Day 21-25

From Peter Ver Ploeg

The last few days have been gloriously slow and lazy. Living in the lap of luxury at my Uncle Tom's house, whiling away our days watching TV, eating, and making token attempts to get work done on the boat while it sits in it's slip, just a block away.


We've changed the fuel filter on the engine, power-washed and refilled the drinking water tank (just in time for the cold front coming in), rebuilt the compass, and restocked the boat with canned goods and diesel fuel, all of which probably could have been completed in an afternoon with the proper motivation. But, that's not the point. We needed a break...a break from the boat and from each other. Uncle Tom's house has provided us the perfect respite. Pete and I sleep in different rooms, get up at different times, and go about our days on different schedules. Its been great. The old enthusiasm has returned. As comfy as we are, we're once again itching to be back on the water.


We spent a day in Baltimore, seeing the sights. I don't get the sense that tourism is a big part of Baltimore's economy. At least, not the parts that we accidentally ended up driving through. The harbor front was nice though and in the evening we met up with a mutual friend from college for wing night. Pete and I represented NH well.

Today we are headed in to Washington D.C. for a quick chat with Barack and then we're meeting some more friends from our past. Snow in the forecast for Saturday so hopefully we can be back on course by Sunday.

Day 20

From Peter Ver Ploeg:

We enjoyed a nice late morning (it had been a late night), grabbed breakfast out and then headed over to the naval academy to tour the campus, take a spin through the museum and, marvel at the model ships.













There is a little inlet off the harbor that leads right into downtown Annapolis. The boat slips that line its side are, as might be expected, fairly pricey. Those who can afford them can afford fairly nice boats to put in them. The whole area is called "Ego Alley" and rightly so.


It being a nice, sunny Saturday afternoon, with lots of pedestrians out and about, we naturally decided to take a turn down Ego Alley to see and be seen, to strut our stuff before we shipped out.




We dropped our friend Chris off for a photo shoot as we maneuvered around and, with hand towels and clothing drying on the side rails and our little diesel belching heavy, blue smoke that went drifting thick and lazy over the onlookers, we chugged down to the turn-around, scattering the ducks, posing for photos, me steering with my foot, Chris chasing us along the shore shouting instructions for better photos. We made quite an impression.


Then, out of the harbor and up the Severn River to stay with my uncle. Its been a lovely stay so far.

Day 19

From Peter Ver Ploeg:

Our night in Betterton was fitful at best. The wind and current kept the Strolla creaking and groaning against the fishing pier all night but, it was the ice chunks coming down the Sassafras River and slamming into the hull that had us all racing out on deck every couple hours to see what was the matter.

We woke up before the sun and quickly put Betterton on our stern in the gathering light. The forecast had called for snow but we saw not a flake all day and, with a fair North wind blowing us South, we happily bobbed along, wing and wing under a steel gray sky.


Mid-morning we set the jib boom for the first time. I'm fairly confident we had it rigged correctly (at least nothing broke), and then I hopped over the stern rail into the dinghy to take some photos. Pete H. let me out behind the boat on a rope about fifty feet where, without even paddles, I was quite helpless.


Our dinghy is an inflatable zodiac and has a couple of pinhole leaks we've been unable to isolate. Not having pumped it up since Cape Cod, it was about as firm as a limp noodle when I hopped in. Any shifting of weight caused the dinghy to nosedive and threaten capsize. The pictures, I think, were worth it though. Our first of the Strolla under sail.


We cruised in to Annapolis harbor with time to spare and spent the remaining hour of daylight tacking back and forth, working on our boat handling, and getting a good view of the U.S. Naval Academy and its athletic fields from the water. Then, as the sun slipped below the horizon, we slipped into a marina and headed in to town for burgers and beers and a Friday night out.

THE MAP

THE MAP IS HERE!
Hopefully we will be able to upload the map to the blog.... working on it! But for now, cut and paste the link below to a new webpage... it will take you to the interactive Google map that I created which shows where Pete and Pete have been! Hope you enjoy!
-Megan


http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=103555994762746117023.00047dd7101e47edb3f8f&z=7

Day 18

Pete and Pete are in Betterton, Maryland, at the mouth of the Sassafras River! There is no gas station, no businesses or services. They did however see, an albino deer!!!!

