Bill Hinz Sailing Extravaganza

Day 24: Chesapeake City to Herrington Harbour, MD

billhinz124 — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 18:55:03 +0000

Well at long last our adventure has come to an end. We made it back to Herrington Harbour around 6:30pm last night and grabbed dinner with two Reynoldses we picked up at their Anapolis house. I’ll do a proper wrapup later, just wanted to let everyone know we got home safe. I was tired last night so I just went to sleep when I got home

See you at the next adventure!

- Bill, First Mate of the Audrey Marie

Day 23: Cape May to Chesapeake City, MD

billhinz124 — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 21:59:50 +0000

Okay, so we set out really early today and this time around the weather on the Delaware Bay was actually conducive to sailing! We had about a 12-15 kt tailwind so we pulled between 7 and 9 kts the whole way through. It was HOT out though. Today was really the first day that was uncomfortably hot on this trip – there were several days when the opposite was the case and we were wrapped up warm.

We’re docked now in Chesapeake City at the Chesapeake Anchorage, right next to the Chesapeake Inn Restaurant and Marina, just like we were on that first night a month ago tomorrow! I believe we are awaiting a hearty crew of folks to come join us for fine dining, to include The Lovely Elizabeth Vincent, Grande Ande, Stalwart Phil, and the ever-lovable KTran the Merciless. A motley crew if I’ve ever heard of one, but one who is sure to enjoy the festivities of the Inn this evening.

Tomorrow we make sail for home! Back home to Herrington Harbour in Rose Haven, MD. The First Great Adventure is almost at an end! On our way though we plan one more adventurous happenning, as we may have on our hands a crew of Reynoldses, who we will pick up at their Bay House just north of the Bay Bridge. Take care everyone, and to those of you coming tonight, see you soon!

- Bill, First Mate of the Audrey Marie

Day 22: Atlantic City to Cape May, NJ

billhinz124 — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 10:29:16 +0000

Our trip today was pretty much the complete opposite of yesterday in every way but one: the distance we traveled. Unfortunately for us, there is NOWHERE to stop between Cape May and the C&D Canal in the Delaware Bay. This meant we were forced to only go 30-35 nm to Cape May from AC. On a fine day like today we would much rather have gone about 60 miles and made tomorrow easier, for it is a long trip to Chesapeake City, MD. But that’s okay.

We had low surf and low wind today, so no sailing, unfortunately, but we were happy for the sunny peaceful weather. Captain Pete and I managed to avoid seasickness, a welcome relief after yesterday’s debacle, and we both went the entire day without entertaining thoughts of diving overboard to finally end the torment of the sea. Clearly yesterday was not the most enjoyable experience.

After pulling into Utsch’s Marina – a great place with wonderful facilities – Captain Pete and I got the boat all tied up and had dinner at the Lobster House. I highly recommend the place, it was awesome. Then we did a bunch of laundry (finally) and got ready to sleep.

This morning we’re up really early and setting sail for Chesapeake City, a long day to be sure but we’ll be alright. Should have a strong wind at our backs all day.

- Bill, First Mate of the Audrey Marie

So fun was the wrong word…

billhinz124 — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 13:07:16 +0000

We hit the seas yesterday shortly after my post, and we immediately entered rain. And it rained the entire day. We fought our way through sea-sickness, 10 ft waves, 30 kt winds, and continual sheets of rain to Atlantic City. We gave up on making it to Cape May because we left late, having to deal with yet more electrical problems in the morning at Barnegat. Unfortunately we’re set back a day on our journey home because of it, but it means we can take it easy today and go only 35 nm to Cape May from AC. I’ll let you know how things went today later. Take care.

- Bill, First Mate of the Audrey Marie

Day 21: Barnegat Bay to Cape May, NJ

billhinz124 — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 12:31:56 +0000

So we had a light weather day and unfortunately little to no wind, but it was a beautiful scene motoring from Coney Island all the way to Barnegat Bay. As we stopped at Barnegat on our way up, I won’t bother you with the particulars of Barnegat Harbor, except to say that we hooked up to a mooring for the first time. Man, it is nice mooring instead of anchoring, because you don’t have to worry about dragging anchor and setting the anchor well. So that made life easy, and we could leave the boat and dinghy in to Kubel’s restaurant, where we met up with my buddy from college, “El Presidente” Mike Coughlin. It was great catching up with Mike, and the Audrey Marie, as you blog readers are my witness, owe Mike a decent sailing day out on the water because we couldn’t find a way to conveniently drop him off today.

Anyway, we’re getting ready to make for Cape May, and Captain Pete is calling me to work on some stuff. Plus it’s raining already… looks to be a fun day

- Bill, First Mate of the Audrey Marie

Day 20: Coney Island to Barnegat Bay, NJ

billhinz124 — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 12:26:59 +0000

So I learned a couple things about Coney Island. 1. Never go to Coney Island. 2. Don’t try to visit anywhere interesting should you go against the advice of 1, because there isn’t anything. 3. See rule 1.

