Finally, months after the fact I will get around to putting a small bit of information up about the second longer cruise we took last summer.
The itinerary was pretty simple – head up through the Cape Cod Canal to Gloucester, then over to Provincetown then home. This was the last week of summer before Labor Day.
What a great trip. But of course – not without a bit of adventure. We started out with a rip roaring ride over to Onset, which is a little harbor just South of the entrance to the Cape Cod Canal. With winds blowing 30+ from the South it was a screaming reach out of Newport all the way to Buzzards Bay and up to Onset. We hit almost 12 knots surfing off of waves…yes, it was a 27 ton surfboard.
Onset had charm, but less than we’d hoped. Maybe we missed something from the cruising guide. It is a very narrow and tight approach to a pretty (but shallow) harbor. We anchored out, but found that in town there isn’t really all that much by way of restaurants and things to see. A nice park, and a small grocery store.
The REAL adventure in Onset was getting out the next morning at slack tide. I think the lesson there is that at low tide the chains on the buoys marking the channel out are slack too, and maybe the channel isn’t quite where you think it is. Or at least the big freakin’ rock that we hit on the North edge of the channel, right before the day mark. By all accounts we were in the channel, but I have a divot in the keel now that says otherwise. Fortunately we weren’t moving fast and our boat is built really tough – loud noises and a lift up out of the water but no damage.
Passage to Gloucester was uneventful – very little wind and an easy motor. The Cape Cod Canal is interesting – scenic, with ripping currents. It seems most power boat operators are either illiterate or simply choose to ignore the very clear warnings about transit speed and wakes. The bridges on the Canal look a LOT lower then they are…very deceiving and unnerving, even on the way back when you’ve already been under them.
Gloucester is a neat place, once you figure out where you can land your dinghy and how to get your head pumped. The cruising guides are noticeably mum on both those topics, but you can tie up at the harbor masters dock and there is free pumpout if you just ask. This is not posted anywhere. Lot’s off good restaurants in Gloucester and in nearby Rockport. Rockport is a neat day trip destination too, with it’s quaint little town area. Taking a Whale Watch from Gloucester was the highlight of the trip for the kids. Lot’s of whales to be seen, so close that my daughter got soaked by the exhalation from a Humpback.
Heading to Provincetown we saw some more whales from a distance but we decided against trying to approach them, mostly because we don’t know what we’re doing and wouldn’t want to break laws or endanger the Humpbacks. We did our best to stay on the Stellwagon Bank for maximum whale sighting, but the wind didn’t cooperate so much.
Provincetown was nicer than I remember, and more family friendly than I remember too. Of course, the last time I went there I was 20 and visiting with three other young single guys on the make. Visiting with the wife and kids, well we didn’t see so much of the late night flora and fauna. Only one short parade, and the ubiquitous drag queens handing out flyers for the night’s shows.
The harbor in P-Town is not one I think I’d enjoy anchoring out in. We picked up a mooring, which was fortunate, as there is no dinghy friendly dock anywhere in the main downtown area if you are not staying on a mooring. The public dinghy dock is a mile or more down Commerce Ave., really far from the best shops and restaurants and almost in a residential area. The mooring was worth the money, to be able to ride in and be right in the thick of it.
Things that we saw included the Pilgrim tower, and a tour of the nearby Dunes. The Dunes are worth the price of the tour – do not leave this area without heading out there. We saw some neat wildlife and some of the historic dune shacks, and the guides give you a feel for the natural ecology of the area you don’t otherwise get. We only tried one beach, the name of which escapes me, but we didn’t love it…I’m sure there are better ones elsewhere with fewer rocks and finer sand.
We ran into a surprising number of people we knew there, including some friends I’d raced against on our old boat at Block Island Race Week in 2003 and 2005. They were in a sister ship to that boat, a Beneteau 40.7 called Downtime. One thing I learned there – I like my new boat in the blow a LOT better. We left for home about 30 minutes after Downtime on our last day there. When we passed them they were looking miserable. It was a dead into the wind slog, motoring because we needed to make the tide in the Canal. We were warm and dry, wearing t-shirts under the hard dodger as Evenstar went through the 3-5 foot chop without slowing. Our friends were not having such a great time of it; watching them in their foulies getting drenched as that lighter boat was slowed by every ill timed wave brought back more than a couple of damp and clammy memories of similar trips out our 40.7. Not that it wasn’t a lovely boat most of the time…but boy did she suffer motoring in steep chop in heavy air on the nose. I shivered in empathy in my T-Shirt.
Overall a a great vacation, we’d happily do all those spots again…if there weren’t so many other great places to see too! To much world, too little time.
