I departed Cuttyhunk Pond after a much quieter night than expected and ran up the Buzzards Bay side of Nashawena Island and around into Quicks Hole where I stopped in the anchorage to wait for the strong current in Vineyard Sound to slow a bit.
Now that the sun was out of my eyes looking at the shoreline, I realized how much I took this part of the world for granted when I lived here. Having covered the East Coast from Halifax, NS to Florida; I know that the stretch of coastline made up by these islands has got to be well up in any top ten list of the most beautiful areas along the route.
There are places as wild and, although rate, equally long stretches of nearly untouched land. Most of the others look very much the same from one end to the other, however. The incredible diversity and mix of different kinds of trees and which seem to fit into over the rolling topography as if planned and yet appearing mostly untouched by human intervention is unique. Sailing along this shore again was a high point of the last 6000 miles.
I stopped for a while in Tarpaulin Cove where cows were cooling off on the beach near the farm.
The sailing didn't last long after departing Tarpaulin. The wind dropped and the fog came in. I ran to the end of the island chain under power where the fog lifted and the wind returned. I did a quick tour of Woods Hole's Great Harbor under sail. It was an emotional sail as it always is when I come enter this place where so much happened in my life. I saw the dock where I left on my first offshore passage to a foreign port, the window of my old office in the oceanographic institution docks, the place where the houseboat I lived in one summer used to be moored, the house on the water where I lived one winter, and, of course, the RV Tioga, probably the jewel of my career.
I didn't stay long. I'll be returning for a few days and I wanted to get all this remembering out of the way first.
The current was still running strong in the hole and there was plenty of time so I sailed over towards the Vineyard and back before heading for Hadley Harbor where I anchored in away from the considerable crowd of boats in a quiet little corner that few use because it is very tight and two anchors need to be set out to keep the current from swinging the boat into a grassy shoal when the tide changes.
I then rowed up each of the two creek branches to where there are bridges connecting Vineyard Sound to the harbor. The water level difference that powers Woods Hole's infamous currents is very evident here, even more so in real life 3D where you can more clearly see that the surface of the sound is nearly at your eye level sitting in the dinghy.
Finally, back to the boat to enjoy the view back up the creek before starting dinner.
Now that the sun was out of my eyes looking at the shoreline, I realized how much I took this part of the world for granted when I lived here. Having covered the East Coast from Halifax, NS to Florida; I know that the stretch of coastline made up by these islands has got to be well up in any top ten list of the most beautiful areas along the route.
There are places as wild and, although rate, equally long stretches of nearly untouched land. Most of the others look very much the same from one end to the other, however. The incredible diversity and mix of different kinds of trees and which seem to fit into over the rolling topography as if planned and yet appearing mostly untouched by human intervention is unique. Sailing along this shore again was a high point of the last 6000 miles.
I stopped for a while in Tarpaulin Cove where cows were cooling off on the beach near the farm.
The sailing didn't last long after departing Tarpaulin. The wind dropped and the fog came in. I ran to the end of the island chain under power where the fog lifted and the wind returned. I did a quick tour of Woods Hole's Great Harbor under sail. It was an emotional sail as it always is when I come enter this place where so much happened in my life. I saw the dock where I left on my first offshore passage to a foreign port, the window of my old office in the oceanographic institution docks, the place where the houseboat I lived in one summer used to be moored, the house on the water where I lived one winter, and, of course, the RV Tioga, probably the jewel of my career.
I didn't stay long. I'll be returning for a few days and I wanted to get all this remembering out of the way first.
The current was still running strong in the hole and there was plenty of time so I sailed over towards the Vineyard and back before heading for Hadley Harbor where I anchored in away from the considerable crowd of boats in a quiet little corner that few use because it is very tight and two anchors need to be set out to keep the current from swinging the boat into a grassy shoal when the tide changes.
I then rowed up each of the two creek branches to where there are bridges connecting Vineyard Sound to the harbor. The water level difference that powers Woods Hole's infamous currents is very evident here, even more so in real life 3D where you can more clearly see that the surface of the sound is nearly at your eye level sitting in the dinghy.
Finally, back to the boat to enjoy the view back up the creek before starting dinner.