They were walking along this deserted country lane at dusk and there was a cornfield on the right, and out in the middle of the field, was a bright white animal
Just like in the fairy tales, a white stag!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A highlight of the day!







They reached Betterton after another day of motoring, passing through the C&D Canal… The sun was out though so they dried some clothes and got some tanning done (mostly their noses).


They took turns fishing today… so far no luck. Back in Woods Hole when they were grocery shopping for the trip, they almost bought tuna fish but then decided, "nah,” they'd be so sick of eating fish from living off the bounty of the sea that the canned tuna would never get eaten. Now, I think they wish they had bought some because fishing isn’t really filling their bellies quite yet.

Tomorrow Annapolis (Friday night, to party with the shipmen at the Naval academy) and then up the Severn River to stay at Pete VPs uncle's house!

A map of their travels is soon to come…

DAY 17

Pete and Pete:
Anchored at the mouth of the Cohensey River, halfway up Delaware Bay, on the New Jersey side. This is a big, flat, tidal river snaking its way back and fourth through a broad salt marsh...very pretty. Lots of ducks and geese.










In Cape May this morning, it was snowing and sleeting and, like true sailors, they said, “eh, no problem,” and motored out into the storm. The weather cleared soon after and the rest of the day was fine (if cold). Turns out they spent most of the day in a designated shipping lane with steep shoals on either side. It was fun being surprised by tankers charging up on their stern.

Dinner was brown rice, corn, beans, peanut butter, honey, eggs, sloshed in teriyaki sauce on…delicious!
8:30 and time for bed…

Day 16

Word from Pete today, made it to Cape May, New Jersey. They called the Army Corps of Engineers who confirmed that the C&D Canal, connecting the Delaware and Chesapeake Bays, is unfrozen so, they will travel through that instead of staying out along the Delmarva Coast with its full exposure to the open Atlantic! This means they are going to swing north tomorrow head up the Delaware bay before cutting over and heading south down the Chesapeake to visit Peter VP’s uncle near Annapolis!
Today was good, light winds from the south and small waves, a day of motoring…

DAY 15!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PETE AND PETE
Spent all day yesterday in Pt. Pleasant waiting for the storm to pass… the “green, eco friendly coffee shop” had no wi-fi but the pizza joint down the street did…go figure, its New Jersey… Today they left pt. Pleasant and slipped into Atlantic city tied up at the Trump Marina just after dark (so no one could see them pirating the slip)

Motoring out today the storm had kicked up some waves and they got hit with 10 ft swells. Their friend Chris got sick...twice. the skies were still cloudy and stormy with the passing weather front. Once they got past the breaking waves outside Pt. Pleasant harbor they had amazing sailing for the rest of the day. It was their longest day yet!! 55 miles today, all the way to Atlantic city!!!!!!!












They were able to sail on a broad reach all day with a steady, strong wind. The skies cleared and the sun came out.


At evening, the wind died down and they motored the last 3 miles into Trump Marina with the water like rolling mercury. Coming into Atlantic City, there was a large shoal right in the middle of the harbor, so the breaking waves it generated seemed to completely close off the entrance. It was a little scary. They were able to slip by on the south side of the entrance but still got thrown around a bit. Pete VP quotes “it was the scariest part of the day," because they were so close to the rocks and the shoals.





The last scare of the day came when the Coast Guard followed them into the marina and they thought for sure they were going to get stopped and searched but, the Coast Guard must have been about to clock off because they just motored by with a wave.

Day 13

From Peter Ver Ploeg:

We got an early start out of Sandy Hook, and enjoyed smooth sailing as we turned South and headed down the New Jersey coast. New Jersey, it turns out, has a fairly treacherous coastline. Fully exposed to the open Atlantic, the safe harbors are few, far between, shallow and small. We made for Manesquan Inlet and the resort town of Point Pleasant, flying along on a broad reach with the sun on our faces and the mercury well above freezing at a balmy 40 degrees. We shed our hats and mittens and basked in the warm, southern air.

Manesquan Inlet is a river mouth, with strong tidal currents and a very narrow, poorly marked channel (always exciting with no depth finder), so we were moving pretty slow as we nudged our way past the breakwaters. After poking around, getting in people's way, and exploring a few false channels, a ferry captain shouted directions to a safe anchorage. What he didn't tell us was the the channel was about 15 feet wide, shoaling steeply to 3 feet on either side. For the third time, we ran aground. Once again, it was at a slow speed and into soft mud, but still, it hurts the ego.

