Observer

We are often asked if we will do this trip again.   I think a better question is whether we are glad we did it the first time.   Our response is a resounding yes.   We really enjoyed the planning and boat selection leading up to the trip.   It became a shared interest, a hobby. The trip exceeded our expectations. Every day for a year was part of our adventure.   We were challenged by the task and blessed by the experience.   We are very grateful for everyone that helped us along the way.   It's a big list that ranges from family, co-workers that covered our lives in our absence from home and work, to Loopers, the AGCLA, and many others we met along the way. To all of you - THANK YOU.   We wish Millie could really tell us what she thought about her Great Loop.   She made it really easy to have her along.   Dogs have stereophonic nostrils whereby they can really pick up deep nuances of scents.  I suspect she'd say she smelled some really cool things.  I can tell you f

Tuesday 5/22    Off the dock at 6:00 its is sunny and flat seas - great conditions for the last day of our trip.   As the North Shore of Boston came into view, it turned overcast and rainy - but we were able to hang onto the calm seas.   We just so happened to arrive for the final stretch at dead low tide.   We called Tim's Mom as we cruised passed her home and by 1:00 we were tied up at our slip at the Danversport Yacht Club for the summer.   We began our trip a year ago today - Alice's Birthday. Passing Boston Our first glimpse of home Tim, in one of his most daring feats of the last year, decided before we reached the safety of our slip at Danversport, that he was going to nudge Observer over to our mooring off the house to see if there was enough water under her keel at dead low tide.  Fortunately, there was and we didn't go aground three minutes before we finished where we began exactly a year ago to the day! Henry enjoying a kayak after work be

Some photos taken early morning before our departure from Stonington. Monday 5/21    Off the mooring @ 6:15 and we want to make some tracks today if weather conditions will allow.    Weather was quite good and we arrived in Sandwich, MA on the east side of the Cape Cod Canal @ 3:00.    We filled our diesel tanks and settled into our slip.    Tim got out on the south side of the Cape Cod Canal bike trail and had a fantastic ride.    We walked over to the Pilot House restaurant for dinner and had a really nice meal and reflected about our last night on this trip and how great it's been for us.   Passing Watch Hill, CT where we had to turn back yesterday.  Much better conditions today! Sandwich Marina The bike trail along the Cape Cod Canal

Sunday 5/20   We'd like to leave today.  Not only are they forecasting strong winds and significant waves it was foggy as anything when we got up.  We decided to hang tight and check the weather as the day progressed.  About 1:00 we headed out with the goal of getting as far as we could.  We went through a few areas of dense fog, but they didn't linger.  We were passing the turn off for Stonington (just the next town East of Mystic) and conditions seemed favorable for a course to Block Island.  As we eased out from watch Hill, RI and made our turn the waves were too significant to our beam.  Even changing course a bit towards Point Judith and then Newport did not make for a comfortable ride.  We doubled back to Stonington (never been here before) and made our way to a mooring from Dobson Boat Yard.   It's a small mooring area just off a small town, but the boats (mostly sail) are beautiful.  We took the dinghy in, paid for our mooring and let Millie check out the local are

Thursday 5/17.   Up and off the dock at 6:30.   The bad news is that it is cool, raining and foggy.   The great news is that we have very light winds and flat seas.   Today is the best travel day ahead for a few so we want to make it some where we will enjoy hanging out for a few days.   Our destination is Mystic, CT.   W e actually had a pretty good run there til we got to the entrance channel (where it is tight maneuvering and our visibility from heavy fog went down to less than 50'.   To make matters more challenging there was current in the channel so we had to make speed (headway) while figuring out where we were. We made it through this narrow stretch and visibility improved and we were docked at Fort Rachel Marina by 4:00.   We got ourselves and OBSERVER squared away and took Millie for a walk about.   We saw a great place for dinner - the Oyster Club.   Alice went in to get a table and Tim took Millie back to the boat.   We had a delicious meal there - yum.   Fog se

Saturday 5/12   It's raining and overcast in the mid 50s.  We dropped the mooring around 9:00 and motored over to the town dock to perform a self serve pump out - that was easy.  We had a 15 mile run over to Stamford, CT.  The challenge of the day was staying out of the way of 50 or so racing sailboats.  By 12:00 we were docked at Brewer Yacht Haven - we've been here before.  It's a nice facility but nothing around it.  We will leave Observer here for a couple of days to attend to a couple things at home before we make our final trek to home with OBSERVER. Passing NYC from the north today Approaching Brewer Yacht Haven in Stamford Our view from the bow Sunset from our porch in Danvers the first night during our brief visit home

Friday 5/11    Our goal is to 'Cross our Wake' today - that is crossing over the same stretch of water where we began our Loop almost a year ago.  We need to time our transit of the East River and its Hell Gate to depart the Battery 2 hours after low tide.  We calculated a 12:30 departure from Great Kills and approached NY City from the south.  We were blessed with clear conditions and calm seas (outside of boat wakes) and the interactions with commercial traffic were all logical and manageable. Approaching the Verrazono Bridge and NYC NYC We passed right by the famed Statue of Liberty and then CROSSED OUR WAKE! at the Battery - New York City @ 2:55 pm. . .  Exact location where we crossed our wake Tim captured it a picture of our wake crossing on the chartplotter Now we need to pass through Hell Gate.   Our last time through one year ago we passed through at slack water.  We are now going with the current which probably boosted our speed th