Overnight Success
Our first overnight on the boat went as well as I had hoped. I had originally reserved a mooring for Vineyard Haven but started having second thoughts when I realized we needed to time the Woods Hole transit correctly and the forecast called for an unusual SE breeze which would have been an upwind slog the entire way. We instead opted for Quissett which still meant an upwind sail but 10 miles instead of 20. We left earlyish on Saturday around 11 and made three or four big tacks across the Bay to reach the buoy that marks the harbor entrance. We had no need for the chartplotter since the Woods Hole Golf Club is putting in a new clubhouse and the new construction is visible from nearly across the bay. We grabbed a transient mooring and got the inflatable together for the first time this summer and headed into the dinghy dock. From there we walked out to the main road and picked up the trolley to Woods Hole. I have been to the Institution many times for work but have never been to the aquarium which is small but nicely put together. Phoebe got us the best spot for the harbor seal demonstration and the kids got to watch them get their teeth brushed. We had dinner at Captain Kidd on the eel pond and then grabbed ice cream by the ferry loading area where the trolley picked us up to take us back the harbor.
We made their beds up and tried our best to get the kids to put down their Spot it! game for two minutes to watch a rather incredible sunrise. The bay is just wide enough that you have the illusion that the sun is setting into the ocean. We let the girls chit chat in the v-berth until 9 at which point things went quiet aside from the whir of the solar powered ventilator fans which provide a nice background noise, in addition to fresh air. I sat in the cockpit and watched stars migrate across the sky and then went down below to discover Cristin fast asleep. It wasn’t the best night of sleep, I am not sure those settee cushions are ideal for the back but I didn’t hear much from the girls until at least 7:30. We had breakfast in the cockpit and then went over to the Quissett Harbor Preservation Trust property to walk out to the “Knob”, an interesting promontory that is now armored with large boulders. It is really a spectacular and well cared for spot. We stopped on the way back to go swimming and then headed out to the boat to put everything away. The girls took another dip and then we untied and left for home. The wind was on our backs and we had a straight shot aside from a minor detour around a big tug pulling. If it were up to me, this would be every weekend of the summer.
