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.
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.
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).