Applied Physics wasn't fully commissioned until the end of June. On July 2 we
brought it through Barnegat inlet to our mooring at the Keyport Yacht Club in
Raritan Bay. One week later we departed for a 3 week cruise to
Massachusetts Bay and back. There were stops in Glen Cove, Pt. Jeff, Noank,
Newport, Plymouth, Boston, Salem, Gloucester, Provincetown, Quissett, Marion,
and Martha's Vineyard. On this cruise we started to learn how to sail the boat.
We took one week to get to Boston, one week for me to get back to Washington
for work and to do some business in Boston and Rhode Island, and then another
week to sail home. We had orginally planned for three weeks on the boat, but
work wouldn't allow it.
Tom Curtis drives past the Verrazano Bridge and into a storm
On July 9, 2005 Tom Curtis joined Janet and me as we sailed and motored from
Keyport to Glen Cove on the first day of a 3 week trip. Tom is a physicist too,
so on it's first cruise past New York City, the boat was manned entirely by
physicists. (Sounds like a joke!)
We had perfect weather on our first day, but just as we past Execution Rocks we
saw storm clouds in the northwest sky. Pushing hard to Glen Cove we grabbed the
guest mooring a few minutes before a fierce storm arrived. It seems we have
been at that mooring through many storms.
Pt Jeff
Edwin Muth took this photo of us departing from Port Jefferson, Long Island on
our way to Fishers Island Sound. Edwin was sailing east with his nephew to
Block Island on his C&C 40, Frog Leap. He pulled along side us and handed us a
bottle of wine in honor of our new boat.
Boston
We arrived at Boston on July 14 to celebrate David's Birthday with
Robert and Tatiana
Eva Vogel
Gloucester
Eva and Jerry Vogel joined us in Boston and sailed with us to Gloucester and
Salem and then back to Boston where we picked up Robert who continued on to
Provincetown, Quissett, and Marion.
Tom Curtis rejoined us for the last leg home
Rhode Island Sound and Long Island Sound
There was some great sailing on this first cruise. The ride from Boston to
Provincetown was a beam reach typically at 8 knots, often hitting 9 knots.
There was also a good ride on Rhode Island Sound. But for a time while we were
on Buzzards Bay the wind was blowing above 30 knots with a 3' chop. We took
down our sails, but we discovered that Applied Physics likes to roll in these
conditions. We found that we are better off with a little sail up if we are
beam to the wind.
Labor Day Hudson Mini-Cruise
Labor Day weekend, 2005 had great weather. We sailed (actually mostly motored)
from Keyport to the Nyack Boat Club on the Friday before Labor Day. On
Satuday we motored from Nyack to Newburgh (where we had lunch) and then back to
Nyack. On Sunday we returned to Keyport with a detour to Sheepshead Bay.
Cruises on the Hudson are usually involve a lot of motoring because the winds
are not often favorable and the current can be strong.