Fudge, Ice Cream and Jewelry
26 September 2014 | Cuttyhunk, Mass.
Sunny, Temp 78F, Wind N@5-10
Rockport, Mass.
Well, except for a couple of coffee shops, a couple of stores selling women`s clothes, "Fudge, Ice Cream and Jewelry" pretty much sums up Rockport, Mass.
Sitting on the tip of Cape Anne, about 30 miles north-east of Boston, it is an intense tourist destination. But in late September, it only had the odd bus tour and a few late season tourists. It is a very pretty village, and in its tiny harbor, boats are moored fore and aft to maximize the use of space. They only have room for a few visitors like us, so we were fortunate to get in.
It was a quiet sail of about 30 miles from York with the weather warming up as we went. We arrived in late afternoon and had time to go ashore for a short walk, then back to the boat. In spite of the warming days, it still cools off quickly, so we were below with the heater on for dinner.
Next day, after another walk ashore and a quick internet fix, we were off for Scituate, Mass, about 30 miles south of Boston. Again a quiet sail downwind in the northerly breezes had us bundled up against the cold winds.
Ashore the town was not so "cute" as Rockport, but very nice with restaurants, an excellent deli and wine shop and a very handy grocery store, so a great place for us to re-stock with some much-needed supplies.
Friday we had an early start heading for the Cape Cod Canal to catch the favorable current that began at 12:30 pm. Although we arrived at 2:00 pm we still swept through with speeds up to 10 knots, squirting out into Buzzards Bay.
The contrast could not have been bigger! Sailing down to the canal, we were, as usual, bundled up against the 20 knot north wind blowing across the cold waters of Stellwaggen Bank. Seas had built to a choppy 5', leaving us doing a bit of a merry sleigh ride down the 48F waters.
In Buzzards Bay we encountered warm 5-10 knot northerlies blowing across flat seas of 68F. Off came the heavy clothes and we quietly sailed down to Quissett Harbor, another harbor new to us. Inside we picked up a moooring from the Quissett Harbor Boat Yard and settled in to drinks and dinner in the cockpit, the first (of many, we hope) for the trip.
Next morning we headed ashore for a walk in a nearby nature preserve and around the quiet residential streets. Our guide book says this is the prettiest harbor in New England. I'm not sure about that, but it is certainly in the running. Standing on the dock of the boatyard, we met the parents of Bill Wright, the production manager at John Williams Boatyard in Maine where we keep our boat. Small world.
In mid-morning we set out from Quissett for Cuttyhunk, a favorite stop of ours. Normally in late September, there are few sails to be seen on the bay. But today with mid-summer like conditions, there were sails everywhere. Again we had a beautiful sail, running just 25 miles down the chain of Elizabeth Islands (separating Buzzards Bay from Vineyard Sound) to Cuttyhunk.
The anchorage is again small and with so many boaters nearby, the town (less than 100 year-round) has established a mooring field with about 60 moorings, all tightly packed. Other times we have been here this time of year there have been only a handful of boats. But today by sunset it was pretty much full.
Ashore we walked to the top of the hill, looked in the store, and ordered oysters from the raw-bar, to be delivered to the boat. Again, drinks and dinner in the cockpit. And this morning another first... no heater required! From here we are off to Block Island for a couple of days, then up Long Island Sound and, hopefully, NYC by the week-end.