Colin
4 July 2006, Sandwich, MA

This turned into a rather short day: We covered less than 10 miles. On the other hand, we have traversed the Cape Cod Canal! We had intended to go to Provincetown but, as we came to the end of the canal, we were looking at the radar and watching a large set of thunderstorms heading east and estimated that they would arrive in Provincetown at about the same time we would...Not being too excited about entering an unfamiliar harbor on its busiest day of the year and looking for a place to anchor with a severe thunderstorm bearing down on us, we opted instead to come into the Sandwich Marina. Fortuitously, they had just had a cancellation and so had a slip available for us and, within a very few minutes were in the harbor and tied up...Tomorrow we'll head for P-Town.

(41 46.233'N 70 30.220'W)

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Colin
3 July 2006, Onset, MA

Well, it was a late start, but we finally got out of Wickford and left Narraganset Bay behind us. It was a rolly few hours as we crossed Rhode Island Sound with 3-5 foot swells rolling under our beam, but as soon as we turned into Buzzards Bay, the swell dropped away and we had a quiet afternoon motoring up the bay. Considering the sinister reputation of Buzzard's Bay for unpleasant chop, we were very happy to have a relatively calm trip up it's length. The windmill bears testimony to the winds that usually blow up the bay creating the infamous chop, especially when in opposition to the ebb tide rushing out of the canal.

Onset is at the southern end of the Cape Cod Canal, which we intend to transit tomorrow. This saves us a long slog through some treacherous waters which would be necessary if we had to go around Cape Cod. Instead, we just whip through the 10 miles of canal and presto! We'll be north of Cape Cod! The only hitch is that the tidal currents in the canal are quite strong so we have to time our transit carefully. The good news, is that tomorrows favorable tide doesn't begin until 1027 so we'll get to sleep late!

(41 44.299'N 70 38.857'W)

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Colin
1 July 2006, Wickford, RI

We've had a nice week here in Wickford. Between visiting friends, getting the survey, picking strawberries, and waiting for weather windows, it's taken longer than I had hoped to be ready but, at last, we are poised to depart tomorrow. We're still not sure if the weather will or won't allow a direct, offshore passage to Nova Scotia but we'll spend the next couple of days getting to Provincetown and hope that the forecasts will clarify the situation as we get closer to it...Tomorrow, we'll turn in our rental car, fill the diesel tank and head out for Buzzards Bay...

(41 34.651'N 71 26.996'W)

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Colin
28 June 2006, Wickford, RI

Symphony was inspected today, surveyed in the nautical parlance. As part of getting her insured in Canada we needed a current survey so, through a miracle of scheduling (somebody else cancelled their appointment a half-hour before I called) we were able to get the survey done today! The survey was a very complete examination of all the boat's systems and required almost 6 hours and hauling the boat out of the water so the hull and underwater stuff could be inspected, too.

Fortunately, the only urgent thing that turned up on the survey was that a couple of stays needed to be replaced. Consequently, I got to climb the mast to remove them and a local rigging shop was able to make replacements immediately! Also, while the boat was out of the water for the survey, we got the bottom cleaned so we may be a little faster once we get underway again. There's some real advantages to being in an area with a lot of marine services and facilities...

The great event of the day was the arrival of Tahu Le'a! They had been over in Newport but today they returned to Wickford and a happy reunion. We're planning to sail to Nova Scotia together and the prospect of actually doing that seems a lot more real, now.

(41 34.651'N 71 26.996'W)

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