Ocean Passage Part 1- Hampton to Bermuda.

     After five days at sea we arrived happily in Bermuda for an unplanned break in our journey. On day four we made the decision to shoot for Bermuda after learning of some potentially rough weather around the BVIs. We figured a break in the trip was a good plan and we may as well start our time in a tropical paradise somewhere a little closer! What a strange place. Bermuda is an island surrounded by and made up of coral reef, located way out in the ocean far from any other land. During the trip I wrote jot notes so that I could remember a bit of each day, which was a good idea because the passage now seems like one big blur. We got a kick out of reading them out loud last night, so I've included them here for your reading pleasure:

Friday Nov. 11- Day 1: Left Hampton at last! Cold + windy. Seasickness for Mom and Sarah. Night watch #1 inky black clouds with silver moon-lit lining.

Saturday Nov. 12- Day 2: Mom sick all day. Feeding Dad + solo watches. Gulf Stream crossing, but no current. Warmer water @ 21 degrees Celsius. Dolphin sighting in the AM + Dad catching flying fish on deck in the PM. Life @ sea is lived in three-hour increments.

Sunday, Nov. 13- Day 3: Steady winds. Waiting for Raftan.

Monday, Nov. 14- Day 4: Under 999 nautical miles to go! Resting, eating, hair-washing. Mom feeling bit better. Nerves over possible rough weather near BVIs. Fear, stress, tired. Solo watch= calming and the moon and soothing companion. Good for solitude. Rougher waves.

Tuesday, Nov. 15- Day 5: Bermuda bound! Stoked, stopover in Bermuda agreed with Raftan to await better weather. New place, no knowledge. Warm! T-shirt + shorts day on deck. Satellite phone texting with Jamie. Excited. One more night then rest! (Later in the dark of night) Hell night- squalls, steep seas, exhausted, so close to Bermuda.

Wednesday, Nov. 16: Heaven! Tropical paradise in the middle of the ocean. Relief and joy and overflowing excitement. Green waters, buildings of St. George's the colour of hard candies- pastels in blue, yellow, pink. Quiet and chill. Reefs to explore, foods to savour, sights to visit. Hot sun! First tropical swim ever! Bermuda is a heavenly haven in the sea.

     Since arriving we have felt stoked, relieved, and overwhelmed with excitement all at once. We are so happy to be in such a beautiful warm place and to have arrived here safely! The majority of our passage had the best weather we could have asked for. The seas were light and the sun shining during the day and at night the moon would rise to light our way over the dark waters. Eerily enough we encountered strange currents and choppy waves a few days out from Bermuda, which brought to mind the unsettling tales of the "Bermuda Triangle." On our last night we hit a couple of brief squalls and although we weren't in danger during them it was nerve-wracking and stressful. This strange current turned out to be caused by cold eddies that appear on the US Navy Gulf Stream current charts and are a common occurrence in the Atlantic Ocean. Although the concept of the "Bermuda Triangle" is a myth, we could understand how it came about as a legend after sailors encountered these unpredictable squalls and hit the choppy waves thrown up by currents in even the lightest of winds.

     Now a few "thank-yous" for my fellow crew members. The trooper award for the passage goes to Sarah, who despite throwing up many times was always up and ready to help just a few short minutes afterwards. The endurance award goes to Mom because although she was sick and dizzy for the majority of the trip she still tried to help out where possible. Dad was an amazing, calm captain the whole way, who made solid dependable decisions and kept us all safe. As for myself, I tried to keep everyone fed and rested and did many solo watches at night to ensure everyone had enough sleep. All in all each of us did an amazing job of helping out where we could to make the passage as safe and comfortable as possible and I am so proud to be a part of this solid family crew! This is definitely an experience that each of us will look back on with a strong feeling of pride and a tinge of awe.

     Now that we are safely in what constitutes as our idea of paradise we are busy grabbing pamphlets and travel guides to optimize our time here with snorkelling sessions, scuba diving adventures, museum and aquarium visits, and possibly even a swim with dolphins! Yesterday we explored the lovely and historic town of St. George's on the northern end of the island. The foliage and vegetation here is overwhelmingly beautiful and hibiscus adorn bushes in reds, whites and pinks. In the afternoon we rode in the dinghy to snorkel around a small shipwreck across the bay in St. George's Harbour. We were in complete awe of the corals and colourful fish as we kicked leisurely around a rusted shipwreck in the shallows. These tiny fish with black vertical stripes and yellow on their backs floated around us so close and unafraid. We also spotted lots of brain corals and two angel fish which we identified in our Reef Set (Reef Creature ID books) as a Townsend Angel Fish! It was a perfect first snorkel in the tropics.

