Greenport - June 5-8

The weather in Greenport wasn't quite what we had hoped for. While it was sunny most of the time, Sunday dawned cool and windy. Mitchell's Marina was almost empty and being this early in the season, the village was also free of the usual summer crowds. But that was fine with us.

We were docked behind another Silverton, this one a 1999 33 ft. Sedan Bridge named "It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere," which has to be one of the best boat names we've seen. We got to know Pete, the boat's owner (and his dog, Bella), and discovered that he stores his boat at the same place we do, Portland Riverside.

Late on Saturday, our friend Ellen Creighton arrived and a major catch-up chat ensued. Bill hit the bunk early, as usual.

On Sunday, we puttered around and generally enjoyed being on vacation. In the afternoon, Ellen returned and we were prepared to celebrate her birthday, which we try to do every year.  Cocktail hour began on time. Sorry about those white sox. Certain members of the crew need to be inspected before appearing on deck.

Frances prepared a great dinner after which, the birthday cake and candles appeared.

Ellen has been a good friend for a long time so even these silly pictures mean a lot to us.

When Bill woke up on Monday morning, he noted that Frances not only cooks wonderfully, but also knows how to make things ship-shape even in a small galley.

Our plan was to leave Greenport on Monday and head out to Block Island but the Block Island Sound weather didn't look good so we stayed in Greenport for another day and relaxed.

On the way out on Saturday afternoon, we had an engine issue at about mile 32, just entering Plum Gut at Orient Point.  Our starboard engine sputtered and refused to go over 1800 RPM or about 10 miles per hour. That was fast enough, and getting into the dock at Greenport wasn't an issue. But on Tuesday morning as we passed Orient Point, we decided to head back to Norwich instead of going to Block. Better find out what's going on with that starboard engine.

There is something to be said for 10 miles per hour on a boat during a beautiful day. Frances came up to the bridge and took pictures.

Frances took the wheel as we headed up the river.

So, our first trip on Act Three wasn't quite as long as we had intended. Early on, we dubbed this our "shakedown cruise" and laughed every time something didn't work the way we expected. We'll fix the engine problem and head back out soon.