tired of rain, Point Judith, RI

5/22/18  Point Judith, RI (who knew Point Judith was in RI? Not me. Google rocks)

Tired of rain. tired of cold. tired of sick sail mates. tired of being at the helm all day. Just tired.

And, I've loved the quiet of David sleeping through the days as I guided (with the help of the GPS) Grace over the water. Watching the water go by. Sometimes reading. sometimes crocheting. Always checking the surroundings for surprise boats or waves or lobster pots or ferry wakes or just checking around and enjoying the sun that was yesterday all day with fair winds and seas. Hard to resolve the conflicting feelings - loving the quiet observation time and being tired of the responsibility and work of paying attention all the time....has something to do with rain and cold, today/tonight...the difficulty.

This (to the right) is where my day started. Truly, how bad can life be if I can sink my feet into white sand, salute the sun facing the sun on this beach with my eyes closed. There were tracks in the sand among my own...fiddler crab and seagull tracks...and a sandcastle community protected by a moot that had leaked all its water.

The Thames Yacht Club where we had a slip because the mooring balls were not yet out. Nobody home at the club but folks we met on the dock let us in for showers, two within three days. My skin might fall off it's so unaccustomed to such showering attention.

And here's the sunset from the night before, that would be Monday, 5/21. It's beautiful here. I didn't know the river had a beach. I wonder where David Dorfman's house is and where does he keep his boat? Couldn't easily reach him but did try...sort of...email.

Yesterday morning David was still not well, even after sleeping much of the day from Port Washington to Port Jefferson. So I nixed the trip to Shelter Island to visit Don & Diane. I was just not willing to chance my having to anchor or dock or even navigate a complicated passage among islands without David's full participation.

So we called D & D and Dick & Nora to let them know we'd had to change plans, not wanting to expose them to whatever germs David had either. But before we left....

the local swans came by...we thought just to say hello and to welcome us. Nope. Beggars. Entrepreneurs. Opportunists. And so very elegant.

They circled the boat a couple times. I gave them some raisin bran flakes. Totally not what they wanted.

There were also geese but they kept their distance and I saw one large white-tailed deer.


We left Port Jefferson around 8:30 knowing we had at least an 8 hour day of travel in order to get to New London. David slept most of the day, not eating, bathroom/head visits, more sleep. Fever, which worried/worries me. It was a beautiful, beautiful day of sun and quiet, easy passage...except for being alert and in charge alone, rather than shared. Of course, had there been questions or danger, David would have awakened and helped. No need.

The GPS, electronic chart showing the topography of the Long Island Sound bottom we were going over. This was somewhere a little more than half way across. It was so interesting. The surface of the water swirled and made eddies and ripples and wiggles just like the chart pictured below. Nothing vigorous or violent but definitely similar to the contours of the bottom, some 94'-157'  below me.

Reminds me, also, of the patterns in oak flooring in the Bath dance studio that I love. I find it really beautiful and want to color it.

On to New London and this very formal, very British (?), very collegiate looking lighthouse at the entrance to the Thames river.

I had a great night's sleep, back in the berth with David but not on his end of the bed. Still suspicious of his illness and not wanting to share his germs, though I did appreciate his warmth.

This morning after the beach sun salute I Ubered to the grocery store. David was not feeling up to a trip to Defender so, for sure, he is under the weather, still. He did hydrate Amelia while I was away and check the engine oil and was ready to leave when I returned.

Not quite as long a day at the helm, only about 5 hours. Tomorrow will be another long day of 8+ hours. Our goal is to get to Onset tomorrow so we can visit with Jayne and Gary before they head to Martha's Vineyard for their summer chartering.

And, hopefully, my captain will be well by then. He's hungry now. We had potato soup...homemade by me...for dinner. Being hungry is a good sign and the fever has broken. It is raining and a little windy tonight but skies are predicted to clear and be warmer by morning.