     Our plan is to stay here for at least a week before deciding when to depart for part two of the ocean passage to the BVIs. Over the last few days cruising boats have been pouring into Bermuda for a stopover on their way to the Caribbean. Bermuda is a popular destination for cruise boats but they dock in the capital Hamilton or the south-west end of the island whereas St. George's is filled to the gills with cruisers and delivery crews migrating south. The boats here make ours look small. After just one day here we have a lot of pictures to sift through for posting, but that will have to wait until we get to a wireless hotspot as we've had no luck at our anchorage.

Thanks for reading and here's hoping you've enjoyed our tales so far,
Nicole.
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

Arrived in Bermuda

We have safely arrived in Bermuda. Wow, what a beautiful place! We love the blue water.
Will update later.

Jon.
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

Stop in Bermuda

     We have been doing a great job of going east but the winds haven't allowed us to go south as much as we would have liked. We are stuck on the north side of a high pressure ridge and to get south of it requires a few days of solid motoring into the wind, which neither us or Raftan enjoy.

     Believe it or not we have used only 2 gallons of fuel and half of that was when we left Hampton. I suspect most others have used 30-50 gallons. It looks like there is a 20% chance of a tropical low forming east of the Virgin Islands. Even if it does not form it will bring strong weather that we will need to sail through later in the week.

     Given our current position and the concern about a tropical storm, we will likely stop in Bermuda early Wednesday morning. We have been aware of this system potentially forming since before we left and in fact it was given a 1 in 2 chance of forming when we left Hampton. Patrice (Raftan) and I have always viewed Bermuda as a safe bail out point and current winds are allowing us to sail directly there.

Jon.
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

Day 3 Update

     We are currently 225 NM northwest of Bermuda (34-38N, 68-20W). We are supposed to be in a ridge where there is no wind but we have 20 knots and are sailing S-E in a perfect summer day for sailing. Air temperature is about 80 F and the seas are not that big. We are trying to get further south but we want to ride this wind east while we have it. It looks like we may get a windshift that will allow us to proceed more south in the next 12 hours.

     We are sailing in company with Raftan. They were a bit slow going upwind yesterday but have put their larger headsail up and they are now going well. How come I haven't been getting any emails? It's lonely out here. If you do respond please eliminate the copied text before sending.

Jon
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

Day 2

     Hi Everyone, Nicole here. We are currently ahead of our plan and making good time. Over the first 24 hours Mom and Sarah felt seasick, but Sarah has gotten used to the motion and is now content and comfortable. Mom is having trouble getting used to it again but we are keeping her well fed and giving her lots of drinks and hope she will feel better in the coming days. Dad and myself have been feeling fine most of the way. The waves have been small and the winds hovering between 5 and 15 knots the whole way so we had a great Gulf Stream crossing.

     We exited the Gulf Stream at 4:15 this morning and are still making good time. The water warmed up to 21 degrees celsius and the winds are much warmer on this side of the Gulf Stream. Raftan is a few miles behind us and we have another boat from the Salty Dog Rally alongside, so there are things to look at other than the waves. Last night Dad had a flying fish land on the boat deck. He had to pick it up and chuck it back in the water. Yesterday Mom and I had dolphins dancing alongside our bow in the morning light. Our overnighters have been comfortable and lit by the moon.

     We are all ensuring we eat lots and take turns resting. Currently Sarah and I are taking watches together and alternating with Dad every three hours or so. Note to Jamie and Granny H- Dad just called home on the Satellite phone and left a message...it is 1:08 pm Atlantic Standard Time for us. Hope everyone at home is well. We are enjoying the passage so far and hope to have decent winds continue over the next few days.

All our love,
Nicole and crew.
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

On Our Way

     We completed the first day of our passage as per our plan. We left Hampton in a strong, cold wind from astern. Today was sunny with winds around 20 knots, which was perfect to push us east across the Gulf Stream

     The water temperature rose from 14 degrees C to about 23 degrees C. We had dolphins playing in the bow wave for a while. We will exit the Gulf Stream in a few hours. We are travelling with Raftan and doing our best to stay within about a mile. We are sailing right now with another boat that we have been passing for the last couple of hours. The wind forecast for the coming days is looking better than it was with a bit more wind. So far, so good. I will check in again tomorrow.

