This time for sure - Block Island

Today we got up a at a leisurely 05:30 after a fairly bouncy night on the free mooring outside of Menemsha. It was so bouncy in fact that we chose to sleep on the cabin settees rather than in the v-berth. The motion in the center of the ship is so much less pronounced than way up in the bow. We both slept very comfortably.

We were off the mooring and underway by 06:15 from Menemsha.

Dawn view of our overnight neighbor

Pretty skyline eastward as the sun rises

Dramatic clouds westward

We were in about a 1 kt opposing current for the first 5 miles or so until we got away from where the water is squeezed between Martha's Vineyard and the Elizabeth islands.  We watched Cuttyhunk Island pass by our starboard and looked forward to visiting there again later in the trip.  To our port we had beautiful views of the cliffs and SW tip of the Vineyard, Gay Head.

Gay Head Light

Looks like an inspirational poster. I don't know what the message is yet.

Passing Gay Head

Today's destination (again) was Block Island. We still had this steady N-E wind and so we were sailing pretty low. The N-Eer built up some pretty big swells (3-5') in the sound which rolled us around quite a bit for most of the 40 miles.  For most of the trip, we ran with a full main sail and the 90% Jib.

PFDs and Tethers were the rule today

Chin-Chin got quite a ride today and gulped a generous amount of water

Many hours of very alert sailing today from Menemsha to Block Island

Newport Bridge to the north

That's not land, and stop calling me a ho!
Finally after getting bounced around for several hours, Block Island was in sight.

The astute mariner would notice that we crossed the Traffic Separation Zone at a rather shallow angle. There was no activity in either of the shipping lanes during this time

Last time we went to Block Island (in Fujin) we got a slip in Old Harbor on the east side.  This time, we wanted to try anchoring in the great salt pond. This meant going around the north side of the island and then turning south. There is a narrow shallow spot that extends to the north from the island. We stayed about 1/2 miles to the north to avoid the 11 foot areas (11 foot with 5 foot swells... not much room). The bottom all around this spot is over 100 feet deep and so a huge amount of water gets pushed up on this shallow spot and some very big swells and breaking waves get built up here. Once on the other side of this spot, things get very smooth.

Feels very close to the beach as you head in the channel

Looking forward into the pond

Looking aft at the other boats following us in. Chin-Chin is full of water after the rough ride we had

The entrance to the salt pond is very narrow considering the huge volume of traffic that comes and goes. The salt pond itself is a huge area with thousands of boats in it. There are two marinas with slips, lots of town moorings and lots of room for anchoring. Being cheap bastards that we are, we chose to anchor.  Besides, by the radio chatter, it sounded like the town moorings were all taken.

zzzzzzzzz
Bob set up the hammock and Linda got first dibs on it.

Bob worked on a couple emails and was falling asleep at the computer so he laid down in the cockpit and was out cold for almost three hours!  Hey, it was a rough morning.

Night on the Town
We've had some cold-ish nights on this trip. Unfortunately, there have not been any nights where we could sleep in the cockpit. But the REAL cold parts have been that dinghy ride (always into the wind) coming back to Argon from whatever town we're in. Well, this time Linda got smart and dressed us both in our full foul weather gear for the ride. Here's us dressed up for dinner:

We ended up at Dead-Eye Dicks and sat at the bar for dinner. The food was good but this bar is really... a drinking bar. There were quite a few colorful individuals there in various states of intoxication. Food was quite good though.

Sunset overlooking the pond

Enjoying her Merlot at D-E D's

The Ride back to Argon was not so bad wearing our foulies.  Chin-Chin's motor was acting up a bit tonight but she got us home (good thing - would have been a long row).

Leaving (too) early, New Anchorage, Guarding the President and Menemsha Sunset

Enjoying Edgartown
We spent a laid back afternoon bobbing on our mooring, swimming and just kicking back on Argon.  We eventually ventured in to town and enjoyed walking around in the late afternoon sun and Linda indulged in a pedicure. We continue to enjoy this fantastic spell of wonderful, sunny (and breezy) weather.

