Day 1, Monday July 28, 2003
Winthrop - Green Harbor, 37 mi.
That's right, Monday. Not Saturday, because I had to work, or Sunday, because there was a forecast of horrendous storms, which never happened. So Monday it was. Here we are ready to go (I was supposed to get a haircut!).
Set sail about 12 Noon, almost gave up in light winds off Cohasset, but the breeze returned and we made it to Green Harbor just in time for this fiery sunset. Here's another sunset picture, featuring Shirley in her clothes of many colors.
Our intent to grill some chicken for dinner was thwarted by a swarm of mosquitoes, so we headed over to the Compass Rose for Surf & Turf and a Shrimp & Scallop Saute. Had a quick drink with Brian, the new dock-czar of GHYC, at the club.
Day 2, Tuesday July 29
Green Harbor - Sagamore, 33 mi.
Rollerbladed to breakfast at BJ's in Brant Rock, then continued around to Blackman's Point and back to the yacht club.
Winds ranged from decent to absent all the way to the Cape Cod Canal.
Saw a whale or two, and a few sharks! Plus a huge school of sandsharks as we got close to the CCC under another beautiful sunset. Late chicken dinner with red wine. Maybe white would have been more appropriate, but this is sailing, we were roughing it.
Day 3, Wednesday July 30
Sagamore - Quissett, 31 mi.
More sharks in the morning, the crew of the boat next to us was calling "Here, fishy, fishy!"
Waited until the current was favorable, then shot through the canal with speeds (over ground) of 8.5kts at times. Stopped in Onset for gas & ice, then continued out into the short seas caused by the opposing wind & current. Everything was OK, if bouncy, until the main halyard shackle decided it wasn't so fond of being attached to the head of the mainsail. That took some time to retrieve, but once we were able to set sail and get out of the channel it turned into a nice sail.
Quissett boat yard provided a quiet mooring for the night, but not the showers we were hoping for. Happily the water was warm enough for a cleansing swim followed by a lukewarm Sunshower rinse.
Burgers for dinner, then yet another stunning sunset. The dark night made for a bright display of phosphorescent algae.
Day 4, Thursday July 31
Quissett Harbor - Vineyard Haven, 50mi.
OK, this track requires some explanation. First, it would have been much too short a sail to go straight from Quissett through Woods Hole to Vineyard Haven; second, we would have had to wait for the current to turn in WH. So, we decided to spend the time it took for the current to change by sailing to Quicks hole, which is a much easier passage than Woods, and then have a leisurely sail up Vineyard Sound to our intended anchorage.
The flaw in this otherwise excellent plan, the thing I did not realize, the item I still don't see noted on the charts, the fact mentioned in part of one quick sentence in the cruising guide, the local knowledge everyone within 50 miles of Buzzards Bay except me must have known, is that the currents in the large expanse of Vineyard Sound can be even stronger than those which are so carefully tabulated for Quicks Hole! By timing our passage through QH for near slack, I had set us up to spend as much time as possible fighting the current in the sound. Here's a picture of Shirley, in pirate regalia (we saw Pirates of the Caribbean just before we left), enjoying the start of our long beat.
It took us about an hour to get from Quissett to Quicks Hole, and another 7+ hours to get from there to VH! The track shows just how difficult it was for us to fight the current all the way up the sound, until the current finally slackened as we got near Woods Hole. But I got to see Lamberts Cove several times, and check out Tarpaulin Cove as a future destination (for a day without E or SE winds).
When we finally got into VH, again around sunset, I had intended to anchor over on the East side of the harbor, but figured that all those boats on the West side couldn’t be wrong. Besides, it would be a shorter walk to dinner. The walk may have been shorter, or not, but the waves rolling into the harbor, refracting around East Chop to become perpendicular to the breeze, made for a very roll-y and loud night. Not the best sleep we had.
Dinner at the Black Dog was fun, but not at all worth the hype. We declined to buy the t-shirts.
Day 5, Friday August 1
Vineyard Haven - Un-named (MacKenzie?) Cove, 13mi.
