October 2008, Visiting Massachusetts

We left Halifax twice. The first time was already later than we had planned to leave, but as usual the work we had done had taken longer than planned. So we were eager to go and left on the first good forecast, casting off with help from friends and setting off across and out of the harbour in brisk winds. By the middle of the day the winds that had been forecast to be behind us were still heavy and on the nose, and we were beating into cold seas. Since things were not improving, and we were still within range of Halifax we turned back and sailed up the North West Arm to drop anchor for the night.

The next morning we set off again, hoping that the forecast for more favourable winds was right. We did not worry unduly about not being able to coax the engine into life that cold morning, since it has never been fond of starting cold. Eager to set off, we sailed off the anchor and down the Arm. Bob on Sprig met us leaving the Arm, and we had a brief chat; then it was away down the coast headed for our first port in the US, Gloucester Massachusetts. That first day went well, and so did the next - it was the third day out we ran into a nasty storm which kept us hove to and then on the drogue for a while. We were very grateful then our new hatch Steve at Dura-Tech had helped us make. Even when the winds blew hard and the waves were high no water came in to the cabin. During the storm we hunkered down and stayed dry and waited. Then, as often happens, the weather cleared and we had a beautiful sail the rest of the way to the outer harbour at Gloucester.

Richard had taken a look at the engine on the way, and we had reluctantly come to the conclusion that it was not going to start without new parts. Not a problem, really, since we were a sailboat; we would just look for parts on the way down and fix it when we could. Gloucester, it turned out was not the place to find parts for our unusual engine, but we stayed long enough to see nearby family and enjoy looking around the town.

We checked in with help from the harbourmaster on duty, who came to pick us up and took us back to our boat on that first trip in, showing us the safe passage and the hazards along the way. He was happy to help us on a quiet day... We met the representative from Customs and Immigration at the Harbor Master’s Office, and spent a couple of hours ashore trying to get used to the feel of solid ground under our feet before we went back to the boat.

The next day we found the Chamber of Commerce and information on where to find such essential things as the laundromat and groceries. Then we wandered around, and found that this was one of those towns that are small enough to walk to just about everything and one where people were happy to help if you asked for directions. That sense of acceptance of visitors increased when we found free wi-fi - and someone who was excited to have us use it. The air was cool, but the reception was warm. Then we heard a forecast for winds that would make being in the outer harbour uncomfortable. We sailed away planning to come back a little earlier in the year the next time we passed through....

From Gloucester we sailed to Martha’s Vineyard, to see friends we had met in Antigua. With no engine we did not take the more traditional route through the Cape Cod Channel, but sailed on to the sounds around Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard through Pollock’s Rip; inside we dropped anchor for a while to wait for a more favourable tide to continue our travels on. Currents here are strong. and must be taken into account. The tide turned in time for us to be able to sail to Vineyard Haven. We dropped anchor outside the harbour as dark was falling and stayed there overnight. The next morning, with the wind shifting out of the north and the water growing rougher, our friend Dennis contacted us from shore to tell us about entering Lake Tashmoo and where we could drop anchor inside it. A short wait for a favourable tide, and then we were able to ride tide and winds to and into Lake Tashmoo, where we found very good shelter a mile’s walk away from Vineyard Haven. And we certainly appreciated the shelter when the fronts came blowing through.

For a while Lake Tashmoo was the centre from which we explored. We did some of those essential things - reactivated our US cell phone, to make it easier to call in to Customs when we moved to a new place, found the shipyard that would let us take wood scraps for our fireplace so we could stay warm, found the grocery store and tried to find the part we needed for the engine. Dennis was our guide to local resources, and even spent a day driving us to the laundromat, and to get more wood, (and gave us a piece of wood to replace one that had been bruised on the way down) and to his house for a short visit with his lovely Julie.

We enjoyed our walks in to town, along leafy streets where we sometimes passed wild turkeys feeding in the gardens of houses, past the big church on the corner down to the shops along the Vineyard Haven Harbor. But we could not stay in our cosy anchorage. We needed to leave Lake Tashmoo on south winds, and we needed north winds to continue our travels south. So we needed to be in Vineyard Haven. As luck would have it we found ourselves mooring free in the harbor during a grace period, after a half day of waiting patiently in Lake Tashmoo for the predicted wind shift, which had to coincide with the right tides and currents for us to get out... Sailing in these waters without an engine requires patience and discipline.

From the mooring we could easily walk along the beach to the grocery store, boat yard and marine store, and to the ferry terminal where we could use the free wi-fi. Everything was close by. We stocked up on food and wood and charcoal, and got ready to leave when Herb of Southbound II declared that we had a window.

Finally the time came, and we slipped the mooring and headed south for Cape May, and further adventures.