Cuttyhunk – Living Aboard an Old Wooden Boat

Monday, June 25 – Saturday, June 30, 2018

Monday morning dawned bright and clear with temps in the high 60’s, so we got off to an early start. We joined the “parade” of boats down the Mystic River, and began the next leg of our passage home to Southwest Harbor, ME.

Parade of wooden boats heading down the Mystic River

Once in the Sound, we heard a “pop” and the transmission disengaged. Hugh had to do a little troubleshooting, but he’s quite familiar with how it all works, so after tightening this and switching that out, he discovered that the clips had come off the throttle linkage on the engine. Problem solved, and we were soon on our way. We had 1-3 foot seas, but the 25 mph winds were going our way.

We cruised into Narragansett Bay, past Newport, RI, and under the Jamestown Bridge to the Herreshoff Marine Museum in Bristol, RI, where we picked up a mooring ($50/night). We walked around the town that was gearing up for the Fourth of July with plenty of bunting and flags. There are some lovely old houses here!

The next morning we toured the museum, and the $15/pp fee was waived as we had picked up one of their moorings. This was a real treat for Hugh who had grown up learning to sail a Herreshoff 12. We had no idea how influential Herreshoff was in the design not only of early America’s Cup winners but also PT boats, boat planes, and the US Navy’s first torpedo boats known as the “Mosquito Fleet” in 1895. Well worth a visit if you find yourself in the vicinity, by land or sea!

Battleship Cove

Once we left Bristol, we headed to Battleship Cove near the Mt Hope Bridge. The 608′ USS MASSACHUSETTS is # 59 and the destroyer, USS JOSEPH P KENNEDY, JR is also there, along with several others, including a submarine.

We headed over to the Sakonnet River and enjoyed a lovely cruise down to Buzzards Bay. As soon as we hit the chop in the Bay, we realized we needed to find shelter. Our only option was dock space at the Sakonnet Point Marina. At $184 for the night, we were disappointed that there were NO services other than at the Marina for an added $25, and electricity would have been extra! No restaurant nearby, however there was an outhouse. It felt so good to be self-contained! Since we were on the dock, Hugh decided to try out the folding bike, and he was delighted it worked so well.

We thought that Sakonnet Point would be a good jumping off point to make our way over to Martha’s Vineyard, however we didn’t want to push our luck crossing Vineyard Sound, given the weather forecast.

We decided to tuck into Cuttyhunk Pond for another couple of nights ($45/night) to ride out the storm. The Pond is well-protected, so we enjoyed the calm, despite the rain. We walked to the hilltop with Annie, and worked on some projects: the dolphin seat/footrest was installed on the princess seat, the bookshelf is safer with the bungee cord, and the “marriage saver” headsets are working better. Still more Creeping Crack Cure was used to try to stop the drips in the saloon and at the foot of our berth.

Friday morning dawned with clearing skies and calmer seas, so we headed over to Quick’s Hole and into Vineyard Sound for a great run up north of Middle Ground Shoal. The current was so strong that we were cruising at 10 knots! While there were patches of fog, they didn’t last, and soon we were picking up a Gannon and Benjamin mooring outside the breakwater, which is a little more exposed to the weather.

Vineyard Haven, with ALABAMA and SHENANDOAH (L) and ferries (R)

We hailed Shep of the Vineyard Haven Launch Service for rides in and out as I met my Tuesday knitting group friend Carole for iced coffee at Black Dog Bakery while Hugh walked to West Marine and Vineyard Scripts. The water was warm enough, and free of jellyfish, for a refreshing swim off our swim platform. The ladder works perfectly! Dana and CarolAnne of SUMMERWIND, a pristine Concordia yawl, dinghied over — his granddad had a Vineyard Shipyard-built boat similar to KATIE MACK. Our friend, Teri, arrived with fish sandwiches (a favorite!) and fried oysters from the Net Result for dinner on the aft deck. On Saturday, longtime friend, Nicola, invited me to her home in W. Tisbury for laundry, then we picked up another favorite, grilled cheese sandwiches on Portuguese sweet bread from the Scottish Bakehouse, for lunch aboard. Next I met another knitting group friend, Janice, for coffee at The Black Dog Bakery. That evening, Hugh’s MV Hospital assistant, Donna, joined Teri for a sunset “toot” to Oak Bluffs and back. We thoroughly enjoyed seeing our winter home from this summer vantage, and very much appreciate NOT having to spend the whole summer with ALL THE SUMMER CROWDS.

