#23 Simple and Rich

Sunrise in Newburyport                                                                      Pedr Seymour

SUNRISE on the water. Strains of Mozart's Symphony #13 in F Major, Kochel #112, fill the cabin. We associate boating in Maine with WBACH, Maine's classical network. Who's Kochel, you say? He decided to catalogue Mozart's extensive works, from sonatas and etudes to symphonies and requiems. The composer was so gifted that he composed 626 works before dying at age 35. Ludwig von Kochel simply numbered his works chronologically. 

 One might think that after three months on the water we'd be done. Not the case.

Contemplating navigation in the fog. At least Sally W has radar.

How could one ever tire of the new sights and encounters of each day? 

It's always new, inspiring, and challenging.




Life aboard has changed us. It is simpler and richer. We don't have a microwave or television. We cook fresh food and enjoy good books and conversation. 



 It has toughened us. We still enjoy a hot shower to cleanse our often sticky bodies. But it's not a daily occurrence. And we don't mind assembling a bag with soap, shampoo and towel, and walking up the dock to the showers in the marina. Or, simply showering on the back deck.

Why this change? It's the intangible luxury of time. We're not in a hurry. We don't have to jump out of bed, hop in the shower, and wolf down breakfast. Rather than face the day, we embrace the day.

Our son Pedr, wife Rebecca, Madelyn and Clara.   Minimal gear.

It's always a treat to have friends and family come aboard and adapt to a simpler life on the water. Not much required in clothing and gear; there simply isn't room! Come with little and leave with experiences.

On our final push to Maine, we stopped in Newburyport, MA. This town has a rich maritime history, and is renowned for building the finest clipper ships. In nearby Amesbury, we visited Lowell's Boat Shop, which opened for business in 1793. 

Boat with wreath was a wedding present for a sister

Seven generations of the Lowell family built boats and created the first fishing dory.  Today, it is the oldest continuously operating boat shop in the United States, thanks to Pam Bates, who kept it from closing a few years ago.
 




"This can't happen," she said.  She saved the business, turning it into a non-profit working museum and National Landmark. 

Pam is the executive director and manager, and very passionate about the project. 

Master craftsmen and volunteers work together to build the highest quality dories and skiffs. Pam is determined to see the perpetuation of wooden boat-building.

 

We came to Newburyport to meet Pam because she is a fellow tug owner. She and her late husband Bill bought their tug in 1985, and she is one of the remaining handful of original owners. She tells the story of how Bill took a detour on their way to talk with yacht brokers in West Palm Beach. "I want you to see something that will make you smile," he said. 

They drove to the yacht club and eyed a Lord Nelson tug owned by the commodore. She believes they ordered one that afternoon. At the time they had each brought a few kids to the marriage. But the 37-foot tug provided ample room for seven.

When Bill died twelve years ago, there was never any doubt that Pam would keep the boat. Today, she enjoys sharing it with grandchildren.

This is Ursa, a 49-foot rendition, owned by David Fogg and Thea Nelson. She resides in the Fox Islands Thoroughfare, off of Vinal Haven Island in Maine.

This wasn't the first time we had thought about evoking smiles and wondered why. Perhaps it is the bold upward curve of the bow which suggests a smile.

Our destination was our home port in Camden, Maine where another sister, Titan, was waiting. The twins are indeed smiling, happy to be together.





Although this is the end of our 1855 mile, three-month journey, this is not the end of the blog. What began as a mere plan to keep in touch with friends and family has evolved into a pursuit to go a bit further to meet new people and explore new places; to find interesting things to write about. What is the reason to write? Simply because we know that people enjoy the musings. And it gives pleasure in knowing you can make people smile.

Thank you, Will Van Dorp, aka "Tugster", our famous water blogger friend who teaches English to college freshmen. "What shall I write about?" his students ask. You write when you have something to say. Because of Will, we will continue to write.

We know our sisters and sisters-in-law Jane Potter and Ann Rogers will read it; old and new friends Sooty Tanguay and Karen Hamade; curmudgeon and mission rescuer emeritus JB; Bill Baker, the world's greatest PR man, finishing up chemo and radiation; Fred, from Tug 44; Dave and Bicki Howell; friends in Maine; those who traveled with us by screen; ...



 
... and those who traveled with us and made the experience richer; those we met along the way; those who were among us in May and who have passed away; and those who are fighting to stay with us; new tug friends; and tug friends we have yet to meet.

