September 6 to 8 -- Vinyard Haven to Cuddyhunk to Newport to Jamestown

We slipped the Vinyard Haven mooring after raising the main for the 22 mile passage and unfurled the genoa shortly thereafter. Full sails! We were underway from 2 pm for about four hours. The wind was from the SW at 10 to 12 knots which meant with six or more knots of boat speed the apparent wind was greater. But the seas were low and this time I had gotten the tide right. It was favorable most of the way. Hence our courses, tracked on the chart plotter, show a very "open" accordion pleat. Our first course took us out of the deep "V" shaped bay of Vinyard Haven and to the eastern end of Tarpaulin Cove. That Cove lies just east of Woods Hole on Naushaun Island, the largest of the Elizabeths, which is owned by the Forbes family. They allow the boating public access to the beach and we anchored there in 2009. A nice place though not as dramatic as Roque Island, though the water here is warm enough to swim in. Our second tack brought us back to the north coast of the Vineyard, a few miles east of Menemsha, a terrific spot toward the western end of the north side of the Vinyard. We spent several nights there in 2009, and we will visit again, but not this year. The last tack took us to and through Quick’s Hole, which is the widest and straightest of the holes through the Elizabeths and brought us back into Buzzards Bay for the night. In Quick's Hole, with 2.5 knots of tide helping us, we made well over eight knots over the ground, hitting 8.9 briefly, before hardening sails again to head westerly for the last few miles to Cuddyhunk. We doused sails and motored the last mile.

For the first time (I have been here about eight times) we anchored out in Cuddyhunk Harbor rather than enter, through the dredged channel, into the dredged former pond within the island which has many moorings. I have always seen large boats anchored outside. Well, they are too big for the channel. I thought that with our location by the northeast shore and winds predicted at less than ten knots from the southwest, we would have a peaceful night. A beautiful sixty footer, "Blue Whale" passed and yelled: “What is that, a Passport 48?”  “No, a Saga 43,” I replied.  I have to admit that being mistaken for a much more expensive and larger boat gave me a secret thrill. Well, it’s not a secret any longer, having been confessed to the world. Lene cooked up a great dinner. We had a good view of the Gay Head light, on the western tip of the Vineyard, 6.1 miles away, through Canapitsit Channel (not navigable for sailboats without expert local knowledge at the slack at high tide). The light sticks up from the grey land in the background (the Vineyard) over the left end of the green which is Cuddyhunk.

It flashes red and white and is more visible by night.  Here is a view of Cuddyhunk, with the masts of the many boats on moorings in the pond showing above the land.

It turns out that the night was not as peaceful as we had expected and hoped for, a bit more bouncy. In the morning, Blue Whale, which had anchored a 100 yards ahead of us last night, closer to the island, was now a boat length away at our side; she had dragged her anchor. We yelled to wake them. They were not drifting free and fast, but were moving. Luckily they had not drifted onto us!

Our plan was to go to Block Island, the next day, 37.9 miles (to a town mooring in the pond, around the northern end and buoy 1BI). But as evidenced by the rocky night and the dragging neighbor, the wind was higher than expected. I put a reef in the main before we lifted anchor and we used the small jib. Nevertheless, as a result of blowing all night, the seas were high, 3-5 feet, each wave slamming down our speed. Though we left before nine, with small sails and the engine, our speed, over a course that would be about 1.6 times the projected 37.9 miles, meant an arrival shortly before dark. It could be later if conditions deteriorated. And we were heeled at 25 to 35 degrees. Lene and the felines were not comfortable, though to her credit, Lene refrained from whining. Lets face it, I was not comfortable either. It was not a question of safety but of comfort; we are supposed to be having fun, not getting beat up. So a change of plans: we tacked to the northwest, planned for Newport and were on the mooring there by 2:15. Our path took us across the mouth of Sakonnet River and close to The Breakers and its neighbors, cottages built about 120 years ago by the Vanderbilts and their friends.

And with more of the same wind predicted for the next day, followed by a favorable (non southwestern) wind the day after, we decided to stay here for a lay day. Technically, it was not a lay day because, due to the big Newport Boat Show (Who Knew?), there were no moorings available in Newport for the second night.  We normally try to avoid crowds and Newport was full of big ego people with big boats. So we dined aboard and did not go ashore. The fuel dock was blocked off by exhibition docks!

Next morning we crossed the eastern side of Narragansett Bay, to the Conanicut Marina on Jamestown Island, a distance of about 1.7 miles, under motor. Why raise sails for such a short "passage"? On our way out of Newport we saw the old Americas Cup 12 Meter racers, which had been out with passengers the day before under reefed sails. The battleground for the Cup was here off Newport.

Yesterday we were too busy sailing to take their picture. Newport is guarded by Fort Adams which we have toured in the past, now home to folk and rock festivals but designed by Goethals, after the War of 1812, as a defense against British raids in future wars (before airplanes and missiles). It was never put to the test.We also saw the Jamestown-Newport bridge that was under construction when I served on the USS Hammerberg from 1965 to 67.

Your choices then were to drive or take the bus up to Providence and then down on the other side of Narragansett Bay or take a ferry. We saw the tops of the towers of this bridge from Cuddyhunk. In olden times it was church steeples that one saw first from the sea, now it is bridge towers or sky scrapers

Fort Adams

Before taking our mooring on Jamestown we put in at the fuel dock and ILENE took a big drink, 35.5 gallons, at 2321.6 engine hours. This will be her last gulp until the fill-up before hauling, when you want a full tank to avoid condensation.
Ilene went in to the marina office and watched Serena Williams win the Womens Singles Championship of the U.S. Open Tennis Tournament. I found a Jamestown postcard and wrote it out while watching Team Oracle win its first America's Cup race in San Francisco Bay. Those craft are so unlike a sailboat that it is an entirely different sport. I had a nice discussion with a local couple, Cathy, who volunteered to drive my postcard to the Post Office, and her friend Bob. Dinner aboard again; we have food to eat up, partly due to another change of plans: with the bug of "short time fever" (an end of cruise desire to get home) infecting us, and hostile winds after Tuesday, and the need to get home by Friday for a commitment, we decided to make a straight shot home from here in Jamestown, about 120 miles (not measured) leaving Monday morning, the ninth, and arriving at our Harlem Yacht Club mooring Tuesday morning. Monday night will be different from all the other nights of this cruise -- an overnight sail.