Onward’s Cruise Journal 2011
Summer Cruise in New England


Updated: 16 Sep 11

July 2011


1 Jul 11; Friday;

  • Wow, a new month already! I've been so focused on getting to RI before the 4th of July (and having a good time along the way while doing so) that I have not planned out the rest of this summer's cruise. I guess I'll have to go with the flow although I've amazingly been doing just a bit of pre-planning: my sister Kathy has floored me by actually making a list of day trips we can take together (something that I'be been bugging her to do for years); I've got my nieces working together so I will be able to take my great nephews out for an overnight cruise together; in the process of discussing the cruise, they decided I should host a "girls night out" that involves cocktails aboard Onward and then taking them to dinner.
  • This morning I spent a bit of time researching ways to prevent the discomfort potential from long walks and found out this is a much more common problem for men than I was aware of..
  • I have a growing list of things I need to get done while here but my sister and sister-in-law have invited me to go out to play. It's so hard....

2 Jul 11; Saturday;

3 Jul 11; Sunday;

4 Jul 11; Monday; Forth of July Family Picnic
  • Kathy and Andy fetched me at EGYC and we drove off to Linda's for the 4th of July picnic that is a Rocchio family tradition. My brother Bob was born on the 4th of July (red as a firecracker according to our Mom). As his children got older and grandchildren arrived, Bob and Mary Ann would have a cookout at their home where the entire Rocchio - Recchia, Tomasso extended families would show up at one time or another. One of the great traditions that Mary Ann started was a photo with Bob surrounded by his grand children (eventually 10) all dressed in red, white , and blue. Neat!
  • Needless to say, I had a wonderful time basking in the warmth of family who are all warm caring people. I know Mom, Dad, and Bob were all smiling.
  • For once it was warm enough for me to take a swim in Linda's pool on the 4th!

5 Jul 11; Tuesday;

6 Jul 11; Wednesday;
  • Well, I finally got off my duff and made the committment to participate in this year's Corinthian Summer Cruise. I had such great time last year and the fact that i met some new folks who have become great friends - these were both reasons that I decided to do it. I had hesitated because I had really wanted to cruise to Maine for a while - but given the dates of the Corinthian cruise, it made it difficult to do both. So, I will stay in S New England and spend a lot more time doing social things with my family and friends in RI. A very good tradeoff!

7 Jul 11; Thursday;

8 Jul 11; Friday;

9 Jul 11; Saturday;

10 Jul 11; Sunday;
  • Linda had her son Ryan come fetch me at EGYC and take me home to enjoy a day at the pool with her. I had a great time culminating in a steak dinner.

  • 11 Jul 11; Monday;
  • Having spent the night a Linda's home I returned to Onward to try to get some boat chores done.
  • 12 Jul 11; Tuesday;
  • Today I ordered a new light-weight back pack from LL Bean

13 Jul 11; Wednesday;

14 Jul 11; Thursday;
  • Today Kathy and I met our cousins Virginia and Barbara at T's for brunch. I hadn't seen Ginnie for > 40 years! It was good catching up and we had a delightful time.
  • Kathy and I then did a bit of wandering and shopping together.

15 Jul 11; Friday;

16 Jul 11; Saturday;

17 Jul 11; Sunday;
  • 18 Jul 11; Monday;

19 Jul 11; Tuesday;

20 Jul 11; Wednesday;
  • I got a ride over to NE inflatables to pick up Venture. The puncture wound in the bow had been repaired yesterday and had held air overnight. I watched while they applied the finishing touches to the wear patches I asked to be installed in the bow area. They used hypalon from the big roll I had gotten at the charity auction at Staniel Cay Yacht Club in January for $10. It came in handy! The repairs done and paid for, the owner took me to a local gas station to buy gas for the outboard. We then launched Venture and I headed back across Greenwich Bay to EGYC.

21 Jul 11; Thursday; Great Nephews' Cruise

22 Jul 11; Friday;
  • Kathy, Andy and I met our cousins Mary Ann Bunting and Barbara Ricci at Chellos for lunch. Last fall I'd had a great time when Joahna and I spent time with Mary Ann as we cruised S on Long Island Sound. We picked up where we left off and had a lot of fun reminiscing about growing up in RI together in our large extended family.

23 Jul 11; Saturday;

24 Jul 11; Sunday;
  • Kathy & Andy picked me up for early Mass. Then it was off to Paneras for breakfast followed by shopping at BJ's and Walmart.

25 Jul 11; Monday;
  • Today I got Kathy to go shopping so she could order the handbag and purse I wanted to buy her as a Christmas and birthday present. She likes one particular design because it works so well for her. So, I got that fixed in spite of her protests. I also got to do some jewelry shopping for my daughters. As Tina Burke taught me: never pass up the opportunity...

26 Jul 11; Tuesday;

27 Jul 11; Wednesday;
  • I spent the day getting Onward organized in preparation for departure tomorrow for the Corinthians Summer Cruise.

