stuff, including a canon shot at sunrise and sunset.

Boston feels like a small town compared to New York. We will be staying here for another day and moving on north to Kittery, Maine to visit Christian and his family on their 60 year old schooner "Truant".

That's about it for now, our camera did not enjoy the orange juice bath it received, but we hope to have a few photos on our next post.