Tidings of Joy: July 2017

Friday, July 28, 2017

Island Hopping

We used Block Island as our jumping off point to get to Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. We left around 8:30a.m. and shortly after getting away from the anchorage we ran into pea soup fog. It was so thick that we had less then 1/4th a mile of visibility. I wanted to turn around but we decided to go for it instead. Like our gulf crossing in Florida once again we found ourselves driving solely by radar. Not fun! We both watched around us and on the radar. At one point Jeff said, “there is a boat coming right at us.” Then all of a sudden out of the fog appear a powerboat going full speed right for us. Jeff honked the horn several time and had to turn hard to starboard in order to not get hit. While that was our most intense moment the entire day for 7 hours was very nerve wracking. Finally about a mile from Martha’s Vineyard the fog lifted and none too soon because the passage into Martha’s is very hectic and busy with tons of commercial boat traffic and lots of pleasure craft. Thank god we could finally see again. Once into Vineyard Haven we opened a bridge and tucked into a quiet anchorage away from all of the hullabaloo. We took a few moments to regroup and relax from the tension of the fog. After, we lowered the dinghy and headed for town. A late afternoon stroll through Vineyard Haven was nice. It was quiet with just a few families and people walking around. It was hotter then hell and very humid. We got relief while ducking into a few stores and soaking up their air conditioning. We spent a quiet night on the boat taking in the scene, swimming off the boat and cooling off in our air conditioning.

Traveling in Fog

Bridge Before Anchorage

Tidings of Joy Anchored in Martha's Vineyard

Downtown Vineyard Haven

Cool Store Entrance Behind Fireplace - Vineyard Haven

The next day we decided to do some exploring. We found a bus that would take us to other parts of the island - Oak Bluffs and Edgartown. We really didn’t know anything about these areas so we wanted to check them out. Martha’s Vineyard is huge. There are four or five distinct areas all unique and very spread out. You would need a car or bus to access all of them. When we arrived in Oak Bluffs finally we felt like we were in the “real” Martha’s Vineyard. It was crowded with lots of people, shops, restaurants, bars and tours of all kind. It as a bit overwhelming. We walked around a bit then hopped back on the bus for Edgartown. As Oak Bluffs was crowded Edgartown was empty. There was nothing there. We passed by a beautiful beach and then there was a restaurant in Edgartown and that’s it. Needless to say we stayed on the boat and returned to Vineyard Haven and the boat. It was nice returning to our quiet anchorage after the busy tourist areas. We swam and watched the wind surfers cruise by. They got so close to the boat I thought for sure they were going to hit us but somehow they didn’t.

Windsurfers Martha's Vineyard

Sunset From Boat - Martha's Vineyard

Gingerbread House - Oak Bluffs

Gingerbread House-Oak Bluffs

The next morning we would venture onto Nantucket. We both were very excited about this port. For a very long time we have talked about cruising our own boat there and finally it was happening. Thanks to good travel weather we were able to make it to our furthest point east. Only four hours from Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket was a bustling harbor full of giant mega yachts and small wood sailboats. We got a morning ball in the large mooring field and were ready to see Nantucket. Again we launched out dinghy and went out exploring. We walked cobbled main street and the various other charming side streets lined with shops and restaurants. It was another blazing hot day so we decided to take an air conditioned bus tour to get the lay of the land. The driver/tour guide was a retired state senator and a very interesting person. We learned the history of Nantucket and saw the oldest house, the oldest working mill and even Bill Belichek’s summer neighborhood in Sconset. Overall a very nice way to see and learn about the town. After our tour we ventured into this cool bar that was an old train car and had a drink. Since we had been out for so long we needed to return to the boat and run the generator for bit to charge up the batteries. While doing so we made dinner and watched the sunset. We were so excited to be in Nantucket we decided to go back into town after dinner and walk around. We really didn’t have a destination in mind we just wanted to be out. We cruised around the same streets till it felt like we were walking in circles then returned to the boat for the evening.