Jon
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

Detailed Passage Information

     I have tried to capture a high level view of the route planning. Note that this is a rough plan. Winds can’t be predicted accurately more than a day or two out, but this is our current thinking. The first chart is the route out of Hampton Virginia. Note the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel in the lower right part of the circle. This is the tunnel that we always travel through on the way to Cape Hatteras.

     Our plan is to leave at about 2pm on Friday Nov 11. The Caribbean 1500 is starting at 10 am and the start is off Old Point Comfort (see lower right in chart below). They will have about 70 boats on the start line. The Caribbean 1500 boats all have transponders (like our Spot) and can be followed here http://www.worldcruising.com/carib1500 . I suspect that there will be a variety of different routes chosen. Up until yesterday we were planning to follow the coast south to just off Diamond Shoals / Cape Hatteras to cross the Gulf Stream at its narrowest point. Now we plan a more direct east route to where we believe that we will see better winds in days 3-5. We hate motoring!!

     Here you can see the route out of the Hampton, Norfolk area. Note the Chesapeake Bay Bridge – Tunnel on the right of the chart. This the route that we have taken on our way to Cape Hatteras when we have gone down the Delmarva Peninsula. The bridge-tunnel is almost 20 miles long and has two channels above the tunnels for boats/ships. There is plenty of naval traffic here as Norfolk is the largest naval base in the world and it is full of aircraft carriers, submarines and other warships. On the VHF radio they talk about how they will use “deadly” force if you get closer than 500 yards to a naval ship.  We hope to see some aircraft carriers and submarines on our way out to sea.

     Once offshore the challenge is the Gulf Stream. Opposing wind to the current in the Gulf Stream can build up mountainous seas. According to the wind predictions, once the cold front goes through tonight the winds will back to the northwest and then west. This is the first time that the wind will not be opposing the Gulf Stream in the last week.  Based on our projected departure time of about 2pm on Friday we should be entering the Gulf Stream in the early morning on Saturday with expected 10-15 knot winds from astern.  The Gulf Stream current will be about 4 knots and the water temperatures will rise from 58F where we are presently to 75-78 degrees. The chart below shows the predicted currents and water temps for our Gulf Stream passage. I want to look at a revised Gulf Stream entry about 10 miles south of that shown to pick up the stronger currents to the south. We can’t go too far south though because there is a cold eddy rotating counter clockwise (centred at 34N/73W) that we must stay north of so that we don’t pick up an unfavourable current.

     The predicted sea state and winds when we enter the Gulf Stream look like this.  The dark green shading represents 10-12 foot seas and the brown is 12-14 feet. The largest waves in this sector would be 24-28 feet. Most of this is from of Tropical Storm Sean that is lying SW of Bermuda. By the time we get to this area seas should be down to 5 to 10 feet. The wind will be about 10 knots from the west, it sounds like we might be flying spinnakers at this point.

     Here is the complete route to Jost Van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands. Note that the other way points are those from the southern route that we will not be following. Note that Bermuda is approximately 150 miles east of our planned Day 4 position.

Hopefully in about 9-10 days we will be entering  Jost Van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands.

     The above routing is based on the weatherfax charts below for present , 48 hr and 96 hours. The tropical cyclone activity chart shows that Sean is heading off to the NE after passing Bermuda.

Jon.

Information on Passage from Hampton, VA to Tortola, BVI

     Here is our contact information while we are on the passage from Hampton, VA to the Tortola, BVI. Due to weather that remains uncooperative it is unlikely that we will leave before Thursday, November 10th. We will be sure to send out emails and put an update on the blog before we depart.

Contact Information

Direct:

• Email: TBD

• Satellite phone:  +870776453672 or 00870776453672 **please note that we will use this mostly for outgoing calls and it will not normally be on.

Indirect:

1. We are part of the Salty Dog Rally which has daily check-ins/chat at 9am and 8pm EST where we will update position/conditions etc. As part of the Cruiseheimers Net/Doo Dah Net we will also check in daily at 5pm EST http://www.bigdumboat.com/doodah.html . **If you need to contact us on an urgent matter use Dick Giddings who runs the net at richardcgiddings@yahoo.com . We will be talking to him daily on SSB. 

