trailer alot Sail a little - oh well

[Paisano]

Well I pulled my 17' Daysailer 4 1/2 hrs to Cape Cod thinking I'd sail it at least two days. Went up Friday Sept 31 with the Admiral, first and second mates. (Wife 6 and 4 yr old sons. I always wanted to sail Pleasant Bay and that was the Goal. Found the Town Launch at Ryders Cove and it was ideal (free + free parking) thanks to it being offseason there was plenty of parking.We sailed out the Cove thru a small marked channel following the skipper behind us!Well he followed me. Of course I can go in 1 foot of water so I had lots of room. WE hit the bay after a 1/2 mile and started tacking against the tide. That was futile against the 2 mph current filling up the Bay, so after hitting the shallows near the marsh at Strong Island I said "cant beat em join them" so we gybed and went with the current, the wind was light so current almost deflated my sails but we got cooking again and once North of the Island I headed East and got out of the current. It was beautiful - 69 degrees bright sun, winds S 8-10 kids happy, wife happy. But the little one has to say after only two hours "lets call it a day" and I being the overly doting dad agreed before he went into his fit. I let the 6 year old motor us up the channel (I had the tiller) (the wind was straight at us) he loves the motor of course. Later my Wife says you shoulda ignored the four year old - next time i will. Sunday and Monday were hot but calm so we only sailed 2 1/2 Hrs the whole weekend and towed the boat a total of 9 hrs - jeese when will the ratio reverse? (you know it was still worth it.)

 

[FrankR]

I don't trailer but we drive 4 hrs to the boat

I know what you mean - something are priceless as the commercial says. I'm 4 hours (one way) away from the boat. If the unreliable weather report looks promising, we usually leave Friday nite and come back Sunday afternoon. It is still worth the drive even if the weather guessers were wrong and we end up just sitting in the cockpit or the cabin.

 

[Tereza]

Cape Cod post season is worth it

Trailered 5 hours, but then got to moor my 14.6 on the flats of the bay for 10 days. Currents are not as strong, and the bay is wide open water, even in summer. Downside is, you can only sail a few hours on either side of high tide - with such shallow draft - you can extend that.Never tried Pleasant Bay...are there interesting spots where you can beach the boat and have lunch or explore?For the little one, maybe try setting some milestones that he knows will be met in advance...make it to the island and have lunch, get past the bridge and feed the ducks...Don't want to push them too hard either on something that you want them to love as much as you clearly do! Enjoy!

 

[Paisano]

Pleasant Bay is just that.

Pleasant Bay has plenty of beaches and islands to beach the boat. You've got the barrier beach Nauset Beach which extends from Orleans down to Chatham and creates the Bay. It has a lot of shallows though so its really for daysailers with a centerboard. It was new and different enough for me to want to explore it more next summer. Wellfleet Harbor is another great spot for Daysailers its quite large and opens right up to Cape Cod Bay if you want to go way out. It has Great Island which has lots of beautiful beaches for swimming and picnics. I think we'll base ourselves there for a week next summer.

 

[Tereza]

Target Ship on Cape Cod Bay

Paisano...This August I sailed just off Rock Harbor, Orleans. Got as far as Sesuit Harbor, Dennis, to Orleans. Wellfleet must be great for sailing...we've walked lots around there. But I'ld really have to leave about 3 hrs prior to high water, to make sure not to get stranded on the way back.Did you ever sail on the bay when the target ship was still intact? That was a great destination - would go out to it on my Sunfish.Also made for some awesome sunsets from the Eastham shore. That was pre=digital cameras, or I would post one of my thousands of sun setting behind target ship shots!The Liberty Ship Longstreet was dragged onto a shoal and used for target practice - now nothing is visible, not even at low tide.Please pass on any other good spots around there!

 

[Paisano]

Daysailer Tereza

If you still got negatives you can go to Walmart or somewhere and have digitals made. P-town is a nice harbor to sail; lots of moored boats, things to see, and the tip of the Cape for beaching. Also you have the view of town thats so nice from the water. There you go a couple of more tips...

 

[Paisano]

two boats

yeah too much trailering..... I'm thinking about getting a second boat on a trailer and just leave it at the Cape. Then I dont have to pull my Daysailer 4 1/2 hours up there I'll just use that around here - that way I could at least balance the time trailering with the time sailing....

 

[Tereza]

A boat in every port

Just curious...where would you leave it? You probably know the Cape is a great place to find used boats - plenty of supply! Just with all those shoals and currents, make sure you really check them out!Good luck - sounds like a great idea, if you can swing it. While my old boat and new boat overlapped, I used to like to say "I've got 30 foot o' boat on the water..."

 

[Paisano]

C. Cod Boat

I'd try to leave it in my mom's and stepfather's back yard , they'd work the rent out of me somehow. Or maybe find a reasonable boatyard. You're right about the shallows and currents. I'd probably stick to going out of Wellfleet Harbor into the Bay. I'd have to get some charts and talk to my big bro (whos got a 42footer in Charlestown) about navigating and the like - sure wouldnt' want to get stuck on the Brewster flats for 6 hours at low tide, although I could walk to my moms and wait for the water to come back....

 

[Tereza]

Paisano

That's exactly what I do - moor my boat on the flats outside Rock Harbor in Orleans. The forced downtime at lowest of low tide gives me an excuse to bike, eat, launch rockets, and yes, shop!I actually kinda like the dynamics of being so very dependant on the tides there, though it helps if you have the luxury of planning your time there around optimum tides. Sure is good having relatives on the Cape! ;-)