Nantucket, MA

After almost 10 years aboard Zendo we were finally going to Nantucket!  After saying our thanks and good byes to Joe and Pat for their gracious hospitality we left Falmouth at 7:10 on Friday, July 19.  

We wanted to get an early start since the winds were supposed to pick up as the day went on.  It was pretty bumpy with short period waves.  Jonny and I were OK but after awhile Archie couldn’t take it anymore and he was sick to his stomach.  Pobrecito!  But he did seem to feel better afterwards.

We arrived in Nantucket Harbor by 11:20 and got a mooring after having been on the wait list.  Needless to say, we saw some amazing boats in the harbor.

We had been in touch with my cousin Tanya and her partner Tom, who have been renovating their home in the historic center of Nantucket for the past couple of years.  Tom walked down to the dock and took us out for a sushi lunch.  

Tanya and Tom invited us to a dinner party they were hosting that evening.  So after lunch Jonny, Archie and I explored the town taking in all the cobblestone streets, quaint buildings and cute shops.  We went to the Whaling Museum, whaling being Nantucket’s claim to worldwide fame back in the day.  The town is just beautiful and this being Jonny’s first visit, he was suitably impressed!

We went back to Zendo for a short rest before returning to Tanya and Tom’s for dinner.  Tanya has done an exquisite job renovating their 1801 historic merchant’s home just a short walk from the waterfront.  I’m sure she restored it to an even grander version of the original - down to every detail including brass push-button light switches!  We met several of their friends, some of whom have condos in Miami Beach as do Tanya and Tom.  It was a delicious dinner and a very fun time.  Archie was also a big hit!

The next day, Tom hired a driver to take six of us all around the island.  We visited Siasconset where we walked along the dramatic Sconsett Bluff Walk with gorgeous homes overlooking incredibly scenic beaches.  We visited the Sankaty Head Lighthouse which had to be moved further from the shore  due to erosion. We then went to another part of the island to have lunch at Millie’s overlooking the beach in Madaket. 

By this time we were all ready for a nap so we headed back to our respective abodes to rest before dinner. 

Jonny had been bragging about his new favorite cocktail called a Paper Plane that Stephanie’s husband Ryan introduced us to. We were all going to have dinner together that evening but beforehand Jonny made us the Paper Planes and then we walked to Straight Wharf for a fabulous dinner. This is truly one of the best restaurant meals we’ve had in a long time. 

The next day we planned to go to Martha’s Vineyard, so after dinner we said our goodbyes and thanks to Tanya and Tom for a fabulous weekend.  And we so enjoyed meeting their friends Dan, Gina, John, Meg and Mark. We look forward to seeing Tanya and Tom when they return to their Miami Beach condo this winter.

We dinghied back to Zendo in the dark having had a delightful two days in Nantucket!

Falmouth, MA

Jonny took Archie for one last walk on Cuttyhunk first thing on Wednesday morning, July 10. Archie was feeling a little under the weather so we adapted his food for a couple of days on the advice of our vet and are keeping our fingers crossed that he will be better soon. 

 

We said good-by to special Cuttyhunk by 9:20 and took a slightly different route through Quick’s Hole instead of Wood’s Hole which was foggier and trickier.  The trip turned out to be pleasant with overcast skies and a southwest breeze.

Following a circuitous and very narrow river route, we arrived at Joe and Pat’s waterfront home in Falmouth at 12:30 passing these elegant creatures along the way. We also went by huge, long oyster beds that were being farmed. 

Joe had invited us to raft up to his boat and this proved to be a challenge because the current was running fast.  Joe, who was on his boat to help us raft up, was still recovering from knee surgery so he had to be very careful. We wouldn’t have been successful without the three of us working together tying lines and adjusting fenders. But we finally settled into our safe dockage behind their graceful home.

That evening Pat and Joe invited us for a delicious dinner of spaghetti with crabs and shrimp.  Over the next couple of days we did miscellaneous boat chores. One night we all went to a dinner at a local Greek Orthodox church and another night we went to dinner at Joe and Pat’s neighborhood club.

Falmouth is a very pretty town at the beginning of Cape Cod. Their home is on a river that leads out to the waters around Cape Cod. Their children and grandkids visit them often and on Sunday, their son, grandson and eight of his buddies were taking Joe’s boat out for a day of fun on the water.  So we had to move Zendo out to Joe’s mooring ball in the middle of the little river he lives on so the guys could take Joe’s boat out for the day.

By late morning Joe, Pat, Jonny and I headed out in Pat’s car to Essex, CT to attend the Northeast MTOA Rendezvous for the next three days. We had reservations at a nearby hotel in Old Saybrook.  But first we stopped in Providence and dropped off Archie to stay with Gerhard for a few days.  We were so grateful that he didn’t have to come with us and Gerhard was happy to have his company.

Essex is a quintessential old New England town on the Connecticut River. It has a charming downtown with lots of cute shops and beautiful homes. 

The Rendezvous took place at the marina that is situated on a tiny island.  We took a very short ferry ride over to it each day.

The next three days were a lot of fun - more like a big team-building with an array of activities, contests, nature walks, and speakers (including Jonny). A real highlight was a Zoom session with Charlie Duke (now 88) who was the Lunar Module pilot of Apollo 16 and the youngest astronaut to walk on the moon! And of course there was lots of time to visit with old boating friends and meet new ones.

Another highlights was an elegant dinner cruise aboard the Old Essex Steam Train where many of the group dressed up in Roaring Twenties costumes. 

Throughout  the three days there were teams competing in a mini-Olympics which included darts, cornhole, hula hoops, Rubix cubes, etc.  Even though it was beastly hot, everyone got into the act.  Jonny and I did quite well in our heats and I surprised everyone including myself with a 2 minute 20 second hula hoop session! 

