Sailing trip ends a week from today. Bob and I still like each other.
Do We Stay or Do We Go
Our plan A was to wait until slack at Woods Hole and then proceed to Red Brook harbor in Pocasset. Since we slept in late (0730), we had to wait until the afternoon slack at 1400-ish. That would mean hanging around in Tarpaulin Cove until after noon. Not such a bad thing but we wanted to get moving. So plan B emerged to visit Cuttyhunk Island.
On the way, we would pass through Quicks Hole to get back into Buzzards Bay. Slack for Quicks Hole was around 1500, but unlike Woods, you don't need to wait for slack.
Discovered an Anchorage to Wait for a Favorable Current
So you don't need to wait for slack in Quicks Hole, but capt Linda considered it foolish to attempt to pass through it at max opposing current - and that's right when we got there. Turns out there is a lovely anchorage right along the beach on Nashawena Island, so we took advantage of this. Because of the current, the anchored boats were all facing away from the wind when we got there. So we turned down-wind to anchor.
We had a couple hours to kill, so we fished a bit (no, nothing) and took the dinghey to the beach to explore. The Elizabeth Islands really are something to see. Read more here. We walked a few hundred feet from the beach to Quicks Hole Pond. While we were there, a very friendly local gentleman came along and told us quite a bit of info about the history and nature of the islands. We noticed lots of evidence of cattle around this and Nashom Island. Apparently, there were originally sheep on the islands but then Coyotes got introduced to the island and took care of that (and the rabbits). The Forbs Family trust wants to keep some sort of livestock on the islands so they are taxed as agricultural land, so now there are cows which coyotes will not mess with.
Through the hole
We hauled the anchor and took off while there was still about 1.5 kts opposing current. No problem, we had a great broad reach and put up both sails. We were cruising through the hole at about 3 kts over ground. Once we got out of the other end of the channel, we turned upwind a bit toward Cuttyhunk and were flying at over 6kt.
This little jaunt from Quicks Hole to Cuttyhunk was the best sailing of the whole trip (according to capt Bob)
Sailing into Cuttyhunk
We kept the sails up as long as possible while approaching Cuttyhunk harbor. Once we got in the pond, we found lots of empty town moorings. Last time we were here, they were all taken and we had to anchor way out on the edge of the pond. Capt Linda said to grab the mooring behind the blue-hulled sailboat. I looked at that sailboat and it was called "Eagle". Wow - this is Al's boat from our own Marina. What a small sailing world. We took the dinghy to shore but stopped by Al's boat to say hello.
Raw bar afloat
Cuttyhunk has a raw bar boat that makes the rounds in the pond and the outer harbor. You can hail them on 72.
Finish with Yet Another Spectacular Sunset
Another chilly night. We tried to stay out in the cockpit but our blankets were not quite enough tonight.
Do We Stay or Do We Go
Our plan A was to wait until slack at Woods Hole and then proceed to Red Brook harbor in Pocasset. Since we slept in late (0730), we had to wait until the afternoon slack at 1400-ish. That would mean hanging around in Tarpaulin Cove until after noon. Not such a bad thing but we wanted to get moving. So plan B emerged to visit Cuttyhunk Island.
On the way, we would pass through Quicks Hole to get back into Buzzards Bay. Slack for Quicks Hole was around 1500, but unlike Woods, you don't need to wait for slack.
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| Remaining Neighbors at Tarpaulin Cove in the morning |
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| Passing Tarpaulin Light one more time as we leave. Notice the cattle |
Discovered an Anchorage to Wait for a Favorable Current
So you don't need to wait for slack in Quicks Hole, but capt Linda considered it foolish to attempt to pass through it at max opposing current - and that's right when we got there. Turns out there is a lovely anchorage right along the beach on Nashawena Island, so we took advantage of this. Because of the current, the anchored boats were all facing away from the wind when we got there. So we turned down-wind to anchor.
We had a couple hours to kill, so we fished a bit (no, nothing) and took the dinghey to the beach to explore. The Elizabeth Islands really are something to see. Read more here. We walked a few hundred feet from the beach to Quicks Hole Pond. While we were there, a very friendly local gentleman came along and told us quite a bit of info about the history and nature of the islands. We noticed lots of evidence of cattle around this and Nashom Island. Apparently, there were originally sheep on the islands but then Coyotes got introduced to the island and took care of that (and the rabbits). The Forbs Family trust wants to keep some sort of livestock on the islands so they are taxed as agricultural land, so now there are cows which coyotes will not mess with.
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| Bob gets the story of Nashawena Island, the Elizabeth Islands, why there is cattle on the islands, and why there are no more sheep or rabbits on the islands (and I forget what else) from this guy. |
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| Charging the video camera with the cute solar gizmo that Linda's son got us for Christmas |
Through the hole
We hauled the anchor and took off while there was still about 1.5 kts opposing current. No problem, we had a great broad reach and put up both sails. We were cruising through the hole at about 3 kts over ground. Once we got out of the other end of the channel, we turned upwind a bit toward Cuttyhunk and were flying at over 6kt.
This little jaunt from Quicks Hole to Cuttyhunk was the best sailing of the whole trip (according to capt Bob)
Sailing into Cuttyhunk
We kept the sails up as long as possible while approaching Cuttyhunk harbor. Once we got in the pond, we found lots of empty town moorings. Last time we were here, they were all taken and we had to anchor way out on the edge of the pond. Capt Linda said to grab the mooring behind the blue-hulled sailboat. I looked at that sailboat and it was called "Eagle". Wow - this is Al's boat from our own Marina. What a small sailing world. We took the dinghy to shore but stopped by Al's boat to say hello.
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| The entrance to the channel into the pond |
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| It's Al from our Marina! |
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| Paying the harbormaster while he's tied up to Al's boat |
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| The center of commerce in Cuttyhunk |
Raw bar afloat
Cuttyhunk has a raw bar boat that makes the rounds in the pond and the outer harbor. You can hail them on 72.
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| Delivery |
Finish with Yet Another Spectacular Sunset
Another chilly night. We tried to stay out in the cockpit but our blankets were not quite enough tonight.
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