"Jeff" wrote in message
...
*
This year's fireworks were muted a bit by rain. The
festivities on
shore (concert, speeches, etc) were pretty well washed
out. We were
already on the boat doing a BBQ with friends that joined
us for half
the trip. The location is rather neat, since the towns of
Marblehead,
Lynn, Swampscot, Beverly, Danvers, and Manchester have
shows within a
few miles so there is really an hour long display going
on. We've
been coming for several years because its a lot more kid
friendly than
the craziness in the city.

This year's trip was much the same as last. From Salem we
went down
through the Cape Cod Canal to Martha's Vineyard where we
"vacated" for
a week. Perhaps later I'll assemble some pictures.


Did you do all this without air conditioning?



Quote of the trip:
We arrived at Vineyard Haven on the busiest day of the
year so a
coveted "inside mooring" was not to be had. We did,
however, get one
of the last outside rental moorings. More and more boats
kept showing
up, each requesting a mooring. All the harbormaster could
advise was
to anchor various places. A large powerboat replied,
"We're a Power
Cruiser. We don't like to anchor!"

OK, just a couple of pics:
Here's my daughter and her friend as we're going through
the Canal:
http://www.sv-loki.com/IMGP1038_edited-1.jpg
About 30 minutes later we came out of the canal riding a 3
knot
current but with 20 knots wind on the nose. This kicked
up a nasty
3-4' chop with the girls taking air on every bounce. The
mothers were
a bit concerned, but it was safer to just leave them
there, and the
girls loved it!


it's good to see that you care enough to make sure they have
their PFDs on, unlike some other poster here.


Vineyard Haven is home to a large number to classic boats,
starting
with two tall ships owned by the Black Dog empire. Here
are several
of the boats that were moored next to ours - another
advantage of
being on a mooring is sitting in the cockpit enjoying
sights like this:
http://www.sv-loki.com/IMGP1088.jpg


Nice!

Scotty