Cuttyhunk

We had a wonderful sail to Cuttyhunk. As we got closer we could see lots of masts and the AIS reflected a red mass where the anchorage was. But then Andrew told me that was inside where the mooring balls are and we were not going to anchor there. 

We don’t normally pull back on the anchor once it is down, but this time we did as it is renown to be a slippery, grassy anchorage. We dragged a bit and then we bit into the ground. Later that evening, Jeff, Jacqui and Daniel came across for a sundowner. 

The following day we went ashore for a wander around. There isn’t much on Cuttyhunk, but we did have a lovely walk up to the bunkers. Sadly it was very misty and we couldn’t see the view.

We found the rocks!!

Andrew and I left Laura on board and went to play Mexican Train Dominoes with the Mellow Puffs. 

The following day we waited until 10;30 and left. We had to wait for the current in the cut we were going through to be right. While we were on our way to Martha’s Vineyard, we heard a weather warning. There was going to be a big thunderstorm near Block and Montauk. We were far enough away from there but we still had hectic winds and grey skies. Thank goodness the current was going with us and we were doing 9+knots boats speed, which took at least an hour off our journey. 

Next episode: Martha's Vineyard where we anchor in Vineyard Haven.

 

Newport, Rhode Island

We had to radio the harbour master and announce our arrival. He told us where we could anchor. Once again the mooring field was filled with mooring balls, but we managed to find a spot. 

The wind was howling and it was quite bumpy. When Andrew shouted "Go!" I stepped on the anchor down button but I struggled to get the anchor off the roller quickly enough! It sometimes does this and then I have to push the up button, tighten the chain and then the anchor will release, when I press the down button again. 

When I didn't get the anchor down fast enough, the delay caused us to drift back. Then once we had sufficient chain out, we were too close to the boat behind us, so we upped anchor again. 

The chain was very twisted and was skipping as I pulled it up and then it jumped off the gypsy and ran out! Laura is down below pulling the anchor chain into the lower locker and I am always scared she will catch her fingers. Thank goodness she was ok. I quickly secured the chain with the hook and tied it on to prevent it from running out any more. Andrew came to help as I rushed back to the helm to ensure we didn't hit anyone. 

The second time I dropped the anchor was much better as the it was hanging off the roller, ready to be dropped, and I got it down as soon as Andrew shouted "Go!"

We finally got settled and after the close boats at Block we felt we were ok.

Mellow Puff came in a bit later and struggled to find a place to anchor. They eventually dropped behind us.

We knew there was a blow coming later in the evening so we tried to get supper cooked before it came through. We watched as the sky got darker and darker and then the storm hit.

This guy was not on his boat!

Everyone seemed to be in their cockpits, starting their engines. The highest wind we saw was about 43 knots, we have seen higher, but with the boats so close to each other we had to keep a close watch. 

The rain came through in a torrent and the wind blew the gas out on the braai. The meat was only half cooked but we had to leave it until the storm had passed. Laura came up and sat with us in the cockpit, counting the "crocodiles" between the lightening and the thunder.

Nobody dragged and nobody hit anybody which was a relief. There was the most amazing sunset after the storm had passed.

We were very relieved that we had left Block Island. We watched videos of the storm going through there a few days later and it was absolute chaos. Boats dragging, breaking mooring balls, boats hitting other boats.

The following day was July 4th. We went ashore and met up with Jeff, Jacqui and Daniel from Mellow Puff, to watch a re-enactment of the Declaration of Independence, culminating in twenty-one canon salute. 

Then we had a walk around the town. The houses are lovely quaint wooden buildings. 

We decided to stop at an Irish Pub and have some lunch. They were running a special of $10 burgers. Well I guess you get what you pay for.... it wasn't the best meal ever!

July 5th was laundry day. There is a laundry close to the dinghy dock but it was fairly expensive. $5 for a wash and the machines were quite small so I had to do 2 loads and $4 for the dryer which didn’t dry on the first go.

While I was doing the washing, Andrew went to the Maritime and Sailing museum with Daniel and Jeff. It was $18 to get in and Andrew said it was good but not very big. I expected them to spend at least 2 hours there but they were back after about an hour. 

