POTUS and IRENE

We left Cuttyhunk in search of POTUS (President of the United States).  We had a great sail up Buzzards Bay and through Woods Hole.

The Elizabeth Islands always remind me of the Caribbean!  This is Weepecket Island, just west of the entrance to Woods Hole.  I've noticed more and more boats anchoring off this island during the day for a lunch/swim stop.  Someday we'll do that too.  I wonder if there are any clams to dig there?

 BUT the engine started to overheat again.  We had hoped that if we ran it at low rpms (1800) and gradually increased it to 2400 rpms like we did from Gloucester that it would be fine.  It didn't.  We put the engine on to help us through Woods Hole - and also got a lot of help from the current, then continued to sail over to Vineyard Haven.  We really went there to stock up on food and maybe get a glimpse of the President.

Sea Force One?  We had good reason to suspect that President Obama was aboard The Alabama.  But even if he wasn't, it was a gorgeous picture.  

The weather was beautiful, but the wind direction wasn't.  We rocked and rolled on anchor outside the breakwater, so, once our shopping was done on Tuesday morning we headed for Cuttyhunk.

The tide was with us down Vineyard Sound, and the wind was from a favorable direction - we had another great sailing day.  We anchored in our favorite spot, and settled down for a relaxing night aboard, listening and watching the weather reports about IRENE.  What should we do, it's not going to really impact the weather until Sunday - but should we head home as soon as possible since the engine isn't 100%?  We finally decided to sail to Newport on Wednesday, spend Thursday there, get another impeller and David would spend some more time bonding with the engine.  He will try to flush out the hose and replace it, check the impeller again, and replace it if it's damaged (it was 6 years old), change the oil, and anything else that he thinks may be affecting the temperature.  (If any of you are thinking it could be the gauge, well, we replaced that at the beginning of the summer).

Our sail to Newport was just perfect also.  The tide helped us all the way, turning with us as we rounded Castle Hill.  Unusual for us, we sailed right to Fort Adams. 4.5 hours from up-anchor in Cuttyhunk to on mooring in Newport Harbor.  Excellent!

Always a welcome sight as we enter Narragansett Bay.

We spent last evening at 41North, relaxing and reviewing options and preparations for IRENE.

We are lousy pool players - but we have fun, and it's something different to do.  We had the room to ourselves for more than an hour, I'm working on perfecting one shot, and NOT putting the cue ball in the pocket!

It looks like IRENE's coming.  Our plan, subject to change - head to Borden Light on Friday.  Talk to Mike - if we haul, we need to go back in the water  since our tenants won't be moving out of the condo until September 11th.  We will find a hotel or some place to stay on land the nights the boat is out of the water.  If we can't haul, hopefully we can move to a slip closer to the shore.  If we have to vacate the slip, then we'll have to bring her back to Newport and put her on the mooring, and PRAY!!!!  Don't worry, although we have contemplated staying aboard in the Kickimuit, I don't really think that's an option.  Of course, we still have some time for the IRENE to change course, like EARL last year, but we need to be prepared.

I think the weathermen have done an excellent job forecasting the weather this summer.  If Kelley's (Channel 10) forecast is correct, then IRENE is headed this way.