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.