2. Herb Hildenberg runs a daily weather forecasting and ship routing over Marine SSB from his home near Toronto,  http://www3.sympatico.ca/hehilgen/vax498.htm . We will be checking in with Herb once a day (2:30 EST). He is also available to communicate urgent messages. Herb can be reached at hehilgen@sympatico.ca 

**Please note that we have used the name “Mor’ Childs Play” with the Salty Dog Rally but simplified it to “Childs Play” for Herb as we have only communicated over SSB. In an emergency these two names should be considered the same and refer to us. It is highly unlikely that “Childs Play” is in the same vicinity if it even exists.

Communications Equipment On-Board:

• VHF radio for communications up to 50 miles (Call sign:CFN4919, MMSI: 316011825)

• Marine SSB HF radio for long range communications of voice, email tbd ,  weatherfax

• SPOT transponder for position tracking and indicating urgent situation by pressing distress button. Position information   http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0GjnOTvs7TzkvT1nBKRYglIK4X5bkxckk

• Position information will be updated on passage on the blog. The blog home page also has the links to position information http://morchildsplay.blogspot.com/

• EPIRB for activation in a distress situation

• Satellite phone:  +870776453672 or 00870776453672 **please note that we will use this mostly for outgoing calls and it will not normally be on.

*Clearly if both EPIRB and SPOT are activated it is a distress situation not an accidental activation.*

On a happier note, the weather here in Hampton is much nicer today with the sun out and everything, so we can enjoy that at least while we continue preparations for the journey.

Friendly Cruisers, Frosty Nights and Fierce Anticipation

     Currently at the boat in Hampton, tomorrow we head back into the Chesapeake for a few days. We will return next weekend to provision, fill up on diesel and water and prepare for the big passage to the BVIs. Before entering the Chesapeake region we hadn't encountered many sailboats and none who were heading south like us. Here they are plentiful and people are eager to share their stories and experiences. We've met many Canadians but no one who did the same route as us along the St. Lawrence River. Some had their boats trucked down and others managed the Champlain Canal.

     Docked at the Hampton Public Piers we are surrounded by cruising boats loaded down with spare diesel cans, solar panels, wind generators and even scuba diving tanks. Many people have arrived at our dock for the Caribbean 1500 rally, but since we're not signed up we are only observers of the preparations.It's a new experience having so many fellow cruisers around after so much solitude. From Quebec all the way to Nova Scotia it was just us and Raftan and we often felt like explorers entering uncharted territory. Now we are truly part of the migration south.

     We head off tomorrow (back to Mobjack Bay) to free space for the rally and to get back on the water again all the while thinking about our own passage to come. Our biggest considerations will be timing the departure for favorable weather, planning easy-to-make-at-sea meals, and preparing ourselves mentally for a possible 10 to 14 day passage.

     Walking outside tonight with my breath frosting the air makes the thought of the long passage to come much more bearable, especially since the end result involves a tropical dreamscape I can scarcely imagine. Sorry to everyone at home, but here's looking forward to a winter on blue-green waters under a roaring hot sun,

Nicole.

Block Island to Delaware Bay to Annapolis, Maryland

     It`s a long one! It`s been a while since I`ve had the chance to really sit down and recount the previous days. While out on the water writing often seems unthinkable. So now that we`re at a nice, calm dock I will give it my best effort. Hope you enjoy!

     I’ll begin with the night of October 4^th. The roaring wind outside our safe anchorage made Mom anxious as we prepared for a night passage. With input from the rest of us we decided to look into the option of leaving the next morning. I had a bad feeling in my gut and have learned to listen to this feeling over the past few years...it usually means trouble. So I was relieved after Dad talked to Patrice over the radio and they decided on a 6 am departure. It’s a good thing we left the next morning, because despite the delay we entered Delaware Bay on Thursday October 6^th as originally planned and did it with only a one night passage instead of two!

     Back to the passage itself; Leaving Block Island through the narrow bay entrance we encountered large waves and a 20 plus knot wind. The waves weren’t as big as I’d pictured on hearing them from inside but still uncomfortable. The day was long and tiring, spent with muscles tensed against the constant pitching of the boat. Sarah got sick early and Mom felt the effects throughout the day and night. I ate little but crackers, a soft apple and some pudding all day. As night approached we were set on a downwind path and the side-to-side rocking set in. It’s hard to sleep in this. I tried to brace myself between cushions but ended up with my head flopping around anyways. The only solution is to give in and just flop all night hoping that sleep will come despite the discomfort.

