I promised an update from Bermuda and here we are a week into our stay in Newport, Rhode Island. You would think I'd have plenty of time to write now that we are cruising, but we have been very busy!
The trip from St. Thomas was idyllic. Five and a half days of wind on the beam and not much in the way of seas so it was great sailing and very comfortable. Pieter has not had much time on Independence in the last year, so once we were cleared by Bermuda Customs and Immigration we headed to the anchorage in St .Georges harbour and he started on a list. Our main problems were refrigeration and hot water. Both easily fixed once the causes were diagnosed and both very important. It gets cold in Bermuda in June and cold showers are not an option for these warm weather sailors! It turned out that Pieter had disconnected the hot water heater when a hose started leaking, bought the new hose and put it behind the heater to put on later! Twenty minutes in the bilge with a screw driver and some hose clamps got me a hot shower. The fridge needed a little more ingenuity, but Pieter remounted the cooling pump and so far, so good - cold drinks and frozen chicken! While he was in the engine room I was busy polishing stainless and sanding and varnishing teak on deck. Everything works, for the moment, and we look pretty good too!!
It wasn't all work though, we had a visit from sister Ann and her husband. Peter so took them for a boat tour of Bermuda. We went through the swing bridge into the very quiet and lovely waters of Ferry Reach past some lovely old homes ... A step back in time except for the roar of aircraft landing at the main airport!
We exited through the pilings of an old bridge that was destroyed by a hurricane years ago. The next leg of our trip was to the old Dockyard; on our way there it was off the wind and calm and fast. We tied up at the big ship dock to take on some duty free diesel and then to the yacht marina for water and some time ashore to explore the beautiful old buildings. Bermuda has a very British history so we went to a pub, the Frog and Onion, for a lunch of Cornish Pasties and a draught beer before heading back to St .Georges. Upwind, now, against the choppy little waves, it wasn't so quick or so dry a passage and we were very happy to escape back in to Ferry Reach.
We spent two weeks in Bermuda and are looking forward to going back in October. St. Thomas is our home and the Virgin Islands will always be our favorite place, but Bermuda is very special. If you get a chance to go grab it!
After waving goodbye we did the last minute provisioning and laundry, cleared out of Bermuda and made ready to head off-shore to Newport. We left with three other boats who were all bound for Maine so we set up a radio schedule with them and chatted every evening after Herb's weather net. Herb is a Canadian, former Bermudian resident and cruising sailor, he is a very knowledgeable meteorologist and talks to yachts every afternoon. He gives each one a personalized forecast wherever they are in the Atlantic region, Trinidad to Greenland or Halifax to the English Channel. Sometimes he is on the air for hours and for us it is better then television for information and entertainment.
The trip to Newport was fast, we did it in just under five days. We had about 12 hours of 25+ knot winds and pretty rough seas; I was glad of my Bermuda-bought sea sick remedy, Stugeron. If the FDA ever approved it for use in the USA it would put Dramamine out of business! It was a spectacular night with lots of thunder and lightning, so we had lots to talk about on our radio chat session. One of the boats recorded 40 knots; all of us were happy to see sunshine and calming seas in the morning. The Gulf Stream, the big obstacle to cross en route to the east coast, was a mill pond. We have never seen it so calm and - thanks to Herb and our other weather guru, Chris Parker - we crossed at a very narrow point. We were through, with little adverse current, in about six hours.
We had thick pea soup fog for most of the rest of the way. Thank goodness for radar, but I guess that guy 'Murphy" thought we were having too easy a trip so he threw a monkey wrench at our exhaust system. Lots of hissing noises alerted us to the problem so off with the engine - that means no charging of batteries so limited use of radar and no auto pilot. Fortunately we had a light but steady breeze so we rigged up the Aries Wind Vane, which steers us by wind power, and started sailing. The eddies off the Gulf Stream were pushing us briskly in the right direction so apart from not having the radar always on to watch for shipping, we were fine. Pieter had a very close call with a big ship and after that he got creative. The exhaust elbow had rusted through where it goes into a big hose, he splinted it with most of a roll of duct tape and about ten hose clamps and it worked! Radar on (thank God!!) and as the wind died we were able to use the autopilot again. The repair got us in to Newport and was actually still working fine a week later when we made the proper repair! The sun came out and burned off the fog so coming in was easy. Homeland Security met us at Goat Island Marina a few minutes after we tied up it was a very pleasant entry. They didn't even come aboard, just checked passports and ships papers and wished us a nice stay. We got fuel and water and did a quick fresh water wash down - free water in Newport which is a real treat for us islanders!
Newport is a sailors town, there is plenty of room to anchor, lots of dinghy docks and places for trash, and a constant parade of boats to watch. We loved our time here 3 years ago and it almost feels like a second home now. We have made some repairs and done some more varnishing, eaten some lobster and lots of cherries, and generally reacquainted ourselves with the joys of Newport.
Our plans are to haul Independence on July 23rd for about a month and go land cruising. Our first trip will be south for a family reunion with daughter Hillary's in-laws and,of course, our amazing grandbaby, Marisa.
All the fog, tides and lobster pots have us planning to drive to drive rather then sail to Maine! September is boat show month in Newport and then we will be planning our return to Bermuda and on home to St. Thomas in early November.
We have had quite a few e mails requesting charters for next season so we are excited about that and looking forward to lots of sailing. Sometimes it takes a while to find a computer when we are cruising so please be patient with me if it takes a few days for me to answer an inquiry. My cell phone works up here so if you would like to call for information the number is 340-513-2897. I hope everyone has a great summer and we hope to see you in the Virgin Islands next season.
All our best! - Pieter and Pat
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