I arrived last night at 20:30 after leaving Atlantic City the previous day at 10:00.
Sunset over the NarragansettLeaving Atlantic City
Another solo overnight passage done. IT feels great to be “home”; in this case, home is the Port Edgewood Marina, a few miles south of downtown Providence, Rhode Island. I’m here because the marina people are very nice and they offer extremely good monthly rates. I’m paying ¼ of what I was paying for the week in A.C.
This is also a great place to put the finishing touches on the boat for its July passage across the Atlantic. My friends Richard and Melanie are also here, so it’s always more pleasant to work with helping hands and advice available.
The trip from Atlantic City, 215 nm, almost 400 km, went as planned. I left A.C. with light winds that died down my midafternoon. I retrieved the paravane birds, as they take 0.6 kts, off my speed, and motored on into the night.
By about 1:00 a.m., the winds had increased again form the NW, producing wind driven NW waves 2-3’ high. There was also an 8 second Southeasterly swell. The rolling of Dauntless had continued to increase, so finally I threw the birds back in the water (I had kept the poles extended). As usually, the roll was decreased by two thirds.
By mid-morning I was just south of Block Island. It is somewhat of a coincidence, but it seems whenever I have these long trips, no matter have many boats I see, or don’t see, as the case may be, there is always one, that after having gone hours and hours without seeing anything, a boat will appear that is clearly on a collision course.
Fishing Boat
But I saw him miles away and was getting ready to change course and pass behind him when he hailed me on the VHF. He said he just wanted to make sure someone was paying attention and I thanked him for the heads up.
Finally, 6.5 months, 700 engine hours and 4000 miles later, I’m back; at least for the time being.
I’m an eclectic person, who grew up in New York, lived overseas for many years and have a boat, Dauntless, a 42 foot Kadey Krogen trawler yacht. Dauntless enables me to not only live in many different parts of the world, but to do it in a way that is interesting, affordable, with the added spice of a challenge.
Dauntless also allows me to be in touch with nature. As the boat glides through the ocean, you have a sense of being part of a living organism. When dolphins come to frolic, they stay longer if you are out there talking to them, watching them. Birds come by, sometimes looking for a handout; sometimes grateful to find a respite from their long journey.
I grew up on the New York waterfront, in the West Village, when everything west of Hudson St. was related to shipping and cargo from around the world. For a kid, it was an exciting place of warehouses, trucks, and working boats of all kinds: tugs and the barges and ships, cargo and passenger, they were pushing around.
My father was an electrical engineer, my mother an intellectual, I fell in between.
I have always been attracted to Earth’s natural processes, the physical sciences. I was in 8th grade when I decided to be a Meteorologist.
After my career in meteorology, my natural interest in earth sciences: geology, astronomy, geography, earth history, made it a natural for me to become a science teacher in New York City, when I moved back to the Big Apple. Teaching led to becoming a high school principal to have the power to truly help kids learn and to be successful not only in school but in life.
Dauntless is in western Europe now. In May and June, I will be wrapping up the last two years in northern Europe, heading south to spend the rest of the year in Spain & Portugal.
Long term, I’m planning on returning to North American in the fall of 2017 and from there continuing to head west until we’re in Northeast Asia, Japan and South Korea, where we will settle for a bit.
But now, my future lies not in NY or even Europe, but back to the water, where at night, when the winds die down, there is no noise, only the silence of the universe. I feel like I am at home, finally.
View all posts by Richard on Dauntless
One thought on “Finished with Engine”
Ricci: When do you leave for Europe? I retired on March 28, 2014, and I’m in Virginia visiting my brother. I like reading about your incredible adventures; it inspires me to do something worthwhile with this wonderful gift of free time I now have.
Dauntless at Sea 
Ricci: When do you leave for Europe? I retired on March 28, 2014, and I’m in Virginia visiting my brother. I like reading about your incredible adventures; it inspires me to do something worthwhile with this wonderful gift of free time I now have.
Larry