On Monday, we left our anchorage at Ebenecook Harbor near Boothbay Harbor bidding a fond farewell to Maine. Our first night was spent at Hull, Boston and the next day we transited the Cape Cod Canal. Just south of Maine we passed by the Minot Ledge Light which is a 90 ft tall structure made of interlocking granite sitting on a rocky outcrop 1 mile offshore in the North Atlantic. This lighthouse has quite an amazing history which you would find fascinating if you google http://www.newenglandlighthouses.net/minots-ledge-light-history.html The first lighthouse was swept away in a gale in 1851 with the loss of two young lighthouse assistants. So many ships were wrecked on this treacherous ledge and in fact, in a 9 year period in the 1800's, 40 ships were lost on the ledge. The current lighthouse was completed in 1860. It is entered via a 40 ft ladder from the sea in calm conditions.
It has withstood countless tempests and actually sways during particularly bad storms. In 1909, on Christmas Day, Keeper Milton Reamy claimed that a wave 176 ft in height hit the lighthouse. It is in a truly impressive spot and one I would not care to visit on a stormy night.
On our trip to the canal, we saw a number of whales and dolphins as the visibility was excellent. Once through the Cape Cod Canal we stopped at Mattapoisett, Massachusetts and weathered a sunset storm then proceded onto Bristol, Rhode Island. Today we moved again and are currently in Orient, Long Island. As soon as the anchor was set and the aft deck washed down, we sat outside to enjoy the end of a great day doing a Jane Wooster Scott jigsaw puzzle, listening to Trentemoller Radio on Pandora, sipping wine and watching as our friends on their motor yacht Woofie anchored nearby. We met the "Woofites" last year and have bumped into them numerous times this year. We are both heading south and looking for the right weather window but are keeping an eye on Tropical Storm Karl spinning off Africa right now. If you look closely, the bullseye in the middle of the pink section shows the average wave height to be 8.4 meters (27 feet) just south of Bermuda. No plans to go to Bermuda, that's for sure.
(For more photos click Gallery above.)