Trip was undertaken entirely in protected, well marked waters.... even so
he had difficulties.

What difficulties? You mean following the advice of a cruising guide is a
"difficulty?"
If so, then we had A LOT of difficulty, because we also followed the guide's
advice to find a place for supplies at Port Jeff...we're I STILL forgot to buy
new batteries!

Mooron...you're an idiot! A "caught" idiot!

RB

He's upset with me now....

Not at all. This has been the easiest bit of fishing and I even forced you to
behave like a total ass in the process!
So much so that I've been "defended" by several people here...and that's a
1st!!!
Great job! Really!

RB

This is sheer stupidity and from the guy who won't drink a beer on board. But,
given that it is only a troll (albeit true), I will limit my response to
this.

Please explain why heading out to experience a bit of weather is "sheer
stupidity."

RB

I await your critique. I assume you'll find that I had too much fun, and that it was
lubberly to have women and children aboard. I'm sure you don't approve of using the head,
or paying for an inside mooring when we could have anchored for free a mile from town.
And although we were able to sail most of the time, we did run the engine while transiting
the Canal and Wood's Hole. And we could have gone further - without the kid we would have
headed Down East - but it was a "family vacation."

-j

Simple Simon wrote:
Oh Boy am I gonna have some fun with this one.

I'll work on it tonite and post a reply tomorrow.

S.Simon - a Captain who takes sailing seriously


"Jeff Morris" jeffmo@NoSpam-sv-lokiDOTcom wrote in message
...
Synopsis: Boston to Vineyard Haven via Scituate and Hadley's, and
return; 12 nights; Perfect weather; little drama.

Crew: Jeff & Claudia; Amelia (8 y/o); Woody & Arlo
(Feline-Americans); Molly (7 m/o Portuguese Water Dog)

We've been going to the Vineyard for 15 years now for our annual
"stress free" trip, and this time it worked out perfectly. This was
fortunate since complacency led to minimal preparation - as I
discovered when I looked for various tools and accessories that we
normally carry.

Saturday - I load up the boat with food, cloths, books, toys, etc.,
and top off tanks.

Sunday - With everyone on board, we head out for Scituate, about 20
miles away (12 miles South of the southern entrance to Boston).
Winds were moderate, but we weren't in a hurry, so we were able to
sail. This is a handy short trip for the first day - there is
always (knock on wood) a mooring available, and the harbor is right
on the way to the Canal. Plymouth is closer to the Canal, but the
approach into Plymouth is about 3 miles, so we only go there if the
timing at the Canal requires it.

Monday - We had to wait until 2:45 PM to go through the Cape Cod
Canal, which is 28 miles south of Scituate, so we had a leisurely
breakfast and headed out after 10:00. Moderate NW wind gave us an
easy broad reach which brought us to the Canal a bit early, so we
entered before the tide turned and fought a small current for the
first few miles. By the time we got through the 6 mile land cut we
had several knots in our favor. Another 6 miles of a more open
channel leads to Buzzard's Bay proper. If we had had the prevailing
SW wind against the 3-4 knot ebb from the Canal, this might have
been a nightmare - the normal contingency is to stop in Onset until
the current turns - but today we had more of the NW for a reach down
to Hadley's Harbor just across from Wood's Hole.

Hadley's is one of the gems of Buzzard's Bay. It is enclosed by
several islands of the Elizabethan Island chain. All of the islands
(except Cutyhunk) are owned by the Forbes Family
Trust, which seems to run it as a resort for all the Forbettes. They
have a tiny marina with a fleet
of Herreshof Twelve's and other boats, a small ferry which does 3
runs a day to Wood's Hole,
and 5 or 6 large resort styles houses on the various islands. No
one is allowed ashore (except for one small island) but they do
provide about 15 moorings in the inner harbor, of which about half
are available on a first come, first serve basis. Another dozen or
so boats can anchor in the middle harbor, and dozens can fit in the
outer harbor.

This pic shows the outer harbor several years ago:
http://www.sv-loki.com/Along_the_Way/Hadley.jpg

On this day we hovered like a vulture over a small boat with a
family on board, asking when they were going to leave their mooring.
We stayed on the mooring that night and the next, swimming off the
boat (75 degree water temp), walking on the one permitted island,
and visiting neighbors.

Wednesday - Again we got a late start because we had to wait for
slack in Wood's Hole at 10AM. This is an impressively strong
current - up to 6 knots or more. To make matters worse, when
headed out to Vineyard Sound, you have to turn right while the worst
of the current goes straight; once a week a boat hesitates for a
moment and ends up on the rocks. And while there is one main path
from Buzzard's Bay to Vineyard Sound, there are several alternate
channels, going to Hadley's or into the town of Wood's Hole. And of
course there are numerous ferries and other commercial traffic. And
sometimes fog. But this time we were going through at slack, and
using an alternate channel to get up current in Vineyard Sound. To
my surprise, the ferry from New Bedford had the same idea, so a toot
was exchanged as he passed me on my starboard.

We powered the rest of the way to Vineyard Haven (about 4 miles).
Of course, the assistant harbor master told us there were no more
moorings inside the breakwater, so we waited until we heard the boss
on the radio and tried again. In ten minutes we were secured about
100 yards from the town dock and the inside beach.

