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.
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.
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.
