First Shark

Gloucester, MA

I had a wonderful sail from Onset to Provincetown. The kind where you trim the sails and don't touch a thing for hours.

Provincetown was nice, but very touristy. Moorings rentals are twice the price of any other place I've sailed to but I was able to anchor reasonably close to shore as it's still early in the season and there weren't many boats around.

Almost every day this last week was overcast and wet. The solar panels are struggling to keep the batteries charged and I haven't been able to get ashore to exercise.

I departed Province town on Wednesday morning in thick fog. Once again the new radar made that tricky task a lost easier.

As I left the coast of Cape Cod to starboard the fog lifted and I saw the first whales of my trip. They were the same kind I've seen before in the Gulf of Maine - Finback whales.

A little farther north I was excited to see a shark for the first time. I noticed the large fin working its way along the shore in a straight line. It moved very differently from whales which crest, blow, inhale and then dive. The shark just moved in a straight line at the surface. The dorsal fin was huge. I wonder if it was a Great White.

There wasn't much wind so I had to motor most of the way to Marblehead but the smooth seas made it easy to spot the shark, whales and the first seal of the summer.

I took a town mooring at Marblehead because it includes laundry and showers. There is a nice supermarket only two blocks from the dingy dock so I stocked up on fresh produce.

Friday morning I departed for nearby Gloucester. It's the other end of the spectrum from Marblehead. Marblehead is filled with expensive sailboats and yacht clubs while Gloucester is filled with commercial fishing boats and seafood processing plants.

Snap, shackle, pop

Onset, MA

broken shackle

The sail to Cutty Hunk was about as fast as it gets. Wind at my back and clear skies above. I averaged above 5.5 knots over the 37 miles.

Ocean swell from the south made me a bit queasy but a broken shackle about half way across Rhode Island Sound distracted me from the nausea. The shackle attaches one of the main sheet blocks to the boom so when it parted there was quite a bang. Despite the initial shock, I realized everything was stable and repairs could wait until I arrived at my destination. Even though that shackle was over 30 years old, it was a sign that I had too much sail up. After reefing the main, Tanqueray was more at ease and sailing just as fast.

Cutty Hunk is similar to Block Island in that there is no bridge. Unlike Block Island, there is no real airport at Cutty Hunk. It's a place for hard core New Englanders.

This early in the season the harbor was mostly deserted and I was able to anchor north of the town mooring field. I never even made it to shore because I left on Wednesday for Onset, Mass. There was some unpleasant weather coming for Thursday and Onset is a much better place to wait it out. It has a very protected harbor and all the shore amenities I might need.

Today is Saturday June 15th. I was able to top off with fuel and water at the marina early this morning before the winds pick up. I plan on leaving for Provincetown very early tomorrow morning so as to catch a fair tide through the Cape Cod Canal.

I've never been to Provincetown so I am not sure how easy it will be to anchor. If it's problematic, I won't stay for long.

Two Ospery on an old Amel in Onset Bay

Cruise: Summer 2019

Block Island, RI

Tanqueray anchored in Great Salt Pond, BI, RI

My summer cruise has started a bit later than expected.

Viviane dropped me off Wed morning on the way to work. I waited all morning for the wind to kick up enough to make the short hop to Atlantic Highlands for the night where I waited for a small low to pass over the area.

I was up at 4am and weighed anchor by 5am. This was to be my first overnight, offshore, singlehanded sail. The only concern I has was mal-de-mer.

Even so early in the morning NY harbor is a busy place and requires constant vigilance but after the first 30 miles of this 130 mile passage other boats all but disappear.

Somewhere just south of Jones Beach the wind faded so I started the engine. The swell from the south was hitting Tanqueray beam on and causing her to rock excessively. There was no danger but I should have taken some sea sickness meds.

It took 31 hours to get to Great Salt Pond, Block Island. Using the new, larger chartplotter and radar (thanks Trip) made staying awake and keeping watch so much easier as I was able to be down below and and rely on AIS and radar to spot other boats. There are not many boats 3 miles off the south shore of Long Island and 3am but every once in a while a fishing boat passes near enough to require a course adjustment to avoid them.

I was exhausted upon arrival after having not slept more than 15 minutes at a time and not eating for over 31 hours so I made lunch and took a well deserved nap.

I'll spend a few days at Block Island recovering and waiting for west winds to make the next (easy) hop to Cutty Hunk.