Woods Hole / Marthas Vineyard trip for a new sailor

[bffatcat]

Wood Hole

Been thru there in the Last 50 years more times than I can count. Your better
off near slack water but if thats not convenient youve got a diesel inboard so it
should not be a big deal. JUst keep your eyes on the nuns they sometimes get
dragged under in the current. I prefer to go thru in the afternoon when the smoky southwester starts blowing up buzzards bay. And Its always a reach going thru the hole. Keep your sails up and your engine running. I dont like to tell stories but back in the 70`s I went thru with a tired atomic 4 that Quit right in the middle of the straight (see chart) but there was a good breeze up and I sailed thru.

 

[william]

Motorsailing through

I'd also recommend leaving up the main & rolling up the head sail for better visibility.

 

[william]

Coast guard

There's a coast guard station in woods hole, so don't worry too much, have a great sail.

 

[jviss]

CG Station

That's like saying "there's a hospital down the block, so don't worry about hurting yourself."

Seriously, you supposed "old salts" encouraging a beginner to go through Woods are just tough to take.

 

[Bob]

Scare me why don't you!

Thank you all for your advice. I read this message board frequently. There are so many people that have contributed so much to it.

I’ve read a lot about Woods Hole and was concerned. That is why I posted this thread. I plan on doing Quick Hole for this trip siding on the conservative approach for my first trip to the Vineyard. I will save Woods Hole for a later date.

I have a navigating question. How would you plan this trip seeing I did start it before I posted the thread?

The Eldridge Current table for Woods Hole on 8/24 says: flood starts at 9:55AM.
I was planning on sailing to Hadley Harbor and anchoring over night having coffee and powering through Woods Hole around 10:00 ± ½ hour. Looking further, on page 69, the current chart for Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound show a favorable current flow 3 hours after flood start at Pollock rip channel or 1 hr. after low water at Boston. Low tide at Boston is 11:29 am. I’m not sure how long it would have taken to power through Woods Hole but it seemed like a good plan with the currents on my side. Is this proper thinking? I can follow the same plan for Quick Hole but not sure where to anchor for the night. Maybe it would be better just to leave from Mattapoisett early that morning. I will use the same reasoning for the return home and as always follow the weather.

I installed a C70 chart plotter and radar over the last winter but I don’t like to rely on it except as a reference. I bought charts for Woods Hole & Martha Vineyard just to study and plan the old fashion way. I also bought the Coastal Pilot #2 and Eldridge Tide Chart a few months back. I try to read about everything and study my NOAA charts before I do anything.

Off topic, anyone find it hard to find NOAA charts. I had to order online directly from NOAA. I was told by West Marine and Boat World that no one buys charts anymore!

 

[Ross]

I would probably plan to start about a half hour before slack

and be through the worst of it before maximum flood or ebb. There is a lot of information on the tidal currents by the hour in most places.
This link is to printable noaa charts for small boats.
http://ocsdata.ncd.noaa.gov/BookletChart/AtlanticCoastBookletCharts.htm

look at charts 13218 and those before and after.

 

[Mark]

Woods Hole and Tashmoo

I have been through Woods Hole many times. Everyone who has responed to your post went through there for the first time and all have survived - and you will too! Hadleys is at the entrance to Woods Hole, so just start in a slack tide that will soon turn to your favor. Keep the red bouys to your left, for you are considered to be leaving the harbor (Buzzards Bay). When you get to the cross road, which is marked by bouy #5 in the center of the channel, turn to your right and continue through the entrance markers into Vineyard Sound.
Tashmoo is a deligtful spot. Just plan to go in (and out) as close to high time as you can. Also, make sure you are well grabbed before leaving your boat. It is a short walk (less than a mile) over the hill into Vineyard Haven. However, in the evening, Tashmoo is quiet and restful and you won't have to listen to the ferries coming into Vineyard Haven.
Good luck. I know you will have a great trip.
Mark

 

[Joe]

Wood's Hole

Bob,
We've sailed through every passage in the Elizabeth Islands years ago back in the 80s and 90s with my O'Day 222. Wood's Hole looks scary when you first go through it, but after you've been through there a few times, it becomes "old hat." If you want to lay over and wait for a perfect time to go through there, Hadley's Harbor is the place to go in and anchor. You'll love it in there. I went in there last year and spent the night on an O'Day 272 that I delivered. The place is awesome! As many times as I've sailed to Martha's Vineyard and Cuttyhunk, I've never been in Lake Tashmoo. I would have loved to go it there, but we just never did. We used to sail into Vineyard Haven, and the Harbor Master at that time, a guy named Don Simmonds, would always let us anchor inside the jetty between the ferry dock and the town dock near the beach. We did that for four straight years in a row until he retired and the new guy took over his job. The new guy let us anchor inside the jetty, but we needed to be close to the jetty which wasn't too desirable an area for us. Anyway, when Don was the Harbor Master, he would always advise me to use two anchors Bahamian style moor and make sure that they were dug in good because of the frequent wind shifts at night. In all the years that I sailed, we never rented moorings. We always anchored. So if you can get into Lake Tashmoo with no problems I would find a nice muddy area, put out two anchors Bahamian Style, use your mosquito screen at night, and don't even worry about the boat. When we anchored in vineyard Haven near the beach, I would put enough slack into the anchor lines so that I could use my telescopic boat pole to pole the stern to shore and get off the boat. I tied a 150' long straight line to my stern cleat and pushed the boat back out leaving the line stretched out on the beach. When we came back, all we had to do is grab the line and pull the stern of the boat to shore and climb the swim ladder. I really miss those days. We'd spend a week over there and only had to buy food and ice. The water faucet was on the beach near the dock, and if you needed to empty the head, you'd put the porta-poti waste tank in a big plastic bag and dump it in the toilet in the public rest room. What could be cheaper than that? Have a great time!
Joe

