Wednesday, May 24 – 1400

– 117 miles to go. We’re surrounded by blue sky, the wind is backing now firmly in the southwest, but still light at ten knots, Sea state is calm and the barometer is up 2mb at 1003 in the last couple of hours. If it weren’t for the faxes, and persistet hazyness, we’d not believe this business of another gale in the next 24 hours.The sun is hot in the pilot house. But outside you definitely know the wind is blowing over cold water – it is definitely nippy.

Mizzen genoa and big reacher + main and mizzen are pulling us along at wind speed while we await the sleighride promised by the forecasters.

1520

– 108 miles to go. That hazyness has turned to…FOG. For tropical cruisers something of an anomaly. Sure nice to have a radar with really good target definition! Wind has clocked all the way to the NW. If it doesn’t go any further we can just fetch Newport on port tack. Meanwhile, we’re pushing hard to get into port before this turns into a HARD beat.

1900

– 68 miles to go. Fog has lifted, it is sunny and warm inside the pilot house. On deck, well, on deck we are wearing a lot of the Patagonia clothing we traded for their use of a photo of Beowulf. In the engine room there is a coating of condensation on the hull. Water temperature has dropped 18 degrees from the Gulf Stream!Wind has gone back to the SW, but stayed light. We’re pushing, motorsailing at 11.5 knots so we can beat the next front, due in the AM. There’s also another batch of semi-strong thunderstorms supposed to work their way offshore later on this evening – which we’d just as soon miss.

2000

– 57.5 miles to go. Picked up the VHF weather broadcast, so we must be getting close to civilization. Dinner in the pilot house (pasta, salad, hot sourdough) was interrupted with a series of non-moving radar targets arrayed across our path. Went close by one and they are some form of fishing boat marker. A radar reflecting flag tied to a float. VHF weather is issuing a series of severe thunderstorm warnings for New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey. The sky to the west looks like somebody in the cloud control room cannot make up his mind what he/she wants to do so they are pushing all the buttons. Meanwhile, down here on the surface, wind remains SW at eight knots. Barometer steady at 1001. And the water temperature? Down another three degrees F to…57F. The diesel heater is now officially in operation.

2130

– 41 miles to go. Listening to New York City news radio – after the first ten minutes decided it is too depressing. Few isolated T-storms, but nothing to be excited about. Started thinking about what we need to do after clearing customs. The to-do list is pretty short for Beowulf. But for her crew…

2330

– 20 miles go. Wind just shifted to WNW so we are close reaching in 8 to 9 knots of breeze, with the engine going and working canvas. Block Island shows up at 24 miles on radar – but cannot see any of the coast even at 48 miles. If we didn’t have Block Island, a small boat to port, and a sea buoy all giving us returns you would think something was wrong with the radar. The land mass must be much lower than we remember.

2345

– Passing abeam of Buoy “A”. Radar confirms gps chart position – once we get a couple of other confirmations of the electronic chart accuracy, we’ll be more comfortable with using it to enter the harbor – radar will be our first choice, however. This is a “RACON” buoy which means it has a transponder which responds to our radar signal and sends out a long line aimed at us – so that it is easy to identify.

Thursday, May 25

– 0116

– We’re abeam red #2 buoy off the entrance to Newport.

0118

– The Nobeltec navigation program locks the computer! Just as we’re entering the narrow area. Pays to have radar – which is our primary nav tool now anyway -and paper charts (we never rely on any single nav system).

0221

– Anchor is down, decks are cleared of their spaghetti, and light sails are stowed. So ends this voyage – and we do not yet know if we’ve beaten Rebecca to anchor. We don’t see her, but that doesn’t mean she’s isn’t somewhere nearer the top of the basin.(View the weatherfaxes at http://www.mpc.ncep.noaa.gov .)