No Way Jose

Jen and I spent the past several days vacationing in Cataumet on Cape Cod, and the weather cooperated nicely.  Many midsummer-like sunny days that allowed for some swimming, kayaking and fantastic sunsets.  Staying in place allowed for some visitors, and we took a nice day sail with cousins Sharon and Cara.

But we also had to keep our eyes on yet another hurricane as it slowly traveled north, Jose.   The Cape was going to get hit with a tropical storm at a minimum, and so we made the decision to start looking for places to store the boat for the winter in advance of the storm and colder/rougher New England weather.  We settled on Cape Cod since we couldn't sail the boat anytime soon with Jose building the seas, and decided it will be fun to cruise some new areas next summer.  Having the boat based in Cape Cod instead of home port Cape Ann opens up some new cruising areas for us with long weekends and week-long vacations to work with (e.g. Nantucket Sound).  As it turns out, we decided this may be an even better interim approach than having the boat based further south for limited winter cruising.

So we are winding down the voyage and the blog, but will try to post an epilogue of sorts summarizing some key observations, lessons learned, etc.  It's been a great 3+ weeks on the water, despite some setbacks.  Thanks to all for following us along!  And thanks to my employer for the extended time off, we'll use the rest of the time for some hiking in northern New England -- surf and turf!

Relaxing More, Posting Less

We continue to vacation on Cape Cod at this point, and are having a lot of fun 'on the hook' as they say (at anchor).  We meandered our way back north to Cataumet on the Cape's west shore, Jen was at the helm sailing most of the time.  The quietest day we've yet seen on Buzzard's Bay gave her a chance to improve her sailing skills and better learn the ropes halyards and sheets.  Here she is tying down the mainsail. 

We decided to simply relax in this nice harbor rather than continuing to move from port to port.  We've really lucked out on weather, with sunny days approaching 80 degrees.  We rented bicycles yesterday and rode the Shining Sea Bikeway (and highly recommend it to anyone traveling here).  The old railroad bed crosses ponds, salt marshes, cranberry bogs, picturesque little towns, etc.  We ended up at a nice beach, and it looks like we should do the same today.  We'll take the kayaks this time ;)

Two for One

It's Jen writing the first half of this post & Jim the second.  We've been in areas with no internet access so posting has not been consistent. On Saturday, we spent a full day exploring Martha's Vineyard.  Our goal was to bike through Chappaquidick.  After kayaking to the dinghy dock, walking into town, riding a bus across to Edgartown, renting bikes & taking the short ferry ride to the island, we were successful! It was the perfect day to cover the roads, parks & bike paths this sweet slice of paradise offers.  We were happy to have had the chance to take a break in the Japanese garden called "Mytoi" (see photo).  We did it all in reverse & made it back to our mooring as the sun was setting. I cooked a hearty meal on board. Jim had downloaded a good movie & we called it an early night.

Jim here: next day, we decided to head off Martha's Vineyard since the harbormaster enforces a 3-day-only anchor rule on Lake Tashmoo.  We considered heading east to Chatham on the elbow of the Cape, but decided to head to Cape Cod Bay on the north side of Cape Cod for some shallow water exploration (leaving the keel sailboats behind).  So it was back through the Woods Hole Straight, timing the currents, etc.  Weather was sunny, but with a stiff breeze out of the north.  Once through the Straight, the Buzzard's Bay side was really rough with a north wind kicking up short steep waves.  So we headed for the nearest safe harbor, Quissett Harbor.  A very nice place to stay for the night, which offered us a rare New England sunset over the water.  Relaxing more now without a hectic cruise schedule.

The Journey is the Destination

Sorry we haven't posted in a while, no internet service at our latest anchorage. Our new propeller finally arrived in New Bedford late Thursday, and we promptly put it on the engine.  Regardless, we would have been grounded anyway with about 5 straight days of small craft advisories in Buzzard's Bay.  Yesterday the weather looked good, we had the new prop, and the hurricanes were still far south, so we decided to head over to Martha's Vineyard for the weekend.  Relatively easy sail across Buzzard's Bay to Woods Hole with winds out of the west at 10 knots.  It was a race to get to the Woods Hole Straight before the strong current there would be against us.  We got there with minutes to spare and shot through with the current.  Once through it was an easy hop over to the Lake Tashmoo inlet on the Vineyard.  We found a nice anchorage on the far side of the lake, kayaked to the dinghy dock, then walked the mile to Vineyard Haven.