A Boat We Know From the Bahamas

Dinghy Dock Nantucket

Main Street Nantucket

Old Mill Nantucket

Lighthouse Sconset

Outside Train Car Bar

Evening Nantucket

Oldest House in Nantucket

Nantucket is known for it’s whaling museum and rich whaling history so the second day we went straight to the museum which fortunately was air conditioned because it was very hot. We learned all about whaling in Nantucket and attended a lecture about what it was like to work on a whaling ship. While interesting and informative it made me (the vegetarian) very sad. The bartender from the train car recommended a good place for lunch where Jeff could get a lobster roll. Unfortunately it wasn’t that great and my salad was so small (three slices of beats with some pistachios on top) that I left hungry. Still blazing hot we decided to return to the whaling museum and catch a documentary all about Nantucket and it’s history. It was done by a man whose last name is Burns. Not Ken but we’re thinking a relation. The film was very well done and the cinematography was breathtaking. A nice way to spend a hot summer afternoon. Jeff decided he wanted a t-shirt so that was our next mission. We found one on one of the piers and also stumbled upon a really nice seafood shop where Jeff got a piece of swordfish to grill back on the boat. We made a nice dinner and watched the sunset. Another great day in Nantucket.

Whale Skelton - Whaling Museum

Whale Museum

Pretty House - Nantucket

Houses Nantucket

House on Stilts Nantucket

Evening Nantucket Harbor

Mooring Field Nantucket

Sunset Nantucket

Originally we had planned to leave after two days but we loved Nantucket so much we decided to extend one more day. When I woke up that morning Jeff said he had a surprise for me and that he made a lunch reservation in Sconset at a place we passed on the bus tour. I found there was live music playing at the brewery too so our day would be a full one. We hopped on the local bus to Sconset and walked around a bit before lunch. There is only a post office, wine shop and two restaurants in Sconset and that’s it. That and Belichek’s summer home. After strolling around for a bit we walked to lunch at the Chanticleer. A very cute french restaurant with a merry-go-round horse in front. The service was not very good but the food was so we just relaxed and had a very leisurely lunch. We hopped back on the bus to town to catch the free shuttle to the brewery. We packed into the brewery van with two other couples and the driver told us all the features of the place. It was not at all what I was expecting. I thought we were going to take a tour and have a tasting. Instead it was set up more like an outdoor market. There were several food trucks there an then three different bars each serving what they brewed there - wine, beer and scotch. The place was packed mostly with 20 somethings and there was a live band too. Fortunately we got a seat and met two nice families - one from Scottsdale the other from Boston. They were around our age and very nice and easy to talk to. Finally it got so crowded none of us could take it anymore. We said our goodbyes and Jeff and I hopped back on the free shuttle. A great ending to our time in Nantucket.

Chanticleer Restaurant

Sconset

Downtown Sconset

Brewery

Friends We Met At Brewery

Crowd at Brewery

Tuesday, July 18, 2017

Long Island Sound

After basking in our success for a few day in New York we decided we wanted to keep cruising. No longer would be on the loop but venturing out on our own. Before starting the loop we talked about cruising Long Island Sound and possibly making it as far as Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket time permitting. Fortunately John from Great Kills Yacht Club gave us an itinerary to follow that would get us all the way out to Nantucket and then back into Staten Island. We were so grateful since this was all new for us and not being on the loop there wasn’t anyone else that we knew that would be doing this cruise. So Thursday July 13th we set out at 7:30 for our first non-loop cruise into Long Island Sound. We had a somewhat long day cruising for 7 hours hours to Huntington Harbor, New York. John’s plan entailed cruising out on the New York side then cruising back on the Connecticut side. Sounded like a great plan to us. It was a hot and humid day but we were so excited cruising out the East River and all through Manhattan. We passed so much commercial traffic - ferries, barges, tows and tugs. We felt kinda funny being on our first non-loop cruise. When we got to Huntington Yacht club we were so happy the they had a pool. That was our entire afternoon- floating in the pool and having rum punches. So far cruising on our own was pretty good.

