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Thursday, September 13, 2018

Tuesday - Wednesday Sept 11-12: Through Long Island Sound

Tuesday the forecast was for calm seas and light SW winds.  We got up at dawn planning a long day.  Anchor was up and we were on our way before seven am, eating breakfast on the way.  The seas were still a little lumpy but the wind was very light (they were NW, not SW) and we were determined to get as far as we could, initially planning for either Fisher Island, or Gardiner Island.  By noon everything calmed right down and the sun came out and we started thinking about getting even farther if we could.  The long range forecast was all about what Hurricane Florence might do, and we were hoping to get out of the Sound and into Massachusetts Bay sooner rather than later.  We had one window of good weather before the wind turned Easterly again, and an East wind on Long Island Sound is not a very comfortable wind.  As we came past Gardiner Island we started encountering big swells and we headed toward the Connecticut shore thinking it would be better over there.  You can tell a large storm is brewing.  Our last several hours on Tuesday were a bit of a roller coaster ride, but we made it a 90+ mile day - a record for us - and got all the way to Block Island despite the fog setting in.
The sun through the fog as we come to Block Island
We were hoping for little to no fog on this trip.  Dan had installed a radar, but it's choosing not to work.  Add it to the list of things that need to be fixed or replaced, along with the finicky starter.  We noticed starter problems back in the Canal; the boat started just fine every morning, but sometimes after a short run she didn't want to start back up again.  This happened a couple times in locks, when Dan would turn off the motor briefly as we waited for the water to fill or lower.  So far it was working when we needed it to, but the unreliability was a concern. 

Wednesday morning we got up even earlier to get underway during the calmest part of the day.  It was also the foggiest part of the day.  Thick, thick pea soup fog surrounded us, and like days of yore when people traveled without all the electronics that make cruising so much easier, we headed out into it.  Monster swells greeted us in Block Island Sound.  We sat on the flybridge so we could see better, blowing the fog horn every few minutes, and watching the very occasional (and die-hard) fishermen materialize out of the fog.  We sat through the rain.  And finally, about noon, the fog shrank back enough to where we could see for several miles, and we came back inside to shed our wet clothes and have a hot lunch. 

That's when Dan noticed the tachometer had stopped working...  we had lost our alternator. 
Dan checking the alternator.
Ok, plan B - instead of trying for Onset Harbor, which had been the original destination, we set our sights on New Bedford, where there was a highly recommended 'alternator guy' who might even be able to fix the starter.  We called ahead to make arrangements for the guy and a marina and entered the hurricane barrier of the New Bedford/Fairhaven harbor by 3 pm.  If Florence should make a turn for the North (not likely, we hear) we'll be in one of the safest places we could be.
The entrance to New Bedford/Fairhaven

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