Cruising Out of Summer and into Fall

Okay, so I’ve dropped the ball on finishing up on any posts about the end of our late summer cruise to New England. We got back home and hit the ground running with lots of Annapolis fall visitors and activites and music and racing and other events in our lives…so we’ll do some catching up on the end of our summer cruise before filling you in on newer developments.

We left Newport and headed to Montauk, NY – the last lengthy stopover in our cruise.  I’ll do more pictures than words. The headlines from Montauk: friends, fishing boats,  fun!

– Met up with our dear friends on Kindred Spirit for a few days of fun on the water! Their boat and ours kept bobbing and weaving about trying to figure out if and where we might meet up – and it worked out to meet in Montauk! Both vessels were out for a few weeks of cruising, but you know that cruisers set VERY loose schedules and commitments because Mother Nature can just throw too many wrenches into plans. But it worked for a rendezvous in Montauk.

We got to Montauk first and enjoyed the sights and sounds of the fishing community.

Frank was lovin’ on this old diesel engine. Claims he knows the sound of one from memory.

A favoirte sign of Frank’s

We loved this place, but Really? O’Murphy’s? There is no such Irish name! Even the Irish bartender was embarassed when we asked him about it. Murphy does not need an “O” in front of it, for cryin’ out loud.

“We’re gonna need a bigger boat.”

We found a place to hide the dinghy for the evening. That’s one thing about Montauk – they don’t exactly encourage the presence of cruisers who want to anchor out and dinghy to town. That didin’t discourage us, though.

A beach walk by the Montauk inlet.

There is a great locals bar/restaurant that has the most hilarious signs and “art”… some samplings for you to enjoy…

He’s always happy looking at the fishing boats!

And here comes Kindred Spirit!

Did I mention that we were there during the eclipse? This was as “eclipsy” as it looked for us

Al and Michelle came with water toys! Here they’re just two ships passing in the, uhm, afternoon.

The girls are out in the kayaks while Frank is in the background enjoying the little Snark.

Eleanor Q enjoying Lake Montauk.

And of course, we had to get ice cream! Frank and Al rival each other for biggest ice cream finatics.

And if you didn’t get enough fine signage from the first visit to “The Dock,” here’s some more artistic fun for you…

Frank and Al on the flybridge of Kindred Spirit discussing something important – Eleanor Q in the background looking on.

Michele and Al having a lesson on their Snark…

But then Michele decides, “I can do this on my own!” And she did!

We enjoyed a nice dinner out…

And then it was time to depart pre-dawn for the 30+ hour passage to Cape May.

It is hard getting up for these departures, but they also reveal some of the most beautiful sights and sounds on these trips. This was no exception…

Leaving through Montauk inlet.

Good morning Atlantic Ocean!

And we headed south and didn’t stop until we reached Cape May. The good news: It was an easy trip because there was no wind to speak of. The bad news: There was very little sailing because there was no wind to speak of. But it was truly the glassiest trip we’ve ever had down the coast. It was all motoring all the time. Sigh. But I’ll never complain about conditions that are too calm.

Goodbye, New England. Thanks for being a great host yet again. We’ll see you some time … just maybe not in this boat. But that’s another story for another post.

And goodbye summer. See you next year. On to fall!