Cuttyhunk to Jamestown

Yesterday we left Martha’s Vineyard hoping to get to Newport but it just wasn’t in the cards.  We really wanted to just enjoy a nice day of sailing so even though we were only going between 3-4 knots we had a great day.  Needless to say we only made it to Cuttyhunk and picked up a $45 mooring ball.  We thought it was outrageous that they would charge us $45 but their moorings are so easy to pick up. They have a long pole off the ball with a needle eye for your line to thread through…no boat hook required.

Today we left and sailed another beautiful day past Woods Hole, MA and into Dutch Harbor which is in Jamestown, RI.  We anchored here which is a nice change from paying for the moorings.

The first lighthouse photo is Nobska Point near Woods Hole, built in 1876.  Next is Beavertail lighthouse near Jamestown, RI.  Last is the Dutch Island lighthouse.The present tower, built in 1857 is forty-two feet high. The light was automated in 1947 and served mariners well until 1979 when the lighthouse was decommissioned.

Martha’s Vineyard

With a weather forecast of a serious low front approaching we left Nantucket early to get to Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard before 2pm.  We were on a mooring ball by 1pm.  That night we set the anchor watch just in case the mooring ball didn’t hold in the 50 mph winds and downpour of rain all night. 

This morning was gloomy but calm so we headed into town.  We paid our $30 per night mooring fee and headed to the bus stop where we purchased our $4 round trip ticket to Edgartown.  What a classic New England colonial town we stepped into.  Boutique shops and art galleries abound.  We also saw the Edgartown Lighthouse, originally built in 1828 and then destroyed in the 1938 hurricane.

After doing up the town we returned to Oak Bluffs to take in the sights there.  We visited the “Flying Horses” carousel, built in 1876 and is the oldest operating platform carousel in the country.  It was closed but I got photos through the windows.  There are 22 horses with real horsehair tails. 

Oak Bluffs is filled with whimsical, multi-colored gingerbread type cottages erected to replace the early Methodist canvas tents from the 1880’s camp ground.  The Tabernacle in Trinity Park was the original site of the preacher’s stand for the Methodist Camp.  It now seats over 3,000 and hosts an annual Illumination Night every August where hundreds of Japanese lanterns decorate the eaves of the cottages…what a sight that would be to see.

View from Jay Sea Dee.

Hyannis and Nantucket “Little Grey Lady of the Seas”

The Grey Lady term comes from the grey-shingled buildings and frequent fog.  Nantucket has no traffic lights, neon signs or fast food restaurants.  It is the only place in America with the distinction of being an island, a county and a town. 

We arrived in Hyannis on Friday to pick up Mark and Susie who were driving from Connecticut.  The Hyannis Marina was one of the most accommodating marinas we have been to in quite a while.  We were the only Sailboat on our dock amongst the fleet of fishing vessels.  As we walked the dock, some of them were cleaning fresh dorado and shark.  John quickly got to work washing down the boat while Jonathon and I hauled the laundry up to the laundromat with 6 washers and dryers charging only $2.00 per load.  Also in the same room was a free internet café.  We loaded the washers and went to the dockmaster who gave us a “Courtesy Car”…yes, free, with a map to a nice Supermarket where we provisioned with ease.  It was so nice to load up on water, juice, soda, etc. and not have to carry them on your backs to the boat.  What a service!!!!

Saturday we headed to Nantucket.  Although the skies were dark and ominous, the forecast was for clearing by mid morning so we headed out.  The winds had died so we were motoring but all around us you could see the squalls and we even witnessed some “Water Spouts” which are like tornadoes on the sea.  That was a first for the crew of Jay Sea Dee.

After arriving we picked up a mooring from Nantucket Moorings.  They are $50 per night which is a bit expensive for a mooring but it fits with the pricing of most things on Nantucket.  We then headed into town and enjoyed the Nantucket ambiance.

Sunday we decided to rent bicycles and head to the east coast of the island, to Siasconset.  What a beautiful day for a bike ride!  The island has a vast system of bicycle paths making it an easy way to see the island.  We passed near Sankaty lighthouse.  It is located on the Eastern shore of Nantucket. This lighthouse is located high on cliff that is continually eroding. The lighthouse was perilously close to the edge of the cliff and was in danger of going over the edge until it was moved 405 feet Northwest in the second half of 2007.

Providence, Cape Cod “P-Town”

Another calm day with no wind so we motor sailed from Falmouth, MA to Provincetown, Cape Cod and anchored in the harbor outside the mooring field as the guide book said the moorings were only for vessels up to 40 feet in length.  On the way we saw sharks, whales and seals.

By the mid-1970s a substantial number of members of the gay community began moving to Provincetown. However, homosexuality had been prevalent in Provincetown as early as the turn of the century with the introduction of the artists' colony. Drag queens could be seen performing as early as the 1940s in Provincetown. In 1978 the Provincetown Business Guild (PBG) was formed to promote gay tourism. Today more than 200 businesses belong to the PBG and Provincetown is perhaps the best-known gay summer resort on the East Coast. The 2010 US Census revealed Provincetown to have the highest rate of same-sex couples in the country, at 163.1 per 1000 couples. 

We walked through town and stopped for lunch to enjoy our first Crab Cakes of the season.  We found Scott Dinsmore’s Antique Shop and enjoyed a visit with him on the Dinsmore (moor) family tree.  We walked past the Pilgrim Monument. The Pilgrim Monument is the first thing you see when you approach Provincetown. Standing at 252 feet, the Monument commemorates the history of the Mayflower Pilgrims landing here in November of 1620.  They spent five weeks exploring Cape Cod before sailing up to Plymouth. It’s the tallest all-granite structure in the United States.

Then I talked the crew into hiking to the beach across the other side of the island.  Well, it turns out to be a wider island than it looked from the map so we walked miles and miles before getting a ride back halfway to town in the back of a pickup.  It was a beautiful walk but we should have rented bikes .

I was spell bound by the Witch House near the Public Library.  The Witch House is the only structure that is directly connected to the Witch Trials of 1692. It was the home of 17th-century judge and investigator Jonathan Corwin, who played an instrumental role in sentencing 19 alleged witches to the gallows.

We also stopped at the Public Library.  In 1873, the Provincetown Public Library was given to the town by Nathan Freeman. Mr. Freeman stipulated in his deed that the first floor must always be used for a Library.   A half-scale model of the Rose Dorothea Schooner sits in the center of the Library’s Children’s Room.  And a view of the harbor can be seen from the upstairs floors.

Weinerfest 2012

We moved off of the Belfast dock onto a mooring last night.  The wind and tide decided to have a battle over direction and created VERY choppy conditions until about midnight.  We kept hearing big bangs from the boat slapping hard onto the water. 

The morning was much calmer so we headed into town to pay our dockage bill and over to Weinerfest.  Yes, we have a weiner too and seeing so many in one place, one can’t help but smile and laugh…the best $2.00 entry fee ever spent!  They had a parade and costume contest too.

But I still think my weiner is the best!