     While on a sunset watch Mom and I had birds landing on the deck around us. First a small one like the one we saw outside Halifax landed on the wheel in front of me then flew down the companionway to check out below, leaving a small “gift” on a sleeping bag before Sarah coaxed it out. A second larger bird chose us as its ride for the night perching on the dodger and fluffing up before settling to sleep right beside the stairs. After dark it was hardly disturbed at all as we passed only inches away going down below and coming up to change watches. In the morning it took flight in the opposite direction as us and we hoped it wasn’t too far off course from its destination.  Mom looked it up online and it turned out to be a Northern Flicker, a type of woodpecker that lives all over North America and migrates south for the winter. None of us can recall ever reading about birds acting like this on ocean passages, but it must be pretty common. They would after all need somewhere to rest if they find themselves out over the ocean.

A quick snapshot of the Northern Flicker

     The waves seemed huge in the moonlight that night as they rolled up behind and then under us. I decided early on that looking back was a bad idea because they just seemed to loom over my head in a scary way. Some of the larger waves caused us to surf forward with them. One even propelled us up to 15 knots−not an easy feat for our sailboat! Thursday the sun shone as we left the tiring swell behind for Delaware Bay. There were a few good dolphin sightings that morning, including one just ten feet off the starboard side! These ones are bigger than the dolphins further north and had a lighter gray colouring.

     Thursday night was spent at a peaceful anchorage with more sailboats that we’ve seen in weeks. Everyone seemed to be converging on the Boat Show in Annapolis. Friday we traversed the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal and saw many bridges, a passing barge, other sailboats and a large yacht with a light blue paint job and matching “dinghy” with three outboard motors. Sitting on the deck watching for crab pots in Chesapeake Bay I noticed how salt has coated everything. The deck is covered. Running a hand over the newly inflated dinghy it comes away covered in white salt that is partly powdery and partly in small crystals. This is such a new experience for people who are used to fresh water lakes and rivers.

A yacht on the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal

     We managed to find slips at Chesapeake Harbour Marina for two nights. It turned out to be a beautiful marina with nice facilities including a pool, tennis courts and a long stretch of beach with fishing piers. Surrounded by condos the docks are so tucked in that it must be the perfect hurricane hole. The docks are shorter than the boat is long and several feet off the end are large wooden pilings where you`re supposed to loop a stern line as you come in. The slips are so tight and with our bow thruster not working we had to back up and go forward several times then push off the pilings and the neighbouring boat to manoeuvre in safely. Back home at Collin’s Bay we are among the largest boats; here we seem among the smallest.

     Today we caught the marina shuttle to downtown Annapolis for the boat show. Although the morning was cool the day heated and the gorgeous sun beat down all day long. Tonight we’re all sunburned. It hasn’t been strong in so long that sunscreen never even crossed our minds! Downtown the buildings are a combination of old school brick and bright nautical siding. A city with a history dating back to the 1700s, Annapolis is very picturesque, has a large presence of uniform-clad students from the Naval Academy, and is dominated by the largest number of boats I’ve ever seen. A local travel magazine claims that the narrow Spa Creek, which leads from Chesapeake Bay straight into downtown Annapolis, “is to boats what Route 66 is to classic cars.” It seems to be the boating capital of the world!

     The boat show was packed with people and had endless booths advertising everything nautical. We found everything from boat loans to rope making displays to charters in the BVIs to a booth selling bags made from reused sail material. After so many days not seeing people it was overwhelming and sort of refreshing at the same time. We checked out many swanky, roomy boats including a huge spacious catamaran. Dad bought a wind generator since he’s tired of having to turn on the motor during passages to recharge the batteries. There were a ton of Canadians at the show and Mom and Dad even met up with two separate groups of friends from Collin’s Bay Marina!

Annapolis Sailboat Show

     This evening, with heavy legs and feeling scorched we snuck in a grocery restock session. It was well-needed since we last bought groceries in Halifax! But Mom managed to stock up so well then that we didn`t run out of meat until just last night. So kudos to Mom!

Until next time,

Nicole.

Fast Passage from Block Island RI to Delaware Bay

     We had a very fast, somewhat bumpy passage from Block Island to the Delaware Bay. We achieved almost 200 NM over 24 hours which is over 8 KT average. The fastest we saw on the GPS was over 15 KT surfing down waves. The wind started on the starboard bow and we pounded into some decent sized chop. As we got more offshore the waves got longer and the seas came around to the beam, then the aft quarter.

