As we getting Salty Ginger ready to leave Provincetown, I knew it would be bumpy, so we spend extra time cleaning things up to make sure that nothing goes flying across the cabin. Alla and Irina wondered if it was safe, and I assured them that structurally SG is good to go in this weather. The clean up was indeed done well: nothing broke. Interestingly enough, even though the hull had no problems pounding into the 3-4 foot chop, one of the ceiling panels in the forward cabin fell off! It was easy to fix, but still that was a surprise to me. Decision to fold the dingy rather than drag it behind Salty Ginger was totally right. It would have been swamped and then we would be in a position of being forced to fold it in the waves.
The timing for getting into Sandwich marina was suboptimal: for the 3rd night in a row we were getting settled for the night in the dark. I also overestimated the distance that we have to cover in the canal before turning into the marina, so we didn't have fenders or dock lines set up. That was a poor decision: the marina is tiny and the wind was still howling at 15-20 knots, so staying put without drifting into a boat or a dock was tricky. We pulled back into the canal, pointed SG into the 3 knots of current, got everything ready for port-side approach (as recommended by the marina crew) and went in to discover that the assigned spot was taken! We tied up to the fuel dock which has clear signs "absolutely no overnight docking".
We were able to get the attention of the vessel that took up our spot, but we couldn't get a hold of marina people or the dockmaster. Eventually the dockmaster showed up, said that it was his 3rd day on the job, and he will make some phone calls and get back to us.
Our friends Gala and Dima drove from their house on Cape Cod and brought warm food and some homemade cranberry vodka, so while waiting for the dockmaster we ate and caught up with friends.
The dockmaster found a different spot for the other vessel, so we were in position to move Salty Ginger to our assigned spot some 80 feet forward. Doing that in 20 knots of wind was more tricky than I anticipated even though the wind was blowing in our face. I tried to leave the dock responsibly slowly, but the wind caught the bow and started turning us in a rather dangerous way. As I put the throttle in reverse one of the fenders caught on the cleat and its line got torn. The lifeline that it was tied to got bent, but that was all the damage that we sustained. Could have been worse.
Wednesday morning was occupied with washing off the salt, getting showers, getting some fresh provisions. We left the marina at 12:30 when the current was already favorable. The wind largely subsided, so we had a perfectly calm transit of the 10 miles of the canal while eating lunch. An hour later (yes we were doing 10 knots with the current!) we were in Buzzards Bay.
Wind against current created nasty chop, similar to what we experienced on Tuesday. Not as bad, but still bumpy enough to throw off the other ceiling panel in the forward berth which I didn't think of checking when I fixed the first panel. Once we were out of the narrowest part of the bay the current subsided and so did the nasty chop. We pulled into Matapoisett harbor, but decided not to go ashore. We dropped the anchor and swam in the warmest water I've seen since leaving NY: 25C! Kids were jumping off the boat and throwing each other off the inflatable ring. I set up a rope swing with the help of spinnaker pole so we could ride it and land in the water some 20 feet off the beam. Even Peter went for a swim in a life vest!
After frolicking in the warm water we left the harbor to cross the bay and spend the night in Quissett. Fishing was not successful, but Vlad was keen on getting dragged behind the boat and he had lots of fun. Then David joined his son. While we were on a beam reach their ride was quite smooth, but when I headed up to closehauled course, the waves made the experience much more physical and fun. For the first time since leaving Boston we were in the harbor before sunset!
This morning Windsor gave up waiting for humans to get him onto a dingy for the walk and for the first time decided to relieve himself on a stantion on the deck. We praised the dog and then took him for a walk ashore. He wasn't particularly keen on hopping back into the dingy at the end of the walk. Doesn't look like he wants to become a salty sea dog.
The timing for getting into Sandwich marina was suboptimal: for the 3rd night in a row we were getting settled for the night in the dark. I also overestimated the distance that we have to cover in the canal before turning into the marina, so we didn't have fenders or dock lines set up. That was a poor decision: the marina is tiny and the wind was still howling at 15-20 knots, so staying put without drifting into a boat or a dock was tricky. We pulled back into the canal, pointed SG into the 3 knots of current, got everything ready for port-side approach (as recommended by the marina crew) and went in to discover that the assigned spot was taken! We tied up to the fuel dock which has clear signs "absolutely no overnight docking".
We were able to get the attention of the vessel that took up our spot, but we couldn't get a hold of marina people or the dockmaster. Eventually the dockmaster showed up, said that it was his 3rd day on the job, and he will make some phone calls and get back to us.
Our friends Gala and Dima drove from their house on Cape Cod and brought warm food and some homemade cranberry vodka, so while waiting for the dockmaster we ate and caught up with friends.
The dockmaster found a different spot for the other vessel, so we were in position to move Salty Ginger to our assigned spot some 80 feet forward. Doing that in 20 knots of wind was more tricky than I anticipated even though the wind was blowing in our face. I tried to leave the dock responsibly slowly, but the wind caught the bow and started turning us in a rather dangerous way. As I put the throttle in reverse one of the fenders caught on the cleat and its line got torn. The lifeline that it was tied to got bent, but that was all the damage that we sustained. Could have been worse.
Wednesday morning was occupied with washing off the salt, getting showers, getting some fresh provisions. We left the marina at 12:30 when the current was already favorable. The wind largely subsided, so we had a perfectly calm transit of the 10 miles of the canal while eating lunch. An hour later (yes we were doing 10 knots with the current!) we were in Buzzards Bay.
Wind against current created nasty chop, similar to what we experienced on Tuesday. Not as bad, but still bumpy enough to throw off the other ceiling panel in the forward berth which I didn't think of checking when I fixed the first panel. Once we were out of the narrowest part of the bay the current subsided and so did the nasty chop. We pulled into Matapoisett harbor, but decided not to go ashore. We dropped the anchor and swam in the warmest water I've seen since leaving NY: 25C! Kids were jumping off the boat and throwing each other off the inflatable ring. I set up a rope swing with the help of spinnaker pole so we could ride it and land in the water some 20 feet off the beam. Even Peter went for a swim in a life vest!
After frolicking in the warm water we left the harbor to cross the bay and spend the night in Quissett. Fishing was not successful, but Vlad was keen on getting dragged behind the boat and he had lots of fun. Then David joined his son. While we were on a beam reach their ride was quite smooth, but when I headed up to closehauled course, the waves made the experience much more physical and fun. For the first time since leaving Boston we were in the harbor before sunset!
This morning Windsor gave up waiting for humans to get him onto a dingy for the walk and for the first time decided to relieve himself on a stantion on the deck. We praised the dog and then took him for a walk ashore. He wasn't particularly keen on hopping back into the dingy at the end of the walk. Doesn't look like he wants to become a salty sea dog.
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