Day 67, August 23 -- Hurricane Island to Tenants Harbor. -- 17 NM

The day started foggy but brightened. We left at 11:15 and arrived in Tenants Harbor at 3:30.

We planned to follow the green diagonal line I drew on this chart, for the longest stretch of the passage, heading SW but the wind was from that direction forcing the orange zig zag. Seventeen NM is the distance by the shortest logical course; we did more than 20.
I got a strange sense of satisfaction when our track crossed the original waypoint at the beginning of what the chart calls "Two Bush Channel." Where do they get these names? I didn't see any bushes. I had installed the remaining parts of the mainsail before we got underway and we used reefed main and small jib, which was plenty of sail (lots of heeling)  in the face of strong winds, eight to ten foot high incoming ocean rollers, adverse tide and the need to frequently swerve to avoid lobster pot floats, especially on the first westerly leg.
As we approached the point at which we tacked west again, a large black hulled ketch crossed our bow, perhaps a half mile ahead. He kept going west and when we tacked, we were chasing him, but pointing higher than he did. we were on his starboard quarter and ended up on his port quarter, and then moved up and passed him. A secret pleasure that all sailors enjoy, even cruisers.
At the end of the four hours I was rather physically and mentally wiped out; I'm not as young as I used to be. But it was the happy exhaustion that causes a good night's sleep after consuming all ones energy doing what one loves to do best. Turning off the noisemaker and hearing the swoosh of ILENE doing what she loves to do best thrilled me. On a grey overcast day the big rollers can feel threatening but today, though cold, it was sunny and not scary at all.
We were last in Tenants in 2009, with Bill and Sandy.
A funny incident while trying to get to our mooring in the harbor: We had been told to look for the green ball and found only one, but with another boat on it. The lad came out and showed us our mooring; it was white -- but with a small round green inflated ball as the toggle with which to pick it up using the boat hook. In a harbor festooned with lobster floats of every color of the rainbow, the green pick up ball was not noticed.
I discovered that while the reefing lines worked well, they had been run wrong precluding use of the new zipper until rerouted.

We went ashore looking for Luke's Lobster Shack, but it is closed on Wednesdays so we ended at the Happy Clam, where Lene had a lobster and I had an entree from the German side of the menu.  In tourist places with a short summer season, I don't understand closing for even one day. They never close during the season at block Island. They had a pretty good little general store and lene bought some more food.
Pretty sunset.