Bringing Wanderbird home

[Bill NH]

This is a bit long, but thought it might be of interest...

After purchasing my new Cape Dory 26D "Wanderbird" down in the Chesapeake Bay, I spent the past week bringing her home to Northern New England. 

Some of you may have seen Wanderbird on eBay about two months ago – I bought her without seeing her (but obviously subject to an inspection) and after extensive discussions with the sole previous owner.  Usually I find that in talking with a boat owner one can very quickly tell both the level of his knowledge and experience and the quality of the maintenance and care his boat has received.  In this case I was provided with extensive documentation, manuals for all equipment, yard bills back to when the boat was first commissioned, and even a detailed maintenance log (a good idea for those not doing this already – it's a big plus at resale time!)  The karma was good, so I went ahead and bought her.

I flew down to Baltimore for a day to inspect her and complete the transfer paperwork.  Everything went smoothly, and I found Wanderbird just as she was represented on the phone.  This was certainly a relief, having driven many miles in my life to look at boats that didn't live up to their billing...  I left with paperwork in hand and a list of work to be completed before a trip north.

Several weeks later I was back down in Maryland for a weekend, driving down with boxes of maintenance supplies and a load of gear for the trip north, including a hard dinghy on top of the car.  After a very hot and humid day overhauling seacocks, tightening hose clamps and general maintenance she went in the water and I moved on to systems.  Fuel system cleaning and filter replacement came first, but when the little 2 cylinder Westerbeke fired up I noticed that the raw water pump was leaking salt water onto the alternator (good design Westerbeke, putting the raw water pump right above the alternator...) so I pulled the pump and rebuilt it.  Fortunately I could find the parts nearby.  On to flushing the fresh water tank and lines, dealing with the batteries and electrical system, checking through the rig, bringing aboard bigger ground tackle, charts, safety gear and a myriad of other tasks to get her ready.  By the time I headed home to NH after the weekend I felt very good about Wanderbird's readiness for the trip north.

A week ago Sunday and it was time to bring Wanderbird home!  Flying back down with just a single duffle, I spent the remainder of the afternoon provisioning and filling jugs of diesel.  With a total distance of just about 500 miles depending on my chosen route, I expected a trip of about 10 days and put in stores for 14...  As I was doing this trip singlehanded in "delivery mode" rather than "cruising mode", my plan was to go offshore from Cape May to Block Island, but that call would have to wait until I was at Cape May.

Early Monday morning I cast off and headed up the Chesapeake Bay.  Weather was hot and humid with light airs and I motorsailed up the bay.  With very little yacht traffic on the Bay and only a few tugs with barges, it was a rather uneventful trip to Chesapeake City, just inside the C & D Canal.  I took advantage of the free town docks in Engineer's Cove, and even had live entertainment provided by the band at the tiki bar next door that evening!

Delaware Bay was next, a body of water that can be placid calm or extremely nasty with short steep waves when the wind blows against the tide.  There's not much in the way of good stopping points on the trip down to Cape May, so it makes for a long day where the tidal currents play a major role.  I departed at 0430 to catch the last of the fair tide through the canal, reaching the Delaware Bay at about slack water and then riding the ebb down the upper bay.  Again, another hot day with enough breeze to motorsail but not enough to keep up my self-imposed 3 knot minimum under sail alone.  A number of dolphins were sighted as I got closer to the mouth of the bay, and at 1630 I arrived at the entrance to the Cape May Canal (the back route into Cape May that lets one avoid going out and around the shoals to come in via the ocean cut). 

My first stop in Cape May was the fuel dock, where I filled the tank and also took on an additional 8 gallons of diesel in jugs.  I had figured my fuel consumption at about 1/3 gallon per hour at cruising rpms, and given the notorious summer light airs off NJ and Long Island, I wanted enough fuel aboard to motor the next leg to Block Island if necessary.  As I mentioned before, I was in "delivery mode" and a 4 or 5 day drift to Block Island was not in the plans.  A further consideration was that I was singlehanding, and I know that I can maintain a good routine for about 3 days or so.  Beyond that it works well for me offshore, but that's about my limit coastwise.

From the fuel dock I shifted to a vacant mooring, and listened to the weather forecast for the next couple of days.  Strong winds and thunderstorms were forecast for that night, but then settling in to SW'ly breezes for the next few days.  Just fine for the offshore trip to Block Island, and I could skip the tedious run through NYC and LI Sound... the decision was made.  I brought my dinghy aboard and secured it on the foredeck - it covered the forward hatch, extending from the base of the mast up to the foredeck cleat.  Not ideal, but way better than towing a dinghy offshore!

When I awoke the next morning the harbor was fogged in, fog of the Maine pea soup variety, with visibility about 3 boat lengths.  So much for an early start!  But the harbor cleared about 1000, and I got underway around to the channel and out the breakwater.  However, when I was heading out I could see that the fog was still sitting in a dense bank right where the beach line was, and I watched the charter fishing boat ahead of me completely disappear into the fog bank almost instantaneously.  Now sometimes you have to deal with for when it comes up when you're underway, but given the choice it was an easy to call to head back to the mooring and wait for it to lift.  And turning back proved a good call, as the fog rolled back in and the whole harbor was enshrouded for the remainder of the day.  I used the time to do some good advance planning, entering waypoints and routes into the GPS that I'd be using on subsequent legs of the trip.  After enjoying a good meal and a social visit from the singlehander on the next mooring, I called it a night in anticipation of clear skies the next morning.

As predicted Thursday opened mostly clear with some low haze, and once again I headed out between the Cape May breakwaters into the Atlantic and set my course up the coast.  It's interesting that whether one is heading for Block Island or NYC, your course essentially parallels the Jersey shore for the first 50 miles or so before you must decide to bend left for NYC or continue straight for Block.

