It was an uneventful motor from Halifax, through the Sambro Channel and past Sambro Island, to Lunenburg.  When we drove to Lunenburg with Scott and Tara, it seemed that there were a lot more tourists there than we remembered from earlier years.  While we were happy for the Lunenburg residents that rely on tourism, we were hoping it wouldn’t be too crowded to enjoy hanging out for a week or so. And we were not disappointed!  Lunenburg was as beautiful as ever, but the streets definitely had more tourists on them than in years past. 

When you visit the same area again, it can be difficult to pick where to go – do we revisit favorites or try new places? 

This time we did a little of both – absolutely we made time for the Knot Pub and their wonderful fish and chips but we also found a new Texas-style BBQ joint and a tapas bar to try.

The Knot Pub had put the time they were closed for COVID to good use and built a new outside patio for dining.  It had a different atmosphere than inside, more touristy and less homey.  Not sure about it yet.

The Smoke Pit BBQ on the Lunenburg waterfront smelled really good so we decided to try it and their brisket was spot on Texas style.  But the way they served their sandwiches in the restaurant were a bit more “fusion” than we were comfortable with.  After all, what Texan would eat a sliced brisket sandwich with wasabi mayo and pickles.  So we took straight brisket to go, covered it in Stubbs BBQ sauce from our pantry and put it on a bun with potato salad.  So good!

The next time we went by, we talked to the owner and complemented his barbecue but told him what we had done.  He just laughed and said basically that he agreed, but he couldn’t sell straight up Texas BBQ here.  The sauce would be too spicy and the sandwich needed to be “modern”.   We couldn’t argue about that.  After all, this was the province that insisted gyros be converted into donairs before they embraced them.

The other new place we tried was a tapas restaurant, Bar Salvadore.  It is a sister restaurant to a couple of the seafood restaurants overlooking the waterfront. 

Bar Salvadore is a small venue, with seating for maybe 20 and the tapas were amazing.  The  traditional Spanish potato omelet (Tortilla de Patatas) and the garlic shrimp were both great and they had an authentic Ibérico ham on the countertop.  But the best part was visiting with our tapas chef, Jesse.  Jesse learned all she knew from studying a tapas cookbook over the winter and had not been to Spain yet.   We were amazed and told her so – no one would believe she hadn’t trained there.

The word “tapa” means “cover”.  One of the theories of the origin of tapas is that after a hard day’s work, a Spanish laborer would stop at a bar and get a drink on the way home.  For the price of a drink, he was given a free piece of bread or ham as a cover for his drink to keep flies or dust out.  The cover was then eaten after the drink was finished.  Eventually this evolved into a free snack on

a small plate with every purchased drink and the plate was used as the cover.  Until recently, tapas were still free with drinks in Spanish bars but now the tapas are every bit as much of the reason to go to the bar as the drinks. 

But soon it was time to keep heading south.  We did not know how long we would have to sit in Shelburne before getting a good weather window to return to the States.  And we wanted to stop for a night in the LaHave River so we could to to the LaHave Bakery.  Stephanie especially wanted to get a French-Canadian tourtière pork pie and LaHave Bakery was supposed to have one of the best.  We dropped our anchor in the LaHave River off the bakery and took the dinghy

to their dock.  The bakery served lunch and pre-made food to go.  We had some good sandwiches in their unique interior, with the walls covered in historical Canadian memorabilia.  Then we went downstairs to the pre-made food area to get a pie.

Almost immediately we saw a problem.  There was a gaping empty rack in the freezer section where the tourtière pie was supposed to be.   Such disappointment!  Everything else was full except that.

It turns out that they only bake the pork pie twice a week and wouldn’t have any more for several days.   Oh well, maybe next time.

The next morning we left for Shelburne.  Originally we had [planned to stop at Brooklyn or Port Mutton and go into Shelburne the next day, but we had the tide with us and made good time from LaHave River.  So we went into the Eastern Way, past McNutt’s Island, which felt way too open to the southwest breeze off the North Atlantic, and anchored off Gunning Cove breakwater. 

It was another hour into Shelburne Yacht Club from here.  They were already closed yet it felt strange to see Shelburne and yet not be there.  But the next morning we putted up the arm after breakfast and it was all good.

It was wonderful to be back at Shelburne Harbor Yacht Club for a few days.  We were expecting our friends Curt and Kathy Barth in a couple of days.  In the meantime, we could enjoy Wednesday night race night, complete with burgers on the yacht club porch.  Also, it is just so nice being in Shelburne.  Wednesday night races did not disappoint, nor did the burgers.  It was now almost Labor Day so the college kids working at the yacht club had mostly left.  Burgers were cooked by whatever yacht club member volunteered, but it was all good. They had done this before.

