Rockport, MA

It was a beautiful day on Saturday, July 27 as we left our Gloucester mooring at 8 a.m. bound for Rockport. We passed the Thacher Island Twin Lights off the east coast of Cape Ann. They were erected in 1771 and appropriately nicknamed “Ann’s Eyes.” All the attendees of the recent MTOA Rendezvous received a copy of The Lighthouse Handbook of New England and the Canadian Maritimes so now we can learn about the scores of lighthouses we are passing on our cruise.   Fun fact about these lighthouses is that they were the first ones in America to mark a dangerous spot rather than a harbor entrance. 

 We also passed Straitsmouth Island Light that guides ships into the busy harbor of Pigeon Cove in Rockport.

By 2:15 we found an anchorage in Rockport Harbor by the beach that was full of people enjoying the warm summer day.  After a couple of attempts to set the anchor in what seemed to be a very rocky bottom, we found a spot where it held.  Our anchorage was across from the town’s performing arts center featuring a huge window with a view of the harbor.

We made the short dinghy ride to the inner harbor and tied up at the dinghy dock. The tides here are quite dramatic and with no floating dinghy docks there are places that one has to climb a very tall ladder attached to the rocky walls. 

Rockport is yet another beautiful town on Cape Ann with colorful shops, old houses, and lots of tourists. 

As we strolled down the Main Street we went by the iconic Modif #1, the red boat house made famous by many Cape Ann artists.  It is considered to be  the most painted building in the world!

As we continued to the less touristy part of town we found the shops and galleries to be much more to our liking. So much so that I succumbed to buying a blouse at an attractive shop called Flax.  Jonny and Archie patiently waited in the comfortable porch chairs with another gentleman and his dogs doing the same while his wife was also inside. 

That evening our MTOA friends, Scott and Mary Coles, came by and we all went out to dinner at a restaurant in Gloucester called the Salt Water Grill and Pub.  It was hard to get a reservation on a Saturday night in July in this bustling vacation spot but we obviously were successful. We enjoyed our evening together exchanging cruising stories.  They live in nearby Ipswich but keep their boat in Stuart, FL and spend the winter on it in the Bahamas. 

Heading back to Zendo, we made the long climb down the ladder to the dinghy since the tide was very low.  We always enjoy our time in the charming, artsy town of Rockport. Our next stop is beautiful Newburyport.

Gloucester, MA

On Thursday, July 25 we left Provincetown after a short, but fun visit to head to Gloucester. We left at 8 a.m. under cloudy skies crossing Massachusetts Bay and the Stellwagon Bank where whales are often spotted. Unfortunately we didn’t see one.  Maybe that wasn’t so bad though as social media was full of a recent video showing a whale capsizing a small fishing boat not far from here.  The two fisherman were thrown overboard and fortunately two young men caught the whole event on video and rescued them from the water. 

After a somewhat rolly passage with moderate ocean swells we arrived in Gloucester by 2:15.  We picked up a mooring in the historic inner harbor near Five Pound Island. There is also a Ten Pound Island in the outer harbor.  Legend has it that they were likely named for the number of sheep pens (also known as pounds) on the islands.

We dinghied into the Rocky Neck part of town and tied up at a restaurant dock promising them that we would be back for a drink after walking around a bit.  What an interesting, funky old neighborhood. It was quite evident that many artists live and work here.  The houses were pretty, quirky and colorful.

 There was a plein aire art competition going on and we passed several artists painting in the open air.

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The light in the Cape Ann region where Gloucester is located is just beautiful, clear and soft at the same time. And the art that is made here reflects that special light. 

There were several small galleries that we walked in and out of while Archie waited patiently outside.

There were also a few tantalizing shops and in one of them I couldn’t resist buying an interesting blue striped top with flowing pants that were on sale (and will be perfect to wear in Miami)!  It was a cozy little boutique and the owner, workers and patrons were very chatty and encouraging. 

We kept our promise at 51, the restaurant where we had our dinghy docked.  What a good decision that was! Sitting on the very attractive outdoor deck overlooking the harbor, we ordered drinks and one appetizer to split. It was the most delicious frito misto we’ve ever had! The restaurant is quite new though another restaurant had been there previously.  The rest of the menu looked just as good although we weren’t prepared to have more. But we would return here in a hot second.

The next day we went into the main part of town that we had visited once before.  We went back to the wonderful Cape Ann Museum which is filled with amazing paintings and more from artists who have worked in this area. 

We also made a return visit to the Fisherman’s Memorial Monument walking all along the waterfront with its grassy lawns and gracious homes overlooking the waterfront. Of course, we had to go to the end where a bridge opens on demand to allow boat traffic to enter the very narrow passage to the nearby river.

I love the ever present sounds of the seagulls here.  Their calls are haunting and evocative and so representative of these fishing ports.

That evening we had leftovers for dinner and settled in to begin watching the Olympics.  What an incredible opening night show on the Seine River in Paris (too bad about all that rain)!  We’ll be heading to nearby Rockport the next day where we plan to have dinner with MTOA friends who live nearby.  

