I have been slowly getting things back to normal on Sirocco after out extended stay here in Massachusetts. I can’t believe that it has been over two months since that beautiful sail up Buzzard’s Bay only days before Irene blew into the area. It has been great spending time with family, but I am ready to get back to living in one place. It has been stressful to be staying at home but visiting Sirocco out at anchor every day. Every time I heard the wind rustling the trees I worried about whether the anchors were holding fast. It is much easier on my mind to be on the boat while she is out at anchor because I know immediately if something is going wrong and am in a much better position to do something about it.
Today I spent the morning getting food organized and packed and the afternoon loading it and gear onto the boat. Once the majority of the stores were put away I turned my attention to getting the yankee up on the furler because the wind had dropped to almost zero. By the time I had the sail up and furled it was getting dark, but the moon was close to full and the tide was almost high, so I decided to haul up the anchors and take advantage of the calm weather to exit Little Bay, which has a tricky unmarked entrance. It took me nearly an hour to get the anchors on deck, as I first had to untangle four wraps in the rodes. The quickest method that I have found for untangling the rodes is to unshackle one of the nylon rodes from its’ chain, unwrap the turns, and then re-shackle the rode back together. With all of the gear on deck I motored two miles over to anchor off of Monument Beach. I set two anchors and put the Sirocco to bed for the night.
In the next couple of days I will point her bow south. I am not sure how far we will go this year. Rather, I will stay open to the possibility of finding the perfect winter haven anywhere along the way, although I do imagine going at least as far as North Carolina. Any farther north than that would be a test of endurance since there is no heat aboard Sirocco.