We couldn't back off with the motor so we hauled out the secondary anchor, rowed it off the stern with the dinghy, dropped it, and began to haul ourselves manually out of the muck. Suddenly we were free and drifting quickly down on the current toward the ferry dock, a mere 20 feet away. I raced to the bow to drop the primary anchor, Pete H. gunned the motor to turn us parallel with the current, Chris began hauling in the secondary anchor.

Then, disaster struck. The anchor line fouled on the prop. With a whirr, the secondary anchor was yanked from the water, flying past Pete's head to hook with a loud bang on the gunwale. The motor, bound in the anchor rode, lurched to a sudden stop and we three rushed to the stern rail to prepare to fend off as we bore down helplessly on the ferry. Just before collision, the primary anchor (which had been dragging uselessly along the bottom) snagged and held and we came gently to rest five feet off the bow of the docked ferry. We stood in silence.



There was nothing for it. We couldn't even improve our anchorage let alone continue the trip without the motor. We had to clear the prop immediately and, the only way to do that was for someone to go down there with a knife to do it. Another moment of silence followed this realization. With a sigh, I volunteered.




I stripped down and clambered into one of our survival suits. Pete tied a knife to my wrist and, snorkel mask in place, I dove into the icy water. It took about half an hour, pulling myself down into the current along the rudder, hacking away at the rope binding the drive shaft, popping back to the surface to gasp for breath, diving down again. Pete took videos of the entire thing with his camera and cheered me on from the dinghy. Chris started the teapot boiling for me when I got out.

Pete has been reading a book called, "Two Years Before the Mast" in which the narrator describes his ship's captain as being so tough he was said to be "made of steel and whale bone." Standing in my boxers in the galley shivering and drinking hot tea, Pete and Chris agreed that I could now claim to be made of the same. That made it all worth it.

It was Saturday night so after setting a second anchor off the bow, we headed in to Point Pleasant to meet some New Jersey women and drink some New Jersey beers. Heavy weather tomorrow meant we'd be spending a second night at anchor so, with the promise of a late and lazy morning, we didn't stumble back to the dinghy until 2.

Here is a the link to a video of me clearing the fouled line from the prop: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEe7-kQKAYo

DAY 12

Word from Pete today:
They haven’t been able to be in touch because they have been having so much fun in NYC and phones are dead. Pete VP spent Thursday with his cousin in the city, and Pete H spent time with his lady friend! Thursday they met up with Chris B. and Friday they set sail cruised past Manhattan, past Ellis island, got right up the next to the statue of liberty and on out past New York harbor and the industrial shipping, dodging barges and tankers. They motored out of NYC late yesterday morning. Because they had to wait for the tides to turn, they didn't leave until around 10am.



Spent last night in Sandy Hook (a few hours sail away from New York) did an oil change for the motor. Their fresh water drinking tank which was pumped dry in Woods Hole had somehow filled with salt water. Also... their motor has developed a steady oil leak... and the bilge is still filling up with water so it needs to be pumped 2-3 times a day. Pete quotes “the boat is slowly falling apart”! (haha) They see it as small bumps in the road and are fixing things as they go. They are out in the open ocean headed down the Jersey coast. They plan to stay there for a couple of days and wait out the up coming storm before they head off to Atlantic City!

Day Ten

From Peter Ver Ploeg:

Pete Hinman's uncle Peter joined us in Greenwich for the trip down the East River into New York City. The commercial boating and ferry traffic is heavy here and the currents are very tricky (there's a reason they call it "Hell's Gate"). It was reassuring to have another Peter aboard and, someone who'd been through it before, as we rode the ebb tide down on our water tour of New York. At one point early in the East River, we turned 180 degrees just to see if we could motor up current if we had to. We couldn't. There was no turning back and, so, flying along at over 11 knots, we blew by La Guardia airport, Rikers Island, Hell's Gate, The Narrows, from uptown to midtown, to downtown and on around the tip of Manhattan Island over to the Liberty Landing on the New Jersey shore of the Hudson.



The scariest part of the whole day was easily rounding Manhattan. The ferry traffic really picks up. Big ferries, ferries that can't see you and wouldn't turn if they could, depart from here to go charging off to Staten Island, creating waves as high as anything we'd encountered in the Rhode Island Sound. These waves, however, are advancing from all directions with no apparent rhyme or reason or predictability.