Curt and Kathy came in a few days later.  We had seen them last in Halifax and they were waiting on a transmission to be installed before they could leave.  They anchored at Port Mutton on the way south and got their anchor snagged on a rock. The commodore

at SHYC had helped them find a diver to get it free.  So needless to say, by the time they got to Shelburne they were tired and not having a good time.   But a couple of days in Shelburne had everyone relaxed.  This is when we learned that they were likely retiring from cruising soon.  It was sad news, but sooner or later we all have to move on to something else. 

We were able to enjoy a family meal night at the yacht club.  This is something new – a local chef brings in a meal, the yacht club sells the alcohol and a good time is had by all.  This night it was beef stroganoff meatballs with a little history lesson thrown in.

Curt and Kathy had already left for the States and we planned to leave soon.  Unfortunately we had a nasty surprise.  Our siphon break on the main engine failed and allowed water to back into the engine’s oil pan,  It was not as bad as the time we totally flooded the engine, but one or two injectors had water in them and the oil needed to be drained, more oil run through, then drained, etc. for as much oil as we could find.  It was a Saturday morning and we had to really hustle to find an open parts store and buy all the oil we could and haul it back to the yacht club.  This winter we are definitely going to have an exhaust riser fabricated to keep this from happening again.

But in the end it was done.  We gave the yacht club a big “Thank You” as one of their members took away the 10+ gallons of used oil to a recycling place on his own time. 

Our trip back to the States was uneventful.  We timed the Cape Cod Canal to arrive at the eastern end when the current switched to the west and we shot into Buzzard’s Bay by noon.  Our plan was to anchor in Mattapoisett Bay and call the US Customs and Border Patrol for clearance into the States.  It basically worked according to plan except that where we used to anchor was now filled with mooring balls.  Luckily Mattapoisett Boatyard had an open mooring ball and we notified USCBP through the ROAM app that we were back in the US.   We had previously input all our data into the ROAM app, including global traveler numbers, boat information and the US Treasury decal number that costs about $25/year. The USCBP had the option to clear us in via the

ROAM app, initiate a video call to interview us to clear us in, or to require us to come to the nearest USCBP office for an in-person interview.  We were hoping for the first option, but we had been honest in our answers to their questions – we had food and alcohol aboard.  Of course we did, we live here.  But luckily for us, about 45 minutes later we got a message that we were cleared into the US and could remove our Q flag and go ashore if we wanted.  We didn’t want to. We just wanted to eat dinner and go to sleep.  But first we were treated to a beautiful full moon over a very calm Mattapoisett Bay – a nice way to spend our first night back in the States.

The next day we moved down Long Island Sound to Newport RI.  We were still fighting an intermittent problem in the charging system and wanted to get to West Marine for a part.  From there we made a quick two night trip down the Sound to Port Washington to spend a few days.

As we have said many times before, Port Washington is one of our favorite places.  There is a dinghy dock in front of a large grocery store and a West Marine, liquor store and Salvatore’s Pizzeria a short walk away.  Plus the town is packed with good restaurants, like Yummy Gyro.  Of course we made time for a lunch there.

We stocked back up on fresh foods, eggs and other things that we knew not to bring in from Canada and were luck enough to be there for the Saturday morning farmer’s market, where we stocked up on dried salami and fresh mozzarella and filled the freezer with ravioli, fresh pasta and sauces from Bambino Ravioli Pastificio.  

All too soon it was time to leave Port Washington behind and head south, through New York Harbor.  The morning started easy enough. We checked the timing for passage through Hell’s Gate to make sure we had the current with us and read through all 45 pages of the Local Notice to Mariners for New York Harbor to see what obstacles like dredges or missing marks lay ahead.  There was nothing mentioned and it was a beautiful day.  We expected no problems.  Unfortunately we made a rookie mistake.  We knew the UN General Assembly meets in mid-September but if there was going to be a closure of the East River next to the UN Building, we expected it to be in the Notice to Mariners.  NO SUCH LUCK!

About 9 am when we were about an hour before arriving at Hell’s Gate, we heard the announcement on VHF Channel 16 that the western branch of the East River in front of the UN Building would be

closed to all boat traffic at 9 am.  All boat traffic would have to divert through the east side of Roosevelt Island.  This diversion primarily affected sailboats and large powerboats; there is a drawbridge with only 40’ of vertical clearance when closed across the eastern branch!   And this drawbridge required a two hour notice for opening. 