On the last night after many of us went out to dinner together, we danced to a live band playing music from our collective eras!

We left the Rendezvous on Wednesday afternoon after thanking Tom Kallman and his team for the great job they did. They plan to have next year’s event in Mystic, CT which is an equally gorgeous location.  We drove to Waterford to pick up my bracelet from Mallove’s Jewelers and while in the area, Jonny wanted to show Joe and Pat his home town. So of course we took them to Captain Scott’s for lobster rolls and fried clams.  Then on to Providence to pick up Archie.  Joe wanted to show us where the tire business that he sold before retiring was as well as their beautiful home in Rehoboth, MA. By the time we got back and moved Zendo from its mooring to raft next to Joe’s boat again, we were all pretty beat, so we ordered Chinese take out and retired shortly thereafter.

In the meantime I had been communicating with my cousin Tanya who has a home in nearby Nantucket. We have some extra time so we decided to go there next.  On our last night with Joe and Pat, they invited us for a delicious swordfish dinner. We really appreciate their friendship and generous hospitality!

Cuttyhunk Island, MA

We waited for the fog to lift before we left for Cuttyhunk on Tuesday, July 9 at 9:45.  We weren’t sure if it would be uncomfortable but Jonny predicted we would be fine and, of course, he was correct.  There were some mild ocean swells that calmed down as we got closer to our destination. 

Cuttyhunk is part of the Elizabeth Island chain which includes Martha’s Vineyard. But Cuttyhunk is much smaller. It has lovely, traditional natural shingled homes scattered about, most of which are vacation homes. With a post office, a tiny market, one very nice gift shop and a couple of very small restaurants, it is a place to slow down and relax. We love it here!

We arrived at 2:00 and entered Cuttyhunk’s lovely, calm harbor. We had heard from our friends Joe and Pat, who we’ll be staying with in Falmouth, that Roy and Marie, who we had traveled with in Maine a couple of years ago, were moored at Cuttyhunk. So when we entered the harbor we found a mooring right next to them.  We chatted a bit and invited them for cocktails at 5.

We then took Archie into shore and started to walk around beautiful Cuttyhunk. But first we had to have our first ice cream cone of the season. It was delicious and surprisingly inexpensive! This island has a special place in my heart. I have been here twice before, once with Jonny on one of our cruises and during the very quiet off-season. And once when I was six years old on vacation with my family.  The island is enchanting with its natural-shingled homes scatted throughout. It has a tiny post office, an equally small market, a small historical museum  and a couple of restaurants, one serving only breakfast. We walked through the charming hamlet admiring the gorgeous hydrangeas that are prolific this year.

For once, I decided to buy a souvenir and we stopped at the lovely gift shop where I bought a Cuttyhunk sweatshirt and Jonny bought a new hat and tee shirt.  On our way back to Zendo we stopped at the little red shack by the dock to order two lobster dinners. You can designate the time you will pick it up to bring back to the boat or eat on a nearby picnic table. 

When we got back to Zendo, Jonny took the paddleboard out for a spin in this peaceful and calm bay.

Roy and Marie came by at five. Even though we had traveled in Maine with them for several days, they had never been onboard Zendo so we gave them a tour and then enjoyed cocktails and nibbles on the aft deck. 

 At 6:30 Jonny went in to pick up our lobster dinners and we feasted to our hearts’ content! Our first full lobster dinner of this trip. After all, we are in lobster and clam country here in New England!

The next day we will head to Falmouth, MA to stay for about a week while we go to MTOA’s Northeast Rendezvous in Essex, CT.

East Greenwich, RI

We left our Point Judith anchorage at 9 on Sunday, July 7 to travel to our next destination in East Greenwich, RI.  It was very foggy and we waited a bit for some of the fog to clear before heading off.  The day had cleared up sufficiently so that plenty of people were at the nearby beach, even more than the previous day.

We had to travel onto open ocean at the end of Long Island Sound to cross over to Narragansett Bay.  The cruise was not too comfortable as we were taking it on the beam, but we arrived unscathed by 4:20.  Archie wasn’t thrilled with the rough passage but he got over it! 

East  Greenwich is near the top of the bay and we have a gift certificate so we could stay for free at one of the marinas there. It’s amazing how much water surrounds the state of Rhode Island!  East Greenwich is near Warwick on the map below and Point Judith is at the southernmost point of land just SSW of  Narragansett. 

We planned to stay at this marina for two nights so we could get a lot of things done, such as laundry and some boat maintenance. We had a won a gift certificate donated by a marina management company at the last MTOA  Rendezvous worth $1000! Unfortunately, there are very few of those marinas in the area we are cruising this year so we want to use it whenever we can. 

We contacted our friend Gerhard who lives nearby to see if he was available for dinner.  In 2022 he had taken care of Archie when we joined other MTOA members in Washington state where we all chartered trawlers to cruise the San Juan Islands.  Gerhard arrived around dinner time and after cocktails aboard Zendo we went to a local restaurant for dinner.  It was great to catch up with him. He was especially happy to see Archie after having just lost his sweet poodle, Beau, to cancer. 

Later that evening we strongly considered leaving early the next day because the winds and seas were forecasted to kick up.  Fortunately, however, we decided we could stay one more day as the winds and rougher seas were forecasted to hold off another day.  So we got a lot of our boat chores accomplished including laundry, defrosting, wiring, cleaning, etc. It’s a good thing that Jonny is as slim as he is to be able to fit into all the nooks and crannies of the boat. He has become incredibly adept at boat maintenance!

We had plenty of leftovers to eat and a well stocked refrigerator since Gerhard had kindly taken us to ShopRite to stock up. So we had an easy night before heading out to Cuttyhunk Island the next day.