July 22,2015 PM

Through a maze of people arriving off the ferry we hear a loud laugh and recognize the voice of our daughter yucking it up with the captain of the ferry as they depart the boat. Danielle and Kristen have arrived and the laughter has started. We go straight to our new favorite bar/ restaurant “Slip 14 on the Old South Wharf and order lunch.
We load the dinghy and drag their small suit cases to the boat and decide to just hang out on the boat and watch the water traffic cruise by. We are at anchor just outside the mooring field with the big boats so there is a bit of a swell and boat wake to deal with but the view and company are outstanding.

Nantucket is a special place, a summer retreat for the well healed, a bit laid back in a Gatsby sort of way with pastel shorts and sweaters draped over the shoulders as tourists roam the streets deciding which restaurant to have supper at.

We have a quiet night as Kristen and Danielle have been travelling for two days with little sleep. Rossland to Spokane, fly from Spokane to Boston, spend the night in a hostel then early bus to Hyannis and then a ferry to Nantucket but they pulled it off and found us.

July 23rd, 2015
We drag the bicycles to shore and Kristen and Danielle rent two for themselves and we head off to tour the island. First stop is the Cisco Brewery where we have lunch entertained by a great live band. We then head to Cisco Beach for a swim and cool off. It is hot.

July 24th
Walking tour of the Island. Some shopping laundry etc.

July 25th
We hoist anchor early and head for Martha’s Vineyard. The wind is perfect and we have a favorable current. Seven and eight knots across the bottom and we make Vineyard Haven by 1:00. Pump out, top up the water tanks, rinse the deck at the harbormasters dock then drop the anchor just outside of the break wall in 15 feet of water. Cocktails on the deck and we settle in for the afternoon watching the boat traffic and ferries. We have dinner at the Black Dog Tavern in Vineyard Haven beer and wine license only. Food was fantastic.

July 26th

We head to Edgartown to find a liquor-licensed town.
Most of Martha’s Vineyard is dry. We find a bar and the girl’s are ready to party.
The band is from Boston and the female singer is great. We dance until very late and
get a local bus to take us back to Vineyard Haven.


July 27th
A public bus takes us to the Gay Head Lighthouse and Cliffs in Aquinnah, we walk the beach and have a beer while waiting for the bus and we realize we are running out of time. If we are going to have supper in Menemsha watching the sunset we will need to abandon public transportation and find a taxi. When we call there are none available but there is one parked in the parking lot. Like vultures we circle till the driver and passenger arrive. It’s a private tour and not available. After explaining our situation we turn with disappointed expressions and head for the bus waiting area, then from the taxi we hear come back we will take you. This wonderful woman invites us in feeling sorry for us and we are back on schedule. This is a dry island in places just abolishing prohibition in 2002. The fish market (who cook what you buy) where we are heading is called Larsen’s Fish Market it does not have a license so no wine. As we are waiting for our lobster to be cooked Moira is outside making new friends and by the time our food is ready a box of Pinot Grigio has arrived and our new friends fill up clean paper chowder bowls of wine for us. Unbelievable, sunset, lobster dinner on a working fishing pier, good wine and new friends, it’s perfect.
We are back on the bus and make connections that get us to Oak Bluffs. This town is known for its collection of Gingerbread houses. We arrive just as it is getting dark but have just enough time to see the beach where Jaws was filmed.

July 28th
Another early start and we are off to Newport. Wind is light and weather is questionable but not threating. It Rains. We run through Woods Hole with a favorable current and do the 40-mile run to Newport in 7 hours. Anchoring is tight so we opt for a mooring ball, at a dollar a foot it is far more reasonable than the $5.50 a foot at the Newport Yacht Club or the $8.50 a foot at the Marina.
The harbour-master has given us a complete rundown of where to shower etc. We head to the Newport Yacht Club and use our QCYC reciprocal rights to get in the door and are welcomed to the bar, shower access and laundry facilities.

With no time to spare we head to town roam the historic streets and end up at “The Fastnet Irish Pub” and settle in to hear the band. A man “John” asks me to be his partner for some pool and we play Kristen and Danielle and get lucky and win that game. Another game against some locals, it’s odd but there is a growing number of young men hanging around and buying us drinks. Kristen and Danielle own the room and we all have a dance or two to this great blues band. Kristen dances with my pool partner, one last scotch that someone has given me and we head out with a crewmember from one of the mega yachts that needs a ride to his boat. As we are saying goodbye we learn that my pool partner is John Paul Jones from Led Zeppelin, how about that for a night.
Feeling a bit sluggish from the night before we board a tour bus and learn a bit about the history of Newport. We tour the Vanderbilt 70 room summer estate “The Breakers” then head for ½ price happy hour at Benjamin’s recommended by a local.

The oysters and jumbo shrimp are a dollar each. Danielle and Kristen enjoy a 1-½ pound lobster each at $18.00. Great meal.

July 29th

Kristen and Danielle have to head to New York to meet up with a friend who will let them into the house that they are staying at. They are taking a bus to New York. We get to the city by 9AM have showers at the yacht club and then breakfast.

They order a picnic lunch for the bus ride and we send them off. It was sad to see them go.

John and I had to move the boat to another mooring, which worked out because the mobile pump-out guy would come and pump us out Royal Flush, is the name of his vessel.

We clean the boat remove all the bedding etc. with the intent of another larger laundry facility. We just can’t get a taxi from the wharf.

We start talking to Greg working for Bowens Wharf and he says no worries I’ll take you to the plaza because he needed to go to a hardware store anyway.
Good news is we can pick up some supplies and water etc. There is a liquor store.
Very convenient and we can go have lunch and a beer during the wash cycle.

We contact the cab company again and a great taxi driver picks us up who gives us a tour on the way back to the wharf and also stops at a U-Haul rental store so we can fill our propane tank.

John and I get back to the boat it is s so quiet without the girl’s and we decide to get back in the dingy and head for dinner. The Sardella’s restaurant is Italian and they have great food and live entertainment.
Jazz musicians are playing, it was fantastic and they had great voices. The Jazz festival is this weekend in Newport and there will be 6000 people here on Saturday alone.

We will be heading out Friday morning so today we will try to visit one more mansion after we tour the Newport Marine yard. So much to do.