Hell’s Gate (called that because of the wicked current) is the point of no return for an auxiliary sailboat

We need 63’ of vertical clearance, so if the drawbridge didn’t open in time, and we couldn’t make progress against the current, we could hit the bridge and lose our new mast.

United Nations Building

Roosevelt Island Drawbridge

It was a tense hour as we made the decision to go ahead.  It was just Monday – this was going to be happening all week.  We were told by the Coast Guard and NYC bridge operations that the Roosevelt Island drawbridge would open on request all day, not requiring their normal two hour notice.   But it still was a leap of faith, since the currents through the East River, on either side of Roosevelt Island, could be over five knots and we could not fight those currents for hours.  Big powerboats and commercial boats could go against the current, but not sailboats.

We were 30 minutes past the deadline for closing the west side and we hoped they were running late, but they were not.  As we left Hell’s Gate and got to the north end of Roosevelt Island, we could see the drawbridge and the patrol boats blocking the east side.   We called the bridge operator on VHF and he assured us he would have the bridge up by the time we got there.  

And he did!  Poor man, for the rest of the time we were in VHF range, he was reassuring sailboats that it would be okay.  We also chimed in for the first few, letting them know that for all the tension and drama, it actually went quite smoothly. 

SO GLAD THAT WAS OVER!

The UN Building is beautiful, and a reminder that, as humans here on Earth, we keep trying to do better, to be better, so we don’t destroy our only home.   But we never want to see it again from this side of the East River!

And to end an unexpectedly exciting day in the East River, a sea plane landed between us and a catamaran we were following down the river.  Hopefully the pilot knew what he/she was doing, but it sure looked close to us!

After a quick stop at Liberty Landing Marina for diesel, we motored to Atlantic Highlands and took a mooring ball for the evening.  Our plan was to time the entrance to the Delaware River at dawn the next day and ride the current to the C&D Canal.

The trip from Atlantic Highlands to the C&D Canal went well but we had an approaching weather system that required us to anchor in the Sassafras River for three nights. We had winds in the 30-35 knot range for most of that time.

After the storm we went into the Anchorage Marina, where we had spent some of our summer for the last three years.  It is a comfortable place, with easy walking to grocery stores, West Marine, a great Ace Hardware, an Italian bakery and tons of good restaurants.  Since Stephanie’s birthday had been spent in transit, we went out for Indian food at the Darbar for a belated celebration. 

In years past, we had eaten at Himalayan Spice but unfortunately it is now closed.  We hoped the Darbar would be as good and we were not disappointed.  The curries were exceptional.  We will definitely be back if we are in the area next year. 

We also took time to go to Slyce Pizza and pick up a cannoli kit at Vaccaro’s Bakery.  It is nice to have traditions, especially those that taste good!

One of the most difficult things about cruising, especially as we get older, is keeping annual doctor visits up to date.  If you find a good cardiologist, you don’t want to lose him/her so you tend to go back each year.  That is an important visit we make in Baltimore.  But we have primary care and an ophthalmologist in Florida.   These things are easy to schedule if you live in one place, but not so much when you move around.  This winter we have decided to stay further north than in the past so we can catch up on our preventative care and routine tests.  Hopefully we won’t freeze to death trying to stay healthy!  But Baltimore is too far north -- we need to at least get to the southern Chesapeake.

But soon it was time to head south from Baltimore.  We had a haul-out scheduled at Cobb’s Marina so that we could “wax” the hull and do a couple of other projects that are best done out of the water.    The weather just wouldn’t cooperate for a leisurely trip down Chesapeake Bay, so we ended up motoring overnight for the 120 nm to Little Creek Virginia.  As much as we like Cobb’s Marina, they do not have open slips so it was not an option to spend the winter there.

There is always something unexpected that happens during a haul-out and this time was not an exception.  There was a car in the

way of the travel lift so Donny had to go search down the owner to move it.  Uh-oh, it wouldn’t start.  Nothing else to do now except round up a bunch of yard workers to push the car out of the way of the travel lift.  Too bad it now blocked someone else’s car. But that was not our problem and shortly La Vita was blocked and ready for work.  We only had a week so we needed to get busy!

