Crew Log for September 28th, 2022
Trip Summary:
Fairhaven to Cuttyhunk Island
Trip Distance of 12.5 NM, Total Distance To-Date of 945.8 NM
Departed at 0830 hours and arrived at 1200 hours
The winds were finally forecasted to shift from the south-west to more out of the north, which meant the next few days were ideal for making some progress down Long Island Sound. We decided to sail across Buzzards Bay to the last of the islands in the Elizabeth Island Chain, Cuttyhunk. We would then be positioned nicely for the northerlies the following day.
We had a beautiful sunny day, with winds in the range of 8-10 knots. While we were only going 12 miles of so, we wanted to leave early to have the afternoon to explore Cuttyhunk.
As we were leaving the dock, I was reminded again the importance of paying attention at all times. Getting into the dock at the Acushnet River Safe Boating Club is a little tricky since you have to hug the shore the boatyard is on to avoid the shallows around a small private island in New Bedford Harbor. It looks like you have lots of room when you leave the dock, but it shallows quickly.
I wasn’t paying attention and almost missed the first green mark. While I fully expect we will be using our TowBoatUS membership at some point during this trip, when they come, I don’t want to be on the wrong side of a navigation mark. Fortunately, our live aboard dock mate was on the dock to see us off and casually pointed out that I was headed in the wrong direction. Thank goodness he was there and we were able to avoid an embarrassing crisis.
We use a Spot Tracker as a way to keep family and friends up-to-date on our location. We would like to have AIS (Automatic Information System) that most boats now use, but unfortunately it was an upgrade that never happened. AIS not only allows someone to look up your position on VesselFinder.com or MarineTraffic.com, but it also transmits your position, course and speed to other boats in your vicinity. Among other important uses, AIS will inform you if you need to divert your course to avoid a collision.
We have come across several other boats from Canada heading south and I usually look up where they are each day. None of us had moved much over the last several days given the strong south westerlies, however, everyone was on the move today. It was fun to watch and try to figure out where they were heading.
Cuttyhunk was straight south from New Bedford, which turned out to be a nice comfortable beam reach sail. We sat back and enjoyed a very leisurely trip. As we approached Cuttyhunk we noticed a lot of mooring balls on either side of the channel entrance, which served as overflow in the summer months and for any boat over 50 feet. Judging by the number of moorings, this is a popular and very busy place in the summer time.
When we left New Bedford we were told that Cuttyhunk was a “dry Island”, although we weren’t expecting to see a pub anyway. However, in the 1600’s, the Island was occupied briefly for the harvesting of Sassafras which ended after a couple of weeks. In any case, if you are coming to Cuttyhunk, it’s BYOB.
We made our way through a very narrow channel into the main mooring field. When you look at the mooring on Navionics it is obvious that it is dredged mooring field, given it is perfectly square. We didn’t test it, but apparently it shallows quickly outside of the dredged area, which could be problematic to anchoring in a changing wind direction. A couple of boats did anchor and didn’t seem to have an issue in the morning, but we opted to grab a mooring.
We took notice of a friendly looking crew on a Swan 50, named Jacqeau. When I asked Judy why she singled them out, she said they just looked very friendly and approachable. While we wrre having lunch we noticed one of them at the top of their 75 foot mast. They were also flying a flag that we didn’t recognize. It was red, with a Union Jack in the upper corner and yellow cross.
On our dinghy ride to shore, we dropped over to test Judy’s theory of how approachable they were. Turns out, they are a wonderful young couple who were in the sailing yacht industry and raced 55 meter yachts. Charlotte was from the UK and JP was from the Isle of Guernsey. They had bought the boat in the US and had plans to sail back to the UK, until they experienced some issues just as they were transiting the Cape Cod Canal. You can read more about JP and Charlotte on their website ProjectWorldSail.com. Oh, and yes, they were very approachable and a joy to meet.
Cuttyhunk has 10 fulltime residents and over 400 seasonal residents. If you don’t have your own boat, there is a ferry from New Bedford and we saw signs for a water taxi. There is a canteen on the dock that will sell you a takeout lobster supper for US$45. If you would prefer just the lobster, it will cost you US$30. There is a tourist shop and a Bed and Breakfast. Cuttyhunk has a library and a small school, although there didn’t seem to be any students. There are some vehicles on the Island, but most people seem to get around in golf carts and ATVs.
On our way across to Cuttyhunk we noticed a barge heading back towards New Bedford with a truck on it. When we got to shore we quickly realized every road on the island was torn apart for the installation of a new water system. We made our way cautiously through the endless construction zone to the highest point on Cuttyhunk Island, appropriately named, Lookout Hill.
Lookout Hill was a former naval lookout station during WWII, where soldiers watched for German submarine activity. The Lookout provides spectacular views of the Elizabeth Islands and Martha’s Vineyard. There are also several abandoned artillery batteries toward the west end of the island that provide a great view down Long Island Sound. We made our way back to the dock and dinghied over to the beach on the Atlantic side. The beach was absolutely beautiful with wide stretches of sand although the water temperature was “cool”. Not uncommon for the Atlantic anytime of year.
We had a really nice afternoon on Cuttyhunk Island. As our most supportive follower pointed out, “how could one not like a place called Cuttyhunk?”.
The wind would shift around through the night to come from the north, which sets up nicely for a sail towards Block Island.
But more about that, next time.
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