Hi everyone! This is a guest post from our shipmate Eric Jensen. It’s a bit out of order but we are still trying to get the last few posts together. Enjoy!

Thanks,

Jack

On Monday May 20 I had the pleasure of joining “Cap’n Jack” Ellis for the final leg of S/V WildHorse’s trip back to the Northeast. My flight from Seattle to NYC was intended to catch better weather (drier, and with favorable winds from the south-southeast), and it looked like everything would be perfect. The cheerful launch pilot brought me to WildHorse from the Seastreak ferry, and Jack welcomed me aboard with a broad grin and delicious salade niçoise.

WildHorse moored in Atlantic Highlands NJ

Tuesday morning,we had breakfast, then stopped at the fuel dock and turned the corner around Sandy Hook, NJ towards Block Island, RI. Nice breezes let us put the sails up, the sun was out, and all seemed groovy. That is, until the long, slow ocean swells started to play games with my stomach, and the winds died. Thus began the first of many hours that we would spend motoring over the next week. We motored most of the day, while I sat sucking fresh air in the corner of the cockpit feeling like I could either get better or worse. Turned out that first I got worse, but then gradually better as we passed out of major traffic lanes and cruised up the east side of Long Island. Near midnight one large cargo ship, the Denali, passed us off the Hamptons near midnight, and then there was a glorious sunrise over Block Island Sound to reward me for feeling better.

A cargo ship that is NOT the Denali

We moored at Block Island in the Great Salt Pond, took a well-earned nap, and then pumped up the dinghy for a trip into “town.” It was a clear and sunny day, and The Oar restaurant near the dinghy dock was full of activity, but it turned out that they were just preparing for the Memorial Day crowds, and not actually open. We walked about a mile to the Poor People’s Pub near New Shoreham and I had my first solid food in almost 27 hours (a kale salad). Jack got the oyster po’ boy, which he enjoyed, but it wasn’t for me that day. We took the long way back to the boat via Old Harbor, the Old Town Inn, and the Island Cemetery, enjoying the sunshine and being ashore, and had another rest followed by a delicious pasta (and crumbs!) dinner and a couple of games of Circle the Wagons.

Sunrise over Block Island Sound

Block Island Coast Guard Station

   Captain Jack gives “Otto” the autopilot a little break

Thursday we made a somewhat shorter hop to Cuttyhunk Island – again motoring for the most part despite our many attempts to sail. We successfully dodged a few squalls, which mostly stayed onshore although we did get a few drops – and anchored in outer Cuttyhunk Harbor near Red Buoy 6 “bell.” The charming sound of this buoy bobbing in the waves helped lure us into another needed nap, and when we woke the light fog was swirling around us creating a game of peek-a-boo with other boats in the harbor.

Cuttyhunk Buoy 6 in the fog

Other boats at Sunset

We supped and were in bed before 8:30, which was good since the next morning we were up at 4 am to capture favorable tides through the Cape Cod Canal. The weather was sunny and warm, but unfortunately windless again. My scopolamine patch kept my stomach in order. In the Canal we saw no commercial vessels in either direction, only 4-5 pleasure boats going the other direction, and we were past Sandwich and into Cape Cod Bay by 11 am. We put the spinnaker up just long enough to receive a compliment from a boat heading in the other direction before we took it back down and motored through the middle of the day. An hour or so before we arrived in Provincetown the wind finally came back up and we got to sail for a while and take up our mooring buoy in a hard blow.

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Squalls onshore, clear weather and spinnaker up on Cape Cod Bay, and Provincetown Harbor

We strolled Commercial St, the main drag of Provincetown from end to end before settling down twice for drinks and dinner, which were both delicious. At the restaurant, our waiter might have been flirting with us … ;-).

A sound sleep through the night brought a sunny, fresh morning on Saturday, and we took the folding bikes out for a spin. We rode through the north end of the Cape Cod National Seashore on the Province Lands bicycle paths, which were surprisingly hilly because of the sand dunes. The forests, ponds, dunes and beaches were beautiful to see, and we even encountered a fox in the middle of the day near the Old Harbor Life-Saving Station. People using the binoculars at the Visitor Center said they were seeing whales offshore. We headed back into a quieter section of town for lunch and provisions (groceries), then back to WildHorse. Probably 12-15 miles of biking? After another nap, we took the launch back into town, but we were so TIRED we just stopped at the restaurant on the dock for Italian food before returning to the boat.

Cape Cod National Seashore

Larry, who met Jack & Lucie in the Bahamas, joined us on Sunday morning for the last stretch to Robinhood Cove, Maine. When we left the marina, the winds were fresh, and we were able to break out the spinnaker again – everything was perfect – even the beautiful sunset Cioppino dinner prepared by Jack while we were sailing. Unfortunately, the wind soon died, and then shifted around to the north after midnight. Jack and Larry were trying to get some sailing in during the night, but by the time I got up for my watch at 4 am we were struggling to keep the wind in our sails at a close-haul. By dawn, we were able to see that we were in fog and drizzle in the middle of the Gulf of Maine, and we were using radar and our foghorn to stay out of trouble. Luckily, we saw few other boats on the radar until we got within a few miles of shore.

Nice Sailing Initially…

Then, not so nice!

We finally entered the approach to Robinhood Cove at around 10 am, and found our mooring around 11 am. It was nice to reach the end of our journey, but also sad. I enjoyed my time on WildHorse, but when you are sailing you have more things to do while trimming the sails and eyeing the wind and waves – motoring is less interesting.

Robinhood Marine Center in Georgetown, ME

Happy Crew at the end of an adventuresome year!

And now… our fearless sea creatures, Jack and Lucie, must re-adapt to being land creatures. After a year aboard WildHorse, how will they manage the transition? Is Burlington home? Is WildHorse? Both? Can your home (WildHorse) come home (New England)? This arrival was certainly a homecoming of sorts, but also opened many questions about their future plans. I sincerely wish them the best of luck in this endeavor and hope to join them again in the near future, either aboard or on dry land.