Martha's Vineyard

Resist -Gotta love Massachusetts!

As it turned out we decided that since Hurricane Jose was now turning our way perhaps a trip to Nantucket would be pushing it.  We did not want to be stuck out in the islands with a hurricane bearing down on us.  So our new plan was to visit Martha's Vineyard and then head into Long Island Sound (originally our plan was to sail from Block Island, RI to Cape May, NJ but Jose put an end to that plan).  We decided we would go up the Connecticut River in Long Island Sound as far as Essex and wait out the hurricane.  Determined to squeeze in a visit to Martha's Vineyard we headed that way before heading to the Sound.

Oak Bluffs Cottage

 In order, to reach Martha's Vineyard we had to sail through Woods Hole Passage.  The current runs very swift through the passage and there are numerous buoys marking different areas that make it confusing for a stranger.  It is necessary to study the chart and mark your passage well or risk getting dashed up against rocks that are conveniently located in the middle of the passage!  The current runs about 4 knots and sometimes higher.  Talaria was speeding along at 10 knots!!  Martha's Vineyard was named for Bartholomew Gosnold's deceased daughter Martha.  Gosnold is credited with the first known European expedition to Cape Cod.  The story is that when Gosnold first saw Martha's Vineyard the island was covered with wild grapevines.  Hence, Martha's Vineyard.  Wild grapevines are still all over the island they are just not as noticeable as in 1602 apparently.  Gosnold is credited with naming Cape Cod and the nearby Elizabeth Islands as well.  Martha's Vineyard has 6 towns and you can ride around the entire island in a day - which we did.  We moored Talaria in Oak Bluffs and then took the city bus all around the island!  

Oak Bluffs, one of the six towns on Martha's Vineyard Island is known for its little cottages.  This area of the town was once a Methodist camp.  People came year after year and set up tents and then eventually built the little cottages.  Those cottages are really a site to see.  Each gingerbread house unique from the next. 

Cute!!

Little Pink Houses for you and me

Martha's Vineyard has no streetlights, no traffic lights or billboards!  Yay!!  We were pleasantly surprised by the lack of ostentatious homes - most were very humble.  Most all are cedar shake with white picket fences or stacked stone fences.  And there are not alot of paved roads - many are just dirt roads.  Surprising considering the affluence of Martha's Vineyard. 

Gay Head Cliffs

Gay Head now known as Aquinnah, the native Indian name, is at the other end of the island.  The native Americans who of course were living on the island long before the Europeans arrived used to make beautiful pottery from all the different colors of clay from the Gay Head cliffs.  But that has come to an end as the cliffs are eroding.  

The island is beautiful and not what we expected which made it even nicer.  Very glad we visited.  Nantucket another day!

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

 

Heading back south

Portland Head Light - Portland, Maine

When we started this journey we thought we would spend maybe 4 to 5 years exploring the US before we set off to explore other countries.  We left Kentucky in 2014 and since then we have been up the entire east coast of the US with a side trip to Cuba.  It is now 2017 and we are headed back to North Carolina.  The plan is to put Talaria on the hard for the winter and then sail her to the Mediterranean in the spring.  There is much that has to be done before then but we are hoping we are ready.  

Beach in Plymouth, Massachusetts

 We departed from Rockland, Maine on September 2nd knowing that the trip back would not be as easy as the trip up.  Primarily because the prevailing winds in Maine are from the southeast. Precisely the way we need to go - well south anyway.  Weather is always the primary concern when sailing/cruising.  Sailors say the most dangerous thing on a boat is a "schedule" which of course we have.  Sadly, Mother Nature is fickle -absolutely no concern for how strong you want the wind to blow or from which direction.  So... of course, starting out the wind was from the wrong direction and there was too much of it.  Seas were running 6 to 7 feet.  Pounding into those types of seas is not fun.  We were gone one day - just one day- and already had to sit back and wait for favorable winds.  Like I said - having a schedule is a very bad thing.  We finally did make it as far as Portland - albeit in rough seas- but then had to sit and wait for about three days.  Portland is not a bad place to hang out - if you are stuck somewhere it may as well be there.  Time to stop and smell the roses (or the saltwater)!  
And we won't freeze as we had side curtains made while in Maine.  We do not have an enclosed cockpit and nearly froze on the way up.  That issue as least is solved.  Now if we can just coax the weather....

Isle au Haut

Duck Harbor

Isle au Haut - the pretty little island off the coast of Stonington, Maine is actually part of Acadia National Park.  Or at least 60% of the Island is park land.  Boaters can anchor in Duck Harbor and hike on the Island.  It is a small harbor as you can see - not many boats can fit.  

 Someone actually lived on that little island in the distance with his 5 children!  No place to hide.  But back to Isle au Haut - the park service maintains a few campsites on the Island.  People have to apply a year in advance!!  Very hard to get a spot and you may not get your first choice, you have to submit 2 dates in case you don't get the first.