We are no longer neophytes! Not experts, perhaps just equals with the rest of the boats in the harbor, having had the experience not only of handling the waters,  ...

but living a different lifestyle. At least once in your life, dare to get away - for a few months. Long enough to force a change in habits, meet people, and see new places. 

Thanks.

 

#22 Tugspotting

THE LOOP IS DONE ... but we're not. We are back in familiar territory, New England, and heading to our home port of Camden, Maine. Landlubbers and mariners agree: these waters are salty and scenic. But while landlubbers call the coast of southern New England, from New York to Cape Cod “the shore,” or “the ocean,” or “the sound,” mariners have a different set of names: Long Island Sound, Fishers Island Sound, Block Island Sound, Rhode Island Sound, Buzzard's Bay, and Nantucket Sound.

Beach lovers savor the fun of high and low tides. Mariners take them with a grain of salt. Tides mean currents of two kinds: ebb and flood. And in each of these aforementioned bodies of water, you have to pay attention to the direction of the currents to make maximum headway. Go against the flow, and it's, well, … slow going. 

The Race off Fishers Island

 And beyond that, there are tricky little spots where the rules don't apply, but only for some periods during the ebb and flood. These spots have terrifying names, like “the Race” and “the Pollock Rip.” 

Hit it right, and it's “Yee haw, ride 'em cowboy.” You just gotta know when to go.

But, there are aids, like the Eldridge Tide and Pilot Book. This handy tome publishes the tide and current tables for the entire east coast. It even has charts and diagrams for the anomalies. See how easy and confusing it can be?

"Calm" as"  like a lake"

These past few days have been very calm and we have timed our cruising to ride the currents most of the time. Of course, they reverse direction every 5-1/2 hours, but we seem to get through.

We stopped in Newport and felt like the sublime among the ridiculous. The next morning we had a hard time getting Sally W out of the harbor. 

 She spotted Wallace Foss and insisted we take a closer look. It was love at first sight. 

Wallace is the real deal, a 65-foot tug built in Tacoma in 1897. 

In 1920 he became the first tug of the Foss family of working boats. For 52 years he dutifully towed barges laden with sand, gravel, and petroleum in the Pacific Northwest.

He retired from active duty in 1972 and took up head-turning.

Fortunately for Sally, Wallace now stays in Newport. Guess we'll be back next year. Sigh!

Distant cousin

One of the goals on this trip has been to seek out sister tugs along the route. 

We hit the jackpot in Lake Champlain.

On our return trip down the Hudson, we found Bodacious had shred her shrinkwrap from our June siting, and was in the water in Kingston. So we decided to see if our luck would hold along the coast. 

Yes! Hal and June Findlay welcomed us to the dock in Cos Cob, CT alongside Le Papa. But that's not all. The designer of our tugs, Jim Backus, who just happens to live nearby, joined the party.

It was fascinating to hear Jim talk about the project. Less than a month after he hung out his shingle in Seattle, he was approached by Loren Hart, owner of Lord Nelson Yachts. It was the early 80s and Loren was selling sailboats. He sensed a burgeoning market for trawlers and wanted to offer something different, a pleasure tug. So Jim went to work, and created the 37-foot Lord Nelson Victory Tug. Seventy-five tugs were built in Taiwan between 1983 and 1988, where teak and labor were rather inexpensive.

Jim says it's the most successful design of his career. Judging by the fact that today, all but one tug is accounted for, it a rather strong validation.

Moving along the Massachusetts coast, Sally W couldn't resist stopping in New Bedford. Good call. Neptune was waiting as we passed through the hurricane barrier.

 The two beat it to the dock in Fairhaven. Neptune's handlers are John and Ellen Isaksen, part of a community of Norwegian immigrant fishing families. They are a colorful couple. The coffepot is always full and conversation non-stop. 

Certainly the highlight was a feast of Ellen's Georges Bank Sea Scallops, which she prepares using a method quite different from those of us who think we know how to cook seafood.

Put the scallops in a shallow baking dish. Top with a mixture of crushed Ritz Crackers, melted butter, lemon juice, cooking sherry and Parmesan cheese. Here's the twist: bake at 325 degrees for 25-30 minutes. No kidding! And they are delicious!

 We left the Isaksens with a plan to time the passage through the Cape Cod Canal with a favorable current. “Favorable” turned out to be an understatement. With our trusty Cummins 100 horsepower turbo-diesel engine and full-displacement hull, we can normally cruise our 22,000 pound boat at 7.5 knots, or 8.6 miles per hour.

 This day, we topped 12 knots, or almost 14 mph!

