 We were able to drop the mooring in Falmouth and although we left late (departure at about 10:20 we made it to Isle of Shoals anyway. Thank goodness we had a full moon since our transit time was just over 9 hours and it was completely dark by the time we got there. Isle of Shoals turned out to be a respectable although not too large series of islands with a large hotel and some summer homes. Fortunately for us there were still a number of mornings still in the water and as we furled the staysail we came upon large promising looking mooring which Paul successfully grabbed with the boat hook. The wind almost ran us past it but Paul prevailed and we were “in for the night”.After the long cold day in which most of us, okay Nicole and I, lost our lunches it was nice to have the shelter of the Isle of Shoals and to feel secure on a mooring. I had pre-made some mini lasagnas in individual servings sizes and had those thawed on the counter. Dinner was heated through and delicious in less than 30 minutes at 375 degrees, so far so good with the Force 10 three burner stove. It even has a broil setting so I buttered up some bread and sprinkled it with garlic powder and wa-lah dinner for 4 before 9 pm.  Successes today definitely include leaving our mooring and starting our adventure, thinking through having a nice hot dinner for the family at the end of a long, hard day was a big number 2 in my book. Failures include not reading the weather well enough to realize that we were all bound to be a bit green after a year off the ocean (Boyd not included) and thinking that I could wait to hand out the motion sickness pills.
Overall not a bad first day. Leaving Isle of Shoals seemed almost sad despite the fact that our stay was ever so brief. Although it provided a lovely and hospitable shelter overnight it was really only a stepping stone out of Maine and on to the larger goal of getting South. We would have been poor excuses for cruisers if that is as far as we got. So, weary as we were we arose early and Paul dropped the mooring. Day two I was determined to correct my earlier mistake and I handed out little white pills to all (Boyd excepted; that man just doesn’t seem to get sea sick and I don’t think I want to see the weather that would make him sick). Just as we left we had a minor glitch with the staysail but it turned out to be an easy enough repair and we were able to continue on. Day two went considerably more smoothly with all of us properly medicated the rolly waves seemed more amusing than affronts to our personal well being. Our only real issue occurred near the end of the day when I called the harbormaster of Marblehead and got a bit of a cold shoulder. We had planned to moor or anchor in the harbor and were informed briskly that the moorings were all put up and there was no place with dock space. When I politely asked if we could anchor somewhere the silence was nearly deafening, at least until the emphatic “no” resounded over the line. We were politely, if somewhat coolly redirected to Beverly or Salem.
It wasn’t until this morning that we realized that we had left our sailing guide book (yes the one for this area) in the restaurant, that meant that instead of leaving Beverly at 6:30 am as planned we didn’t leave until 10:30 in the morning. Making our plans of a long day to the top of the Cape Cod Canal even more challenging. Fortunately the waves were kindly and while the wind wasn’t supportive, neither was it malicious deciding instead to turn a blind eye to our inexperience and not make the journey more difficult. We had a lovely motor passing close to two enormous transport vessels, which was a first for the kids and I. Nicole missed the first one, which was just as well, as she was in a heavy nap, Paul got plenty of photos. Finally we arrived at the top of the canal pulling ahead of the second transport and sliding comfortably into an end dock slot. No one but the seagulls seemed to notice and although we tried to pay we have been unsuccessful so no internet tonight. Perhaps we will get wi fi in the am. Two full days of travel and no calamities. We did have an unfortunate fatality, which occurred in the aft bilges. One of our 3 bilge pumps bit the big one and has joined it maker (where ever that may be). We also had a problem with the staysail, the main salon head and a few smaller items but overall… not bad for a boat we’ve had in the water less than a month. Don’t forget she’d been out of the water for at least 4 years prior to that! I’m rather impressed with it all actually… and just as a side note, today Paul said, “I rather like this”, or something in teenageresse that means something similar. It was a real breakthrough. I can’t wait until the weather is better and we can stop once in a while before dark. Whatever will the kids think then?!!! |
