Newsletter July/Aug 2005

"Those stinkin’ tourists are everywhere!"

Yes, sports fans, the zany crew of Pipe Dream has gone full blown tourist. I bet you can just picture Captain Ferdy in plaid Bermuda shorts, a Hawaiian shirt, black socks, brown loafers, and don’t forget the camera hanging around his neck!!! This has been a “See America” summer. Last months’ travels (May, June) we left you in New York City. From there we have traveled up Long Island Sound in day hops and have anchored in many picturesque harbors along the way.
One particular town we visited around the end of June, Mattituck, will be remembered for years to come. We left the Sound and entered a narrow canal that wound along for about two miles and ended in a small basin at the tiny town of Mattituck. The basin was just big enough for four boats at anchor and it had a small marina on the east end. Jutta and I unloaded our newly acquired folding bikes and started to explore this part of Long Island. Low and behold there were about 20 vineyards located around Mattituck. “Holy Christmas”, what a stroke of luck for the crew of Pipe Dream. It was time for a proper wine tasting. That same evening we decided to stay a few more days and explore, possibly taking in another wine tasting. The next morning we arose to a blustery day. To those of you in California that means the wind was blowing like stink! We loaded up our dirty laundry and rode our bikes to the Laundromat. When we returned two hours later, Pipe Dream was gone. In a panic, we looked around the basin and spotted Pipe Dream backed into an empty slip in the marina. Jutta and I dropped our bikes, jumped into the dinghy, (family sedan), and raced across the water to the marina. The dock attendant had just finished tying her up. He said the wind had picked up and he watched our boat slowly drag her anchor across the bay, just missing two large, very expensive motor yachts and slide perfectly into the only empty slip in the marina!.. I know I have some Hispanic blood in my veins but I’m sure there is also some “Lucky Irish” in there somewhere. Yes, Pipe Dream cheated death again! After giving the dock attendant a reward we knew it was time to push on to Block Island and the 4th of July party. We would belly up to the bar for a wine tasting another time, the anchor gods just weren’t with us that day.
Block Island was a hoot. What a party! Block Island, Rhode Island, is situated about 25 miles off the Newport, RI shore or about 50 miles southwest of Cape Cod. To enter the inner harbor or as the locals call it “The Salt Pond” you have to sail through a very narrow waterway. We entered Salt Pond and dropped our anchor among at least two thousand other boats trying to find a spot. The Salt Pond should probably only accommodate about half that number of boats, so you can imagine the mess. I’m sure the majority of the boats had never left their marina overnight. This meant 75% of the anchored boats had no idea how to set an anchor. By observation, we learned some very innovative new ways of anchoring. The evenings were usually socked in with heavy fog and the wind would come up every night. As the wind would pick up you could hear voices yelling and motors starting through the fog as many boaters would drag their anchors and bump into someone else’s boat. Almost every morning we would awake to new boat neighbors.
One of the highlights at Block was the baker Mr. Aldeammo in his 14 foot skiff selling fresh baked goods to all the boaters. Every morning you could hear his deep voice through the fog calling AL-DE-AMMO. The first morning he came past our boat I waved him over and purchased two very small croissants, and two very small cinnamon rolls. The total came to $14.00. At that point I decided to forgo the fresh pastries and just listen to him call every morning through the fog. You’ve got to remember the zany crew of Pipe Dream are fulltime year around cruisers, better known as “CARBS”, which translates to “cheap arse rag baggers”. (The misspelled word allows my old friends at Merillat to receive this newsletter without having to rewrite a puritan version.) Ah, the e-mail censors are always watching!
Four or five days in Block Island were enough for the crew of Pipe Dream and we moved on to Newport, RI, sailing capitol of the East Coast. I had never seen so many giant sail boats in one place. For those of you who are sailors I don’t take pictures of anything with less than four spreaders on the mast anymore, and I have lots of pictures. Pipe Dream’s size at 40 feet looks like a “tuna schooner” in this bay.
After exploring Newport for about a week we sailed up the bay to Wick ford and met up with Carolyn and Pat, Jutta’s friends from 25 years ago in San Diego. We spent a weekend with them at their beach cottage and enjoyed ourselves immensely. The crew of Pipe Dream had to get dressed up one evening because Pat took us to our first international polo match. We had reserved seating in the country club section (“TA-TA”). We looked like a “Grapes of Wrath” couple in the big city! Just kidding, we know how to eat with a knife and fork; we’re just a little out of practice! One thing we really found interesting at the Polo match: At half time the people in the stands went out on the Polo field to stomp on the divots in the grass left by the horses, exactly like in the movie “Pretty Woman.” This Arizona country boy was smart enough not to go out there. Those horses leave other things on the field that may look like divots but I wasn’t going to kick them!
In mid July Jutta and I hooked Pipe Dream up to a mooring ball for a week and jumped on a bus to Canada (yes, after our last Greyhound experience, we actually dared to do it again). Our destination was Montreal to visit our good friends and fellow sailors, Bob and Viviane Fleury who we met last winter in the Bahamas. Bob turned out to be an excellent tour guide of Montreal and Quebec City. There were street festivals going on every night and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay. If you ever have a chance to visit Canada, don’t miss Montreal and Quebec City. Bob Anderson and Beverly McLean from Toronto, other Canadian sailing friends we met in the Bahamas, joined us at the Fleury’s for a partying and catching up slumber party!
Our initial plans had been to sail all the way north to Maine but by the time Jutta’s sister Conny and brother-in-law Otto arrived from Germany, we were still in Newport. We were all set to sail with them to Cuttyhunk and Martha’s Vineyard but the morning we were to pull anchor, Newport was yet again completely socked in with fog. We opted to hike the Cliff Walk along Newport’s fancy mansions instead. Along the hike, Otto, a true landlubber, confided that he wasn’t all that keen on sailing out into the Atlantic. So instead of Cuttyhunk, we sailed out of Newport, ventured along the coast for a couple of hours, then sailed back into the Sakonnet River which connects with Narragansett Bay. Narragansett Bay is so large, one could spend several summers exploring its many coves and towns without ever seeing everything.
We have had a real ball here. There are festivals going on throughout the entire summer, neat places to visit, and the friendliest people you have ever met. This is a must see place for all cruisers. Unfortunately we have run out of time. We won’t get to see Maine this year. It’s time to turn south and follow the Canadian Honkers toward the warm weather. For those of you in Arizona, Canadian Honkers are big fat birds with long necks, not Canadian motorists from up north!
Keep those e-mails coming and remember to give to the “Ferdy Cruising Fund” till it hurts. See you at the Polo matches, I’ll be the one next to Julia Roberts!!!!

From the decks of Pipe Dream
Ferdy and Jutta