HYC Cruise Day 5, July 29 -- Noank CT to Block Island RI -- 21 Miles

Calm conditions grew windier in spots between our 9 am departure and arrival at about 1:30. Blast passed us as usual. Our sails were up but not helping much. Tide was helping though. We heard from Bennett on "Ohana". He had left the Harlem at about five pm the night before and motor-sailed through the night;  he was only a few miles behind us.

When the winds filled in and strengthened we turned of the engine and sailed the last hour, including through the cut into the new harbor of the Great Salt Pond, making 6.5 knots. Maybe not the safest way to enter a crowded channel but thrilling. 

We were fortunate enough to capture an available chartreuse mooring, about fifteen seconds after a departing boat dropped its pennant in the water. And Ohana rafted to our port side.
Here is how the rest of the fleet is arranged in Block: North Star and Shanghai are on their anchors, and Blast is wedged into a tiny dock space at Payne's Marina. Good job Ernie!

Ohana's dink is not holding air so we used mine and efforts to find the hole have been unsuccessful so far. I took Bennett's three guests (niece Laura, her husband Rolo, and his son Chris) to shore -- to get snacks. While there we met most of the crew of Blast, after their lunch at the Oar. Then I took the three of them across the pond for a beach landing, so they could walk across the narrow spit and swim in the ocean from the beach just north of town.

A problem: while landing the three folks in the small surf,  the dink's painter got caught on its prop. When I put the motor in forward, it shut down. And I couldn't tilt the engine up to unwrap the painter from it because its ability to tilt was constrained by the painter. What to do: row! But let's just say that inflatables do not row well, especially into a stiff wind. If you put your back into it, the pads holding the oarlocks are likely to rip off. So I'm making about two inches per stroke and have the best part of a mile to go. Plan C: hitched a tow from a friendly power boater with wife and small dog in his dink. When we got to his boat, about a third of the way to ILENE, and secured the dink to his boat with my spare line, he cut the painter with his knife. We were then able to tilt the engine, unwrapped the line from the prop and I was back in business! Back at ILENE the new painter was  installed.

The crews of ILENE and  Shanghai, with Bennett, went to shore for dinner and wandered to the restaurant at Payne's Dock. Food pretty good and not expensive. Waitress very friendly and helpful. And then the folks from Blast serendipitously wandered in and so there were nine of us.  No one goes hungry on a Harlem cruise.

Roger, Bennett, Marty, Ghennie, Ernie, Camille, Lene, Jennie and CJ

It was a windy night with high winds predicted for tomorrow so Shanghai elected to stay another day with the fleet.