Marion, Buzzards Bay and the Islands

Sept 4th-11th 

Scituiate Light

Leaving Scituate, we finally got a good sailing breeze south to Cape Cod Canal and Buzzards Bay.
Buzzards Bay is known for its great breezes and warm temperatures, and we weren't disappointed.

Somehow the dinghy managed to keep up

Beverly Yacht Club, Marion MA

We were headed for our "blind date" with Boston Blackie, aka Lord Bowers. "Bill" aux intimes, at Beverly Yacht Club in Marion. We had been corresponding with Blackie online via the J-4x yahoo group website, where J-42 owners share tips and tricks about our boats.  He arranged a mooring and dinner for us at BYC.  What a treat!  The members are so friendly, the commodore came by on his boat to greet us.  And we had a terrific dinner with Lord and Lady Bowers (Bill and Linda) that evening.   They were our cruising guides extraordinaire for the coming week.

Saturday, we sailed the 10 miles south to lovely Hadley Harbor, nicely enclosed by small private and scenic islands.  In calm waters, it was easy to raft together for the night.

Egret at Hadley Harbor

Herreschoffs at Hadley Harbor

 

hmmmm....

 

The 2 Bills had a great time checking out the 2 boats.  Jarana is J-42 hull #2 and Blackie's Converjence is hull #3.  Converjence competed in the 2015 Marion to Bermuda Race and return trip this summer, so we had lots of offshore ideas to share.  Linda and Kathi discovered a mutual love of Costco, and had fun with that.

Breezin' up on Vineyard Sound

After a couple days in Hadley Harbor, we set out for Martha's Vineyard, in a fresh breeze.  The boats are closely matched in speed, so it was fun to sail together wherever we went.  It was the day after Labor Day, so we were swimming "upstream" against the flotilla of boats returning from the holiday weekend.  The first thing we did on arrival in Edgartown, was stop at the mid-harbor water dock to rinse off the salt and top off the tanks.  So convenient.  We rafted on a mooring for the night and went ashore for some sightseeing and showers.  It's a beautiful town.  

Edgarttown YC

Hard to catch

The next day, in more fresh breeze, we set off for Nantucket. We anchored and rafted just past First Point in a big, wide open bay, all to ourselves.
Normally, "during the season", Nantucket is packed with boats.  But after Labor Day, it really thins out.  However, there was a surprising strong current in the bay, and against the wind, the water sloshed between our two boats like a washing machine agitator and ruled out swimming off the boats too.  But we dinhgied to the beach and had a good walk and a bit of a splash.

The next day, we moved the boats closer to town and anchored just off the mooring field, for an easy dinghy trip ashore.  The charming town was still thronged with visitors and long lines at the ferry landing.  It is further distinguished by a large supermarket very conveniently located near the waterfront.

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Linda and I both had a ton of food (from Costco) aboard, but we can always use fresh yogurt, milk and bread, and sometimes beer.  Linda's sister Serena arrived by ferry from Hyannis and we had a great evening and a fine roast lamb dinner aboard Converjence. 

Thanks ,Bill and Linda for such a wonderful trip!   We were really sorry to part ways......

Nantucket is famous for its beaches, this one is on a protected bay