The next 8 nights - just a regular family vacation with lots of
swimming off the boat, or into the beach. Bus rides around the
island; the Agricultural Fair; the Flying Horses Carousel (its the
oldest *continuously operated* carousel in the country); avoiding
getting
a Black Dog t-shirt (OK, Amelia got one, but it was half price); and
a lot of just vacating. I did make one interesting find at the
used book store in Oak Bluff: a 1942 edition of "The Boatman's
Handbook" - sort of an early Chapman's. It had the complete text of
the 1897 "Pilot Rules" which state that steam driven vessels (not
sail) must slow or stop
when hearing fog signals forward of the beam. So Neal was right,
just 100 years too late. [I put this in to see if Neal was still
reading.]

The weather was perfect - hot & humid, but not quite heat wave and
almost no rain. Hatches stayed open, the nights were cool, and we
could swim every day. The boat held up well - the only maintenance
issues were a head that kept clogging until I replaced the flapper
valve, fortunately an easy job on a Lavac; a loose alternator belt;
and a broken wire.

We were concerned about the cats and the dog confined on such a
small space, since they haven't quite got along, but it wasn't too
bad. The cats found they could hold the high ground:
http://www.sv-loki.com/Img_1450a.jpg
And Molly gained a new respect for claws. We were hoping Molly
would start swimming more, but she seemed to prefer riding on the
float. She did get very upset if anyone went swimming without her
being able to watch from the float!
http://www.sv-loki.com/Img_1427a.jpg
http://www.sv-loki.com/Img_1431a.jpg

Thursday, a week later - The tides and weather have lined up to make
this the day to split. At noon we head out, crossing Vineyard Sound
just before slack (the current can get up to 3.5 knots), and
entering Woods Hole at Max Ebb. It's always a rush - we were doing
11 knots on the GPS. The moorings were full at Hadley's, so we
anchored in the outer
harbor - is it axiomatic that when you anchor in a wide open area
with plenty of space, someone will always anchor 50 feet away?

Friday - A strong south wind is predicted, but its flat calm when we
leave at 7AM. Up Buzzard's Bay and into the Cape Cod Canal, at Max
Flood, so we again are doing 11 knots on the GPS! Into Cape Cod Bay
by 10AM and still no wind, and a contrary current. Finally, at Noon
the wind filled in with a rush and quickly built to 20-25, with
gusts to 30. This was a very broad reach, not optimum for boat
speed, but we held about 8.5 to 9.5 knots through the water all
afternoon. I expected a bit more, so I'm curious as to how fouled
the bottom is now, or are we dragging some gear? Even with the
current against us most of the way, we came into Boston Harbor about
3PM and were on our dock a little after 4 - Day's work: about 72
miles in 9 hours.

All in all, one of the more satisfying trips in the last two years.

--
-jeff www.sv-loki.com
"The sea was angry that day, my friend. Like an old man trying to
send back soup at the deli."

"Bobsprit" wrote in message
...
| He's upset with me now....
|
| Not at all. This has been the easiest bit of fishing

Ha Ha Ha Ha.... if you were supposed to have "caught" me ... why is there
such an effort being spent to pry your sorry carcass from my jaws???

and I even forced you to
| behave like a total ass in the process!

Total Ass??? where have I behaved like a total ass?? I've been polite and
haven't called you any names. I merely took your sequence of events into
question.... and it seems you have still to offer a believable reply.

| So much so that I've been "defended" by several people here...and that's a
| 1st!!!
| Great job! Really!

Golly Gee Willakers... sometimes I don't even know my own strength!!

Bwahahahahahahaaaaaaa !!!!


CM

"Bobsprit" wrote in message
...
| This is sheer stupidity and from the guy who won't drink a beer on board.
But,
| given that it is only a troll (albeit true), I will limit my response to
| this.
|
| Please explain why heading out to experience a bit of weather is "sheer
| stupidity."

Because you haven't a clue as to what to do in good weather.


CM

"Bobsprit" wrote in message
| planning to arrive at 2AM for a first time entrance to a harbor he
considers
| treacherous.

| We planned to enter at 1:30 or so, but entering at night was what Suzanne
| wanted to try. We also set out during a severe thunderstorm alert for the
area
| because we'd never experienced one at night.


Oh this gets even funnier..... so is it still daylight at 0130hrs... but
not at 0200 hours?? Does a magical sign go out at 0130hrs? Ha Ha Ha

CM

Oh this gets even funnier..... so is it still daylight at 0130hrs... but
not at 0200 hours?? Does a magical sign go out at 0130hrs?

This one is so weak, it's almost an anti-troll. Still, I'll tug on poor
Mooron's line so he can at least think he's "doing well."

RB

I did make one interesting find at the used book store in Oak Bluff: a 1942
edition of "The Boatman's Handbook" - sort of an early Chapman's.

I have a '63-'64 edition of Chapman's beside this computer, which talks about
having been around for more than 35 years - taking it back to around 1929 or
so. Considerably before that 1942 text.

He planned to get there at 0130 and arrived at 0200.
Planning was not as good as it could have been but daylight was of no
consequence.......You get your dole cheque Mooron..drinking again?

Actually, we stayed on the hook for a 1/2 longer, so the delay was expected and
"planned"

RB