2003 Allen Harbor Rendezvous

by Nancy Voght and Dan Dobbins with ending comments by Ed Goodhue
Pictures by Roger Jones


Nancy and I departed on Friday, June 6th from Rhode Island Yacht Club (our new home base since I injured my back). It was a beautiful afternoon on the water but required us to motor as the winds were southwest and we were traveling from the Providence River south to Allen Harbor. We were a little apprehensive about the trip as we felt that we might be crashing the MOANE/NE-TS party as we were not yet dues paying members. We have been living vicariously through the MOANE/NE-TS website since we purchased our boat (Y Not) in October of 2001 and I knew in my heart that this was a genuine group of people who just really enjoy their sailboats and time spent with friends on the water. Nancy and I had also met up with Pam and Bruce Foshay at Willsboro Marina last year and actually had the opportunity to help them launch the new Charis. They in turn encouraged us to join the group and repeatedly sung the praises of everyone in the group.

Upon arrival we noticed that Ed Goodhue, in Taurus Two, had already set anchor on the outskirts of the mooring field. We met Roger Jones and his son in law Mike Welch while giving our two daschunds some relief while ashore at the marina.


RogerJones and Mike Welch

 

We spoke at length about our escapades and then Barbara Garland made an appearance. She was a gracious host and immediately made us feel part of the of group. The next day's plan was in place and everyone settled down for a quiet evening of calm waters on Allen Harbor.

The morning greeted us with a beautuful sunrise, but was short lived. The clouds set in as was predicted. The group then rafted up on Ed's well set anchorage for a congenial breakfast. Five boats in the flotilla included Ed, Barbara and Tony DiStefano on The Beep, Roger and Mike on Rogers boat yet to be named, Dave Savitzky and his son Micah on Eve-J and us. It was Nan and I's first attempt at rafting! All I can say is that I was grateful for those more experienced than I. At approximately 10:30 am we departed Allen Harbor for Potter Cove on the northeast side of Prudence Island.


Mike Welch

 

Departing Allen Harbor can be a bit treacherous as you have to snake through a tight inlet with an "S" curve and extreme shallows especially on the southern exposure. Dave found this out and ran aground with his rudder. After a quick inspection for the minor damage to his transom, the group was on its way to a pleasant sail in winds out of the south and an afternoon rendezvous at Potter Cove. Nan and I immediately came to understand the pecking order for the group when it came to sailing. Tony and Barbara consistently lead the pack with Dave and Micah and Roger and Mike to follow. Ed, Nancy and I, in our 26X's, knew the route in front of us was safe as the others showed us the way! We stayed with Ed the entire way to Potter Cove. As we rounded the southern tip of Prudence Island, the winds calmed and we ended up motoring alongside Ed beating the soon to follow rain storm that lasted well into the wee hours of Sunday morning.


Rafting at Potter Cove

 

During the afternoon rain, we rafted together on the The Beep's anchor. Nan and Dan and the dogs napped a bit, then joined the gang on Taurus Two for wine and cheese. A very pleasant way to spend a rainy afternoon on the water. At dusk the group broke off to pick up individual moorings for the evening.

We woke to dry, but cloudy skies. It was a lazy morning, a rafted breakfast (we were getting good at this rafting stuff by then!) and coffee and chat until late morning. The group needed to head back to Allen Harbor, and we needed to head up the river. Ed decided to stay the day as the wind had turned around to the NE and made his trip back to the Cape a challenge. While the weather could have been more cooperative, we thoroughly enjoyed our first ne-ts outing. By the way, did I mention that Barbara collected our $10 and now we are official!

The end of Ed's story I had a very quite Sunday afternoon in Potters Cove after you all left. By 3 pm there were only 4 sailboats left in the cove. The same 4 that were there Saturday. I left at 7am Monday and sailed all the way down the Sakonnet river to Buzzards Bay. When I got to the ocean the wind died the minute that I started east to Pocasset. I had to use the iron genny all the way back. Ralph, the autopilot steered and I read a book, arriving back at the mooring at 4 pm..

The log shows I went 145 miles. Wish a little more was under sail, but it was still a great weekend with great company.

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