Guildive Cruises Blog

Some photos taken by Patrick Kana….

Whales!

Brooklyn Bridge

Sailing

Our friend who joined us from the Canal to Maine

Hanging on the fenders

Laundry day

Wing on wing!

Sunset

End of the day

Smiles from the Guildive!

We have made it to Maine (not Castine yet) but not lacking a few adventures along the way!

After leaving NYC we had a pleasant evening transiting the Long Island Sound with just a little fog and some rain making it through Plum Gut around noon!  Plum Gut another way to leave Long Island Sound to enter into Block Island Sound – and good fishing!  We tried our luck but sadly no success, however we did get a call on the radio from the New London/ Orient Point ferry asking if we were a William Hand Motorsailor.  Zander had a long conversation with the captain and it sounds like a William Hand may be his next project!  

Block Island Sound once again greeted us with some thick fog and NO wind and the fog continued till we were through the Cape Cod Canal – making it through the Canal at 5am Saturday morning!  Our luck with the fog seemed to change Saturday when we entered Whale Country (Stellwagon Bank) and the breeze picked up beautifully from the SW so we set all sails and shut down for a while – and to top that off we did get to see tons of whales!  By the middle of the afternoon the wind was not so favorable, but filled in again by 6 when we were off of Cape Ann, enough for us to have the main and mizzen out to Starboard and the Genoa out to Port going 6 kts in the direction of Maine!!  

Amazingly we were greeted by a clear night as we entered into Falmouth Foreside (a little past Portland).  It was a good thing we did not have fog as we had to play a serious game of dodge the lobster pots!  We picked up a friends mooring around 2:30 am and we are going to hang here for the day to catch up on some rest and leave tonight!

Here are some pictures from the last few days!! 

Maria kissing the fish yet to come!

Kate and Zander driving through the window

Kathy and Maria setting the line

Iron Stomach Patrick

The captain always has to hear everything!

On our way through the East River towards Hell Gate Guildive had some modeling shots taken by Titus Kana – with Brooklyn in the background (where she was built)!  A foggy/ drizzly day with lots of traffic – here are a few that were taken – check them out…

Bye New York! Photo by Titus Kana

Speed Racer! Photo by Titus Kana

photo by Titus Kana

Old meets new! Photo by Titus Kana

Guildive has landed us safely in NYC for the day after a rockin’ and rollin’ trip up the coast!  We cast off lines Monday around 6pm with Mom and Dad waving us off soon to greet us again about 9 miles down the river with a good friend, Bubbles, this time whistles and horns blowing!  It was a crystal clear night with not a spot of breeze as we transited up the Chesapeake… till about 4 am when the wind started to pick up on our bow. We made it through the C & D by noon on Tuesday to be hit once again by head winds down the Delaware Bay. Guildive was a champ as some of the waves really slowed us down and tossed us around, but we quickly realized everything that still needed to be lashed down.  The two iron stomachs on board Zander and Patrick quickly turned too and gave a hand steering and lashing as the rest of us drank ginger ale and ate saltines (thank you mom for the great food, for when we did feel well enough to eat)! Thankfully no one saw their food again and soon were able to get lend a hand to give a much-needed break to the two boys. We made it to the Jersey coast around 11 pm Tuesday night and spent 24 hours making our way up the Jersey Shore to be met by thick thick fog as we entered NYC!  We did see some dolphins along the way and were finally able to set the two headsails – more just as stabilizers through the swell.

Entering one of the busiest harbors in the world at nighttime can be nerve-racking enough but to have such thick fog you cant see the bow of your own boat is a whole other experience!  With a knowledgable crew and good electronics we made it through safely hoping that the fog would just keep clearing.  One of the coolest moments was going under the Verrazano Narrows bridge as the fog gave us a ¼ mile visibility and the lights of the bridge were glowing above us – this was about 2 am!  As we started up the Hudson river bound for Weehawken NJ we were right next to the city just barely seeing the bottom lights of the buildings, certainly not typical night time NY sky line. 

We docked around 4:30 am at Lincoln Harbor, turned the engine off, brushed our teeth and went to bed!!  We are spending today, Thursday, picking up the boat and heading into the city getting ready to leave tonight bound for the Long Island Sound.  