The population on Isle au Haut is 73.  They did not get electricity until 1970 and no phone service until 1988.  It is still pretty primative and isolated.  And that is what people like.

But there is a church and a grocery - what more could you want?

And should you need more - you can always catch the ferry and head to Stonington for an evening out.

Although I must say - there is not much in Stonington either.  If you really get ambitious you can make your way to Rockland.  There you will find all the fast food restaurants and WalMart.  But who wants that??

There is something to be said for those who choose a simple life.  Living simply, simply living.

North Haven

Talaria on a mooring in the Fox Thoroughfare

On the days that I am not working and the weather is cooperative we sail to some nearby islands.  North Haven and Vinalhaven together make up the Fox Islands.  The islands are narrowly separated by a body of water called the Fox Thoroughfare. 

Notice how this structure is up on rock pilings!

 The Fox Islands are only 12 miles from Rockland.  So we sailed over there and grabbed a mooring ball in the Fox Thoroughfare.  

North Haven

 We took the dinghy and visited North Haven.  There are families there that have been on 
the island for generations.  North Haven has both year round residents and summer only residents.  Summer residents are mostly the Boston elite. 

And those Boston elite send their children out to learn to sail on their small Optimus sailboats.  This day they were sailing a little regatta.

In contrast to the small sailboats are the large Windjammers that sail thru the thoroughfare.  The windjammers are iconic Maine.  They were once used as merchant ships and fishing vessels.  Now they carry tourists but they are still a sight to behold!

Notice again how the buildings are resting on rock pilings!

 

North Haven

 Vinalhaven - the other Fox Island is a working man's island.  The island is home to primarily lobstermen who hold the fishing rights to most of Penboscot Bay.  Vinalhaven is larger and more populous.

There is apparently no shortage of lobster here - as evidenced by the vast number of lobster traps everywhere.  There is barely enough room for a boat on the water with all the lobster traps.  It is a constant battle to bob and weave through the traps without wrapping the lines around your propeller.  I have heard that the reason for the great number of lobsters is due to the extreme over fishing for other species.  Lobsters were left with no predators as the other fish populations are now gone.  Not sure if that is true but what is true is that lobsters are big, big business here. 

Acadia National Park

Acadia National Park - 47,000 acres of breathtaking beauty.  A visit in the summer is great but I am told by Mainers that fall is when Acadia really shines.

 All these little islands dotting the ocean.

The view from the top of Cadillac Mountain - the highest point on the east coast.

I can't say why I am so fascinated with surf on rocks - I could sit and watch all day.

We decided to hike one of the trails - this rock cairn is pointing you in the right direction.  They are unique little trail markers.  

Hiking over granite!  This is along our trail.

 

Pretty nice place to sail.  Doesn't get much better - sunshine, the wind always blows, the weather is perfect and the scenery is phenomenal. Bliss!

Fog and Tide

So this is Rockland Harbor - if you got out of the Harbor and make a right you are right out in the North Atlantic Ocean. I may have mentioned the fog that envelopes Rockland from time to time.  Well this is one of those days - although not nearly as dense as we have seen it.  I may also have mentioned that the fog always wants to settle in on the day that I am off and able to go sailing!  Pretty sure Mother Nature is conspiring against me.  That is the downside of sailing to great places and then working while you are there - the work then interferes with sailing once you get to that great place. 

There are several seals that live in the Harbor - one in particular that is quite large.  They hang out by the working pier where the lobster boats come in and unload.  Always looking for something that might end up in the water - leftover bait, fish pieces.  We have taken the dinghy to see if we can catch them out of the water sunning themselves but have had no luck yet.  

 The working pier is right behind our boat - its very entertaining watching the lobster boats come in and unload.  Or load their boats with bait as they are getting ready to go out.  Quite colorful!  Occasionally, they will get into shouting matches with the seagulls.  They yell and cuss at the birds as though they are really going to listen.  The birds just swarm and squawk - oblivious to the frustration of the lobstermen.

Here we are - the second sailboat (the one with the red sail cover).  If you look at the posts you can see the water mark from the tide.  The tide is going out but will drop further still.  They have 12 foot tides here!  The ebb and flood of the tide will rock the boat, sometimes vigorously.  Add some wind out of the east or a large ocean swell to that and it can get pretty bouncy.  So much so that my vase went flying off the table in the middle of the night.  Flowers and water everywhere.  

 This is the ramp up to the marina office at low tide.  The base of the ramp is on wheels so it can move with the tide.  It is a steep climb up at low tide but good exercise.  Pretty early on Michael decided to only use the portable pumpout station at high tide.  Once the machine is full its pretty darn heavy.  Needless to say pushing it up that ramp is something you would only want to do once.  One day he told the marina owner he was waiting for high tide to come get the pumpout machine and he replied "It took me three years to figure that out".  Hmmm.....Funny guy!