Cruising: motoring DDW at 6 knots in 6 knots of breeze, on the cool North Atlantic,...

Mar 28, 2017
48
American Tug 395 Newport
A912272E-5AFA-43C7-AB29-A67BE9AF41D1.jpeg
Well, for what it is worth, it has been hot here in your home waters too!
I will say that as a MoBo’r we do have a generator and air conditioning but running a generator for just AC is not recommended. You want to keep the generator loaded!
So, unless we are at a dock and plugged in, we get a few hours of AC during the day.
I’m not complaining though and neither are our dogs!
By the way, at 5 3/4 knots we burn about .75 gallons per hour, not much more than our sailboat did. The problem is that we never just move at that speed... 7 knots is just under 2 gallons per hour and 8 is 3 gallons per hour. Now we are getting toward that “barrels of fuel” label...
 
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Apr 26, 2018
137
Catalina Catalina 30 Bayview
We moved from Tucson AZ to north Idaho last year. It was 118 degrees in Tucson when we left. Closed Sky Harbor in Phoenix because it was over 120 deg. Yesterday it was 104 here in Idaho, and 94 in Phoenix, 89 in Tucson. What the heck?! (Monsoon time, but still shocking). Going to swim in Pond Oreille today. Waters perfect
 
Oct 1, 2007
1,856
Boston Whaler Super Sport Pt. Judith
Spent some time on Pond Oreille back in the day. Beautiful country.
 

TomY

Alden Forum Moderator
Jun 22, 2004
2,758
Alden 38' Challenger yawl Rockport Harbor
Awww. So cute. "Just wet me down and let me lay in the shade." It is a beautiful stop but we have never dared to challenge the "pool" carrying 5 ft and a bit. We have always called ahead to the YC for a mooring outside. Lived through a heckuva thunderstorm in the middle of dinner. Fantastic western sky.

As for provisions, for the next trip, we have provisioned at Kennebunkport, Gloucester, Scituate, Sandwich, Pt Judith (of course!). We have had more difficulty finding stops where the dogs could run and poop than provisions:)
We had less luck, Rick on provisions. We spent an afternoon in Scituate enjoying their 'Heritage Days'. Unaware of the event, we were lucky to get the last mooring.

We walked around town and except for street food for the event, we didn't see a 'grocery store'. Is there a convenient grocery in Scituate?

Curious about the lack of shore side groceries, I began to ask locals in Gloucester for the local grocery store: They (2-3 folks) told me no such thing within the downtown.

Then in beautiful Rockport (the lesser,...) :), we found the same case. A gent that had been there for decades told us the only thing close was the 7/11. Processed prepared food there, but no groceries, produce, etc.

In fact in Boothbay, a place where we regularly provisioned just off the docks years ago at a local small grocery, I found the space filled with a tourist shop. Like we found elsewhere, the 'local' grocery was now outside of the town center.

The solution for us (like in Sandwich-16 minute walk in 94 degree heat with groceries?), was Uber. :)

This is just a minor inconvenience for the cruising sailor. I look at it as a resident of a seaside village. The trend, decades old, is clear.

Coastal towns and villages are becoming more seasonal and year round residents, more rare. When we do find local suppliers in our travels, we try to support them.
 
Oct 1, 2007
1,856
Boston Whaler Super Sport Pt. Judith
We had less luck, Rick on provisions. We spent an afternoon in Scituate enjoying their 'Heritage Days'. Unaware of the event, we were lucky to get the last mooring.

We walked around town and except for street food for the event, we didn't see a 'grocery store'. Is there a convenient grocery in Scituate?

In Scituate we have dinked in toward the end of the harbor and tied up at a very convenient float next to a restaurant where we had dined. This eliminates the long walk if you tie your dinghy at the SYC. The grocery was around 1-200 yds or so from the float down the street to the East, or left. There is also a nice hardware right across the street. We haven't called there in about 5 years so YMMV.

Curious about the lack of shore side groceries, I began to ask locals in Gloucester for the local grocery store: They (2-3 folks) told me no such thing within the downtown.

In Gloucester we have gone to two places for groceries. When anchoring or mooring in the town anchorage at the big fork we would dink over to the harbormaster's float to the West and walk to the left again and there were a couple of mom and pop markets a short walk. There is also a nice dog park right next to the harbormaster's office. We have also stayed at a marina/yacht club at the end of the East fork. The club is extremely dog friendly and there is a dog park again right next door. There is a supermarket (and, maybe more importantly, a liquor store) off to the East less than 1/2 mile from the club. Last time we shopped there we hijacked a grocery cart for the return at the suggestion of someone at the club! Again, YMMV as we haven't called there in about 5 years.

Then in beautiful Rockport (the lesser,...) :), we found the same case. A gent that had been there for decades told us the only thing close was the 7/11. Processed prepared food there, but no groceries, produce, etc.

Never called there.

In fact in Boothbay, a place where we regularly provisioned just off the docks years ago at a local small grocery, I found the space filled with a tourist shop. Like we found elsewhere, the 'local' grocery was now outside of the town center.

I remember the place. Right in the middle of downtown. Selection wasn't great but we often bought stuff there. Too bad. I seem to remember we rented a car once in Boothbay and there was a supermarket at the edge of town on the main road. Way too far to walk. But now in the day of Uber.......

The solution for us (like in Sandwich-16 minute walk in 94 degree heat with groceries?), was Uber. :)

This is just a minor inconvenience for the cruising sailor. I look at it as a resident of a seaside village. The trend, decades old, is clear.

Coastal towns and villages are becoming more seasonal and year round residents, more rare. When we do find local suppliers in our travels, we try to support them.

Please see notes above Tom. With our boat now we can provision for much longer than when we sailed our P-39 yawl. We would pack 100 lb of ice in the mammoth ice box so there wasn't enough room for food.
 

TomY

Alden Forum Moderator
Jun 22, 2004
2,758
Alden 38' Challenger yawl Rockport Harbor
Apropos of this post on August 7th, the Gulf of Maine Research Institute just reported that they recorded the second highest water temperatures in the Gulf of Maine on August 8th. We weren't imagining the heat!

https://www.gmri.org/news/news-arch...e”-gulf-maine-experiences-record-temperatures

"This year has been especially warm, and scientists at GMRI are now saying the Gulf of Maine officially experienced its second warmest-ever day on August 8. On that day, the average sea surface temperature in the Gulf of Maine reached 20.52°C (68.93°F), as measured by satellites operated by NOAA and NASA. This is only 0.03°C (0.05°F) shy of the record set in 2012."

We were treated to a storm on Isle of Shoals that night.
Storm over Portsmouth.jpg

I watched a sailboat out of Portsmouth NH trying to outrun the storm. Weather these days is a roller coaster ride. Did he make it? Heck no,...
Storm over Portsmouth sailboat.jpg
 
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John P

.
Feb 11, 2017
11
Almost to Gibralter, started in Tunisia in June, there has been no break in the HOT temperatures since. Want to get to Portugal by mid October, park the boat for the winter, come back next year and head south and then west across to the Carribean.