Once clear of the coast, the three areas of greatest concern are the Ambrose Light traffic separation lanes, but for a singlehander these are actually a good thing as they consolidate large ship traffic into these lanes (rather than just having them steaming in and out all over the place).  Obviously these are areas that require a heightened level of alertness, but in between the lanes I was able to get into a fairly regular routine of 15 minute naps with my trusty kitchen timer.  Every time it went off I'd do a couple full scans of the horizon, and if no lights could be seen I'd repeat the process.  Any lights dictated remaining up, and I actually did have to alter course once for a large vessel.  It's pretty amazing that two ships can want to end up in the same place when you think how big the ocean is out there!  Highlight of the offshore passage was a pod of a dozen or so white-sided dolphins that played alongside and surfed the bow wave for over an hour, accompanying me on my way.

My landfall was the Montauk Point "MP" buoy, which I approached at about 0400 the second morning, and shaped my course for the west side of Block Island.  In true "welcome home to New England" style the fog rolled in shortly, but it was ground fog (where you can still see stars above you but nothing down low) and it dissipated about an hour or so later.  As I had been able to sail a good part of the way from Cape May, I still had adequate fuel left and as I was feeling good, I decided to bypass Block Island entirely and continue on for Buzzards Bay.  As it was now Saturday, there were many yachts out on Block Island Sound and Buzzards Bay, but the wind went light and it was back to motorsailing.

My goal was Onset harbor, at the head of the bay right at the mouth of the Cape Cod Canal.  As I was heading up Buzzards Bay the signs of thunderstorm development could be seen, and the radio began to warn of late-day T-storms with high winds and heavy rain.  The race was on, but they caught me only a couple of miles from the harbor, after I had cleared Cleveland Ledge Light.  I had taken in sail and was just motoring when the gusts hit.  Visibility was minimal in driving rain and even a few minutes of hail, and a short wind-blown sea quickly developed.  Fortunately we were running with the wind and also had a fair tide, and 45 minutes later it blew over leaving a gentle drizzle and overcast skies.

I headed in to Onset; again my first stop was the fuel dock.  After topping up the tank just before the fuel dock closed for the evening, the kind dockmaster offered to let me lie alongside for the night rather than heading out to anchor.  Looking forward to my first full night's sleep in a couple of days, I gladly accepted!  After a shower and a bit of a walk to stretch my legs (my first time off the boat since Chesapeake City), I nodded off to a great uninterrupted nights sleep.

I had to be off the fuel dock by when they opened the next morning, but fortunately that early start coincided with the flood tide through the Cape Cod Canal.  I found myself making 9 kts over the bottom, racing along with the current!  At the east end of the canal I met up with a bit of morning fog again, which also didn't last long.  From here my destination was Portsmouth, 80 miles or so away.

Portsmouth is unique in that the currents on the Piscataqua River (the border between NH and Maine) can reach 6 kts, so one must pay attention when planning arrival.  I was looking at fair tides roughly between 9 and 3 morning and night.  By sailing when the wind was good and motorsailing when it went light, I rounded Cape Ann around sunset and shaped my course for Portsmouth.  I passed the Isles of Shoals just after midnight, and the wind filled in from dead ahead, but I was already closing with the coast and not much sea could build.  I started in to the Piscataqua at about 0200, and having made the trip up the river multiple times in my commercial shipping days it was nice to see the familiar lights and ranges on my way.  By 0300 I was secure on a mooring at Pierce Island off downtown Portsmouth.

So now Wanderbird is home.  It was a quick and relatively uneventful trip, just under 7 days from Baltimore to Portsmouth.  Not a "cruise" by any means, but a delivery run I'm very happy with.  The time spent preparing the boat (and its generally good upkeep by the prior owner) made for few surprises, although I do have a short list of items that need attention (like the binnacle light that died as I started up the river that last night, but a flashlight and tape worked fine!)  The Autohelm tiller pilot was an essential companion on the trip, and I'm also considering fitting the WindPilot vane that I have from a previous boat.  All in all I'm very happy with Wanderbird, and look forward to enjoying her with my family here in New England. 

[Frank]

Congrats...glad ya got her home in good order. Hope you have many happy times aboard.

[Godot]

Good story.  Not too long at all.

[Tim]

Congrats, Thanks, nice read

[AdriftAtSea]

Great post and congrats on the new boat. :)

[David_Old_Jersey]

A good read  8) Cheers.

[Norm]

Good story.  I have made the trip a few times.  It is a long haul and you must be alert.  You made record time and did so without break down.  A well planned delivery!

We were out there on Averisera from July 17 - 28.  Lots of fog, rain, squalls, calms, and spooky lightning shows.  The most amazing was the 27th. 

We go into Red Brook Harbor at lot instead of Onset.  We must try that some time.  The entrance looks so dicey.

I'll look for you in Portsmouth area.  I would love to see your new baby and hear more about your plans.  Elizabeth and I will be up there this weekend.  Maybe you know my old shipmate Tom at Great Bay?

Great story, thanks.

Norman
Boston

[okawbow]

thanks for the story!

I also bought my boat near Baltimore, but had to bring it 900 miles overland.

[Pappy Jack]

Great story, great boat ;D.

Fair wind and full sails,

Pappy Jack

[CapnK]

Congrats on the new CD, Bill, and Grog for that and a Safe Trip, Done Well. :)

As a fellow ex-CP23 owner, I can say that I bet you are *loving* that standing headroom. ;D

...and last, the obligatory:

Pics! ;D

[Bill NH]

Don't have any pics of the trip but here's a few of the new boat...  and yes, the 5'10" headroom is a big plus!

Launch Day


At The Dock

[Shipscarver]

You can sail with pride. What a pretty boat!