Strolling around Edgartown - these guys were really good playing outside  Chesca's restaurant

Back at the ship, we decide to be proactive and rig the spinnaker in preparation for an early sail tomorrow - see below

I've got a great idea!
Today (Friday), Bob learned not to plan for current in Vineyard Sound after a second glass of wine. We got up at 0300 (yeah, 3AM) to take off from Edgartown. The plan was to do a long downwind leg to Block Island taking advantage of a favorable and strong current in the Sound - We needed to leave very early in the morning to hit this. We even had the spinnaker rigged the evening prior to make for an easy hoist in the wee hours and coffee ready to make given the painfully early, but thrilling early morning departure. This was absolutely perfect timing... that is if your idea of perfect timing is to hit the strong vineyard sound current at peak opposing current. I'm an excellent captain (perhaps periodically dyslexic).

Piloting out of Edgartown Harbor at 0320, confident in Bob's plan

Sailing at night = cool.  Sliver of a moon was mostly obscured by clouds thus it was extremely dark.  (We still have not discovered our mistake.)

We realized it would be stupid to try to make any progress toward Block against the 2-3 kt current so we considered alternatives. Linda noticed there is actually a pretty big anchorage right outside of Vineyard Haven. This is good to know as this is a nice free way to stay there!  Anyway, we dropped the hook in there and took a nap while waiting for the current lessen.

Bob prepares the anchor as we watch the sun rise

Sunrise Friday morning as we anchored in Vineyard Haven to await a proper current (~4 hours)

Young children should leave the room for this part
While heading into the anchorage, Bob noticed something in the water and was trying to decide if it was a bird or a Lobster Trap. Guess again... it was a young deer struggling against the current about a mile off shore!  This was pretty tragic to see because he was getting swept out towards the sound. We considered trying to help the fawn using the dinghy but were concerned about fighting the current (and a terrified, kicking deer).  We also scanned the area hoping there might be a small power boat nearby we could radio to for help - but there were none at this early morning hour. We hope he made it back to land.

Don't think this guy had much of a chance

Plan B
So we decided to cancel plans for Block Island today and instead set a course for Menemsha on the North-Western point of Martha's Vineyard. We've heard good things. We will repeat good things. Also, President Obama is in a town not far from here on vacation so there's been a coast guard cutter and several go-fasts along the shore all day. The best part is that Linda found the elusive perfect lobster roll in this tiny fishing town. Too bad we had just finished lunch when she made this discovery (she had a lobster roll anyway).

A couple Coast Guard go-fasts near Menemsha Harbor

This particular fishing boat was somewhat scary and very rusty

Interesting mix of fishermen and tourists at Menemsha

Lobster Roll Shopping; Also bought some freshly caught cod and stuffed scallops.

Menemsha is very pretty

Being Townies
After walking around, Bob headed back out to the mother ship to get supplies (wine and glasses) and we hung out on the beach for a while. Bob also visited the Chandlery which was more like a building that a garage sale threw up in.

We have been searching for an anchor snubber hook at every port - no luck yet

The away team returns to the mother ship with the shuttle craft

Bob bearing a bottle of rose and a pair of plastic wine glasses to enjoy on the beach along the jetty

Dinner on Argon Tonight
Menemsha has a couple excellent fish markets. We got some extremely fresh Cod and some fixings.  Linda made a wonderful five star dinner.

Near Scutra-quality dinner (Scutra is our favorite Arlington restaurant)

And That Sunset
Well, unfortunately some low clouds on the horizon obscured it, but Menemsha is one place on the east coast you can actually see the sun set into the ocean.

Watching the sunset from the cockpit

(Linda) Planning For Tomorrow
We're going to try for Block again Saturday morning - this time at 0600 instead of 0300; will be a 40 nm trip with ETA 1400. We will face the same opposing current early in the morning but the wind will be higher and we've only got a few miles of the narrow part of the sound where it runs fast. Also, we're about 14 miles closer than we were yesterday. Wind is expected to be North East.

Studying potential harbors

Bargains
This trip is remarkable so far for how little we've spent on overnight fees. So far, we've only been on paid moorings twice for a total of $65 ($25 the first night in Chatham and $40 in Edgartown)! And no overnight dockage yet. Tomorrow, we will probably anchor in Block Island's Great Salt Pond so that should be a freebie too.

End of week one of LASVA.

