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Newport Marina, Newport, RI
Sunday morning it is and the beginning of a new month is upon us, the month of September. It is the month of Joe’s big birthday and the month when summer slowly but surely winds down. These past couples of days with all of their grayness, rain and fog are clear indicators of fall, I would say. I know that fall can be beautifully colorful, crisp and pretty. So where are those days of beautiful weather now? As always, if we do not experience the opposite we usually do not appreciate the picture perfect Thank you for bringing that to my attention over and over again all through this magnificent journey upon the largest component of this planet being water, primarily ocean. Me being a Capricorn, a goat that loves climbing hills and walking the trails through forests and flower filled fields is a constant challenge, yet there also is a part of me that loves the sea, loves the dolphins , rivers and lakes. Interesting life I have chosen and much have I grown!
Docking at Newport Marina was a delight. It is a brand new renovated marina right down town of Newport. I had the privilege to spend the entire day with my friend Rev. Gail Hicks. She picked me up in am and took me to her home for a beautiful healing with all of her and my spirit guides and angels. Thank you Gail for doing that for me! Our lunch at LePage’s restaurant was scrumptious and we ran into Peter and Tena, who’s brother owns the restaurant. Coincidence, I don’t think so! Thank you Peter and Tena for lunch! Most gracious as always!
Our encounter at the Vietnamese Nail Shop was another blessing of its kind. First it was open on a holiday and second there was no one there the entire time. All three women were very kind and nurturing especially ‘Mom’. As she was doing pressure point massage along my legs and my feet I could feel the healing hands and humble but powerful energy emanating from her. Thank you ‘Mom” for taking such good care of me!
My next treat was the special visit to St. Anne’s church in Fall River. Actually it was the basement of the church bringing back memories of the basement of St. John the Baptist church in Fairview where I experienced the Revival of the Holy Spirit within my heart. Thank you Rev. Gail for sharing this special place with me. I was mesmerized by seeing a statue of Mother Theresa, Padre Pio, Our Lady of Fatima and all the children as well as St Francis and so many more. What an enlightening basement that is! A great day and a great ending to a special treat for me with a dinner on the Contessa in preparation to our departure from Newport the following morning.
Sandwich Marina, Cape Cod – Mass
Cape Cod, Mass
Saturday morning of the Labor Day weekend has arrived with raindrops announcing the new day. As the squalls come and go we find a window to bring in our power line as well as untie all our dock lines and depart from this very noisy marina that was hustling and bustling the night and day before. Also being tied up right next or even in the very busy channel where the boat traffic did not stop till way into the evening was not very much desirable at all.
Through the narrow channel and under the small draw bridge we go except today it is high tide and a bit less busy as well. As we turn the corner and cross the bay of Gloucester we are facing gray skies and not much of visibility at all. It looks as if we are entering a zone of fog giving us the uncertainty for the lack of vision and dependability upon the fancy guiding devices and GPS’ on board. Ah what a scenario for an anxiety but a friendly reminder by Martina’s text and well wishes as well as my morning inspirational readings of God Spoke to Me by Eileen Caddy and I Declare by Joel Osteen shifted that energy right into a peace filled demeanor of trust.
As we ride along this relatively calm ocean in limited visibility there appears this slight opening in the sky where the sunlight is attempting to shine through. It seems to be traveling along side with us and guiding our way. Thank you God for little favors and reminders of your constant presence and love!
As the day progressed so did the wind. It intensified and got as far as 21 knots SW and created quite a chop blowing the top of the waves right into our windshield. You know what that means; the entire boat will need a good wash down. Good, finally some exercise for the day! The closer to Cape Cod we got the more boats we encountered. Ah that blessed civilization thing again!
Just about one PM a tall structure emerged out of fog indicating the proximity of our destination for the day. The usual green and red markers marking the entrance to the channel of Cape Cod guided our way. The Sandwich Marina is situated right next to the Coast Guard Station of Cape Cod and the huge power plant with its huge tower that recently emerged for us from within a hazy shore line. Again a very busy marina filled with commercial fleet and numerous pleasure boats. No wonder we had such a hard time finding a spot for our Contessa for the night.
Here we are to meet our dear friends Peter and Tena who reside nearby and would not miss the opportunity to spend a few hours with us. No cooking for me tonight for Peter was kind enough to make dinner reservations! Thank you Peter!
It was great touching base and spending a couple hours with Tena and Peter. Dinner at Daniel Webster’s Inn was delightful. The Inn has been in operation since 1649 and still has its old charm with modernized facilities. Hope it will not be too long that we see you both again wherever that might be. Good luck and God’s blessing be with you and yours!
Gloucester, Mass
Gloucester, Mass.
Friday morning arrived with a bright orange glow at the horizon. It lasted just for a moment or two and then the sun hid behind the outstretched clouds over the horizon. It was the day of our departure from Portland and the sooner we leave the better chance we have to avoid the afternoon winds that usually come by. Today we have a 60 mile run to our destination of Gloucester, Mass and it should take us a good 6 hours to get there.
Some beautiful sights along the shores of Portland including several lighthouses and magnificent homes sitting upon these rocky shores are a delight to see. We also passed by a beautiful old schooner with all of its sails up gliding along the a bit choppy waters against a pretty horizon mixed with clouds and sunlight breaking through. Here and there we see a single sailboat or a lobster boat but mostly we are on our own. Big swells and somewhat choppy seas caused by a 10 KN SSW wind is our steady companion as we ride some 3 – 5 mile distance from shore. Our 60 NM run turned easily into a 80 NM run since our calculations initially did not include out and around reefs and then up the river, under a low draw bridge, through a very narrow but busy channel named Blynman Canal, up to a busy marina of Cape Ann’s Marina Resort. Here we were greeted and assisted by a lovely young woman named Ali and her boss Christian. Since we do have connection with the outer world, phone calls are made; arrangements for dockage throughout this holiday weekend are hard to come by and so one has to be persistent in making it all happen.
One thing I do have to mention that the mine fields of lobster pods are less and less to come by and if there are any they are a couple at a time. It has been a long day and most of it out on open water with big rolling swells and an increase in chop as the day progressed. Finally and after several peninsulas, and rocky shores we have turned the corner and almost reached our destination of Gloucester. It is a busy harbor and many boats are out and about and our small channel to the marina is nowhere in sight. Almost at the city beach is a rock pile which hides the entrance to this very, very narrow channel leading under a low bridge that needs to open up for us to pass. No to forget it is dead low tide as well making things look even more scary, small and shallow. Thank God we make it safely to the other side and find our way through the continuation of this narrow channel amongst numerous boats of all sizes and brands. Our dock is a face dock and easy to get to yet so much traffic is passing by us as if it was a highway on water.
The usual routine: secure the boat, wash and shimmy it down, fill the water tank and open all hatches to air out the boat. Ali, the young woman tending to our dockage helps us out and the boat is squared away before you know it. We also learn that Ali’s father recently lost his life while diving under a bridge over a river in New Hampshire which is considered the third fastest current in the world to retrieve his lobster pods that were cut by a large vessel passing by. He was a good diver but that day the river called his name and he never returned to his family. Ali was there in a boat looking for him, when his body surfaced a day later. God bless them all with the knowing that he has returned to a place we all call home.
We also learned from Ali that this area is the well known area where they film the”Wicked Tuna Catch” show at the Stellwagen Bank and they are actually filming today. We came to rest for the night and continue on our journey the following morning but we will remember Ali and her story for a long time to come.
contessagoesnorth 