Needless to say our schedule south has been pushed back quite a bit with watching the looming hurricanes and prop issue. As I always say "the journey is the destination" and we've been having fun despite not making much progress south.  Rather than trying to make up for lost miles and running into hurricane remnants, we've decided to relax and sail to Cape & Islands for as long as the weather safely allows.  Hoping everyone affected by the hurricanes further south stays safe.

Skirting Hurricane Irma by Heading East to Bermuda!

Just kidding, Jen and I found the best 'hurricane hole' we could find in southern New England just in case anyone is concerned.  We are going to hunker down in New Bedford behind the port's hurricane barrier.  Chances are Hurricane Irma won't hit the south coast, but no matter where the storm hits the U.S. the effects will still be felt strongly at sea in the northeast.  So this is a good place to be.  In the meantime, we are meeting some interesting folks like the Danish couple berthed next to us on a multi-year global cruise.  And just this evening we were invited aboard another couple's catamaran, that is now their home, for cocktails and hors d'oeuvres.

A K O Y A - Japanese Pearl Oyster

More small craft advisories kept us in port today, winds/seas too strong. We are playing it safe & continuing to anticipate the impending effects of Hurricane Irma. Despite the wind, I enjoyed a sunny & warm day on the deck with some yoga postures. We settled on the name just as we departed on our journey from Gloucester & finally followed the protocol to rename the boat this evening under an -almost- full moon sky. Offering some of the Sambuca my mother-in-law gave us for the journey as an "offering" to the sea god Poseidon & following a traditional ritual to "release" & then "re-name" the vessel. Many steps, but we were game! We wanted a name that suited the boat & resembled a pearl. Akoya is the oyster that produces the most beautiful pearls & is also a Japanese word. PERFECT for a host of reasons (I'm wearing my Nana's pearls during this voyage to honor her.) We also wanted a single word that would be easy to communicate. Hope everyone had happy Labor Day weekend!

Holed Up in Port, Explored Area

Ahoy! It's Jennifer writing to you today. Remnants of Harvey kept us in port tending to our dock lines in strong winds. When we finally had a small break in the rain, we took a walk (hadn't moved our bodies for days!) across the bridge to Fairhaven. We spotted a farmer's market and it led us to a museum on Joshua Slocum - the first man to circumnavigate the globe solo in 1900 in a 36' sloop, the Spray. What a pioneer! He set sail on his journey not far from our dock (see memorial below).  Additionally, I got a crash course about the first Japanese man to live in America in the mid-1800's:Manjiro Nakahama (a fascinating story!) We are both interested in New England history & found it to be an enriching afternoon.  Off to Martha's Vineyard tomorrow with the arrival of some good weather.

Holiday in New Bedford

Luckily we found dock space over the holiday weekend in New Bedford to make repairs.  It turns out the prop had a spun hub and so we scoured the south shore looking for a replacement prop today.  No one had our prop in stock, but kudos to Atlantic Boats in Wareham for pulling a suitable prop off their showroom engine to help us out in a pinch!  We ordered the right prop for delivery and got the temporary prop on this afternoon,  I sat in the kayak behind the boat while Jen handed me tools.  Another small craft advisory through Monday morning as the remains of the Harvey system rolls through, so we are stuck in New Bedford until then.  Making lemonade out of lemons though, Jen and I bbq'd on the back of the boat for dinner.

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

The small craft advisory was over by 2pm, so we set sail today about 1pm.  With Hurricane Irma looming, and the remains of Harvey coming through on Sunday, we thought it prudent sail to either Cuttyhunk Island or Martha's Vineyard and have some fun and wait to see what kind of track it might take before heading further south.  Leaving Westport Harbor the engine seemed sluggish.  Everyone said the current was strong, and we were leaving against an incoming tide, but we were only making 1 knot.  That seemed odd to me having run the boat in the mighty Piscataqua River in NH which has one of the strongest currents in N. America.  Sure enough, under sail halfway across Buzzard's Bay to Cuttyhunk, we needed to avoid a shoal and I decided to use the engine to help us around.  Nothing there.  The engine was running fine, but the prop was providing no propulsion.  Great :/  So, no auxiliary power, not the end of the world for a sailboat -- but they come in pretty handy to get in and out of tight ports.  The wind was out of the northwest at 12 knots.  We decided the safest play was to head downwind back down Buzzard's Bay toward New Bedford, and then call for a towboat to bring us into the harbor (see our tow in pic below).  In sailing, you have to take the crunchy with the smooth as they say.  Got into port, pulled the prop, and the teeth are worn.  Looking for a replacement prop in the morning, stay tuned...