Hello again!! This time from the Island Free Library on Block Island, RI. We finally made it out of the Noank/Mystic area and over to Block Island. The trip over was fairly uneventful but the family was definitely "impressed" by the conditions. We motored over in four hours in southwest winds of 15-20 knots with gusts to 25 with seas of 3-5 feet. The family requested a motoring trip as opposed to a sailing trip and given that it was our first time out in open water that was fine. The boat would have sailed beautifully in those conditions but we'll just have to take things one step at a time.
Joanna did a great job on the helm when I would go below to check our position on the computer. Drew did really well along with Jo as navigators and Jake kept an eye on our engine temp and RPMs. Emily was wonderful as usual once she got used to the motion of the boat.
You can click on the charts below to see our course and to see where we are situated on the Great Salt Pond. It is fantastic to finally get some place and now that I'm getting the hang of posting pictures on the blog I expect to be sharing a lot more. We've been taking a BUNCH!
Joanna did a great job on the helm when I would go below to check our position on the computer. Drew did really well along with Jo as navigators and Jake kept an eye on our engine temp and RPMs. Emily was wonderful as usual once she got used to the motion of the boat.
You can click on the charts below to see our course and to see where we are situated on the Great Salt Pond. It is fantastic to finally get some place and now that I'm getting the hang of posting pictures on the blog I expect to be sharing a lot more. We've been taking a BUNCH!
So, why the heck did it take so long for us to get over to Block Island? Good question. Long story short, ROCKS. Lots of 'em. On our second time out of the dock, to go to the pump out station again, I made a wrong turn. BAD idea. I was supposed to go left of a mark but instead went right. Ooops!! The upside was that everyone got to experience the exceptionally stout construction of the Pearson 424 first hand. It is a REALLY tough boat. Taking on a rock pile at five knots and coming away with just a few minor fiberglass scratches is pretty good.
But, those few "minor scratches" had to be fixed at the Spicer's Marina Boat Yard. They did great work and did it very quickly. We were only up on the blocks for five days but living out of the boat on the blocks wasn't really that much fun.
This is what life was like for a while while we were getting repaired . . .
After the repair and being put back in the water we still had to get the sails on, have the rigging tuned and taped and complete the final checks on the engine. We finally got all of that done on Wednesday the 27th and the minute we were done we took the boat out of the slip, watched out REALLY carefully for any more rocks and headed for Block Island.
But, those few "minor scratches" had to be fixed at the Spicer's Marina Boat Yard. They did great work and did it very quickly. We were only up on the blocks for five days but living out of the boat on the blocks wasn't really that much fun.
This is what life was like for a while while we were getting repaired . . .
After the repair and being put back in the water we still had to get the sails on, have the rigging tuned and taped and complete the final checks on the engine. We finally got all of that done on Wednesday the 27th and the minute we were done we took the boat out of the slip, watched out REALLY carefully for any more rocks and headed for Block Island.
1 comment:
Ahoy Ehlers Clan!
Greetings from cloudy Portland. The Blues Festival starts today and every time I see the boats out our windows, I think of you. Things seem to be going great. Looking forward to lots of updates. We miss you.
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