Day 4 Chesapeake to Nova Scotia

These Blog entries are edited versions of the messages we sent back as we completed the passage. They were sent by radio using a laptop that controls a modem and the HF/SSB radio, using the SailMail system. We sent the messages daily to Charlotte and she then forwarded them on to a list of family members.

1800hrs (AST, GMT-4) 25 Jul 2018

Dear All,

Approaching the Cape Cod Canal with its distinctive lifting railway bridge

Just a short update today.  We left the Great Salt Pond at Block Island this morning at 0830 and set sail towards the Cape Cod Canal.

We turned off left into the narrow channel into Onset Bay

Onset Bay

The passage was just 59 miles and, with the wind mostly on the beam, we made good time dropping anchor at 1715hrs in Onset Bay, just by the entrance to the canal.

The tide can run at up to 4.6 knots through the canal and so it's worth timing your passage through it carefully. You want the tide helping you through but, perhaps, not at it's peak flow because the canal is only 150 yards wide. We are aiming to start the transit tomorrow morning at around 0800, when we should have about 3 knots helping us on our way.

Home made pizzas for dinner; easier to make at anchor than on passage!

So after an 8hr 40 mins day sail today, we get another night's sleep at anchor before going back into our watch system tomorrow for the last 290nm passage to get us to Shelburne.

Love to all,

Reg and Nicky

Passage statistics:
Position at midday 25 Jul: N41 21 W71 14
Position at 1715 25 Jul: N41 44 W70 39
Midday to midday distance: n/a nautical miles
Midnight to midnight distance: n/a nautical miles
Total miles covered:  427 nautical miles
Approximate distance to go: 290 nautical miles to Shelburne

End of Day 4  Chesapeake to Nova Scotia, Onset Bay, MA