Wednesday, June 13 – Friday, June 15, 2018 Through the Cape Cod Canal to Newport, RI

Up early, and out of the harbor — it takes almost an hour to make it to the Bay. We cruised down the coast to the Cape Cod Canal, a project that was 300 years in the making! — History — This is the Sagamore Bridge, built in 1933. I don’t know why, but this was an exciting transit — perhaps because we have crossed the Sagamore and Bourne bridges by car and looked at the boats below, slowly making their ways north and south. It’s important to time your transit so you can be carried with the current, while maintaining a speed of not more than 10 knots. As we came around a bend, just before the Sagamore Bridge, we gave a wide berth to one HUGE cement barge being pushed by a tug . Depending on the strength of the current, it takes about 45 minutes to an hour to transit the canal — a huge time savings as opposed to going all the way around Cape Cod!

We had hoped to make it to Quisset, a tiny harbor recommended by Tad and Liz, but as we made our way down the channel into Buzzards Bay, the wind vs. current created the infamous “chop” which tossed books and other things around down below. As 3-5′ seas washed over the bow, we made a quick turnaround and headed into Onset Bay. This is the advantage of reading about and scouting out alternative “safe holes” on the charts before we set off: you never know when Plan B will be needed. Onset is a cute little seaside New England Village. The dockmaster at Brewer Marine gave us a slip rather than a mooring, for the same price, because KATIE MACK is such a lovely vessel!

We walked around the village with Annie, and then made dinner aboard. We’ll save a lot of money by not dining out very often, and when we do, it’s usually for lunch rather than dinner. I feel as if I have everything I need in my galley. We are well-provisioned, and the Omnia Stove-top Oven with its silicone liner means we can bake pretty much anything, from bread, to meatballs, to fish, to steaks . . . . We like the feeling of being so self-sufficient — reminds me of my childhood backpacking days with my family and friends in the Sierra Nevada. Dad always likened it to being a turtle, carrying one’s home on one’s back. KATIE Mack is a lot more comfortable and affords much more elaborate menus!

The next morning, the fog burned off early, and just as the Windy app and Eldridge’s Pilot had stated, by 7:30 the current and winds were with us as we made our way back down the channel into Buzzards Bay. What a difference! The next few hours were so pleasant — until around 10 when the seas rose with the wind. Buzzards Bay is deservedly famous for its chop. Quick change of direction to port made the going more comfortable, taking us away from our intended destination of Newport, and into the lovely harbor or “pond” at Cuttyhunk, the last island in the chain of the Elizabeth Islands ($45/night for a mooring). The town is Gosnold, named after the same explorer who “discovered” many ports in Maine (you may remember we stayed at Gosnold House in New Harbor during our sailing adventure back in 2014), as well as the island of Martha’s Vineyard (his wife’s name was Martha). Cuttyhunk has daily ferry service to New Bedford, and while the summer population swells to 200, the year-round population is around 12, depending on the year This early in the season meant it was pretty quiet! Apparently it’s the July 4th celebration that kicks off the summer season, with a parade of bunting bedecked golf carts, music and fun for all.

Looking across Vineyard Sound to the Aquinnah Cliffs

Walking along the southern side of the island, we looked across Vineyard Sound to see the Aquinnah lighthouse’s flashing red and white lights. I admit we both felt a “tug” for our winter home, and are so glad that we will be returning there in the fall.

The next morning dawned foggy and a bit drizzly. Wind and current dictated a noon start, so we walked around Cuttyhunk’s hills. No cars, only golf carts, for the villagers to get up and down the surprisingly steep roads and tracks. There is a school, a library, and a town hall. We kept missing the little store’s hours, as it is open only three hours a day: 9-10, 12-1, and 3-4. Not that we needed anything, but I was curious to see what they stocked.

The beginning of the bi-annual Newport-Bermuda Race

Newport was only a 2 1/2 hour hop across the Bay, but unbeknownst to us, the bi-annual Newport-Bermuda race was just getting underway! (photo) We figured “something was up” when we spotted 3 helicopters circling the harbor.

More than 100 boats were entered in the race itself, but the mayhem caused by press boats, private sail and power boats of all sizes, coast guard vessels, harbormaster coming at us from all directions, plus seeing the thousands of people along the shore was amazing!

Thousands of spectators lined the shore

Boatpix.com took some pics of KATIE MACK while we were coming around the point into the harbor. Good thing we didn’t make it here yesterday as we NEVER would have found a mooring, let along an anchorage. The culture shock of coming from quiet Cuttyhunk to all this chaos is daunting. Hugh said, “Enjoy it while we’re here ’cause we’re never coming back!” We were able to get ashore to walk Annie and we found the local Stop ‘n Shop and hardware store to pick up a few things for the next few days’ meals, and we enjoyed a calm evening.

Next stop: Mystic Seaport, DOTW (depending on the weather).

Tag: Cuttyhunk

Narragansett Bay, RI to Vineyard Haven, MA

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