On Sunday morning, Hugh was able to pick up a few parts from the hardware store and fixed the leaking gaskets. A couple days later, we left the inner harbor, and cruised over to the bridge, which wasn’t scheduled to open (due to a death in the bridgetender’s family). We had already lowered our mast and antennae knowing we are 11′ from the top of our searchlight to the waterline and the bridge had 14′ of clearance at dead low tide. PLENTY of room. Whew!
Moored in Lagoon Pond
We followed the marks into Lagoon Pond until we picked up Gannon and Benjamin’s mooring # 148, just off the fish hatchery. G & B assured us that they had indoor storage for us off-site. It was just a question of finding someone who could haul out KATIE MACK and transport her to the shed. They were wonderful to work with, particularly Brad Abbott, the third partner in the business.
yle and Charlie Harwood
A few days later, we flew out to Louisville, KY to join friends and family for our son’s wedding. Charlie and Kyle were married on a gorgeous day at the Yew-Dell Botanical Gardens. A magical day!
Calm but rainy crossing to Mattapoisett
Once we returned to the Vineyard, we agreed that keeping KATIE MACK in the Lagoon over the winter was not an ideal plan as it has been known to ice over, and that’s definitely worse for a wooden boat than drying out a bit while “on the hard”. More phone calls, and finally Matt Murphy of WoodenBoat Magazine suggested we give Peter Cassidy of Buzzards Bay Yacht Services in Mattapoisett a call. Logistics were agreed upon and on Tuesday the 30th we made a rainy but calm crossing through Woods Hole and across Buzzards Bay to Mattapoisett, where, a few days later, Brownell’s Transport hauled her out and tucked her in at Buzzards Bay Yacht services for the winter.
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.
Herreshoff Marine Museum, Bristol, RI
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.
Sakonnet Point
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.
First time on the folding bike
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.
Back to Cuttyhunk.
Vineyard Haven — outside the breakwater
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.
