As the old saw goes, "early to bed and early to rise". We get up just after six at Gloucester, anxious to put on some miles after having been holed up here for a day and a half. We're not the only ones and quite a number of boats are leaving too; among them our newly made friends aboard Juliet, the pretty blue C&C 36 shown in the picture from two blogs ago in which I incorrectly labelled her a C& 34. We spoke to them a couple of times yesterday and like most cruisers they are very engaging folks. They are semi-retired and have a place on Cape Cod which they rent out for the summer and spend that time on their boat. They generally cruise up to NB or NS.

Anyway, underway before 7:00, destination Cape Cod Canal. We cross Massachusetts (try that one without a spell checker!) Bay including by-passing Boston. We can see the skyline of Boston for hours. Very uneventful except for a call from a large research vessel called Gateway Endeavour, informing us that we were approaching a long line which was tethered between him and some underwater probes that they use for some to me unknown purpose. As with most of the contacts we've had with professional mariners over the years, it was very cordial, proper but direct. He asked (told) us to alter course and he would also so as to ensure we did not get caught up in his tethered line.

So we forge on, reaching the famous Cape Cod Canal around 3:00. This is a very interesting man-made geographical feature; look at the Atlas and you'll see Cape Cod as a great hook extending way into the Atlantic. Around this hook is a treacherous piece of water so in the early 1900's a canal was dug as a short cut from Cape Cod Bay to Buzzard's Bay on the south. It is the world's widest sea-level canal, about 10 miles long, 480 feet wide and about 32 feet deep. Imagine the logistics of establishing this amazing short cut!

Well for us it saves us much time and challenging waters. You have to time your transit of the canal with the tides. The current flows through up to 4 knots one way or the other depending on the state of the tide. So, if you recall our nominal speed of 7 knots, if we are working against 4 knots, we are only making 3 knots to the good, not even a brisk walk. However, on the other hand, if your moving with the tide, you get the 4 in addition to your own speed, amounting to an exhilarating 11 knots! Imagine being excited about being able to move at 13 miles an hour?

Well we timed it right on and squirted our way through along with various other vessels including two huge tug boats. Judy particularly liked the idea of moving along so quickly and suggested that "it would be great if we could go this fast all the time" - maybe a power boater at heart?

At the end of the canal, at the Buzzard's Bay end, we pull into a great little refuge called Onset. It has a very good marina and lots of anchorage. An interesting anecdote about Buzzard's Bay; apparently the term Buzzard was used generally as a pejorative to denote any, obnoxious and useless bird. At some point in the distant past, the ladies of one Yacht Club on the Bay objected to this unflattering name and sought to have it changed; they were overruled and the name is intact today.

So for Judy and I this is a certain milestone. We are in a new body of water and new cruising grounds for us although I have sailed through twice before on delivery trips. We put on 62 miles today which may not seem like much but is a very long day; we left before 7 and tied up after taking on fuel and water around 5. We are also pleased that we made up for the lay day in Gloucester because of bad weather. So we're pretty well on track with our notional agenda - we're only sorta on the retirement mode - I still have this push in my bones.

A quick jaunt into the small but pleasant town for supper then back to the boat for a quiet evening listening to Sirius Satellite radio (Purejazz channel 72) while Chopin does his evening transit around the deck many times. BTW, among the many creature comforts I've installed on Sea Sharp over the last few years is satellite radio so we can listen to some of my favs everywhere (CBC, Radio Margaritaville and Purejazz).