Jib Notes

If you have ever listened to the words of the Billy Joel Song, Downeaster Alexa then you would have heard of the places Jeremy and I have been getting familar with of late. The area is filled with choice locations that are well known summer destinations such as Montauk, Greenport, Block Island, and the Hamptons. It was a difficult decision to choose our next destination, but in the end we decided to head over to Greenport.

Jeremy and I were happy to leave New London and the rockiest dock we have ever stayed at. We motorsailed on a beautiful day past several islands and into Gardeners Bay. We soon arrived at Sterling Bay in Greenport, NY. We grabbed a mooring ball with a view of a picturesque little graveyard and got ready to go to town. Greenport was a small boating community with an old carousel and lots of old fashioned shops. It also sports an old-fashioned theater and a waterfront park that occasionally has live music. I really liked the area, but Jeremy seemed less impressed. Probably because he had to work while I explored and bought supplies for the boat.

As it neared time to leave Greenport the weather took a turn for the worst and our scheduled departure was moved back a day. The weather reported worsening conditions for the weekend, but we ended up taking a chance and leaving anyways thanks to our obnoxious cat who woke us early in the morning. This choice turned out to be very smart as the sun broke through and the weather reports reluctantly admitted that the storm foretold would not happen for a few more days. It was a beautiful sail and our treatment of Quixote improved greatly as the morning fog dissipated.

We arrived in Block Island, RI around 3pm in high spirits. We grabbed a mooring ball, showered and walked the 1.5 miles to the downtown area to see what was there. It was a cute beach front town with lots of ice cream shops. We had dinner at a little stand with outdoor seating. We then walked to Aldo Italian bakery where Jeremy got berry sorbeto and I got a very good cannoli. Content with our sugar rushes we walked back home to watch Elizabethtown on my computer.

The next day Jeremy and I went in early to spend some time exploring the island. We rented bikes for the day and rode downtown to the local bookstore where we each found one book. We shared a huge platter of really good pad thai at the restaurant next door and left for a long bike ride. The bike ride took us to a lovely old lighthouse and then to the Mohegan Bluffs, which had a spectacular view.

After doing some more exploring in the downtown, we reluctantly headed back to the bike rental shop. Before we went back to the boat we had dinner at a great bar and grill at the marina called the Oar. The neatest feature of the Oar is that its ceiling and walls are filled with various oars decorated and signed by the boaters who had donated them. It also has a covered deck with a view of the waterfront.

With the arrival of Monday Jeremy returned to his computer and I started to tackle boat projects. I have lately taken an interest in the state of our outside teak. I did some research on the repairing procedures and started with the rub rail as it won't be that big of a deal if I mess up on it. It was a nice day on Monday, so I climbed into the dinghy and merrily sanded the rub rail while listening to my ipod. I got a little carried away by the music and was dancing as I worked, which caused the gentleman running the launch to come by and comment on how unusually happy I looked for someone doing work.

As much fun as I was having sanding teak, the highlight of my day was buying cannolis and ordering bread from Aldo's Bakery. Besides having a shop downtown, Aldo's also has a little red boat. Every morning and sometimes the evening they race around the mooring field yelling "Andiamo!", which is Italian for "lets go!". You can call them on channel 68 or wave them over in order to buy goodies boat side. In order to celebrate getting really good cannolis I cooked up a big Italian meal to go with them.

This morning I woke in time to receive the fresh baked bread I ordered.(very cool) The bread made a great breakfast and was nice on what turned out to be a really rainy day.