But in all seriousness, Coney Island was a bit disappointing. There wasn’t much to do, and it looked like the whole place had been shut down pretty much since about the 50s. I can see where the place used to be a lot like Ocean City MD or other similar places, but it just is not anymore. Captain Pete and I had a hard time getting any of our errands run either. We finally found some food, but not everything we needed, and were unable to get any laundry done save what we did by hand and hung out overnight on the boat. In any case, we’re glad to be leaving and making way towards Barnegat. More info when we get there folks.

- Bill, First Mate of the Audrey Marie

Safely on Coney Island!

billhinz124 — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 21:03:13 +0000

So first off I have to get this out of the way: I’m really disappointed because Coney Island is NOT an island… It is as much an island as Africa is. Okay, with that complaint taken care of, I’ll continue with what our adventures held today.

As I mentioned earlier, we woke up way too early and hit the seas to get into Hell Gate at the correct time with the tide in our favor. Well, we certainly made it – the boat hit a whopping 12 kts, the fastest I’ve ever seen it go. Hell Gate is a spot in the East River by Manhattan that has extreme current changes. At one point the current was 19 kts! The flip side of having to get up so early is that we got to Coney Island around 3:30pm, so we have plenty of time to explore! We both got showers and are about to head out to find Nathan’s famous Hot Dogs. Then I think we’ll hit up a pool hall here or in Brooklyn. We also need to run some errands like getting groceries and doing some laundry at a local laundromat, so that will all keep us busy for the evening. I’ll let you know how things went tomorrow when we set sail for Barnegat Bay.

- Bill, First Mate of the Audrey Marie

Day 19: Bridgeport to Coney Island, NY

billhinz124 — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 09:44:43 +0000

Hey all, we’re up way too early this morning, but we’ve gotta be to make it to the East River at the right time to hit the tides flowing the direction we want to go. I’m all geared up for a cold, wet, rainy day which is okay. We’re due a decent storm after the perfectly beautiful calm day we had yesterday. The best part about a stormy day though is that before the storm hits we’ll have great wind. Here’s hoping that holds true.

Bridgeport was a pretty industrial looking place, but the Black Rock Cove we stayed in was weird! The place had all kinds of nautical memorabilia everywhere, but it all seemed disjointed like a circus (which is especially odd when you consider Barnum and Bailey’s started in Bridgeport!). If you have a chance, come take a look at this cove and let us know what you think, Captain Pete and I were left a bit… confused.

Anyway, today we’re heading off to Coney Island, which is about 60 nm from Bridgeport – another long day. I’ll let you all know how the weather shaped up for us.

- Bill, First Mate of the Audrey Marie

Day 18: New London to Bridgeport, CT

billhinz124 — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 12:59:21 +0000

We’ve got a 55 nm trip in our way now that gets us from New London to Bridgeport, CT. Should be a nice day, with weather predicting 5-10mph winds from the SE and waves only 1-2ft. Hopefully the wind will kick up just a bit so we can sail. But – the moment you all have been waiting for: dinner report from last night!

Captain Pete and I struck out looking for grub around 6:30pm and wound up at this little place right near our marina that served italian and seafood. Perfect combination. We had stuffed clams and then I got a seafood twist on an italian classic: shrimp parmagiano. Wow it was good. Captain Pete got spaghetti and sausage. We split a slice of New London Cheesecake (which luckily is just normal cheesecake and not some strange concoction) with a raspberry sauce. All in all a successful dinner trip.

Anywho, we’ve got to get moving this morning. We have a long day ahead of us (the first of two in fact, because our trip to NYC the next day will be long as well). Wish us luck!

- Bill, First Mate of the Audrey Marie

Day 17: Newport to New London, CT

billhinz124 — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 22:22:49 +0000

Hey everyone, we have made it safely to New London, CT – and early enough in the day for me to post with some video We have avoided Bill Laziness for at least this evening. Anyway, here’s the video I captured this morning before we left Newport:

So as you can see, fun times in Newport. Make your way out there if you ever have a chance. As for today’s trip, it was relatively uneventful. Calm seas, decent wind. We sailed for a while but had to keep tacking to head in the right direction, so when the wind died down again we dropped our sails and just motored on. The current helped us a ton and we hit about 9.5 kts in this tanker.

Captain Pete and I are probably about to start scavanging for foodstuffs pretty soon. I’ll report back on our level of success at doing so in the morning before we leave. Tomorrow I believe we are heading for somewhere in western Connecticut, perhaps Bridgeport.

- Bill, First Mate of the Audrey Marie