Rain, Rain Go Away!! Janice and David want to play!

May 26, 2017

It has been a rainy couple of weeks here in Newport.  Not only that, but other than two or three days of significant warmth earlier this month, it's been on the cold side too.  We purchased a small propane heater that uses the 1 pound propane canisters, and it's been very comforting (to say the least) on some of the colder nights lately.  Since we don't have the convenience of electricity it has proven to be a worthwhile purchase. 

 

Some evenings have been just beautiful though.  The harbor is beginning to fill up with boats and we have enjoyed the sights and sounds of Newport Harbor. 

 

A Darth Vader Shields sneaking around the harbor kept us entertained one evening. 

 

But we never tire of the sunsets. Top photo is from Obsession on Mooring 267, our Newport Home. The one below is from Goat Island overlooking the Bay and Newport Bridge. 

 

We did manage a short trip to Cuttyhunk, but nothing was open.  We tried out the new windlass and anchor chain - it handles differently and there was a learning curve. For the first time ever-we dragged anchor. After some serious discussion we realized we both made serious errors-David only put out 40ft. Of chain(we usually put out 60ft) and Janice didn't back town and "give it a little tug". Anyway, we took a mooring that night and the next day we re-proved our anchoring skills. 

 

The two solar panels are handling the load of the refrigerator and a small freezer nicely.  David's hard work and determination with re-wiring the alternator as per Balmar's instructions has proven that last year's problems were not ours, but the incompetence of the electricians we hired last spring and summer. 

New Bedford will be our next trip after Memorial Day. The propellor needs adjustment and we'd see if Niemiec Marine can figure out why the engine puts out gray exhaust. Otherwise, we are "Good to go." 

 

RAIN RAIN GO AWAY!!

JANICE AND DAVID WANT TO PLAY!

  

TRAVELING SOUTH - Dock to Mooring 3/4mile

May 11, 2017

In four days we will move from our little corner of the world at Newport Harbor Hotel and Marina to our mooring in the middle of Newport Harbor.  We will be starting our trek south (by only 3/4 of a mile).

OBSESSION in our little corner of the world at Newport
Harbor Hotel and Marina

Living dockside has it's pluses and minuses over being on a mooring.  A few examples of pluses include: Easy access to shore and our car and hot water and electricity.  When we are on the mooring, we will have to call Oldport Launch to pick us up or take our dinghy (OCD) to shore.  I will only do dishes when I have to - paper plates will become our best friend, and I will periodically have to heat hot water on the stove to wash and rinse the dishes.  We can use a sun shower (when and if the sun ever shines again) and we can run the engine to get hot water, but we tend to come ashore and shower.  It's a routine we have gotten used to over the many years of boating.  However, we are looking forward to being on the mooring where it is quiet and serene, the sunsets are unobstructed, and where we can sit for hours in the cockpit watching and listening as the harbor starts to come alive again.

A view of the empty Newport Harbor on a beautiful spring night

Getting ready to leave the dock included removing the shrinkwrap, and getting rid of and storing winter clothes/shoes that we won't need for a year or more.  (Been there, done that last year).  We spent a fair amount of time poring over the charts and Eldridge preparing for our September 20 departure, as well as planning out our summer.

All the pre-planning will be well worth it.
Everything is weather dependent.  

More and more of our dockmates have come down to prepare their boats also.  A few have come back from down south sporting healthy tans under their zipped up parkas and bare feet.  Am I jealous of them?  Yes, a little, maybe.  But I know that will be us next June.

This family went to Antigua for a good portion
of the winter.  Olivia drew this water scene
on the inside of their "door" before they left.
I just had to share it with you.

Speaking of next year.  We welcomed the Volvo Ocean Racing Crew of Vestus and 11th Hour Racing to Newport Harbor a week or so ago.  They arrived on a cold, rainy, miserable day to a small crowd of us at Newport Shipyard.  They and the rest of the fleet will be stopping in Newport next May during the Volvo Ocean Race that starts in Spain in late October.  We will follow them all winter, and I hope those of you back home in Newport will get a chance to see them all again in May 2018.  We will be traveling north on the ICW, probably somewhere in the Carolinas then.

I am so glad I'm not sailing this
"machine" down the ICW

We still have things to do - install the new helmseat, put up the sails, test out the new windlass, and most importantly get Obsession's engine and electrical system running like new.

The next blog I will try to do from the boat using only the iPad and my iPhone.  I have to figure out a way to get the pictures from my phone to the iPad.  Is there anyone out there who can offer some advice?