Woods Hole

Sunset at Quissett Harbor

 Finally, we made it from Maine to Massachusetts!  After spending a couple of uneventful days traveling down the Massachusetts coastline we ran into some rough seas outside of Plymouth Harbor.  The waves were 4 to 5 feet with considerable ocean swell and the wind was blowing at 15 to 20 knots with higher gusts.  We were motoring out of the harbor but got the staysail up as soon as possible which evened things out a bit.  Regardless, it was a bit of a rough trip to the Cape Cod Canal.  Fortunately, it was only a couple of hours before we reached the canal and were able to get off the ocean for awhile!  The canal is a man made waterway that connects Cape Cod Bay to Buzzards Bay.  Without the canal you would have to travel hundreds of miles further going around Nantucket and the shoals that extend past Nantucket.  Our destination after the CCC was beautiful Quissett Harbor which was where we planned to stage a trip to Woods Hole.

Woods Hole, the marine science epicenter, has long been on our bucket list.  Home to WHOI, the largest independent oceanographic institution in the US and the Marine Biological Laboratory an international center for research.  Being an Illinois native I was surprised to discover that the MBL is affliated with the University of Chicago.  Something for Illinoisans to be proud of!  

It's reassuring to know that there are brilliant minds out there studying and trying to save the oceans.  They are our lifeblood.

WHOI Research Vessel

Needless to say our oceans have been working overtime this year churning up hurricanes.  We have our eye on Hurricane Jose!  Due to the uncertainty and slow movement of Jose we have decided to stay north for awhile.  

Quissett Harbor

 So we decided since we are in the area we might as well sail over to Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard.  Who knows when we will be this way again??

12 1/2 Herreshoff Sailboats in Quissett Harbor