First order of business, move the boat to the East side where the swells were much smaller, and then row in for breakfast at the E & E deli. Good blueberry pancakes. Next order of business, shower at the NEW town showers, located at the town dock. Ahhh. Then some shopping for postcards, gifts for dogsitters, and provisions.
Back to the boat in the early afternoon, we foolishly hoped the nice wind we had in the harbor would push us right to Woods Hole. Instead the wind stopped abruptly at the bell outside the harbor, and stayed light all the way to Woods Hole, which we motored through with the strong current.
Once on the Buzzards Bay side of the Elizabethan chain the breeze carried us nicely along the edge of Naushon Island to our anchorage in a beautiful un-named cove. The cruising guide suggests that we should call this cove "MacKenzie," but does not explain why. Landing on shore was enticing, but forbidden, and instead we just paddled around the shoreline in the dinghy. We had thoughts of Ireland (not that either of us has been to Ireland), with the dense green foliage and shrouding mist rolling over the trees. Here is a picture. We spied two deer on a hillside, and they kept careful watch of us.
Day 6, Saturday August 2
MacKenzie Cove - Manomet, 46mi.
Great run from the cove to the canal, started early so we wouldn't have to wait all day for favorable current. The wind was at our backs as we entered the canal, then in our faces as we emerged. Where does it go in the middle?
Not long after we got out of the canal the wind dropped and the fog rolled in, not the most comfortable boating we've done to this point. We decided not to continue this all the way to our intended landfall of Plymouth, but let the GPS and our ears guide us in near Manomet beach. Very shortly after we dropped anchor and started our showers the fog dropped off and we could see all the people enjoying the gray day on the beach.
Stayed by the beach through the clear night, watching bonfires on the beach and the stars above.
Day 7, Sunday August 3
Manomet - Cohasset, 28 mi.
Very little wind to get us on our way north, so we gave up and motored, at least until the exhaust system, which had just been completely rebuilt last summer, decided to split once again. That threw the proverbial monkey wrench in the works, and I spent some time in the bilge taking everything apart so I could bring it back to the guys who had rebuilt it. Hopefully they will be able to come up with a better idea this time. It was also a chance to remove the generator, which had been charging the batteries only intermittently all summer. This also looked likely to be a duplicate of a repair performed several years ago, but I later determined that it was a much simpler problem and was able to fix this at home.
During this time Shirley was on deck, steering through the occasional breath of breeze and being eaten alive by flies. To add insult to this injury, as soon as I relived her at the helm the wind picked up and we were well on our way north.
As we got past Scituate the marine weather radio started advising of thunderstorms on the North Shore, and soon we could see them stretching from Boston out over the northern horizon. This was clearly something we did not want to sail into, so we stopped short in Cohassett, where we had partly cloudy skies, a gentle breeze, and a view of the lightning on the North Shore all evening. There were also some very talkative neighbors on the only other boat anchored in this scenic little harbor.
Day 8, Monday August 4
Cohasset - Winthrop, 14mi.
Last-day leftovers for breakfast: lots of OJ with peanut butter sandwich halves. Variable to good wind kept us moving all the way to our noon arrival in Winthrop as rainsqualls moved through ahead of us and behind us, but we stayed remarkably dry!
After we had tied up at the dock and unloaded everything Shirley taunted the rain gods by saying "I'm so happy that we never had to sail in the rain all week!" not thinking that the remaining 1/10 mile we had to sail from the dock to the mooring was ample opportunity to punish such insolence. And punish they did! It started pouring when we go 50 feet from the dock, and continued until we were almost at the mooring. The attentive reader will remember that we do not have an engine at this point. During the downpour the wind disappeared and we were at the mercy of the contrary current to the point that I asked Shirley to break out a paddle. This she did to good effect, until the combination of her raincoat and the rain-soaked deck on which she sat led to her very gradual slide right into the water. Not completely into the water as she did manage to hold on to a cleat with both hands while dutifully holding the paddle with her feet. Recovery was quick and painless for both Shirley and the paddle, and we got to the mooring without further incident.
Once we got QT back on her own mooring the rain gods relented, the wind returned, and the sun came out. Here we are at the very end of our happy trip.