The First New England 600 Rally

Susan Harvey and her fishing award

The first annual New England 600 Rally was a blast. With Nautech Enterprises' careful and thorough planning, the journey was a safe and fun experience. A total of 10 boats participated. The boats ranged from 36 to 47 feet in length and crews aged 11 to 70 with day sailors to Bermuda veterans. The rally provided a means to gain offshore and coastal experiences with the support and camaraderie of fellow cruisers.

Pre-departure activities included thorough safety, rigging and engine inspections, weather and safety briefings and social gatherings. Our host marina in Annapolis was Mears Marina. The planned route was a day trip to the C&D canal, followed by a non-stop passage from the canal, down the Delaware Bay, around Cape May and straight through to Newport, RI. Due to boisterous conditions forecast for offshore (gusts to 40 knots), the fleet decided to route through the protected waters of New York City and Long Island Sound rather than straight from Cape May to Newport. The fleet left Annapolis, MD on June 23. Sails were hoisted in pleasant 10-knot breezes as we passed under the Bay Bridge. A tall ship enroute to Baltimore was in full sail on the horizon. As we progressed up the bay, the breezes calmed and the fleet powered up the engines. By mid to late afternoon, we were all safely tied up at Schaefer's Marina in the C&D canal. What an easy first day underway - a great way for new crew to become familiar with their boat and fellow crewmembers. Annapolis to the C&D canal was approximately 47 nautical miles.

We departed the C&D canal early on June 24. The current was against us in the canal, but was favorable once we reached Delaware Bay. Unfortunately, the wind was SSE rather than the SW forecast, so we had to beat into the wind and waves. Upon rounding Cape May, the wind angle was favorable for sailing, so the motors were turned off. The near shore route gave us an impressive night view of Atlantic City. A few commercial vessels were seen and easily avoided. As the night progressed, the winds eased, so the motors were once again turned on to help us reach New York on a favorable current. The night sky was clear and fullof stars. The peachy-pink moonrise was dramatic on the horizon. By dawn, the first and last boats of the fleet were several hours apart, but we easily kept in touch via VHF and SSB. By late morning, the winds were increasing from the calm night, so we sailed the approach to New York City. What views from the water! The Statue of Liberty, the buildings of Manhattan, the Staten Island Ferry, commercial vessels, weekend pleasure boat activity, local sailors. We rode the current under the Brooklyn Bridge and through Hell's Gate. We reached 11.9 knots SOG. What incredible current. As we left the protection of the buildings of the city, we were blasted by gusts of 25 to 30 knots. Now we were in for some fun sailing. We reefed the main, hanked on a storm jib and comfortably cruised down wind through Long Island Sound.

Unfortunately, one of the boats ran into problems just after Hell's Gate. First his motor faltered and then the jib halyard attachment subsequently failed bringing his jib into the water. The Nautech Enterprises staff boat was there to help. The boat was safely towed into a marina. Because of this incident, the fleet was divided. Some boats continued on straight through to Newport and others spent the night in New York.

For those that continued straight through to Newport, the winds diminished throughout the night by early morning, we experienced near calm and heavy fog. Radar was greatly appreciated. I smelled but never saw several fishing boats that I had tracked on radar. Luckily as we made our approach into Newport Harbor, the fog diminished. We docked just after noon on 6/26 at Newport Yachting Center, our host marina for Newport. The run from the C&D canal through New York and Long Island Sound to Newport was approximately 345 nautical miles. The remainder of the fleet arrived in Newport on 6/27. As a note on the camaraderie of the group, the vessel that had engine problems in New York drove to Newport to join in the festivities.

Newport is such a great nautical city. A wonderful mix of boats — classic, wooden sailboats with pristine brightwork, modern racing sailboats with innovative rigs, commercial fishing vessels, schooners, tall ships, and Navy vessels.

The fleet left Newport on 6/29 enroute to Provincetown, Massachusetts. Our departure was in light wind and light rain. We maneuvered around buoys and barrels in a fishing zone. We trolled and successfully caught a couple of bluefish in Buzzard's Bay. The current pushed us through the Cape Cod Canal, and then we motored across a near calm bay to Provincetown. The fleet moored or anchored just off of town. Newport to Provincetown was approximately 74 nautical miles.

The fleet departed Provincetown early on 6/30 and proceeded under sail to the Stellwagen Bank, an area popular with whales. By following the whale watching boats, we were fortunate to spot the whales. We watched them swimming, displaying their fins and tails, for about an hour. In light air, we set our asymmetrical spinnaker. A small whale followed us for a while. Does our black bottom paint make us appear like a whale? As a squall neared, we doused the spinnaker. With our reduced speed, the squall moved across our bow, and then dissipated. With the next squall, we weren't so fortunate. Ugly clouds with fangs appeared on the horizon. On radar, we could tell that the heavy rain associated with the squall was only 2 to 3 miles wide, but 10 miles long. We double reefed the mainsail, turned on the motor and prepared to blast through. Fortunately, the wind gusted to only 25 to 30 knots. We were through the squall and into sunshine in 30 minutes. A full rainbow appeared, reflecting on the water. The wind was near calm and stayed light throughout the night. Very few vessels (other than our own fleet) were spotted during the crossing. At dawn, as we made our approach to Monhagen Island, we saw seals and porpoise swimming. We maneuvered our way through lobster pots, up Penobscot Bay and into Camden. The final leg of our journey completed, 153 nautical miles.

In Camden, Wayfarer Marina greeted us. We spent the first night in the marina, and then picked up a mooring. Camden was great! The people are friendly, the views of and from the hills are beautiful, and the weather was clear with 70s during the day and 50s at night. This was the break from the Chesapeake heat we were looking for. The town is small enough to be quaint, but large enough to have a grocery, a library, a Laundromat — the stuff that cruisers need. The Rally threw great parties throughout the event, but the finale in Camden was the best. We had a large tent at the marina with lobster, bbq chicken, corn on the cob, potato salad, cookies, and fresh brew from the local brewery. We climbed Mt. Battie before we left and got some great pictures of the town and harbor.

Throughout the trip, the crews began to bond, and real friendships took shape. This is the best part about cruising, meeting new friends and exploring new areas together. We had a great time with the New England 600 Rally and are looking forward to doing it again next year. We can already tell that we are never going to be able to visit all the places we would like in just one summer!

For more information regarding the New England 600 Cruising Rally and other services Nautech Enterprises provides log on to www.nautechenterprises.com or call 410-573-1089.

Brian and Susan Harvey have been cruising full time for the past year and a half on Starlight, their Jeanneau 36.2. They spent the winter in the Bahamas and were a volunteer staff boat for the NE 600. They are planning to cruise Maine the remainder of the summer.