We were expecting the boat traffic, what we weren't expecting were the huge ice flows washing down the Hudson and congregating in the eddies off the Manhattan Point. These ice flows, while mere slush to the ferries, posed a real threat to our little boat. Chunks the size of kitchen tables and three or four inches thick sloshed around in limbo between the two converging rivers, forming a barrier that must be crossed in order to reach the safe harbor of Liberty Landing in Hoboken.



With a crowd of tourists photographing us from Battery Point, we nosed our way through ever so slowly, the boat shuddering sickeningly with each solid collision, rolling violently in the ferry wake, until we were through and clear and racing across to the marina. We got a slip at the dock for two nights, brought out the football for some catch with the New York skyline and the Statue of liberty for a backdrop, then I grabbed a shower at the marina house, donned my pea coat and sailor cap and hopped a water taxi in to the city for a night on the town. Its good to be in the Big Apple.

Tomorrow, our friend Chris arrives. Friday morning we make for Sandy Hook and then, Atlantic City and the big, boring, exposed New Jersey coastline.

Day NiNe!

Today was the best day yet! From New Haven to Greenwich, CT… apparently our well wishes of wind and sun were delivered today, as the Petes were able to beat their way to Greenwich on a close reach. They left New Haven at 6:30 this morning, and sailed 42 miles on Northwest winds, taking 2 hour shifts… They arrived in Greenwich this evening at about 4:30pm. To get into the harbor, again, they had to ‘break ice’ which meant taking their ((now broken)) oars given by Robin H Littlefield to the bow and hitting away at the ice… and I quote “like a tomahawk!!” to allow a path to get into the harbor… this again was done in shifts… as breaking ice with pieces of paddle apparently is not an easy task in below 30 temps! Tonight the Petes will stay in Peter Ver Ploeg’s aunt’s house… where they will be warm and hopefully do some laundry and have a warm meal!




Tomorrow New York City awaits… and they will hopefully sail around the statue of liberty at least 3 times… In New York they will meet up with their friend Chris B. who will join them for a week of their trip on the boat!!!
~God Speed Men~

DAY EIGHT (JAN. 11th 2010)

This morning in Westbrook the marina had frozen over, there was a 1.4 inch of ice!! When Pete and Pete broke free of the dock, they ‘broke ice’ through the harbor, and left a perfect broken ice trail behind them… because they are pirating docks at marinas, leaving broken ice /water trails behind…doesn’t make them so sneaky…

They entered New Haven CT just before sunset this evening… pretty standard day… motored most of the day...headed straight into the wind… they started tacking back and forth, and after three hours of tacking windward (sailing upwind), and even though they had been going 4 knots for three hours in a good wind they only had gone upwind a mile and a half!!! Fighting wind, 3-5 ft waves, and fighting the tide… they realized they couldn’t fight nature anymore, and started motoring again!!

They went to happy hour at a swank restaurant in their “Irish seaman sweater and carharts”, they plugged in their cell phones and laptops to charge and drank a beer and ate chips.

Send them some good thoughts, and may the wind be at their backs!!!!!!!!! (for once on this trip!!!)

Day VII New Beginnings

Westbrook CT, 22 miles from Mystic. Sunny. Beautiful Sailing. Good day Actually. Till one hour out of Westbrook. Looked under the table about midday only to discover water about 3 inches deep, in the cabin! They hadnt pumped the bilge since they left Woods Hole because the bilge pump was frozen. Couldn't pump it out underway. Kept sailing and monitoring water levels in shifts. They were port hauled all afternoon (a.k.a. sideways!) and everything on that side was getting soaked as the water level slowly may have been increasing. All of their stuff is saturated with salt water on half the boat. Fixed pump in port. Drying everything out slowly. (Weather girl predicts: clothes could be stiff in morning due to temps in the 1s) Over and out.

DAY SIX!

DAY SIX!
Pete and Pete made it safe and sound to Mystic Harbor. They had to motor the hole day… 6 ft waves and 25mph winds…. They made 3 miles per hour at full throttle
They are poaching a dock slip at an abandoned marina tonight in Mystic!
On the way from RI to CT the waves were so big, the deck of the boat kept getting sprayed with salt water... and now the hole front half of the boat is covered in ice. Every couple of hours one of them had to crawl to the front of the bow with their tiny plastic ice scraper to chip away at the ice. They are in Mystic and plan to rage it this Saturday night! Hopefully they get a slice at Mystic Pizza!