Mizu- We Anchored By This Boat in Bahamas

North Hampstead Lighthouse

Pretty Sailboat

Huntington Lighthouse

Huntington Yacht Club

Huntington Bay

Heading Out to East River

Manhattan

United Nations Building

After cooling off and having a quiet night on the boat in Huntington we headed out early at 6a.m. for the next days destination - Shelter Island, New York. This would be another long day almost 10 hours but we really wanted to push hard to hopefully make Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. I had made arrangements to get a mooring ball at Shelter Island Yacht Club. I had read they are very strict about the reciprocal yacht clubs they work with so I confirmed online that they acknowledged the Marine Trawler Owners Association (MTOA) we belonged to and they did. As we pulled in and the harbormaster came out to meet us in his skiff and take us to our mooring ball we noticed we were placed right behind another gold looper boat. So funny. They were just as enthused to see us as we them. It was a cool rainy, misty day and we felt like we were really close to New England. The scenery was gorgeous - green hills lined with pristine summer cottages/homes and tons of sailboats and large yachts. The first night we just enjoyed the rain from the aft deck and settled in for the night. The next day we called the yacht club launch and checked in. It was an old time club dating back to the 1800’s. Everyone there seemed very stiff and a little off putting. The staff was friendly and nice but we decided we were happier on the boat in the mooring field then hanging out at the club. We took a nice walk all around town and saw the gorgeous homes and the quaint little street of a few shops, a market, coffee shop and liquor store. After we walked back to the boat for lunch. We decided since we saw Shelter Island we would take the ferry across the bay to Greenport, New York. We loaded into the ferry with cars, trucks, people and bicycles. It was fun to cruise across the bay. Greenport was much more of a town then Shelter Island. There were several streets of shops and restaurants and the town was pretty crowded with what appeared to be New Yorkers venturing out of the city. After about an hour we had had enough and got back on the ferry across. It was a fun adventure but as always we are happy to return to our own boat. We would head out in the morning.

Shelter Island Yacht Club Anchorage

Lawn Art- Shelter Island

Shelter Island

Shelter Island - Town

Town

Shelter Island Anchorage

Southport

The next days cruise would be short - 3.5hours to Montauk, New York. I had always heard of Montauk and was looking forward to cruising there. We dropped the hook around 11:15 and launched the dingy to explore the town. We found a place to tie up at one of the marinas and the dock master told us there was a free bus into town. The bus was nice - air-conditioned and the the driver answered all of our questions about where to go and what to see. Basically “town” was a two block radius of a few shops and restaurants. Nothing either of us wanted to go into. The crowd was younger and we later found out a lot of people take the train from Manhattan out to Montauk for a weekend getaway. Not really our scene or a town we wanted to spend much time in so we hoped back on the free bus and headed back out to the boat. Lake Montauk where we anchored was quiet and peaceful and the boats were nicely spread apart giving everyone ample privacy. I really wanted to swim but noticed tons of small jelly fish surrounding our boat so opted to skip it.

Coast Guard Station Montauk

Beach - Montauk

Montauk Bay

Lake Montauk Anchorage

Sunset Montauk

The next day we were really excited to be leaving Long Island Sound and heading to our first stop in Rhode Island - Block Island. Neither of us have been to Rhode Island and to be visiting the smallest town in the smallest state which also happened to be an island was really exciting. Sea conditions were good - 2 feet swells every 8-9 seconds and we just rolled along for the short three hour cruise. At Block Island we planned on taking a mooring ball but when we arrived all the balls for our size boat were full. Fortunately there was a large anchorage right beside the mooring field so we found a spot there. It was cool in the low 70’s but very humid around 95%. So it was cool and damp all day. We took the dinghy to shore and had lunch at one of the marina restaurants. I had read that the best way to see the island is to rent bikes. So after lunch and a couple of cocktails we rented bikes. What we didn’t know was that although it’s an island it is not a flat island. There are a ton of hills both steep and rolling. I don’t know if it was the heat, the steepness or the cocktails but at one point we both had to walk our bikes uphill. We saw town which was very small - a shop or two, a couple restaurants and a gas station. After climbing several hills we finally made it to the islands lighthouse. Fortunately there was a little stand there where we got waters and when we walked into the lighthouse the lady working there said we looked really hot. We briefly saw the lighthouse and the great view from the grounds then headed back out. The ride besides all of the torturous hills was really nice. The houses on the island are so charming and sweet I could imagine myself living there. They were all cape cod style homes either facing the sea or surrounded by meadows and ponds. It seemed very fairytale like. Needless to say we were very happy to return our bikes and head back to the boat. We raised the dinghy in prep for the next mornings departure. Around 5pm we heard this kinda sing-songy voice coming from outside the boat. When we looked we saw a tiny little skiff passing by with a big flag that said “bakery.” We were immediately intrigued and Jeff called them over. It turns out every afternoon the bakery boat cruises through the anchorage selling pastries, fresh seafood and some Italian food. We couldn’t believe it and thought it was so cool. Jeff got some shrimp cocktail, a pastry and calzone for us to split. What a great service. We settled in for the rest of the evening and enjoyed our night on the hook. In the morning we would head out for Martha’s Vineyard.