Patrick, Robbie, Bailey, and Peter enjoying a cruise up the river! Robbie of course has his binoculars!

Memorial Day Weekend- the start of summer, and for us the transition from boat maintenance/repair to sailing/cruising/chartering. A beautiful Saturday was spent with family and friends for a couple of river cruises. We were pleased to be able to share time with Kate’s grandparents, parents, uncle, Zander’s cousin Townsend and family, and the Dudley, Shattuck, and Belin families. Our family and friends contributed to our efforts this winter in so many ways- from moral support, to hours of labor, to donations of materials, leads to suppliers (especially discount suppliers), to keeping us fed and help in many ways. Zander’s cousin Maria, friend Kath, and Kate’s brother Patrick are the heroes of the past week, helping every waking moment for the final push. Guildive looked radiant in the sun with her new paint, oiled woodwork, new cushions, clean sails.

Our departure for Maine, originally scheduled for Sunday was delayed until late Monday with the million final details required for the voyage. The sail to Maine should take about 5 days. Maria, Kath and Patrick will continue to share their time with us, and we appreciate their assistance. We’ll post our travels as we sail up the coast. 

Zander doing the last bit of work to the rig before we leave.

Part of the name board is visible with the swim platform up, we hope to sail with the platform down if we can!

The name on the bow!

The last few weeks have been filled with a little bit of everything.  Our days start right before sunrise and end WAY after sunset, but even the long days don’t take away our smiles!  

Last Friday we got the boat back in the water after quite the week…. it all started Monday with Zander leaving for an overnight trip driving to Maine to pick up the propeller and some other boat essentials along the way.  The bottom paint being one of those essentials.  We were scrambling as the paint we ordered did not arrive on time so many thanks to Jen Haddock who saved us big time!  She was able to go to the manufacturer and pick up some more paint before they closed and meet Zander in Cape Cod on his drive back to Maryland.  

Zander got back early on Wednesday morning with only 2 hours sleep in him ready to work for the day getting the propeller back on the shaft.  We were very fortunate to have some good friends come over that evening, Simon and Nelly, and help put up the anchor plate… they worked till they could not see the holes anymore as to where to put the screws! 

We got it all done – well the work that cannot be done now that the boat is in the water – so this week we rigging her up, doing the last of the engine alignment, loading the anchor (and 4 shots of chain), and the list goes on… and on…. and on…!!!  We took the weekend off and went up to Austin’s graduation from College, we were joking that he gave us our first vacation since the first week of December, congrats Austin!

In the slings going into the water

Slowly going into the water

Big thanks to Patch and James who have been over this week helping get dirty and willing to step in to lend a hand.  Mom has also been doing the last of the sewing, the tower of cushions and pillows she has made this spring is enormous!  

Sitting pretty back in Easton

May marks the real push to be ready. We have begun a countdown of sorts and we are progressing as quickly as the sun rises and sets. We have prepared the bottom for our final coats of paint. In this preparation we have investigated some areas of interest and have managed to gain a valuable understanding of the hull and its condition that we are pleased to conclude is very sound given her age.

Kate and I have most recently given the hull inspection points a good cleaning and fitted a recovering layer of epoxy to seal it up for the season. With the help of our friend James we have set the new engine mounts under the engine and

have sent the propeller and cutlass bearing out for service. Another good friend Simon lent his skills corking two small seams on the bow.

Guildive is a community interest here on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and all of our friends and family have been keeping close tabs on our progress. The maintenance continues, and all of our through hull-fittings and below the water piping has been renewed including hoses on the engine and generator too. Kate continues to garner Guildive with good taste and has been working on painting our stern-board and life-ring and in my night/rainy-day work have been slowly developing our webpage. Please keep following the blog but soon we will have a greater web-presence describing where and when we will be offering sailings aboard. We also are provisioning for our passage and have purchased an EPIRB and new life raft. I believe a week of good weather will find us very close if not sitting well and proud in the water. I also feel we should mention our first animal friend Frank the blind baby bunny rabbit that was found under the hull.

Found under the hull

We were keeping a kind eye out for Frank as well as searching for a better home for him but before we found one he took leave and similarly we will take ours soon with just as much faith in the world. All the best, The Guildy’s