Running Aground, John Kerry, and a Trip to Nantucket Hospital

Up-Welling
After a leisurely Monday morning moored in Stage Harbor Chatham, we ventured to the nearby Town Dock to explore and chat with the harbormaster. Interestingly, they have an unassuming Upwelling Facility that raises thousands, perhaps millions, of quahogs and scallops from larval stages for about a year. Then the small clams are moved to the shallow tidal waters under protective netting for another one to two - Quahogs are fully mature as of about four years old. We did not have cameras with us but here are links to photos and information: 
Upwelling Technique for Raising Quahogs and Scallops

Nursery and Growout Methods for Aquacultured Shellfish


Running Aground.....  It's a Matter of When, not If ......
It is commonly understood by sailors that running aground is inevitable at some point.  However, we have enjoyed, with slight smugness, being able to say that "We have never run aground..." always careful to add "...yet".  Well, we must now say "We ran aground when...." <cringe> (Actually, it's "Linda ran aground when...")

We decided to move to the [free] moorings on the NE side of Harding Beach for easy dinghy access for beach exploration and to spend another night in Chatham. There are large swaths of shallows (good for clamming, see above) and one should follow the channel markers over the chart and GPS as the markers will be moved frequently to accommodate for shoaling and shifting depths. As we pulled along Harding Beach we examined which of the few moorings to pick up and took note of the small area to maneuver.  Linda did a pass by and got herself disoriented momentarily whilst focusing on wind, current, moorings, etc... and unknowingly moved slowly towards the edge of the channel - right next to a small green marker btw <cringe again>. Linda frantically called out "the depth!" when seeing it at <5' then we experienced a soft stopping of Argon.  We have a 6' draft thus the depth sounder, being several feet in front of the keep, gave us a predictable two second warning as our keel wedged firmly in to the sand. We had about 13kts of wind across our beam with a mild current in the opposite direction.  It was almost low tide - only about a 3' tide swing down here.


Some of you know that Bob has a love-hate relationship with our dinghy, Chin Chin. Well, Chin Chin is now forever in Bob's favor; no more grumbling and swearing about all the inconvenient aspects of towing a dinghy, fumbling with the gasoline, and the unpredictability of the outboard. Chin Chin saved the day on Monday.

Bob and our hero, Chin Chin

After a quick "Oh, shit, we #@^*% ran aground!" Bob jumped in to Chin Chin to try to pull the 22,000 lb Argon backwards off our soft landing and away from the large swath of shallow clamming waters ahead.  With the modest 3.5 hp Mercury fully revved up, Linda applying gentle reverse throttle, and generous bow thrust to port, Argon soon began to slowly twist bow in to wind (to avoid more shallows) and inched backwards off the mud.  Phew!  Then Bob and Chin Chin motored to the mooring whilst Linda maintained astern propulsion backing partway out of the narrow inlet to let her heart rate come down (and to get re-oriented as to where the forbidden depths were) before re-approaching the mooring carefully as Bob and Chin Chin await to attach to the bow.

Safely moored NE side of Harding Beach Chatham

Exploring Secluded Beaches
At this point, we focused on avoiding excitement and achieving boredom.  Did not get bored, but certainly found peace and tranquility exploring Harding Beach and part of Morris Island.

Linda plans to become a bird lady in her later years.  Until then, we can't tell you what kind of fowl these are but they were plentiful and graceful.

Linda posing on the thin strip of dunes between Harding Beach and Morris Island

Argon is the blue hull sailboat in the background. Linda mucks around clamming shallows.

 

Bob with his trusty dinghy, Chin Chin

After dinner on the boat (Cesar salad and mushroom ravioli) we settled in to watch a spectacular sunset over the marshes and Stage Harbor Lighthouse and examined the wind, currents and tide to plan what we would do tomorrow.

And we reach the end of Day 3 of our LASVA :-)

Onward to Nantucket
Up and off our mooring at 0600 Tuesday for a leisurely beam/downwind sail south in light winds - presumed destination is Nantucket.

Sunrise as we leave Chatham and Stage Harbor 0600

Enjoying coffee on a comfortable beam reach in 10kts

Nantucket bound

Entering Nantucket Harbor, known for being a port of call for high end yacths.  That is his dinghy being pulled behind!

US Lightship Nantucket is currently undergoing restorations and is usually docked at Boston Harbor Shipyard on the Logan side of Boston Harbor, but she was back in Nantucket this week.  Read more at Lightship Nantucket.

Back side of the Range Markers at the US Coast Guard Station.  Range Markers are extremely helpful to mariners entering harbors with currents to ensure one stays on course.