While the dryer was doing its thing, Andrew and I walked up to the Stop&Shop to get some wine. We had to buy it from the liquor store as they are not allowed to sell liquor in the supermarket. 

July 6th is my birthday!

I woke up to find so many messages for my birthday. We had a quick breakfast and then set off to shore. Mellow Puff crew joined us to do the cliff walk which is a 5km trail along the shore, passing 64 mansions along the way.

It was lovely and busy, with lots of people walking. There were a couple of places we were concerned about as it was marked as rocky. The first bit had big rocks that seemed to be laid neatly. The second part was a little trickier but Laura managed well.

One could do a tour of the gardens and the mansions, probably not inside, but we decided to do the freebie thing and just walk the path.

Jeff, Jacqui and Daniel

We caught the free bus back to town and found an O’Brien’s Restaurant and had a delicious lunch.

Cheers!

It was such fun to spend time with another family. We have missed our buddy boats and the crew from Mellow Puff are lovely.

I spent the rest of my birthday watching tennis and reading my book. Later Andrew cooked some steak for supper. I missed Matt and Kay as I am sure we would have spent the day playing Canasta.

While we were watching our series, The Bear, we saw a mast through the window. We went up to find a boat anchoring fairly close to us. As he let our more chain he asked if he was ok there. After Block he was miles away!! And later there were more fireworks, just for me!

I had found a brochure advertising a walk along the beachfront coupled with finding painted rocks. We duly went ashore and started where the star on the brochure told us to. 

Needless to say we saw some really run down parts and some nice parts of town, but no rocks. Not one!

After a bit we gave up looking and went to O’Brien’s for a beer.

Any idea what these are?

The highlight of our stay was going to a local ball game. Andrew and I got in for $2 each and Laura was $5. It was good fun and we picked up on the game quite quickly. We left before the end as it was getting dark and the dinghy dock locked at 10pm.

Fourteen days is the limit of a stay in Newport and after that you have to leave for at least four days. So after 12 wonderful days, the weather and wind and current were all aligned for us to make a move.

We went to the fuel dock to fill up on diesel, petrol, and water and then set off. Andrew and I don’t like going to docks or marinas. I find it incredibly stressful. But Andrew docked us like a pro and we did the needful and pushed off. Mellow Puff were on the dock after us and we waited a bit before putting up the sail and heading to Cuttyhunk.

Block Island

We left Montauk on Tuesday 1st July and had a lovely sail to Block Island. We knew Block was going to be busy but I don’t think I have ever seen so many boats in one tiny space. If there were no boats in the anchorage I am sure it would look bigger but it was packed with boats of all shapes and sizes. Some were on anchor and some were on mooring balls, and then there were a few who were rafted up together, three or more on one mooring ball!!

Jacqui from Mellow Puff messaged us as we got there and told us there was space near them. We motored around and when we found the space she mentioned, we dropped anchor. It was quite windy and the boats were all bouncing around on their tethers so when we swung around, Andrew wasn’t happy as we were a bit close to the boat behind us. So we upped anchor and found another spot which was a bit less crowded.

Later that day we noticed a big motor boat up against a yacht. We thought they had just dropped anchor but it turned out that they were actually dragging. When the coast guard and towboat US got one boat off the yacht we saw two more boats rafted up with the big one. The people on the boats all around were up on deck, standing by with fenders and engines on. There was nobody on the boats which were dragging. Towboat ended up dragging them off, who knows where?

We went ashore the following day and walked to the town. The dinghy dock was packed!! 

And the town was so busy. People everywhere! One can get a ferry from Newport so I am sure a lot of the people were day trippers. Every restaurant was bursting to capacity and the streets were full of people.

That afternoon we sat on the boat and watched as more boats came into the bay. I was not happy with the boats so close to us and no space to maneuver should anything happen. We were quite close to the shore and would have had no time to do anything should a squall have hit.

It was also 4th of July weekend and clearly Block Island was the place to be. We decided that we didn't want to stay, as there was bad weather predicted for the following afternoon. The last place we wanted to be was there, packed in like sardines!