     The last 12 hours was with quite large seas from dead astern with some good surfing opportunities. The wind was consistently 20-25 with gusts over 30 KT. All in all a fast way to get to Delaware Bay. Our plan is to anchor on the Delaware Bay side of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal tonight. We will transit the Canal after high tide tomorrow morning (08:24 am) so we get maximum effect of the current. I understand there are video cameras at many locations on the canal. https://candd.nap.usace.army.mil

We will make sure that we wave to the cameras :)

Our plan is to be in Annapolis by the end of day Oct 7. When we started the trip we had only 3 dates we wanted to meet:
1) Sept 7 - leave Kingston
2) Oct 7 - arrive Annapolis for the Annapolis Boat Show
3) Nov 7 - planned departure from Norfolk VA to Tortola BVI

So far so good...
Jon
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

Passage: Halifax to Cape Cod

     After a great stay in Halifax we saw a weather window suitable to sail to Cape Cod. The route is about 370 NM SW which is usually upwind across the Gulf of Maine.  This turned out to be a fantastic passage with East winds greeting us about 3 hours into the trip and allowing us to sail all the way to the Cape Cod Canal which we arrived at after about 56 hours of sailing. Winds started out light with a flat sea and built to 25 knots with 5-10 ft seas for the ride into Cape Cod. What a great sail. We are now moored in New Bedford MA after clearing US Customs and Immigration. Here is a video of life aboard.

Nova Scotia to Cape Cod

     We left Halifax for Lockeport on a night passage intending to get diesel in Lockeport. However, after managing to sail all night decided to head on for Cape Cod. All in all the trip took two nights and we arrived at Pope Island Marina in New Bedford Massachucetts early this morning.

     On the passage we encountered lots of waves. Up and down, up and down, the pitching and rolling became pretty tiring after a while and the waves were fairly sizeable by yesterday accounting for our first real experience with large ocean swell. Most of the time we managed to not feel sick by staying above deck or lying down while below. I tried out my first audiobook, "Hunger Games," and enjoyed it so I will be buying many more for the longer ocean passage to come in November.

     The weather was sunny most of the days and as Dad planned we took advantage of a weather window that allowed us to sail the majority of the time. Sarah did some awesome steering yesterday as we all took turns at the wheel. Both of us feel that we've learned a lot more about sailing over the past three weeks and are much more comfortable with a lot of tasks. Plus after so much docking we have a system pretty well down and are pros!

     Last night we had some sticky planning to do while communicating with customs about checking in to the US. Sticky situations always seem to happen in the middle of the night. We passed through the Cape Cod canal in the dark in a crazy 4 knot current and decided to make for New Bedford to anchor and then rest up. All I can say I saw of Cape Cod was a few lights and a lot of darkness. Exhausted and really in need of a shower we were all grateful to get safely to Pope Island Marina. I'm not gonna lie, it was so nice to get off the boat onto solid land after feeling cooped up for the last few days. The customs people were great today, very accomodating, and we bought a prepaid cell phone to use while in the US. Tonight we are safely tied to a dock and looking forward to a still and undisturbed sleep. I plan to settle in with a nice Keiths and watch "How I Met Your Mother" for a few solid hours (awesome show if you haven't seen it).

     The next few days we'll be making our way towards New York City. This involves contending with the open ocean and a strong current in the Long Island Sound. Despite all the tiredness and difficulties of these passages it will be pretty amazing to pull into a marina in downtown New York. So here's to the city that never sleeps.

Nicole.

Passage from Halifax to Cape Cod

     We left Halifax at 4:30 local time on Monday Sept 26 after a great visit. At about 8pm the wind picked up to 20 knots apparent off the starboard bow and we rode the wind for over 12 hours. A totally awesome sail down the Nova Scotia coast. We are now clear of the tip of Nova Scotia on our way to Cape Cod Mass.

     If the weather forecast holds we should complete the 370 NM passage from Halifax to the Cape Cod Canal on Thursday morning. We are presently under sail in a 10 Knot west wind that we are expecting to shift to east later today.The SPOT batteries died last night but have been replaced. I hope it didn't cause any concern to any of the followers.

     I am working on a video of life on-board that I will post when we have an internet connection.
Jon
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com