Just a few of the luxury liners one can ogle in Nantucket Harbor

John Kerry and Isabel
We decided to top off our fuel and give the deck a good hose down before seeking out an anchorage spot in Nantucket Harbor. The dock hand casually mentioned that John Kerry was just pulling up behind us. Of course we tried to act nonchalant and continued with our fueling and deck swathing chores. As Linda pulled the hose back to the dock (all sweaty and grimy) she found herself standing right next to the Secretary of State as he stood their with his yellow Labrador waiting for the rest of his party depart from his 76 foot Friendship (gorgeous, very high end yacht made in Newport).   Linda lamely just coiled her hose at Mr. Kerry's feet trying to think of something intelligent to say. Uncle Ken would be so very disappointed in the missed opportunity. Bob in the meantime fumbled for the camera but we missed any good shots.

Our peak at Secretary of State John Kerry.  Uncle Ken would be disappointed in Linda.... she was too shy to speak to the esteemed Secretary as she coiled a hose at his feet (there is a joke in there somewhere).  Post Note after consulting with Uncle Ken and in case SoS Kerry reads our blog someday....  I wish I had said "Don't let the RepubliCants rattle you, many of us know that both you and your boss are doing just fine!."

John Kerry's sailing yacht, Isabel, next to Argon at the fuel dock

Anchoring = Free 
We have been anchoring more this year as we want to become proficient in various holdings and comfortable in a range of conditions.  In addition, anchoring is usually free whilst moorings (and dock space for sure) come with a fee normally.  We were able to find a good anchoring spot at the far side of the mooring field in Nantucket Harbor.  A dock slip would have been well over $200 a night and a mooring would have been $70 a night.  And, with our trusty Chin Chin, we can make the ~1nm trip to shore without much difficulty.

The Ocean Does not Hurt Here
We have noticed that the water temperatures are splendid around the Cape this time of year.  Linda's declared threshold this season for swimming has been 68 degrees minimum of which we have never reached around our Boston stomping grounds (except for the thick marina waters at Constitution in which swimming is not permitted nor safe).  But in PTown, Chatham, Nantucket and most places in between we have noticed our water temperature instrument usually measures an inviting 68-74 degrees.  We ventured out to explore the vast harbor on Chin Chin with our feet dragging in the comfortable waters. 

One of our several stops during our dinghy exploration along Coatue Points

Bob swims in the warm waters and brisk current off Argon after our dinghy exploration trip

Venturing to Town
Despite loving our anchorage, we ventured in to town for the evening enjoying the quaint cobblestone streets - the cobblestones are actually the ballasts from old whaling ships.  We enjoyed a drink at Met on Main and dinner at a great Latin restaurant Corazon del Mar.

Cycling to Nantucket Cottage Hospital
Despite our bikes at home being largely ignored these days, we do still love cycling and exploring new places.  Thus Wednesday's schedule entailed a leisurely morning on the boat followed by renting bikes in town to explore more of Nantucket.  However, Bob had an increasingly painful and worrisome infection on his big toe and we were concerned about it getting out of control in the days ahead when we expect to be in more remote anchorages.  Thus our first stop with our bicycles was the Nantucket Cottage Hospital. 

Bob gets his toe lanced and a prescription of antibiotics to stave a staph infection

While Bob is at the clinic, Linda does laundry at a nearby laundromat.

Even the laundromats are kind of quaint in Nantucket

We continued to bike around the island admiring the many small and large grey shingled homes with colorful flowers and made our way to the the south shore after having lunch at The Sea Grille which is out and away from town (near the hospital / laundromat / pharmacy that were our main attractions this morning).  We weave our way to the lighthouse at the entrance to Nantucket Harbor where we traversed yesterday midday to watch the various boat traffic enter and exit - anything from kayaks to mega yachts. 

Secluded beach along the south short

Bob wants one of these Hobbie Cats badly

Water fountain fill up along the bike path

Towards the end of another spectacular day

Busy dinghy dock as we prepare to head back to Argon for the evening

We stroll the piers and have an expensive drink at Cru; over dinner we examine the weather, wind and currents and decide to set sail around 0800 for Martha's Vineyard. Some light provisioning is done at Stop-n-Shop before boarding Chin Chin to nestle in to Argon for the evening.  Night night.