Day 267, Year 8: Tarpaulin Cove to Cuttyhunk to Hadley Harbor
Date: Sunday, July 28, 2013
Weather: Rain Overnight, Day of Intermittent Fog Mixed with Overcast Skies
Location: Hadley Harbor, Elizabeth Islands, Massachusetts
The good news is that the weather forecast did not materialize. There was a 60 to 80 per cent chance of thunderstorms and rain all day today, but that didn’t happen. We got rain overnight and fog early this morning, but by 8 am when we were ready to leave Tarpaulin Cove, the fog lifted enough for us to head out. We went south along the east coast of the Elizabeth Islands and cut through Quick’s Hole to the west side of the islands and then further south to Cuttyhunk. The fog returned as we went through the cut, so Heather, Sam, and Jonah were on watch on deck, fog horn in hand in case it was needed. It was not the dense kind of fog where you literally can’t see your hand in front of your face, but it was still a big nerve-racking. When we got to Cuttyhunk’s outer harbor, we picked up a mooring and then headed into the inner harbor in the dinghy. The island is only big enough for one little village and since none of us had ever visited the village, we took this opportunity. We brought the dinghy into the dinghy dock, explored the dock long enough to find a place to buy ice cream for the boys, and then walked up the hill to see what we could see. On the dock there was the ice cream shop and a small seafood café and loads of lobster pots. When we walked up the hill we found The Corner Store, Soprano’s restaurant, the US Post Office, the Island Market, the Museum of the Elizabeth Islands, Town Hall and a library, Cuttyhunk Elementary School, and Cuttyhunk Union Methodist Church. Most of the buildings are traditional gray clapboard or shingles with just the right amount of blue-purple hydrangeas sprinkled here and there. We were told that only 15 to 20 people stay on the island year round and that in some winters only a couple of people can be found. The rest are summer residents only. We found a small plaque marking the grave of an unknown Indian friend of Bartholomew Gosnold who founded the village in 1602. Gosnold only stayed on the island a few weeks, but some still honor the 1602 date. We found lots of things on the island, but we didn’t find our friends, Jane and Roger Bonner from Connecticut. We had hoped they would sail into the inner harbor while we were on shore, but it was time for us get the boys back to the boat for a late lunch. After lunch, we went to the nearby beach on a long spit of land with one house on it with its own air strip, airplane, and boat dock. As Heather noted, “No one should have this much money.” But then it is the Forbes family that owns the Elizabeth Islands and most of the land on Cuttyhunk and they do have that much money!
As we were playing on the beach, the fog rolled in again and Mark was dreading a foggy sail to Hadley Harbor. But we decided to go for it and again lucked out. As we pulled up the anchor, the fog literally blew away for our trip up the west side of the Elizabeth Islands to Hadley Harbor on the north end. We got there in time for the Sam and Jonah to try their hand at fishing off the boat and for Jed to go for a dinghy explore with Ollie. Mark grilled beef and veggie shish kabobs for dinner to end a full day of sailing fun and island exploration. It’s really too bad that we have to go back to Woods Hole in the morning. I could definitely enjoy a few more days out here. But work beckons. Jed has a grant due by week’s end, Mark is starting a new consulting job, Heather has a day’s reprieve before she is back to work, and Camp Oma has a busy agenda for the week. So on we go.
Note: This log was written on Sunday, but not sent until Monday.
 |
| 130728 Day 267 Cape Cod, USA–Sail to Cuttyhunk |