We woke on Thursday morning to thick mist and had to wait for it to dissipate. We had only planned to leave at around 1pm as the wind was filling in later in the afternoon.

At noon, we had a boat circling us looking for a place to drop anchor. They had just arrived and by the look of what they were wearing (foul weather gear) outside the anchorage didn't seem like it was pleasant. We asked them what the conditions were like. They said it was messy and still quite misty. They told us that we were anchored in the prime spot with the best holding and said they had been here often. Andrew made the mistake of telling the chap that we were leaving in an hour or so.

He continued to circle round us like a vulture. We finally decided that the mist was clear enough and upped anchor. 

I didn’t want to drive in the crowded anchorage so opted to get the anchor up. It was stuck vas with lots of mud and shells stuck to the anchor, which I had to hose off while Andrew was heading out. 

As we were leaving there was a parade of boats coming in to the anchorage, mostly power boats, one after the other. Some of them zooming in so fast, as if it would make a difference to get there first and nab the best spot. 

Mellow Puff left at the same time as us and followed us out.

The seas were really messy and the trip over to Rhode Island was not pleasant. We had so many boats passing us, heading to Block Island, throwing up big waves as they passed. 

As we got closer to Rhode Island the area got busy with all types of sail boats, motor boats and ferries going in all different directions. We had to keep a good lookout before getting to Newport harbour.

 

In the next episode we have that predicted storm pass over us, watch fireworks and explore Newport.

Montauk

We had a lovely sail down to Montauk with good wind and flat-ish seas. We were a bit nervous getting to the anchorage as it is quite a convoluted route which bends sharply from left to right. Andrew had to watch the markers carefully after we had passed all the restaurants and marinas with big fancy boats.

After negotiating the various markers, we found ourselves in a big, beautiful bay. The centre of which is very shallow, hence the need to follow the marker buoys!

Once again it was not at all what we were expecting to find. I thought it would be a small, narrow anchorage.

We found a good spot to anchor behind the mooring balls.

It was quite misty for most of the day with the sun trying to peek out from time to time. The restaurant over the way was having a function and to begin with the music was terrible but then they quieted down and didn’t disturb us for the rest of the evening. By 6pm the mist had fully settled on the bay and we couldn’t see what was next to us.

Sunday morning broke clear and sunny with a slight breeze. I decided to do some washing on the back of the boat. Once I had all the washing in the bucket, Andrew told me it was going to be misty again by 10 and cloudy by 2! I hastily did the washing while the sun was still shining. But lo and behold, the weather was wrong once again. Not only did we have no mist, we also had very little cloud cover.

We stayed on the boat watching as people came and went. It is a beautiful place for small yachts and quite a few people were out in speed boats.

Quite a few boats had left the anchorage early that morning, and we were thinking we would be the only ones here for the night. Nope, we had a couple of power boats come in, one anchoring quite close to us. They then got their fenders out and another one rafted up next to them. We thought it would be okay, until a third smaller one rafter up as well. They turned out to be day trippers and all left by sunset.

On Monday morning we decided we would walk to the town. It was about a 4km walk there on what looked like a highway. There was a space on the side of the road to walk so we were ok. There were also a lot of runners and people on bicycles going in both directions so we presumed this was the only road into town. 

The town was lovely with a very Plettenberg Bay type vibe. We stopped at a restaurant to look at the prices and a chap who was sitting on a nearby bench told us it is a very good one. Then he got chatting to Andrew (Laura and I went ahead and looked at the shops). He said that Andy Warrhol had a house there and Elizabeth Taylor used to stay with him. She would walk down the street and go to the pub. He told Andrew we need to write a book and he would publish it for us.

We had to stop off at the beach to look at the sea. It was a lovely, long beach. The water looked very inviting after our long walk, but sadly we hadn't thought to bring our cozzies!

I don't think we have walked quite that far in ages and walking on the tar road was exhausting. It was a relief to get back to the dinghy and Calypso.

Our next stop on our journey was Block Island. We left Montauk on 1 July, with beautiful clear skies and good wind.