Sailing – Sail Andante

The final leg

It took four more days to transit the ICW to Andante’s winter home in North Carolina. The remaining 170 miles were both long and short. We put in one more very long day running from the Pungo Ferry Bridge to the head of the Alligator River, arriving at our anchorage after dark. The day included a treat in our transit through Albemarle Sound, where we could unfurl the sails again and give Andante a bit more room to roam. While we weren’t keen on running the ICW at night, it was less daunting here since Dave had visited the same anchorage several years prior and was confident in the available space, depth and holding. Nonetheless, we were very thankful for our radar, which guided us safely past several unlighted marks after dark, and for our charting program, which led us directly to Dave’s previous anchorage. In fact, we dropped the anchor almost exactly where Andante had been two years prior!

The long days allowed us to plan for a few shorter hops in the final days of our trip. The first would take us through one of the longest straight land cuts in the Pungo River – Alligator River Canal. Along this very narrow straight section of ICW, we enjoyed ever-warming temperatures, watched a bald eagle flying overhead and spotted great herons keeping watch along the shoreline. The shorter days underway were made even more enjoyable as we unfurled our sails one last time while transiting the Pamlico and Neuse Rivers.

With extra daylight hours on anchor we started working through a long list of jobs to get the boat ready for our arrival and final haul-out. Before we knew it, we were tying off lines at the dock on Core Creek, looking forward to standing on land again and greeting my parents. But we were also sad. Sad to have this great adventure behind us and sad to watch the cohort of boats we had traveled with continue south to their own destinations.

Sailing in the Neuse River. The mainsail is stowed because we had hauled the dinghy onto deck for the final haul-out.

Last few miles with canvas stowed and dock lines ready

Four days. Four states.

If there were a title for Leg 2 of our migration, it might be “Weather’s good. Let’s just keep going.”

We must have paid sufficient dues to the weather gods because in the days to follow we were blessed with clear skies, sunshine, calm seas and temperatures trending in the right direction. Having made the decision to head inshore to New Jersey, leg 2 of our journey would bring us south along the Jersey Shore to Cape May. With light winds on our nose, we spent the day motor sailing about 2-3 miles from shore, close enough for a nice tour of the various beach communities along our route. The cockpit on Andante can be fully-enclosed in canvas to protect us from the wind and weather which means that under bright sunshine we also stay toasty warm in our own mobile greenhouse.

Having had a good night’s sleep and with continued good weather in the forecast, we pushed south through the night guided by a near-full moon off our stern and by the very bright lights of Atlantic City off our bow. I passed the time on my night watch more comfortably this time, listening to a podcast while keeping an eye on the radar and AIS for traffic and other hazards. Sometime in the middle of my watch, I was surprised to discover a large bird peering at me over the gunwales of our dinghy hoisted in its davits on Andante’s stern. I’m not sure how long he had been resting there before I noticed him, but we would later discover that it was long enough to make a rather large mess!

We reached the southern-most tip of the Jersey Shore at Cape May just before dawn and, with light southeast winds forecast for the next few days, we pointed our bow north up the Delaware Bay. We were headed for the canal that provides passage to the upper reaches of the Chesapeake Bay. This route is extremely busy with very large commercial traffic delivering vehicles, goods and fuel to inland ports like Philadelphia and Baltimore. It took us all day to transit Delaware Bay and the Chesapeake-Delaware Canal. At twilight we entered the Chesapeake Bay and, without finding an anchorage to our liking and with the wind and weather holding, we made the decision to continue pushing south.

I started my night watch appreciating the navigational advantage gained through modern radar, charts, AIS and radio. I can’t imagine what it would be like to navigate these waters by paper chart, sight and stars alone. It is extremely difficult to determine distances over water at night and it is almost impossible to “see” your way through a meandering channel marked by lighted red and green blinking channel markers. I thanked all the technology at my disposal as a car carrier passed safely to port, only visible as a massive sky-scraper-sized absence of light and deep steady rumbling of engines. This included the AIS transponders that allow us to “see” each other in the dark, the radio that allowed us to communicate our intentions, the charts and radar that assured me that Andante was safely outside the channel and the radar that confirmed my larger friend was safely past.

The wind and currents gave us a bit of a rolling ride as we passed under the Chesapeake Bay Bridge north of Annapolis, MD around midnight, but things calmed down nicely again as the bay widened to the south and the winds dropped. We made steady progress down the length of the bay, stopping near dawn for fuel in the Patuxent River before continuing south. At this point, our goal was to reach Norfolk, VA where we would transition to daytime travel only as we entered the Intracoastal Waterway. Since Norfolk would mark the end of night watches it was perhaps fitting that we arrived around 1 am. Dave spent the night with Andante hove-to in a quiet corner of Hampton Roads while we waited for the sun to rise. Andante enjoyed the peaceful respite from transiting and was joined by a pod of playful dolphins who visited her repeatedly throughout the night.

Easy to spot and avoid by day! Some of the traffic in Delaware Bay

Migrating south. Stuff happened.

This year we decided to move Andante south to North Carolina for winter storage. Despite the distance from home, the warmer climate and DIY boatyard offers more opportunity to get off-season jobs done ourselves. In addition, the trip south gives us one last chance for adventure this season, with memories that can hold us until we return to the water next spring. While Dave has logged thousands of miles aboard Andante, this would be my first extended trip with overnight watches and more solo responsibility while underway – exciting and scary! We spent our final night before departure aboard the boat dockside, eating take-out from our local Chinese restaurant. The message in my fortune cookie seemed particularly fitting – “Take the chance while you still have the choice.”

