Home Again

Our run from Newport, RI to Stonington, CT was uneventful (the way I like it) under clear skies light winds. This was the first time we had been to Stonington and very glad we stopped there. It is a town rich in maritime history, early colonial trade, battles with the British, and beautiful old (and fully restored) homes from the 1800's. We had a great dockage location with our aft deck facing out to the quiet harbor filled with other boats on their moorings swaying with the wind and tide. Simply delightful.

This morning we awoke once again to clear blue skies, light winds and calm seas. It was a great final day for the last leg of our journey back to Essex, CT. We decided to get away a little earlier so as to avoid some of the Friday afternoon "rush traffic" on the Connecticut River. Long Island Sound was a smooth as a lake which was a nice bonus for our final day on the water (well, at least for a while that is!).

In a strange sort of way, it actually felt good to be "home" in Essex, CT even though it's not really HOME. Spending this time together, doing what we love and making new memories is not something we take for granted.  Perhaps the best way to sum up the past two weeks on the water is to steal a few lyrics from the Jimmy Buffett song "Lovely Cruise".

"May you always remember

These moments are shared by few

And those harbor lights

They're coming into view

We bid our farewell much too soon

So drink it up

This one's for you

It's been a lovely cruise"

Boston to Sandwich to Newport

We left Boston around 10am on Thursday morning and cruised a little further up the harbor to the Charlestown Navy Yard to take a closer look the U.S.S. Constitution (a.k.a. Old Iron Sides) which was just recently put back in the water after two years of dry dock repairs, painting and maintenance. She is the oldest actively commissioned vessel still afloat, originally launched in 1797 by President George Washington. Impressive stuff!

As we departed Boston Harbor, past downtown, Logan Airport and the various sundry islands and old forts, we both agreed that this was a stop worth making and while brief, was filled with history, tradition, great food and good times.

Upon reaching the open water of the Atlantic, we were greeted to strong NW winds at 20 knots and rolling seas of 2-3 feet. While there was a Coast Guard "Small Craft Advisory" in effect until 11am, we felt that the boat (and the crew) could handle it until things started to calm down. Well, it never did. In fact, the wind picked up, as did the seas, and what we thought was going to be relatively easy "following seas" going south was rougher and sloppier than anticipated. But we pressed on, dodging lobster pots and adjusting our course to minimize the roll of the ocean.

We reached Sandwich, MA right at the mouth of the Cape Cod Canal around 130pm. "Endless Summer" was a pretty well covered in salt spray, so once docked, she got a good hosing and wipe down. After the commensurate arrival cocktail, we headed to Fisherman's View for dinner. This restaurant is owned by two local fisherman who bring in fresh seafood daily -- instead of "farm to table" it is "dock to dinner".  Excellent food, great service and a wonderful view out to Cape Cod Bay.

This morning we departed Sandwich at 830am and headed west through the Cape Cod Canal. Since the speed limit is only 10 mph, it took us a full hour to come out the other side and into Buzzards Bay in route to Rhode Island Sound. Once out of the canal, the seas conditions were much better than the day before and we cruised along at a rather leisurely pace arriving in Newport, RI at 12:30pm. This is one of my favorite ports of call and am looking forward to taking in all this maritime city has to offer. Well, at least for a couple of days!

U.S.S. Constitution 

Leaving Boston Harbor 

Looking out to Cape Cod Bay

My new friend 

Endless Summer in Sandwich

Boston in Pictures

We have had a great couple of days in Boston and taken advantage of our downtown location on Long Wharf. Outside of a few showers on Saturday, the weather has been good for doing some sight seeing and just walking around this history filled city.

City view on approach

Boston Waterboat Marina - great location right downtown

Afternoon at the Aquarium

City streets - North End

Boston Public Market

Fanuiel Hall Meeting House

Italian Street Festival - North End

Goodnight Boston!

Edgartown to Plymouth to Boston

After two wonderful days on Martha's Vineyard, we departed Edgartown Wednesday morning under overcast skies and a lite breeze. The first part of the journey took us across Nantucket Sound to Vineyard Sound and through the Woods Hole Inlet into Buzzards Bay. That lead us northeast through the Cape Cod Canal, a 10 mile "ditch" that cuts through Cape Cod and connects the two bodies of water. Since we had never traversed this area before, we were extra cautious in making sure we followed all the markers always attentive to the radar and AIS for oncoming boats and large ships. I guess it was beginners luck as we basically had the waterway to ourselves for the entire run.

Once we entered Cape Cod Bay and turned north, we were quickly and repeatedly introduced to lobster pot floats.  Now, we have boated extensively in Florida waters as well as the Chesapeake Bay, so "crab pots" are nothing new to us. But lobster pots are a different thing -- both in terms of quantity (think lots and lots of them) and in their scattered array and clusters. Fortunately, "Endless Summer" is a fairly maneuverable boat and we simply played "dodge" as we worked our way north.

Coming into Plymouth of course, took us back to our US history lessons and the whole Mayflower-Pilgrim-Plymouth Rock thing. Once we docked, we decided to take in a little of that history first hand by visiting the Pilgrim Hall Museum and THE Plymouth Rock -- which is just that -- a rock!

This morning we left for Boston under clear skies and lite winds. Since the winds and seas forecast was for increasing in the afternoon, we opted for a early start for our short 50 mile run to Boston.

Coming into Boston Harbor was nothing short of spectacular. There is so much history, so much beauty, so much to see and do. We are docked at Waterboat Marina right in downtown Boston with a terrific view over the harbor and the city.

Boston Light

Boston coming into view

Approaching Boston Harbor

Montauk to Edgartown

We woke up Tuesday morning to crystal blue skies, light winds out of the NE and seas forecast of 2-3 feet. Now sometimes, 2-3 foot seas can be most unpleasant when breaking and running against the wind and tide, but in this case, they were mostly gentle "rollers" which provided excellent conditions for our 87 mile open water trip to Martha's Vineyard. We arrived in Edgartown 4 hours later. Delightful!

Edgartown is a beautiful harbor with 84 moorings and just TWO slips that can accommodate a boat the size of Endless Summer. Due to its popularity and demand, I had to make reservations back in February to assure we would have one of those slips. We were guided in expertly by the harbor master and tie-up on the face dock looking directly out onto the harbor. Perfect!

Speaking of the harbor master, she was one of the best I have ever come across in all of our travels. Coordinating the coming and going of over 80 boats of all shapes and sizes was both educational and entertaining. We left the VHF radio on the entire afternoon just to watch and listen as she did her job like an air traffic controller at a major airport. Impressive!

Edgartown, as you might imagine, is quite upscale with incredible homes, mega yachts, with high end shoppes and restaurants yet has managed to keep its classic New England charm in place. We walked the streets through town passing beautiful homes, perfectly manicured grounds filled with hydrangea in full bloom. While busy with tourists (like us), the people were warm and welcoming. We also had the chance to visit with some old friends who reside on Martha's Vineyard which is always a bonus when traveling by boat. Delightful!

Today we will head out to Plymouth, MA via the Woods Hole Inlet, Buzzard's Bay and the Cape Cod Canal before turning north on Cape Cod Bay. It looks to be a good day on the water!

Sunrise over Edgartown Harbor 

The coolest sail ever