Further Adventures Of SV Nutmeg

  17- The wind was much stronger last night and it blew hard much longer than the predictions. Non-the-less we survived just fine. When the tide was flooding (going up river) the boat would be twisted sideways to the wind. The wind was strong enough to heel the boat right over. Once the ebb started the boat settled into the current and the wind was once again on the nose. I might have even gotten some sleep if hadn't been for that damn halyard slapping all night against the mast. I tried several times to quiet it down but to no avail.     This morning was nice and calm and I spent some time despider webbing the boat putting it back to normal. While most of my preparations probably didn't make a difference you never know. If the hurricane had taken a slightly different path we could have been hammered. Of course the guy right behind me who did less than nothing to prepare his boat did just fine also. A boat had broken free of its mooring on Friday here at the yac...

  Portsmouth harbor after hurricane Lee Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Portsmouth at low tide

 9/19- While I sit here in Portsmouth I'd like to talk about the Portsmouth Yacht Club. The club is located in New Castle NH.  New Castle is a quaint little town located on an island in the middle of the harbor. It is a very old town. I have seen houses that were from 1668. As you can imagine it is also quite ritzy. There are many beautiful houses and gardens. The array of flowers here is impressive. I imagine zoning must be a real bitch.    You might think that being located in a posh sort of town and the members all being boat owners that there would be some snobbishness. Quite the contrary, I have found almost all of the members to be very open and welcoming. Even when facing a perfect stranger in their club they are friendly. They have offered me places to stay during the hurricane as well as the use of their cars. If you ever get the chance I would heartily recommend a visit. Similarly Portsmouth is a fascinating city. There is an amazing amount of history here ...

 9/ 13- Okay folks we have hit another stumbling block on our way south. Alayne's dad passed away last night. She will be heading to California for a week so I will sit here with the boat until she gets back.     Right now we moved the boat over in front of the yacht club as it is a little more protected. We still have this hurricane to deal with. It looks like it will hit us here around Friday night and last most of Saturday. Let's hope for the best. The yacht club folks have been the best. They are treating us like family or at least another member. I may even get to watch a football game in the sailors lounge. I may have to get a blue sports coat??!!!     Let's talk hurricane. I have spent most of the last several days prepping the boat for hurricane Lee. One of the first things we did was decide early that this was where we wanted toride out the storm. If you get in early you avoid the frantic running around to marinas that are already fu...

 9/ 8- We are staying here for a few days while we wait for a weather window for the next hop. We would like to just jump down to Rockport MA which is about 60 miles away (10 hours). However the forecasted winds for the next several days are from the south which will be right on our nose. There are other options which include Portsmouth or the Isle of Shoals. So we wait and see what the weatherman brings.    We walked into South Portland today to go to a grocery store. It was a nice walk and we found a pedestrian path on the way back. This is a really nice beach with very fine sand which will take weeks to get rid of on the boat.     We went to a very nice dinner at the home of the CD member who is letting us use his mooring. He had invited 3 other sailing couples and it made for an interesting evening. There was a big thunderstorm that went by just as he was picking us up and another huge storm just as we got back to the dinghy. We waited on shor...

 9/ 5- After many days of preparation we are finally ready to head out. We had several tasks that needed to wait until after the Labor Day holiday. After finally getting the last task done we headed out of Rockland. As there was no wind at all we motored all the way into Long Cove in Tenants Harbor and tied up to the Nutmeg mooring. As it was blazingly hot I went swimming but as the water was chilly I didn't last long. Still it felt good. I have always liked this spot as it was where we first met Anne and Les  ( the previous owners of our boat). It made a good if short first day as we now try to get back into the rhythm of this cruising lifestyle. Tomorrow we hope to get into Boothbay.      The thing that has always amazed me about this harbor is the s ounds. Sound travels incredibly well over the water. I can hear conversations over a mile away. Of course that also means that I can really reach quite the audience when I start singing with my ukulele. ...