HYC Cruise Day 8 August 1 Block Island RI to Stonington CT 18 6 Miles

Ohana left Block first, at about 7:30, after fueling up at Champlins dock, where he had to slither into a relatively short space between two megayachts on the fuel pier. He is heading as far west as he could get today, but later advised that he would not stop before City Island where he will arrive tomorrow. Sunset from Ohana.

ILENE left next, at 8, after raising and securing the dink, Again, the mooring painter hardly had time to get wet before the next boater picked it up. Today was a good sailing day, we put up full sails immediately after leaving Blocks channel and sailed all the way into Stonington on a port tack. Not a white knuckle speed day, what with ILENEs dirty bottom (Barnacle Buster didnt get to us before the cruise) but speeds between four and six knots depending on the wind. We picked up a mooring from Dodsons at noon and spent a few hours aboard before going ashore to tour the land. This is my first time here that coincided with the annual "Stonington Day" festival -- a lot of craft booths on the green. Long hot showers at Dodsons.

We heard True North call the Yacht Club, where Blast is also now, on outside berths. I had mentioned how packed in the boats were at Paynes Dock in Block. Ernie provided this photo. This is way too close!

We took Dodsons free launch from shore to the YC for dinner with a stop at this "cruise ship" out of Mystic in the harbor where its guests embarked her.

Also joining the cruise and on a mooring is "No News", Ken and Camilles Nonesuch, They are active cruisers but this is No News first Harlem Cruise and they love the extra room their new boat has. They will detach tomorrow and join us again in Centerport.

Dinner for ten at a big round table at the Yacht Club [photo on PC Martys camera will be added here later] was delicious and long. We just sat around telling stories long after the foood was gone.

On the walk back to Dodsons to get the launch to our boats we showed Ken and Camille the location of the 24 hour, freshly caught fish store, with payment of the marked prices by the honor system. But it was closed, sadly an apparent victim of lack of honor.

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HYC Cruise Day 5 July 29 Noank CT to Block Island RI 21 Miles

Calm conditions grew windier in spots between our 9 am departure and arrival at about 1:30. Blast passed us as usual. Our sails were up but not helping much. Tide was helping though. We heard from Bennett on "Ohana". He had left the Harlem at about five pm the night before and motor-sailed through the night;  he was only a few miles behind us.

When the winds filled in and strengthened we turned of the engine and sailed the last hour, including through the cut into the new harbor of the Great Salt Pond, making 6.5 knots. Maybe not the safest way to enter a crowded channel but thrilling. 

We were fortunate enough to capture an available chartreuse mooring, about fifteen seconds after a departing boat dropped its pennant in the water. And Ohana rafted to our port side.
Here is how the rest of the fleet is arranged in Block: North Star and Shanghai are on their anchors, and Blast is wedged into a tiny dock space at Paynes Marina. Good job Ernie!

Ohanas dink is not holding air so we used mine and efforts to find the hole have been unsuccessful so far. I took Bennetts three guests (niece Laura, her husband Rolo, and his son Chris) to shore -- to get snacks. While there we met most of the crew of Blast, after their lunch at the Oar. Then I took the three of them across the pond for a beach landing, so they could walk across the narrow spit and swim in the ocean from the beach just north of town.

A problem: while landing the three folks in the small surf,  the dinks painter got caught on its prop. When I put the motor in forward, it shut down. And I couldnt tilt the engine up to unwrap the painter from it because its ability to tilt was constrained by the painter. What to do: row! But lets just say that inflatables do not row well, especially into a stiff wind. If you put your back into it, the pads holding the oarlocks are likely to rip off. So Im making about two inches per stroke and have the best part of a mile to go. Plan C: hitched a tow from a friendly power boater with wife and small dog in his dink. When we got to his boat, about a third of the way to ILENE, and secured the dink to his boat with my spare line, he cut the painter with his knife. We were then able to tilt the engine, unwrapped the line from the prop and I was back in business! Back at ILENE the new painter was  installed.

The crews of ILENE and  Shanghai, with Bennett, went to shore for dinner and wandered to the restaurant at Paynes Dock. Food pretty good and not expensive. Waitress very friendly and helpful. And then the folks from Blast serendipitously wandered in and so there were nine of us.  No one goes hungry on a Harlem cruise.

Roger, Bennett, Marty, Ghennie, Ernie, Camille, Lene, Jennie and CJ

It was a windy night with high winds predicted for tomorrow so Shanghai elected to stay another day with the fleet.

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