28 Jul 11; Thursday; EGYC to Cuttyhunk
  • I brought Onward in to the EGYC pier for fuel and water. Then, Bill Kimbell aboard Madrigal departed EGYC with Onward and we headed out of Narraganset Bay via the East Passage. There was an important pause at Jamestown where Bill put in to pick up Kiren who had had to teach a Yoga class and was delivered to the site by car. We then headed off to Cuttyhunk on a beautiful sunny day with light SW winds that made for motorsailing.
  • At Cuttyhunk I again found that the roller furler line had gotten wrapped a couple of times around the fixed base so I had to go on deck to rerun the line to clear the problem before I could furl the genoa.
  • As I slowly crossed the harbor to pick up one of the outer moorings - all the inner ones were taken - I noticed the Catalina 42 that had been behind me was still moving fast and was going to cut me off to get into the inner harbor. I actually had to go to full astern to stop and avoid being hit as he overtook me and crossed my bow from port to starboard. Thank god there aren't more idiots like that around. I only wish I had gotten a photo of him to embarrass on this website.
  • Madrigal rafted to Onward and after we all spruced up a bit we took Venture in to board Summersault to join David and Leslie Wollin for cocktails and lots of hors d'oeuvres. They had managed to find a source of Goslings Diet Ginger Beer - and I find it to be tastier as well as lower calorie than the regular. I will have to search for a source of this and stock up before I return to the Bahamas.

29 Jul 11; Friday; Cuttyhunk to Padanaram
  • We Ventured ashore in the morning to join the Summersaults for a walk to the Fishing Camp Bed and Breakfast on the NE shore. This is a neat place overlooking Nantucket Sound where they server a fantastic breakfast. I took advantage of the opportunity!
  • We weighed anchor about 1130 and headed NW across Buzzards Bay to Padanaram. The winds were ~ 10 kts from the SSW so it was a pleasant broad reach across. At Padanaram we were given mooring by the New Bedford Yacht Club.
  • In the evening we met ashore for dinner at NBYC. We got to meet many other Corinthians as they arrived to begin the 2011 Corinthian Cruise. The dinner was superb! A nice way to start the cruise!

30 Jul 11; Saturday; Padanaram
  • I went ashore and managed to run into Bill and Kiren and joined them for a good walk on the W side of the harbor. We rewarded our exercise by stopping at the beach-side park's food stand where we had a really good lobster salad roll - done the right way: toasted hotdog bun loaded with lobster - just lobster! Delish.
  • After a bit more walking where we continued to meet Corinthian friends, we returned to NBYC where the 2011 Corinthian Cruise Registration was in progress. Gifts included a nice cutting board and a baguette! Neat.
  • Bill returned to Onward with me to help me move moorings as the owner of the one I'd been assigned came back early.
  • The Cruise kickoff cocktail party was well supplied with delicious tapas. I got to meet more old friends and began making some new ones. Along the way, I decided to race Onward singlehanded and thus willingly paid the necessary bribe of a drink to the Race Chairperson.

31 Jul 11; Sunday; Padanaram to Menemsha Bight
  • About 0900 the parade of boats formed and left the Padanaram mooring area and headed out for the start. The winds were so light that they decided to shorten the race and moved the start to the Sound side of Quick's Hole.
  • I decided to let the other members of the casual racing fleet which gets individual start times cross the start line first so I wouldn't have other boats to contend with. It was a light wind sail close hauled on the starboard tack across the Sound to the finish line at the entrance to Menemsha pond on Mememsha Bight. I had given the other boats a good head start so I was pleased to find Onward slowly gaining and then passing a couple in spite of the light winds. For a while I thought I'd need to tack to make the finish line due to the strong current setting E but the wind shifted enough and the current slackened. At the finish, I discovered another handicap of singlehanded racing: lack of another pair of eyes to pick out the Committee Boat from the clutter of other boats in crowded areas. I had been slowly gaining on Great Gaels and then managed to pass her only the allow her to sneak past while I was too busy trying to find the finish line. I eventually beat her on corrected time though.
  • After the finish, I anchored in the bight with the rest of the fleet. I then launched Venture and picked up Bill and Kiren to explore the Menemsha Pond. It was a beautiful afternoon for the expedition and we enjoyed seeing an area of Marthas Vineyard that is only accessible by boat. We terminated our explorations when were heard an emergency call from the Committee Boat that was resolved before we got back. So we explored the boat basin just inside the entrance where we saw Jay Kiskel's boat, Potion. Captain Bill had me pull Venture alongside and we climbed aboard to say high and enjoy Jay's hospitality. After being there for a bit, other Corinthians began to arrive. Bill hadn't realized we were crashing the New Members / Cruisers Party and when I told him we made a quick departure.
  • Onward hosted dinner. Bill & Kiren and Dave & Leslie both brought over their guitars and we had a fine singalong - especially after Bill found out all the things my keyboard could do.