 

[Bob]

Had a great weekend!

The Admiral and I started out this weekend planning to go the Hadley Harbor but got a call from friends who were heading to Lake Tashmoo. We decided to join them. On the advise received here and my caution we sailed through Quicks Hole then north through Vineyard Sound. It was a long trip, (6 hrs) but we were sailing. How better to spend a Saturday. Not much air.

Around 1:00 today we came back through Woods Hole. I can see how confusing it can be. It didn't help when the car ferry passed me entering. It was a great weekend, very quiet in Lake Tashmoo. An easy walk to town for dinner. Returning through Woods Hole realy shortened the trip. It was really blowing in Buzzards Bay. We had a little too much weather helm making steering a course difficult.

Thank you everyone, I digested everything said here and it's a part of my sailing library forever.

 

[Sailvation]

Never Fear Woods Hole or avoid it...rather, master it or you will never go through it! Everyone is a FIRST TIME....and we read about it, bought the most current chart, understood it completely on ebb, flood, slack and the current going thru it, talked to everyone we know who has been through it, bought Eldridge Tide Book and got our head wrapped around it....then went thru it. NOT A PROBLEM. Be aware, know where the cans, the SB can, nuns,---R2 and where the exit is. ALL AHEAD of time and you will be ok. Then go through it coming back. Pay attention to 'how it looks', makes notes in the Eldridge Tide Books on the day you went thru and what the tide / current/ weather was and whether on ebb or flood and keep the books year to year to reread and build confidence. We did and now we have no issues with Woods Hole. We still are very much aware as we go thru each time. It is the quickest way thru to the Vineyard. Just take the time to learn and you can master it too. We have a wing on a Catalina 310. We share your concern.

Best

This may sound like a crazy question but being new to sailing and navigating, I need some advice. I am planning a trip from Buzzards Bay through Woods Hole to Vineyard Haven August 24th. We rented a house for a week and I want to bring the boat. We have 7 kids, the Bradey Bunch, too many to sleep on the boat comfortably. The admiral will take the ferry with half the crew while I sail with the other half! I may anchor in Lake Tashmoo or pick up a mooring in Vineyard Haven. My Catalina 30 draws 3'10" with its wing keel. Anyone experienced with Lake Tashmoo? How difficult is it to get in. I know once in there's plenty of water and I assume peaceful to anchor in. The rules say you cannot live aboard more than 3 days. Would it be safe to leave the boat unattended for a night and return the next day? I have a Mason Supreme 25 with 300' rhodes and it appears to be quite tranquil. Makes me nervous!

Also: I'm a little nervous about going through Woods Hole. I should go on a slack tide.
Checking the current table in my Eldridge Tide & Pilot Book, Woods Hole has a Flood Start time of 9:55 AM & 10:31 PM current turns southeast. How do I determine a window of time? "Slack Water"

 

[Bob S]

Sailivation,
You dug up an old one! I enjoyed reading it again and remember just how scared I really was. That was the first year I had my boat. I know your boat. I'm Lovely Lady and I often pass yours returning home. We've been through Woods Hole many times. We love the Vineyard and it's such an easy sail from Mattapoisett. Might be tough this weekend with Obama being there. I remember a weekend in July going through Woods Hole entering Vineyard Sound when a Coast Guard gun boat approached us and told us to give way 1500 yard to a ferry coming in. There were 2 more boats around it. I still wonder who was aboard that required a Coast Guard escort. Not easy staying clear of a ferry in such a narrow passage!

 

[jibes138]

Re: Woods Hole / Marthas Vineyard trip for a new sailor

What's the rush? Why not cruise down to cuttyhunk and spend the night either anchored or on a town mooring. Great quiet place to get some rest and relax after a day of hard sailing. Next day you can go around the island and zip through vineyard sound up to vineyard haven. If you can pass through the sound with the current you should be able to make some great time. I always caught a bluefish trolling a tuna clone with a torpedo sinker while going over the shoals in vineyard sound and through the rips in the sound. Always managed to get a free dinner that night. Let me know if you want to hear my story about how to kill a bluefish.