Go With the Wind! A New England Summer Cruising Adventure
One New England cruise wasn’t enough for Annapolis sailors Harald Mangold and Cindy Sweet. In 2024, they sailed their X-Yachts X-4.3 MK2 Xiberger to Newport, RI, multiple ports on Long Island Sound from Oyster Bay, Mystic, Port Jefferson, etc., and all the islands south of Cape Cod. They enjoyed it so much that they headed farther north in 2025 for a two-and-a-half-month cruising journey.
Local racing sailors may recognize the boat name Xiberger, as Mangold’s Cape Fear 38, which he raced in Annapolis Yacht Club Wednesday Night Races, Oxford, Solomons, and other local races for two decades. Two years ago, he donated the Cape Fear to US Patriot Sailing (in Solomons) and bought the X-Yachts performance cruiser with continued racing and longer cruises in mind. So, it was only fitting that the summer cruise began at the end of June with Block Island Race Week with the whole Xiberger racing family onboard.
Secret weapon for longer sails
After race week, Mangold and Sweet set off on their own to go through the Cape Cod Canal. They ventured “down east” with stops at Provincetown and Marblehead, MA; Portsmouth, NH; and Kittery and Portland, ME. From there they sailed slowly up and down the Maine coast with stops from Booth Bay to Camden, to Acadia’s Northeast and Southwest Harbor, and another couple of days farther down east all the way to Roque Island before doubling back on what they missed on the way up.
For the first ocean passage to Block Island, a few regular racing crew members sailed onboard, and at the trip’s end, another couple sailed home with them from Marblehead (with a few stops along the way). Mangold and Sweet sailed the rest of the longer passages—80- to 100-mile days—doublehandedly.
“Our favorite sail and cruising weapon was our roller furler Code 65 sail,” says Mangold. “At times we just sailed wing-on-wing with the jib and code sail or main and code sail, making super fast and safe passages. The key was to plan our days and distances based on the wind forecast, and we managed to avoid motoring most of the time.”
The “down east” difference
When asked how cruising in New England differs from cruising on the Chesapeake, Mangold says, “No sweating! It’s stunningly beautiful. There’s cold and clear water and millions of very annoying lobster pots; oh, and unforgiving rocks (no we did not hit any, but they are scary), big tides, and currents.”
He adds, “Fog is a real thing. I wouldn’t sail to New England without radar and AIS. Radar and knowing how to use it is a must; so is AIS overlay on your chartplotter. I used one in Chart/AIS mode and the other plotter in radar mode, with or without the chart, depending on all the clutter.”
The couple noted that there was an unspoken rule in Maine: if no one is there, you may snag a mooring. This made for some pleasant surprises and peaceful evenings onboard.
As members of the Cruising Club of America, the couple had access to a cruising network with outstanding recommendations and sometimes in-person invitations and greetings on docks. It made the journey more memorable with warm welcomes in many ports.
Both Sweet and Mangold struggled to choose favorites among the many wonderful places they visited. Mangold says, “Highlights included a night at Seguin Island, Stonington, Isle Au Haut, and so much more.”
An unexpected anchorage at Richmond Island, just South of Porland, stayed in mind as a special place. Sweet says, “There was this private island with a trail, berries everywhere, and wild sheep with black and white socks.”
In general in Maine, she says, “We saw so much untouched nature.”
Among favorite destinations, she adds, “Northeast Harbor and Acadia Park, Rockport, Camden, Marblehead, and a little cove called Maple Juice Cove where we met Heidi and Cabot Lyman of Lyman-Morse (the loveliest people) and rode our bikes to the Olson House made famous by Andrew Wyeth.”
“We could go back three times and still not see it all,” Sweet says.
Cruising advice
When it came to exploration onshore and provisioning, their Brompton folding bikes with baskets proved invaluable. These bikes have different speeds for hills, which was necessary at many destinations; not to mention that in addition to discovering more places, the couple managed to get some cardio exercise. They also hiked extensively.
The couple were pleased to have sailed most of the time and to have used only two tanks of diesel gas all summer. They also like the cooler weather, not having to use air conditioning, and wearing wintry clothing and wrapping up in a blanket.
When asked what advice they would share with others hoping to cruise New England, Sweet says, “Go with the wind!”
Mangold says, “Plan your days (and trip) based on wind and weather, not with hard dates to be in places. There is so much to see. It does not matter if you check off all the places. We anchored or used moorings exclusively, never grabbed a slip. We loved having good lithium batteries and solar panels, eliminating the need to run engine for charging’s sake.”
Although European travels will take up their summer schedule (including racing Beneteau First 45s out of Split, Croatia), when they’re in town, you will find Xiberger racing and cruising out of Back Creek, Annapolis. ~MW
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