A sailboat sailed down to Nantucket, with a crew so stout they could tough it, they pulled out the sail and buried the rail now that's the way to sail to Nantucket.

There are many funny limericks about about a man from Nantucket. But Nantucket is a really great place to visit for young and old. But, we got there Thursday afternoon with the wind blowing 15-20 steady with gusts to 30. We got the hook down with the wind and current going in the same direction but we knew with the tide change we would have the wind oppose current.

Last year we had the same issue but it really wasn't a problem. When the wind opposed the boat would settle right above the anchor facing the current with the chain laying on the bottom. When the current changed the chain would be straight out. But I bought a barbell and shackle to use as a pendant on the chain in situations like this to keep the chain down from the boat hull to avoid the discomfort we had in Rudder Cut Cay in the Bahamas. So I clipped on the weight and put out lots of scope and hoped for the best.

A very classic ride in Nantucket.

But once the tide turned we spun around as we should have but as the strength of the wind modulated we spun and spun and spun clockwise then counter clockwise and clockwise again continuously. Where we anchored we weren't really close to other boats but with our odd spinning and my concern that we could pop the anchor from the spinning I sat in the cockpit as an anchor watch until the tide turned and we were once again stretched out on the chain in the wind. The next morning we were up before the current turned and hauled our anchor so we could move further away from the other boats and for the first time I put out 2 bow anchors in a so-called Bahamian Mooring pattern. First I dropped our primary anchor in the direction of the wind and current then let out enough chain to get us 2x as far back as we would settle. I dropped my second bow anchor and worked our way back up to the point I wanted to be at tugging on the line for the second anchor to get it set and then cleated off the anchor line on the bow cleat. As usual I swam down on both anchors and found them set well. For the rest of our time we enjoyed a controlled swing without the crazy gyrations of that first night. The final challenge came when it was time to raise the anchors as the second anchor had dug itself in so well it took lots of effort to raise it by hand.

Always up for some free beer and cold WiFi.

During the sail over to Nantucket we ran into fog about 5 miles from the island. In fact the island had been shrouded in fog although as we got into the harbor the fog abated and the sun was out. From the time we got to Nantucket until we left the dew point was so close to the ambient temperature that any cooling brought fog. Each night the boat was dripping from condensation of the fog on the rigging. Since it was cool anyway to run our A/C to dry out the inside of the boat would have made it very chilly.  But our A/C developed an issue in Cape May and we haven't used it (or needed to) since then.

With the foggy conditions we just stayed on the boat Thursday evening celebrating our sail and good fortune to have made it to Nantucket.So Friday we began exploring. Our first stop was for lunch at Something Natural. A great little bakery cafe where they bake their own bread and pastries. For their sandwiches they slice the loaf horizontally and a half sandwich is one piece cut in half and a whole sandwich is 2 pieces of horizontally sliced bread.

Brant Point Light Nantucket.

Brant Point Beach looking out at the anchorage.

Hayden's Saltbox 14.

After lunch we walked around town checking out shops and stopped in the Whaling Museum. Having seen it last year we didn't need to spend lots of time in it but we walked about and listened to one of the programs. Since we are supporters of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum we have reciprocal privileges at other maritime museums so we registered and enjoyed the display.

Our trip in would not be complete if we didn't stop by Slip 14. Last year we found this little place by the water that was a real sailors bar. We stopped in for a beer and some of their famous wings. We met another liveaboard, a single man who lives there in the summer and goes south in the winter. Had a great discussion with him. Also met 2 gents who sailed up from NY for their vacation on the island.

Slip 14.

One of the nice things about Nantucket is there is a supermarket downtown right near the dinghy docks so we picked up some provisions we needed and headed back to the boat.

Saturday we walked about and visited the Old Gaol (Jail) and had lunch at the Backyard Barbecue where they had an excellent smoked turkey sandwich. Nantucket's beauty is n the preserved charm of the old homes and mansions which date back to the time when Nantucket was the premier whaling port in the world. It has now become a summer getaway for the very affluent so it is quite a haven for people watching and shopping in stores you won't find anywhere else.

Old sea captains homes on Main Street.

The old Gaol (Jail).

The waterfront is lined with 100+ ft yachts Med-moored while their owners or users visit the island.Many of the large yachts are available for charter either when their owners aren't using them or many are exclusively for charter in the realm of $50k-$100k and up per week depending on the size and the amenities.       

As has often been the case schedules are often decided by weather ad the trip to Nantucket was no different. We had a date to be back in the Chesapeake on 27th August some 2 weeks away. But, we had other stops we wanted to make. The forecasts for almost as far out as we could see were for heavy sustained southwest winds and frequent storms so the big question became when do we leave. Sailing back to Cape May from Nantucket would require about 8 hours more than our trip to Block Island. That means we really need to see a 48 hour window for the passage and given the forecasts it didn't look likely anytime soon. The last thing we wanted was to go southwest in heavy southwest winds. Ironically when we went to New England we had heavy east-northeast winds and could have used southwest winds and now we have the exact opposite.

The fog rolls in on Saturday night which featured a benefit concert by the Boston Pops on the beach followed by fireworks. It went off but most of the fireworks were just noise.

So after intense deliberation and some other considerations we decided that Sunday looked good to start the trip back at least as far as Martha's Vineyard. Then Monday the winds would be northerly for a while and then be light so we could probably go to Atlantic Highlands. It looked like a low with heavy storms would come through late Tuesday-Wednesday and give us some west-northwest wind that we could sail to Cape May before the next round of storms came through Thursday.

So with those considerations we made our plans to leave Sunday morning and go over to Martha's Vineyard where we would meet our friend Kris Faught and is family before jumping off to New Jersey Monday.