We departed Red Brook Harbor under very cold and cloudy skies, riding a north wind southwest through Buzzards Bay. The forecast predicted that the winds would steadily drop to almost nothing by mid-day, shifting to the northeast and building some overnight. Based on this our plan was to follow the coast along the seaward side of Long Island, heading offshore to cut the corner and dodge traffic inbound to New York Harbor, ultimately arriving in Cape May, New Jersey. But forecasts are not always accurate, and plans must then change!

The day started smoothly, with a gorgeous sail out of Buzzards Bay and views of the new windfarm being constructed offshore of Martha’s Vineyard. The night to follow was very different than expected, with winds shifting southeast and building continuously throughout the night. A large quartering sea made it very difficult to keep the sails full and happy and hence Andante happily rolled from rail to rail. The sole log entry made by Dave between 0130 and 0930 simply says “stuff happened” — it was a bit too rough to write. In the early hours before dawn we made the decision to change our plans and head toward shore. After another full day of slogging through confused seas and heavy winds, we anchored exhausted in Atlantic Highlands, NJ with winds gusting to 40 kts after 33 hours underway. Before heading to bed, I opened the last fortune cookie left from our dinner the night before. The message said “The first attempt is the most difficult.”

All bundled up but the bow is pointed in the right direction

Don’t ask how many layers are under that lifejacket!

Favorite Places: Provincetown

One of our absolute favorite weekends this summer was spent in Provincetown – a bustling artists enclave located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod. Getting there from our mooring in Red Brook Harbor took us through the Cape Cod Canal and then straight across Cape Cod Bay and out of site of land. Emerging from the Canal into the cold waters and thick fog of Cape Cod Bay, we were thankful to have a new radar and updated chart plotter. Our first night on anchor was a bit sporty with strong southwest winds building impressive swells across the open harbor. The winds died down overnight and the remainder of our stay was glorious. In fact, it was so peaceful aboard Andante one would be forgiven for thinking that Provincetown was an equally sleepy village at the end of the road. In fact, the population of P-town swells from 3,000 year-round residents to 60,000 during summer and is known as a popular vacation destination for the LGBTQ+ community. We spent hours walking the neighborhood streets, admiring the meticulously maintained gardens and soaking up the atmosphere of kind acceptance that is so pervasive here. I think it is the contrast between peace and quiet aboard Andante and the vibrant celebration of life that is happening just ashore that makes this place so special.

The first leg of our journey took us through the Cape Cod Canal which is a manmade waterway that connects Buzzards Bay in the south to Cape Cod Bay in the north. Transiting the Canal can be exciting, requiring us to stay vigilant as we share the ‘road’ with big ships while negotiating strong tidal currents and large standing waves and eddies. The passage is visually stunning as we pass under the multiple train and traffic bridges that carry visitors from the mainland to the Cape. We purposely made our way north toward Cape Cod Bay early in the morning when the tide was with us and the recreational boat traffic was light.

Monitoring Channel 13 is a must in the Canal to avoid other (much bigger) traffic, like this tug and tank barge which followed us out to Cape Cod Bay in the fog.

The water on this side of Cape Cod is very cold and the fog can get pretty thick as a result. These waters are host to seals and whales (and their predators). We saw (and smelled) plenty of the former while at anchor and listened to the whale watching boat coming and going throughout our stay. In fact, it was on this trip that Captain Nicholas saw his first dolphins as they played around the boat one afternoon.

Rainbows abound in Provincetown – a visual reminder of the culture of acceptance and inclusion that are hallmarks of this special place

Mandatory shore stop: Fried Clams at John’s Footlong!

We usually take several walks every day to give this gentleman an opportunity to stretch his legs and do his business. Provincetown gave us miles of opportunity to practice our ‘city walking’, treating us with its spectacular gardens and impressing us with its pet-friendly and vibrant downtown

Long Point Beach is just a short dinghy ride across the harbor. The beautiful, remote beach sits at the very tip of Cape Cod and offers a pleasant change from the hustle of downtown Provincetown. We didn’t do much swimming here because where there are seals, there are usually predators too!

Another foggy walk. The Pilgrim Monument barely visible in the background is the tallest granite structure in the US and commemorates the first landfall of Pilgrims. The tower standing at 252 ft tall is usually visible for miles across Cape Cod Bay. Not today!

A Good Start to the Season

Having completed most of the long-deferred house jobs it was nice to get back out on Andante and enjoy some time on the water with family. The weather on Cape Cod is still a bit cool (especially compared to The Bahamas) but there have been some nice sunny days and the popular anchorages are still uncrowded.

Last weekend we set off for a nice overnight in Hadley Harbor, just south of Woods Hole and nestled between several of the privately-owned Elizabeth Islands (Naushon, Nonamesset, and Uncatena). This is a favorite anchorage of many throughout New England and we are fortunate to have it in our backyard. We had an easy motorsail down in light winds and spent a very pleasant afternoon reading and sunning punctuated by a visit from our friends on Space Puppy. We enjoyed a yummy supper that involved a great deal of kale and a quiet night. To avoid disturbing the neighbors I rowed Captain Nicholas to shore just after sunrise. The wind picked up a bit later in the morning and made for a very pleasant sail home.

We’re hoping to sail as many weekends as possible this summer and expect to be visiting many of our favorite spots including Cuttyhunk and Martha’s Vineyard. As time permits we hope to make some some longer trips to Nantucket, Newport and beyond.