DAY FIVE

From: Peter Ver Ploeg

We slept in this morning and woke up to an inch of fresh snow on the decks and more on the way. No sailing today. After a leisurely breakfast of hot chocolate, coffee, and caramel rolls (left over from Christmas and preserved, safely frozen, in an aft hatch), we suited up and strolled out to meet the day.

Pete and I "borrowed" some bicycles from behind the harbor master's hut and rode the two miles in to town. The library and post office didn't open for another half hour, so we took a walk through the snow, exploring the boarded up summer resorts overlooking the sea.

Now, the library is open, we have our cell phones and camera batteries charging, emails are being answered, blogs are being checked and updated, pictures are being downloaded. Things are getting done. Later we'll mail some letters at the post office, eat some lunch, and head back to the wrecks of those three ships to scavenge some old sails, an anchor rode, and another gaff hook we left behind yesterday. Its a full life!

DAY FOUR

Pete and Pete remain in Block Island today and tomorrow due to the snow storm that is about to hit New England! Just a minor squall that will allow them one more day of exploration... Today they ate 1 of their 20 cups of brown rice.... and had some split pea soup made by Pete's mom! There was some piracy today... the Petes' boarded 3 ships that had been washed ashore in the harbor. (at the beach they saw 30 seals!!!!) They recovered (pirated) 1. a swimming laddar 2. boat painting supplies 3. scuba gear. 4. rope 5. gaff hook. One of the boats had only one mast, the other two had no masts...
They will weather the storm tomorrow and hunker down below deck... and will continue on to Mystic Connecticut on Saturday which looks like clear skies ahead!
We send them our best!



From: Peter Ver Ploeg

Pete and I woke up late this morning, after a fitful sleep, to discover that our dinghy had carried away in the night. Great. We motored over to the dock and headed off along the shore of the harbor on foot to find it. An hour later, we had our little zodiac back safe and sound and still fully inflated but, it had cost us precious daylight.

At 9:30 we motored out into Block Island Sound and directly into a stiff headwind and steeply stacked 5 ft swells. It was going to be a wet day. After three hours of motoring at full throttle, getting thrashed around by the waves and doused every ten seconds with heavy spray, we realized we wouldn't be able to make any safe harbor by dark and wouldn't make Mystic until well after. When the motor started putting out a black, oily discharge with the exhaust, we decided to turn around. Immediately the spray stopped, the wind dropped to a breeze, and the violent pounding eased into a lazy roll. We hung all our clothes on the boom to dry, killed the motor, raised the jib, and ran before the wind back to Block Island.

The rest of the afternoon was spent apart, independently exploring the shipwrecks and deserted points of the island before meeting back up for dinner.

DAY THREE

Just got word from Pete and Pete that they made it to Block Island today going 6-7 knots for a while! When they arrived they went for a hike around the island... headed back to the boat and busted out the BBQ! They had grilled chicken for dinner! WOOOO WEEEE! The sun must have felt good! They are hopeful to make it to Mystic Connecticut tomorrow!

Day Two

Pete and Pete landed in Newport harbor at 4:10pm today! They were able to pull the sails mid day and coasted on wind for about three hours for the first time on their trip! They are docked and are about to tour Newport for some drinks and food! They are staying warm... "getting out of bed is hard and we are drinking lots of hot tea and eating lots of hot soup..."

Tomorrow's destination is Block Island!!

They want to pass on "hellos" to everyone!!!

... here is the video of them leaving Woods Hole yesterday!

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=625784101555&ref=mf

Pete and Pete Sail to Cuba... DAY ONE

Pete and Pete left Woods Hole at around 10:00 against all odds... Fighting though a draw bridge that had lost electricity and couldn't open, AND an oil spill, they were allowed out of Eel Pond, and set off into the cold wind and a wicked strong current. Motoring against the current in "The Hole" was next to impossible, so they pulled off and anchored in a near by harbor, and waited for the tide to change... Once mother nature was on their side, they continued on! At 3:03pm they called in and reported that they have made it to Cuttyhunk harbor and are drinking champagne!