The passage was so successful that we changed course in Cape Cod Bay and headed to Manchester-by-the-Sea, north of Boston. Even though the waters resembled bathtub conditions, this made it a long day; ten hours underway, and 78 nautical miles. But we knew it would put us in a good position for meeting up with family later in the week.

Our bored and cranky moods changed to surprise and elation as we entered the harbor and spotted one of our tugs. Huh? Who would this be? It was Dick Salter on Messing About. Turns out this is his home port where he's had a mooring since 1965! 

 We were surprised to find him here, thinking he was cruising Maine waters and preparing to head south for the winter. But, plans had changed temporarily, and he came aboard for an evening of catching up. And, oh yes, we finished off the Isaksen scallops. Thanks, Ellen.

,

#21 The Sixth Boro

From the RIDICULOUS antics of installing a new starter motor …

 

To the SUBLIME cruise down the Hudson the following day …

 To the HARROWING final leg the day after that …

And the EXCITING day with a world famous water blogster.

It's never dull aboard the Sally W. We like it that way.

Rescue missions are always appreciated. And we needed one. After two plus months, 8000 photos and twenty-one posts the trusty laptop began to groan. It needed an upgrade. Allan ordered more memory and had it shipped to the home of longtime friend John Bulcroft in New Jersey. John has rescued us in the past, and we figured we could impose once again.Mr. Bulcroft is a very considerate man who enjoys going beyond mission requirements. He drove 45 minutes from his home to meet us in Haverstraw Bay and delivered the computer memory. 

He also brought lunch, three bottles of wine, and yummy fruit tarts. We agreed to consume only one bottle of wine, and enjoyed bubbly Prosecco. But that's not all. With skies darkening, John drove us to a grocery store for much-needed provisions. We arrived back at the boat, hugged him good-bye, and dashed aboard just as sirens were signalling lightning strikes. Thank you JB!

Obviously, weather patterns are unstable. It's still hazy, hot, and humid. Each day forecasts thunderstorms and boaters must plan accordingly. On the morning of our final leg down the Hudson, the weather radar showed strong cells moving northeast from Philadelphia. 

 We decided to try to beat it. It was a wild ride, more nail-biting than battling the elements. Fortunately, we were spared the severe cells to the west, and experienced rain and moderate winds. It didn't make for great viewing of the Big Apple, but we weathered it well.

The rain had stopped by the time we reached Liberty Landing Marina and tied up for the rest of the day. We washed the boat and prepared for the arrival of a special guest the next morning.

Will Van Dorp, aka “Tugster” calls himself a water blogger.

www.tugster.wordpress.com 

Allan is an ardent fan, and we invited Will aboard for a day on the water.

It was a very busy Saturday.

Will's niche is the waterways around the port of New York. He calls them the sixth borough. More specifically, it is what is on the waterways that interests him. 

 His favorite area is the Kill Van Kull, where there is a great concentration of BIG commercial marine activity. 

All ships that come into the port of Newark use this waterway, passing by Shooter's Island ...

... and under the Bayonne Bridge. Believe it or not, this tug is going to maneuver the barge to pass under the bridge.

The Kill is the tugboat nerve center.

 The Moran tug design was the inspiration for our Victory Tugs. 

 

Use a little imagination here.

 

 Will teaches English 101 at a community college. The course objective is to hone research skills. He got his start blogging six years ago when he began researching the vessels he was observing. He not only knows their names, but their history as well. 

 

When he heard we were coming down the Hudson, he asked us to shoot an old ferry which had been converted into a restaurant; only to be destroyed by a storm last fall. The pending demolition is controversial, and Will needed pictures of the port side. When he saw them, he was surprised that the boat had deteriorated so much since initial damage last fall.

 The blog has received many accolades and invitations from captains to hop aboard. But most of the time Will shoots great pictures from the shore. Although he and his wife lived aboard for three years, he doesn't own a boat at this time. A waterside Getty station on Staten Island is his “office.”

It was a privilege to have this guided tour with the celebrated Tugster. Thanks very much, Will.

 Our tour of the sixth boro ended with the trip up the East River on a hot Sunday afternoon. We waited for the current to change in our favor and enjoyed the sights.

If you're a New Yorker, a plane on the river isn't anything to get excited about. We found it unusual. But hey, it's New York.





Jet skis ...

Fireboats ...

... barges in tow. This could be a terrifying sight ...

 ... for a captain. It kept him busy.













 

Final approach into La Guardia just added to the circus.
 

And it didn't let up in Long Island Sound. Watch it there, little guy.

The day ended tied to a mooring in Manhasset Bay. At long last, a peaceful tie-up.