As we cruise we find that some harbors work better for us
than others. Our criteria includes
proximity of laundry, groceries, and trash disposal, availability of a pump out
boat, and an inexpensive and protected place to anchor. There are trade-offs,
of course. As we cruise southern New England, these pluses and minuses become
apparent.
Our first stop is Block Island. Besides being a delightful
place, the frequent ferry service allows our son and his family to easily visit
us here. The downside is that the
minimalist grocery store is extremely expensive, laundry will cost around $20
per load, and the anchorage, although beautifully situated, is a long dinghy
ride to the shore. In anticipation of
our family’s arrival, we initially take a close in mooring which isn’t any
bargain. The kids arrive, and we have a full day planned for them starting with
a bike ride to the southern bluffs of the island, replete with numerous steep
hills to climb. The view from the south
lighthouse is spectacular and now overlooks the foundations for five wind
generators that some say will eventually detract from the vista.
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| The view over the fence high atop the bluffs by the South Lighthouse |
On the downhill ride back to town, we stop at
a funky petting zoo that features llamas, a yak, an emu, a cross breed zebra/donkey,
a camel, and a kangaroo – all to delight a two year old.
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| We thought this was a very exotic bird - came from China and not what you would expect in a petting zoo. |
Back at the boat it is
time for lunch, stories, and a nap. That is followed by some time at the beach
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| Fun time wading in the cold water and playing in the sand. |
and then dinner before the ferry ride back home. By the looks of our granddaughter,
it was an exciting but exhausting day.
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| Must have been a fun day when you fall asleep as the tub is filling! |
After our family leaves, we move out to the anchorage and
spend several days biking all the remaining paved roads and hiking along some
of the trails.
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| The view from the Bluffs hiking trail - a new discovery for us. |
The topography of Block Island is reminiscent of rural England
with stone walls, stiles, and meadows with grazing sheep.
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| How do you get over a rock wall when hiking? |
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| A meadow filled with coreopsis |
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| It is a long bike ride and walk over a cobbled beach to get to the remote North Lighthouse. |
Delightful evenings are spent with our
friends on m/v Amici in local haunts or on our boats. It has been a wonderful stay, but we are
running out of groceries and the laundry is stacking up. As lovely as Block
Island is, it doesn’t work that well for us.
Our next stop is Newport which, to many people’s surprise,
meets all of our criteria for a harbor that works. We find a great anchoring spot just off the
Ida Lewis Yacht Club. The laundromat in the Maritime Center is convenient to
the dinghy dock. Here we can also lock up our bikes for the occasional ride up
the hill to a relatively well stocked chain grocery store or pleasure trips
around the town. Friends on s/v Pegasus are anchored nearby, so we enjoy
several evenings with them.
Once restocked with food and clean clothes, it is time to
enjoy this interesting town. Newport is
all about boats – boats of all kinds, shapes, and sizes.
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| An Optimist Dinghy Regatta fills the Bay outside of Newport. |
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| Daily restored 12 Meter boats take visitors past our anchorage. |
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| This gem is right across the channel from us. Columbia is a reporduction of the original Columbia, a schooner that was supposed to beat the Bluenose inhead to head competition but sank of the coast of Nova Scotia before the formal race. |
Daily we take the
dinghy over to the Newport Shipyard to see what new mega-yachts have arrived.
One day we rent a car and make the 45 minute drive over to our son’s
house. Our granddaughter gives us a tour
of the gardens and delights in the Snap Pops we have brought along to celebrate
the 4th of July weekend.
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| Even the dog got surious about the Snap Pops. |
With the great weather we have been having,
another afternoon at the beach is in order.
Two days later, the same crew joins us in Newport for the 4th.
We head out to Breton Point State Park to fly some kites,
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| Kites of all shapes and designs at Breton Point State Park on a windy day. |
and then go for a
sail in Narragansett Bay. The wind has
piped up into the low 20’s and we have a fantastic rail down sail while our
granddaughter happily plays with Legos on the cockpit floor. After an early dinner,
they head back home, and we settle in for a spectacular fireworks display off
of Fort Adams. We spend a few more days enjoying the sights in Newport. One of our favorite bike rides is along Ocean
Drive where dramatic mansions punctuate the shore line.
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| Shoreline along the bike ride on Ocean Drive |
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| One of the mansions in the distance along the craggy shoreline |
The gardens and detail
work always amaze.
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| I have always found this gate to be expecially charming. |
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| An interesting urn tucked along the road |
We do love Newport, but it is time to move on.
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| The sunset view from our anchorage in Newport |
Our next stop is Martha’s Vineyard. It is a foggy sail most of the way, and we
drop anchor in the outer harbor of Vineyard Haven. We are tired and call it an
early night but wake up the next morning to find the wind has switched out of
the north and our anchorage is no longer tenable. In fact, a large sailboat is dragging in our
direction. We up anchor in a hurry and
motor into the building wind, rounding the corner and heading into Edgartown. The anchorage here is also not viable, and
after puttering around the inner harbor for a while, the harbormaster calls us
and tells us they have a safe mooring for us.
For the next four days we have blustery northerly winds,
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| Storm clouds rolling in over marshland in Martha's Vineyard |
so the cost of
a mooring is more than worthwhile. Edgartown
also works well for us. There is a nice
laundromat a short bus ride north in Oak Bluffs and a decent grocery store a
reasonable bike ride out of town. We spend our days biking on paved bike paths
all over the eastern side of the island with one long ride all the way to
Vineyard Haven via the bluffs at East Chop.
Meanwhile walking or biking through town we admire the many restored
captain’s houses
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| Pretty restored homes abound |
and well cared for gardens.
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| Gardens and flower boxes explode with color and interesting plant combinations |
Edgartown may be the prettiest
town we visit anywhere on the coast.
Once the weather improves, we move to the outer anchorage
where we have a wonderful view of all the traffic that comes and goes into
Edgartown. Friends on m/v The Pearl join
us for sunset drinks and an awesome view. The nearby yacht club is hosting a
junior regatta so fleets of 420’s and Optimist Dinghies stream past our boat. Our
neighbors are lovely mega-yachts and other cruisers
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| Magic Carpet spends its winters in Georgetown, Bahamas doing varnish work and then returns each summer to Edgartown to take out day charters |
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| Some more of the traffic in our anchorage - all sizes and designs |
including someone we
considered to be a mentor as we contemplated this change in life style – John Kretschmer’s
sailboat, Quetzel, is next to us, the first time we have seen it since we
sailed with him about ten years ago in the Caribbean.
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| Beautiful conclusions to every day on a boat |
We have been in Martha’s Vineyard for nine enjoyable days
but we see a good window for making our next hop up to Maine. From Edgartown it
is easier to go out and around the elbow of Cape Cod rather than back track to
the Cape Cod Canal. Although the charts
make it look difficult with many shoal areas around Pollock Rip, the channel is
well marked. The only issue is that this
is the foggiest section of the entire Atlantic Coast due to the confluence of
the Gulf Stream and the Labrador Current.
We have a clear day, but as we approach the channel the fog appears
although this time it rises only a foot or so off the water, and in a visually confusing
manner, we see the only the upper halves of nearby buoys and boats. Once around
Pollock’s Rip, it is a straight shot to Maine.
Along the eastern shore of Cape Cod we encounter whales, as
expected. We see five humpbacks
frolicking nearby and off in the distances see much spouting from others.
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| A humpback whales says good-bye as we head north |
We keep our engine running at all times as
the noise alerts the whales to our presence. Twenty four hours later we arrive
in Boothbay Harbor, Maine.
