Island Hopping in New England - 2015

We are breaking the bonds of Newport and heading out to Block Island for about a week.  We initially drop the anchor at the far end of Great Salt Pond with its serene vistas towards the clamming grounds   

The view towards the ineer mooring field at Block Island.

 Later in the week Bryan and his family join us, taking the ferry boat over from Point Judith, and for convenience, we move on to a mooring in the more congested area.  Block Island with a small child is different from what we usually experience.  We all pile into the dinghy and head over to the nearby beach for a day of digging in the sand and wading in the water.  The next day we rent some extra bikes along with a pull behind cart for Isabella.  We climb the steep hills, making our way to the south side of the island and the Painted Rock Beach.  It is a challenging hike down to the beach, but we are rewarded with the place virtually to ourselves.   

The south shore of Block Island from Painted Rock Beach

Mild waves roll into the rock and sand strewn shore, and the water looks particularly inviting to Isabella who has a blast playing with the smooth stones and climbing up on some of the rocks that provide a slide into the water. 

One happy little girl making the sign for "more".

We are sure she must be exhausted and will fall asleep on the ride back, but, no, she is wide awake and taking in all the sights.  We arrive back at the boat basin hot and hungry, so we plop Isabella into her stroller and head over to the Oar, the landmark Block Island bar and restaurant overlooking the basin.  Surely Isabella will take a nap now in the shade of an umbrella. But, no, she wants to be included in the party while we indulge in the Oar’s famous Mudsides along with lunch.  

Enjoying Mudslides and lunch at the Oar.

 It’s time to head back to town to meet the ferry back to Point Judith.  It is over a mile long walk, and we can’t believe Isabella is staying awake during the stroller ride. Finally we put everyone on the ferry and, later, receive the report that Isabella never fell asleep until the car ride home.  I guess we provided two days of significant mental stimulation for our princess.

We catch a nice breeze and make the 45 nautical mile hop over to Martha’s Vineyard.  Passing the iconic Gay Head Lighthouse which anchors the western tip of the island, towering high above the sea on cliffs of red clay,

Gay Head light - for once it isn't in the fog!

 we make our way to nearby Menemsha, a small and less frequented town on the Vineyard.  Menemsha is primarily a fishing village with a few summer cottages sprinkled nearby.   

The harbor at Menemsha filled primarily with fishing boats.

We take the dinghy back through a series of ponds that almost connect with the south shore of the island.  We pass by the wreckage of a ship that was used in the filming of “Jaws” and into areas full of marshes and bird life. 

An oystercatcher along the shore - we don't see these birds very often.

It seems pretty isolated here until sunset rolls around and hoards of people come out of the woodwork to the community beach to cheer the sun as it sets.  We see and hear it all from our anchorage outside the harbor.

And the sun sets on Menemsha.

The next day we catch a brisk breeze and positive currents as we sail, at up to 9 knots, to the eastern end of the island and one of our favorite destinations, Edgartown.  We initially anchor in the outer harbor but must move into the mooring field when a nor’easter blows in. 

The view towards the outer anchorage at Edgartown.

We meet the couple on the mooring next to us and are fascinated to find out that he is the owner of New England Boatworks, the boatyard that just completed the build of Rambler 88, one of the boats we saw start the Transatlantic Race.  He fills us in on the details of the experience, working with exotic materials and going along for some of the sea trails.  It is an amazing boat but apparently not all that comfortable. With its stiff ride and rapid acceleration, our neighbor said he much preferred a conventional sailboat for comfort.

It’s Junior Race Week here in Edgartown and junior sailing teams from all around New England have congregated for several days of racing.   

Junior sailors heading out to the race venue.

We have now moved back to the outer anchorage and are entertained by the sight of swarms of junior sailor deploying from the club right ashore of us and sailing out into the surrounding waters.  It seems like chaos, but the kids are having a blast while their worried parents trail along in dinghies and launches.  In addition, there are several other fleets of classic one design boats being raced by adults out in the Bay – truly a feast for the eyes from our cockpit. Meanwhile, the traffic in and out of Edgartown includes a constant flow of beautiful boats and mega-yachts for our viewing enjoyment.  

Magic Carpet, taking day trippers on a charter, is a boat we met in the Bahamas several years ago,

 Anchored nearby is Blue Guitar, previously owned by Eric Clapton and Rock.It, Herbie Hancock’s over 200 foot long yacht. At one point Foggy passes by.  This recently launched (June 2015) boat constructed of wood and exotic materials was designed by German Frers and built at the Brooklin Boat Yard in Maine, famous for their “Spirit of Tradition” boats.  But this boat is anything but traditional.  Frank Geary, the architect of the Disney addition to the Los Angelas Art Museum, has done the artistic side of the design work, and it is like nothing we have seen before.  Rumor has it, this is Geary’s own boat. 

Foggy motors past us.  The funny designs on the hull are actually fairly large windows set into the wood hull bit by bit.  The unique bow sprit is made of titanium bars woven into an assymetrical sculptural piece that matches the two binnacles at the steering stations.

Biking at Martha’s Vineyard is one of our favorite past times.  We love to wander through the streets of Edgartown past the many beautifully restored homes and gardens, many dating from the early 1800’s when Edgartown was home to wealthy whale ship captains and crews.

One of my favorite homes in Edgartown.

Everything is in bloom this time of year.

And we again take advantage of the many miles of paved bike trails, making our way up to Oak Bluffs, with the several mile long public beach to the east and ponds and marsh lands to the west.   

Wild flowers in bloom along a bike trail.

Here the architecture is more Victorian inspired, especially surrounding the large public park and in the Methodist Camp area. 

Cute Victorian homes at the Methodist Camp.

 

Band shell and gardens at the park in Oak Bluffs.

We have been waiting for the right conditions to head to Maine.  Almost daily, a front exits the coast making the 140 mile passage a bit difficult.  We finally find the least bad weather window and depart Edgartown at first light.  Unlike other trips to Maine, we decide to forego the Cape Cod Canal and head northeast from Martha’s Vineyard, around the eastern shore of the Cape and then directly to Maine.  As we were warned, we find dense fog at Pollock’s Rip at the Cape’s elbow and make our way slowly under fog horn.  When the fog finally clears we are treated to a whale extravaganza. Minke, Finbacks, and Humpbacks (and probably a Right Whale or two, but we couldn’t make a positive identification) are everywhere, some in groups of three or more.  We begin to loose count and are unable to catch it all on camera.   

One humpback flips its tail while two other school nearby.

One Humpback surfaces right next to the boat and we can smell its “fish breath”. Several more are a ways off, standing vertical in the water, one with its mouth wide open to allow gulls to pick away at food debris.  And believe me, Humpbacks have REALLY large mouths. We have never seen anything like this.  A bit later a group of dolphins join us, jumping clear out of the water at our bow. Fortunately, before sunset the Cetacean show comes to an end, as we don’t want to encounter these huge creatures in the dark.  While I’m on watch, a front comes through during the night with the wind direction changing 180 degrees and wind piping up to 28 knots for a minute or two.  We manage to handle it with minimal stress and are able to catch a bit more sleep before day dawns off the coast of Maine with a dense fog and no wind.  Again we motor with the fog horn blaring, eyes straining to pick out lobster pots in minimal visibility.  Fortunately, there are few pots to be found and once the fog clears we are welcomed to Maine and Monhegan Island with a beautiful clear blue sky.