We left the anchorage about 0730 and motored down the Narragansett Bay with the wind on our nose. Once clear of the shallows at Branton Point we turned and were able to sail. We were headed to Cuttyhunk for the night with the wind at about 80 degrees and we were sailing smartly. We maintained a sailing speed in excess of 7 kts so it was good. We ran through some showers along the way but in our enclosure it was dry.
Fort Adams as we motored past it in the early morning light.
We sailed right up to entering Cuttyhunk outside harbor. Having never been here we were not sure about going to the inner harbor for a mooring so we grabbed one on in the outer harbor. There were plenty available so we picked one and tied up to it.
View from the outer harbor looking in the entrance channel to the inside.
Cuttyhunk was a place I first heard of in Law School almost 40 years ago from a case in one of our casebooks. More recently many New England cruisers have talked about it so we needed to come here. Cuttyhunk is a weekend favorite for locals because it features a protected harbor and some local amenities. The inner harbor has 360 degree protection and significant shelter from most wind directions. It will be calm when the outer harbor has strong winds.
After we got on the mooring the winds howled and rain cascaded and we settled in for an unpleasant stay. But the squalls moved on and we decided to go into town. There wasn't much of a town but we found some dock-based food including the "Raw Bar" who would bring selected food to your boat. The island is dry but we were interested in the bisque and crab spread.
We walked about the town before heading back to the boat without any local fare. Since it was midweek there were many free moorings and we thought that if we were going to stay we would come inside in the morning to ride out the heavy forecasted winds.
Local fishing docks off the inner harbor.
Golf carts are the norm on this island.
View looking across at the Vineyard.
A very smart looking house overlooking the Sound.
The Methodist Church.
The elementary school.
Looking back at Buzzards Bay.
Looking at the Outer Harbor.
The road to the highest point on the island.
But in the morning we reassessed the forecasts and decided that we would head to our next destination Nantucket. So we waited for the currents in Quick Hole to change and left in the late morning for the whaling island. We timed the currents correctly as we had current behind us going up Buzzards Bay with a slight current against us through Quicks Hole and then after a bit of a slog up the Vineyard Sound we picked up the current the rest of the way to Nantucket. It's nice to go through a cut with the current but if it's one that is unfamiliar a little opposing current is good to help improve steerage. As it turns out Quicks Hole is very wide open and deep compared to some like Woods Hole.
Looking at Quicks Hole.
The wind was mostly behind us so we had to motor up Vineyard Sound. Debated about putting up the spinnaker but the wind was light and we went through some showers and I really don't want to get the spinnaker wet because we stow it in a cabin locker. We rounded the top of Martha's Vineyard and the wind came around and we began to sail and what a sail we had. We sailed all the way to the entrance to Nantucket. We were running 8-10 kts the entire way. The weather was beautiful until about 5 miles outside Nantucket where we ran into fog that stayed with us until about a mile before the entrance channel.
Vineyard Haven Light on Martha's Vineyard.
Breezing our way to Nantucket. After I took this picture we hit 10kts. Sailing fast is exciting.
The anchorage in Nantucket from our anchor site.
We dropped the hook near where we anchored last year and after an invigorating sail were ready to enjoy our next adventure in Nantucket. So we thought.
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