Day 340- Newport, RI

Newport, where we've been for the past few days, is a sailing mecca.  We've been here many times before but never on our own boat.  The level of activity, even in crappy weather, is astonishing.  There are small boat races daily, preparations for the America's Cup series to be held here next week, the Newport-Bermuda race is scheduled to leave tomorrow and a parade of tall ships will be here in early July.  Our heads are spinning from the amount of activity around us.  When it gets overwhelming on land, we retreat to the boat anchored at the entrance to the harbor and watch the endless activity on the water.  It has been gray, rainy and in the low 60's since we've been here.  It feels miserable to us after months of warm, sunny weather.  But does not seem to faze the true New Englanders around us, who paddle, sail, row, motor happily through the foggy drizzle.  I think we may have some adjustment ahead of us...

We're starting to deal with the realities of incorporating ourselves back into a land based life.  We plan to take a break from cruising next week and try to secure housing for the fall.  If all goes well, we hope to spend a little more time exploring on the boat before starting school and work in a few months.

Foggy Newport harbor

Cool museum in Newport

Day 337- Block Island, RI

After a mellow 3 day passage up the coast from Virginia we're enjoying Block Island.  With only 5-10 knots of wind, we motor sailed about a third of the way.  The moonlit nights made night watches more enjoyable.  We saw a lot of traffic off the New York City Harbor entrance even though we were about 100 nm off the coast.  The most challenging part was dodging fishing and research boats that had gear deployed in the water.  It wasn't always clear where exactly the gear was, especially at night.
Block Island has a New England feel.  Not sure how much of that could be attributed to the cool weather,  which doesn't feel so good right now.  Hot water for showers has become much more valuable than it has been for months and we've had to put fleece jackets and down comforters to use.  Other than the "cold weather" it feels nice to be back in home waters.  Looking forward to catching up with friends and family.

The biggest fish caught on this passage, a sea bass we think

Another nice sunrise on passage

Getting caught up on school work

New Harbor, Block Island

One of the old grand hotels on Block Island

Deltaville, VA to Block Island, RI

We pulled up anchor in Deltaville this morning around 6am and have made approx 75 miles since. We are now off the coast of Chincoteague Island, VA. The winds have been light but we've been able to sail most of the day. Other than almost hitting a really big, red, highly visible buoy, the trip has been uneventful. Somehow this particular buoy snuck up on Pablo. It seems to take us a day or two to get settled into passage life so tomorrow all this will seem routine again. As long as the weather holds out we aim to arrive in Block Island, RI in 2-3 days.

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Day 331- Deltaville, VA

Borealis was hauled four days ago and Pablo has been working on projects almost non stop since.  He has replaced a few thru hull fittings, re applied bottom paint and over hauled the head.  The yard did a fantastic job polishing the topsides.  Borealis is looking pretty spiffy and not showing the 6000+ nm we've traveled.  The girls have enjoyed playing on land for hours and hours with friends from sv Gadjo Dilo and sv Puff.  It feels good to be back in the water after way too many trips up and down the wobbly ladder and numerous trips to the local West Marine to pick up parts.  And it was odd to be on the boat on the hard... and not feel the movement of the water.  We did feel some shaking when a series of tornado producing thunderstorms passed over.

Yes, that is the head in the cockpit, it was on deck for a few days and now back where it belongs!

It turns out nail polish application is more successful when not on a boat

Day 324 -Norfolk, VA

Wow, what an experience it has to been to arrive in bustling Norfolk after the serene ICW. The world's largest naval base is here. There are destroyers, aircraft carriers, submarines, jets, helicopters all around us. We stopped for a night smack dab middle of downtown Portsmouth, VA. The city provides free dockage in a few basins amid the waterfront skyscrapers. There is a great ferry that runs across the river to downtown Norfolk. It was a very nice place to explore and reminded us a little of our walks along the Boston waterfront. We are now anchored on the northern side of Norfolk, in Willoughby Bay and are being entertained by helicopters doing various training maneuvers near us. We plan to move to Deltaville tomorrow where we'll have the boat hauled for a few projects before heading back to New England.

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A lone tree in the middle of the ICW

Borealis in downtown Portsmouth, VA

USS Wisconsin in Norfolk

Day 322- Coinjock, NC

Time is no longer marching by as fast as it did in the Bahamas and Caribbean.  In fact, the last week seems more like a month.  Probably partly due to the fact that we're motoring along day after day in the ICW.  Parts are very scenic but also fairly monotonous.  We are limited to traveling during daylight and often can not use the autopilot and thus are stuck at the helm for long periods.  Other than the surprise we get from the depth alarm every once in a while it is not overly exciting.  It gives us plenty of time to contemplate questions like 'How are the dolphins able to navigate in the brown, murky water here?'  They must have some keen sonar!  And 'Why do they hang out here?'  The abundance of shrimp is one reason we can understand and relate to.

Hurricane Irene did a fair amount of damage as it made landfall in this area, last fall.  We met a group of college guys salvaging a 41' sailboat that had been blown ashore.  It seemed like quite an adventure with a lot of boyhood excitement mixed in.  They were working hard in muddy, wet and critter infested conditions.  I wish we could have stayed long enough to see them get it in the water. 

The difference in the color of the water in the ICW and the water in the Exumas.

Shrimp boats along the ICW

Boat stranded by Hurricane Irene

Not sure what this 'Danger' sign was warning us of

Pablo always doing maintenance (or maybe just messing around)

Day 318- Oriental, NC

I'm happy to report that it has warmed up, thus we are no longer wearing winter gear. Unfortunately the water color is still brown and murky, but obviously water clarity of the Bahamas is unrealistic and a nice cherished memory. We've spent the past couple of days exploring parts of the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW). The ICW is a network of canals and rivers that connect the eastern seaboard from FL to NY. Many parts are too shallow or have low bridges that limit our travel so we have picked a only few sections to explore. The shifting depths of the channels require our complete attention. It is not unusual to come across a spot that is significantly shallower than surrounding areas. Tow boats are busy pulling off boats stranded in the area. After a day offshore between Wrightsville and Beaufort where we enjoyed setting the autopilot and leaving the helm, we anchored at Cape Lookout. We had the large anchorage almost to ourselves and watched seals and enormous loggerhead turtles surface all around us. The nearby Shackleford Banks are home to a herd of wild ponies. Remi is working on a report about them which I'll insert soon. We are now in a small town well-known to sailors on the Neuse River called Oriental. We are enjoying the slow pace but highly functional and friendly environment. This is cruisers paradise. There are trash bins for us at the dingy dock, there are courtesy bicycles for our use, and great low key restaurants. The locals have a great 'can do' attitude that make things happen. We needed a printer and fax machine and were directed to the offices of the local newspaper. The friendly secretary took time out of her schedule to help us for about half an hour and would not accept any payment. We are enjoying some of the benefits of being back in the US, like all the fresh snap peas we could eat for $4 from the local farmers market and some of the best peel-and-eat shrimp we have ever had, fresh off of the shrimp boats that are based out of the small harbor. We have had the fresh shrimp two days in a row and may stay one more day to enjoy more!

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One of the many Coast Guard boats we've seen in NC; this one was making sure we weren't a threat to the 500ft tanker nearby.

A nasty squall passing in front of us

Riding to the grocery store