Provincetown, MA

As usual, Jonny brought Archie for a walk on the spoil island near Onset first thing on Tuesday, July 23. Our planned destination was Provincetown. Surprisingly, this was the first time we’ve gone to Provincetown by boat so we were looking forward to it. It was a very foggy morning when we took off at 8:15 and we had to keep the radar on for most of the four hour crossing. Fortunately the seas were calm and there wasn’t a lot of boat traffic.  I had one of my Zoom Spanish lessons that morning but the connection on the open water was interrupted so much that we had to end it midway through. 

We arrived by 12:30 and decided to anchor rather than take a mooring because the moorings were so expensive, even more than in Nantucket.  The harbor was quite busy and the skyline is noteworthy for the famous Pilgrim Monument commemorating the Mayflower’s first landing in the New World in 1620.

After eating lunch we took off to explore Provincetown tying up the dinghy by the main town dock with its array of colorful shacks selling all kinds of touristy items. 

Walking into the bustling town center, we could turn either right or left on Commercial St.  

Spotting the Visitor’s Center, we turned right and received some good advice from the guide there. He strongly recommended that we check out the nearby historic library and walk up to the second floor where the Rose Dorothea, a half scale replica of the great 1905 fishing schooner, was suspended above the entire second floor space. They had to adapt the room to allow the bowsprit to extend beyond the window. It was quite an extraordinary sight!

From there we walked up Commercial Streeet past a number of galleries, shops and lovely colorful homes and cottages. We stopped for coffee and later headed back to Zendo.

We decided to stay in PTown another day so we could do more exploring. That night we had kielbasa for dinner with the leftover cabbage from the night before. A traditional combination!

The next day we headed into town for more exploring and this time walked up Commercial Street in the opposite direction. It was quite different on  this end - more touristy and tacky but still very entertaining. I think everyone knows that PTown is known for its large gay population and that was apparent everywhere one looked. Rainbow flags were flying by storefronts and homes and there was advertising for the scores of drag shows all over town. Jonny really wanted to go to one but I was not as enthusiastic, so we skipped it. Maybe next time!

We had lunch at a very popular restaurant called Canteen. Most of the seating was outside but there was occasional drizzle so we were able to get a spot under cover. The food was good especially the roasted Brussels sprouts.  You can imagine that this town has great people watching. Surprisingly there were a lot of families with kids along with hundreds of gay men and some women. 

As we strolled beyond the most touristy part of town we came upon an attractive collection of homes that were more modest than yesterday’s walk.  They seemed to be homes for more everyday people, perhaps originally owned by the fisherman’s families that made up the predominant industry in town. Most of them were smaller but very pretty and well-kept.

We continued to walk a bit further to get to the nearby Stop & Shop market to pick up a few things. As Jonny was waiting to get a courtesy card, a neighbor from our condo in Miami walked up to me with his little dog Ziggy. We were so surprised to run into each other - such a small world! It turns out that Michael’s partner has a home here where they are spending part of the summer. It was so random to see each other and totally out of context.

Afterwards, we walked back through town and on to Zendo. As we frequently do when we have had a big lunch, we skipped dinner and just had some nibbles while we caught up on the news. The next day we planned to cross Massachusetts Bay heading to Gloucester, MA.

Onset, MA

We took a nice long walk through Edgartown on Monday, July 22. We wanted to find a place where Archie could run and we passed a large cemetery that proved to be the perfect place for Archie to search for bunnies and squirrels. This was a very old cemetery and Jonny found several gravestones with the name of one of the MTOA port captains who lives in Maine. It turned out to be his family!

We loved walking through Edgartown one last time and decided that this is definitely our favorite town on either Martha’s Vineyard or Nantucket. 

We dropped our mooring by 10:40 for a pretty smooth cruise to Onset, MA. The only incident occurred as we were eating lunch on the flybridge when a rogue wave hit us and one of our little bowls smashed to smithereens. 

We arrived in Onset’s protected harbor by 3:00 The last time we were here was two years ago when we visited Sharon, one of our friends from college, who we hadn’t seen in fifty years. She wasn’t well when we saw her and sadly, she passed away a couple of months later.  

After a short rest we took Archie into town and realized what a good place this is for boaters. Onset is actually a village within the town of Wareham. Within walking distance, there is a good sized beach, a decent little grocery store, a hardware store, and at least three restaurants.  This time we walked to the market to pick up a few groceries.

Jonny decided he wanted a beer and some stuffies (stuffed clams) so we stopped at a waterside restaurant called Quahog Republic and sat on the deck. We ended up in a very engaging discussion with the friendly couple sitting at the next table. He had worked as a line foreman all over the country, including Florida, repairing lines impacted by storms.

Upon our return to Zendo I made a dish of chicken and cabbage in my Insta-Pot which turned out to be delicious. 

This visit caused me to appreciate this stop more than I had previously given all the advantages listed above as well as the ability to grab a mooring or find a good anchorage.  Next stop - Provincetown!