It is now 1350 and we are fast to a mooring in Cuttyhunk Harbor. Their moorings are really interesting - no bridles, you have to provide your own line, but their mooring balls have a vertical standing pipe with a line attached through an eye through which you thread your line and cinch up tight since the moorings are very close together. We were a little embarrassed coming in here as it took us two passes to get tied on in the strong winds, but since then we have been amusing ourselves watching the other yachts coming in have much, and in some cases worse times of it.

During the trip here I found a few more chores that I will have to do with Nelleke's engine. Up to this point I have been sadly remiss with not properly checking the transmission fluids as part of my AM first parade. I used to all the time but since the levels were always unchanging I stopped doing it. Now I have to wait for things to cool down and I'll try them. The symptoms are that the engine will briefly rev up as if there was less load and my good friend Bon and his USCG son suggested that I check the transmission. When I did so, although there was plenty of fluid, what there was seemed thinner than that in the container that I carry to top up the levels and when I consulted the owner's manual I discovered that they tell me that I should have been changing the transmission fluid, or what they call gear lube, every 400 hours or 12 months. Well, I have done neither, and I suspect that the previous owner didn't either. My suspicions are that the viscosity of the fluid has broken down over time and it is not able to do its job properly. If that is the case then I should be able to remedy the problem by changing the lube. Not quite as straight forward a job as changing the engine oil, but not too difficult. I just need to sacrifice one of our aluminum baking pans to put under the tranny to collect the fluid when I take out the plug. Fortunately I have about a gallon of the stuff to replace it with. According to the manual I will only need � of that.

We rowed ashore to check out the town and the island. Everything is generally closed down due to the end of the season, but the town is worth a visit anyway. Apparently President Taft used to come out here for holidays. From my recollection of US history that's pretty much all he did, but he and his drinking buddies left a legacy here in the Fisherman's Club which used to be very private but which is now open to the public. There is an incredible view from the highest point on the island of Buzzards Bay, Martha's Vineyard and Vineyard Sound, the Atlantic Ocean and further up into Long Island Sound and Block Island Sound. Unfortunately it was also one of thise times when I forgot to bring a camera.

Tomorrow weather permitting; we plan to head out to Block Island, and the weather looks like if we don't get out of here today we'll be stuck in Block Island the day after tomorrow. We have a two day window, so we either go today or skip Block Island and head for New London. I'd rather be there to ride out the windstorm on a free dock, than in at one of these overpriced moorings or on an anchorage that I don't know.