UNDERWAY (First Leg - Chatham Cape Cod to Port Washington New York)

DAY 1 -September 29, 2007
The vessels Heritage and Malabar head out bright and early from Monomoy Yacht Club, Stage Harbor, Chatham, bound for Oak Bluffs, Martha's Vinyard, 7:30 AM. Calm sea and sky, "15 to 20 kts NE wind" predicted.

The Heritage crew is joined by URI sailing team, Nick and Jeff. While underway ... the hardy crews handle a grounding at Stage Harbor entrance, squalls and northeast winds 22 - 28 knots. Malabar's dingy flips loosing it's oars during a 30 kt gust.

Once in Oak Bluffs, winds calm, sun shines and crews enjoy a hearty meal...

DAY 2
Leaving Oak Bluffs 7 AM, headed through Woods Hole across Buzzards Bay and on to Newport. Light winds, 5 to 10 kts out of NE...Mid afternoon arrival, mooring just off Bannister Wharf. Many Americas Cup training crews sighted. Dinner at Italian restaurant, founded by former Newport mayor. Newport, a sailors haven...modern and classic sloops of all sizes and and vintage.

DAY 3
Leaving Newport, Narragansett Bay, 7 AM, it was a bright, clear and beautiful morning with almost unlimited visibility. As we cleared Point Judith looking southeast we had a clear view of Block Island on the horizon. In sailing Block Island Sound we worked our way north of Fishers Island, past Mystic and New London, Connecticut towards the Connecticut river and Old Saybrook.

Plum Island and Orient Point were visible as we approached the lighthouse to Old Saybrook Yacht Club on the Connecticut River. Low river tides necessitate moving to a deeper water mooring. A stroll to town incorporated visits to local hardware store and West Marine.

DAY 4 - October 2, 2007
Because of low water and fast running river tides, the captains decide to head into the channel at 5 AM. In pitch black, we made our way from buoy to buoy by flashlight/GPS, to clear the Old Saybrook lighthouse, entering Long Island Sound to continue the trip south. A spectacular sunrise at 6:45 AM made the early rising more enjoyable...

As the sun rose, it began to warm up and we shed our layers of warm clothing and foul weather gear. We set a course across Long Island Sound staying on the Conn. shore to minimize the effect of the current to help us make Port Washington by early afternoon. By mid day the tide changed and we set a course to the north shore of Long Island and Port Washington in Manhasset Bay.

We had a warm welcome at the North Shore Yacht Club, which had moorings and facilities ready for Capt's Haborwatch and Mud..( NSYC is where the Capt's were members before heading north to Chatham , Cape Cod and the Monomoy Yacht Club).

Capt Mud headed to New Jersey to await the "blessed event".Capt Haborwatch, took up lodgings at his son's home in Port Washington...awaiting news from New Jersey!

The next leg of the trip will take us through Hell Gate, the East River and lower New York Bay with a planned stop in Sandy Hook New Jersey before heading south along the Jersey coast to Cape May...

To be continued....