August 19, 2010
Mt. Sinai Harbor, NY
Capn’ Pat at the helm
So, Block Island is a place many sailors speak of as some sort of ultimate destination. Probably because it is in the middle of nowhere, is a great sail, and has a great, protected anchorage. But, once you go ashore, what is there to do? Not too much, we discovered.
We were first deterred by the Block Island run-around. The Harbor Master came along side to collect his fees for the mooring we tied onto and sold us some tokens for a shower.
“What the hell?” I inquired. “Tokens for a shower? Well, I guess we aren’t at Utsch’s anymore, are we.”
Block Island Main Street
It would get worse. We radioed the harbor launch to come get us, kind of a taxi service on the water, which is nice. Abraham, the launch pilot and our soon to be boat boy, ferried us over to the town dock and dropped us off. We inquired about the showers.
“Oh, those tokens are for the other showers,” the lady at the store informed us. Turns out, we had to walk two miles to the beach pavilion on the other side of the island. Remember how I keep raving about how the bathrooms at Utsch’s are the nicest on the east coast? Well, the showers at the Block Island Beach Pavilion get the dubious distinction of being the worst I’ve ever used on the east coast. They were true beach showers, there was no privacy, and they were in complete disrepair, and above all else, we had to pay for the “privilege.” Unbelievable.
Block Island Architecture
We came back to the anchorage and decided to drown our displeasure at the local watering hole “The Oar,” a whole-in-the wall type establishment with it’s fair share of tourists sitting out on the patio drinking their lunches. We opted for the inside to hang with the locals and avoid the tourist fuss. After a few hours, we decided to hang it up and returned toShaboom for a good nights rest and try to get a fresh start on Block Island the next morning.
Leaving at the Block Island Light
Up early, we hailed Abraham to come pick us up, which he did promptly – he’s such a good boat boy. We asked him to fill us in on all the happenings on Block Island. He didn’t have an answer. As a matter of fact, every time we asked someone what there was to do here, no one really had an answer. I discovered the inhabitants of this sticky, clay-like rock in the Atlantic aren’t really all that good at selling the attributes of their land to the visiting population. I couldn’t really tell if they were actually happy we were there or not – let alone if they were happy they were there or not. There are 1000 permanent residents on Block Island, there must be something to do.
We wandered over to “town” to have a look around a find a place to drink our lunch. On our way over, we noticed something unusual about Block Island architecture. Almost every structure is covered with weathered cedar shake siding. I decided if I were ever to return to Block Island, it would be to develop and sell artificial cedar shake siding – a synthetic product I have yet to develop. It would come in New England Traditional White, Block Island Blue, Sea Foam Green, Long Island Gray, and perhaps a Maine Lobster Red and a Jellyfish Yellow – these people need some color in their lives! I wonder if there is a Block Island Owners Association that requires everyone to have the same weathered cedar shake siding. I feel I can really bust this market open with a new product, especially if I can find a manufacturer in China to make it and ship directly to Block Island on the cheap. I’ll make these old houses last forever. If anyone wants to form my Block Island Rehabilitation Project and make a buck, give me a call!
Sunset over Block Island Sound
Town was short – like only four blocks long. We ate and tried to give it our all, but it just wasn’t happening for us. We decided we would leave early the next morning, like 4 am, to make our way back to Long Island Sound. So, we caught a taxi and headed back over to The Oar. The Wind was blowing pretty well across the anchorage. We decided we would leave tonight, rather than wait for morning, as we would take advantage of what wind we would have left, as the weather was suppose to subside. After a couple of beers at The Oar, we both looked at each other and said “Let’s leave now.” We paid our tab, called Abraham for a pickup, and set sail immediately, leaving Block Island, RI in our wake around 1:12pm.
Cap’n Pat on watch
We had a good sail across Block Island Sound. The winds were fair and we were able to put some miles under the keel. I was on watch when we approached the entry to Long Island Sound at an area on the chart labelled “The Race” around 9:30 pm. Pat had gotten frustrated at all the crazy fishing boats and decided to get some sleep, leaving me on watch. As I approached the race, I kept hearing the noise of water rushing and kept a sharp look out for fishing boats darting around – but that sound. I just couldn’t place it. As I entered the Race, it became perfectly clear. The winds were dying. The tide was ebbing at over 3 knots. With the wind only pushing us along 1.5 knots, the up-welling of current was pushing us back out into the Atlantic. We were sailing at -2 knots. The charts to the right shows how crazy our course was as I tried in vane to get Shaboomover the hump and into Long Island Sound. All the purple squiggly lines were the boat sailing to the west, but actually sailing backwards much of the time.
Our track at “The Race” while entering Long Island Sound. We were sailing west the whole time (purple line).
As soon as the tide reached full ebb around 10:30, all the fishing boats disappeared and we were adrift. Pat came back on deck around midnight wondering why we hadn’t made any progress. One look at the chart, and he understood. He took the helm and with the change of the tides was able to get us into Long Island Sound and onward towards our destination, albeit at a very slow pace with the ultralight winds.
After a whole night and following day of sailing on light winds, we were only able to make about 30 nautical miles worth of progress. During that time, we did the best we could to finish our supply of beer. I dove into the engine room only to make the determination that our transmission was out of commission and we really shouldn’t run it to get into our anchorage. At that point, around 3:30 in the afternoon (beer running low), Pat made the call to Tow BoatUS for another tow. Since it would take us at least another night and half day on no wind to get into Mt. Sanai Harbor, we figuredTow BoatUS could have us there in a under three hours. We tied up toShaboom’s mooring ball around 7:20pm. Time for a meal, a shower and an actual bed at Pat’s house!
In the end, we had plenty of problems along the way, but we also had a great time. The old saying still rings true: The worst day on a boat beats the hell out of the best day on the job – and I think we have solidly proven that point on this trip!
Happy Sails!!!
– Steve
Voyage Facts:
Official Start: August 10, 2010
• Jabin’s Yacht Yard, Annapolis, MD
Official End: August 19, 2010
• Mt. Sanai Harbor, Long Island, NY
Total Distance:
• 460.5 Nautical Miles
Actual days of Travel:
• 8 days underway
Average Miles/Day:
• 57.5 Nautical Miles
Gallons of Diesel Fuel Used:
• 40 Gallons US
Average Speed:
• 4.2 Knots