Our hull is painted with Awlgrip paint and we want to keep it looking good so twice a year we “wax” it with Awlcare.  It’s not really wax, it’s more like Mop & Glow.  You smear it on pretty thick, then let it dry and wipe it off, then buff it with a fresh cloth.  No power tools allowed.   As we’ve gotten older, we’ve found this goes much better hauled out of the water, working on scaffolding instead of dangling off of a dock, holding on with one hand and trying to wax with the other. It took 5-6 days to finish. In the meantime, we painted our anchor chain.  This is also best done at the yard.  Most marinas look poorly on stretching chain out on the dock and using spray paint to refresh the colors.  We use a red/white/blue/green pattern.  Red is 25’ of chain out, white is 50’, blue is 75’ and green is 100’, then it repeats for the second 100’ of chain.  Over time, the paint wears off as it rubs on the windlass (the large winch that lowers and raises the anchor) and the bottom.  But you must know how much chain to put out to anchor safely.

A standard anchor scope with an all-chain rode is about 5:1.  That means if you are in 20’ of water, you let out about 100’ of chain.  If there is more wind, you want a longer scope, say 8:1 so 160’ of chain in the water.  But you can’t just put out all the chain you have and call it good.  The more chain you have out, the larger your swing radius.  In an anchorage with other boats, having too much chain out can cause you to hit another boat, or swing into shallow water.  You can see how important it is to know how much chain is in the water.

There are many other methods for marking anchor chain besides paint.  Some people use colored or multiple wire ties; there are special markers with numbers on them also.  We have a friend who counts the time she lets out the chain and knows how much chain goes out in a that time frame.  Whatever method works, stick with it and the R/W/B/G works for us.

Another thing that has changed over the years is that we almost always rent a car now while we are hauled out.  It always seems there is something to be picked up, taken somewhere or investigated and it all goes easier with transportation.  As we get older, we seek simplicity and comfort wherever possible, and don’t mind spending a little extra money for them.  Especially when we are working hard.  While we had a car during this haulout, we drove to Hampton VA and checked out the Bluewater Yachting Center.  We identified Bluewater Yachting Center, a Safe Harbor marina, as the best place for us to spend the winter in this area.  We knew it would be warmer than Baltimore since it is near the Atlantic and has warmer ocean water coming in with the tides twice a day.  It is also within walking distance of a grocery store and there is a restaurant on site in case we get bored and want to get out of the boat without a car.  Plus the amenities looked very nice.

Everything looked fine at Bluewater except for one thing -- our winter slip was not empty.  Each year Bluewater hosts the Salty Dawg Caribbean Rally for 5-6 days as they prepare to sail from Hampton to Antigua.  There are parties and seminars, grocery runs and last minute repairs.  And right now Bluewater had about 120 Salty Dawg boats full of people waiting to sail to the Caribbean.  Unfortunately the start, which was scheduled for November 1, was delayed due to weather and there was no good weather window in sight.  It could be two weeks or more before they left.  Dave the harbormaster had his hands full accommodating all these unexpected long-term transients, but he told us not to worry.  He had a larger slip we could have until the rally left.  We were guardedly optimistic.

We finished our work and splashed at Cobb’s but wanted to wait out a couple of days of bad weather before relocating to Bluewater.  It was only a few miles from Little Creek to the Hampton River, but it is not fun to be on the dock, tying up a boat in cold, rainy weather.  Cobb’s let us stay on the dock next to the lift pit until the weather improved.  From there we could see the Morningstar Vinings marina next door.  Morningstar Marinas bought Vinings last year and replaced their old, decrepit docks with nice new floating ones.  We could see Vinings’ new docks quite well -- and they were absolutely covered with seagulls; not just the main dock, but down every finger pier, all the way to shore.  Seagulls have always aggregated in Little Creek in the fall prior to migration and they had always seemed to prefer Vinings over Cobbs, but how was Vinings going to recruit new tenants on their new docks with all this bird poo everywhere?

Later in the day, there was no empty space next door, the birds started moving over to our dock!  First just a few, but then so many more.  It felt like we were on the film set for “The Birds”.  It was time to get moving before these gulls found a way into our enclosure!

But in a couple of days, the rain stopped, the sun came out and we left the seagulls behind to organize their migration south and moved from Cobb’s Marina to Bluewater.  The temporary slip Dave put us in was actually nice except it was very exposed to south winds.  We had a good view and a full finger pier on one side.  Bluewater is a power boat marina, with short finger piers and unattached pilings to tie to, difficult for canoe stern sailboats to work with.

At least for the first month at Bluewater, we would be able to use our gate and board normally from a full finger pier.  We also had a great view out into the Bay and across the River to the Hampton University. 

Our plans were to spend the Thanksgiving holiday in Texas with Stephanie’s family and then move to our winter slip after the Salty Dawg boats finally got to leave

for Antigua.  In the meantime, we started to get to know our neighbors and get moved into Bluewater for the winter.

The next update will be about how it was a bit colder in Hampton than we expected but we loved being at Bluewater.  See you then ....

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