here we are in one of the sailing meccas of the usa. the island of martha’s vineyard. i am realizing now that we could’ve spent the whole summer visiting this area, and still wouldn’t have had enough time to get all the exploring out of the system! no doubt we will have to come back here with time to explore, and explore.
the little islands we were anchored near last night (the elizabeth islands) were mostly unpopulated. a new, refreshing sight after seeing so many houses along the waters of connecticut. it was wonderful to see rolling, grassy-rocky hills with nothing build upon them. these islands gave me the feeling i get when reading about the old times in new england, or ireland, in little fishing villages. i could picture sheep grazing on the gentle, barren slopes, and simple folks mending there nets near the rocky shores. i would have loved to stop and explore these wondrous islands, but we were dead beat by a good, long day of sailing, and were here for just the night to rest and move on... we’ve got to get going if we’re going to be able to explore maine at all!
last night was a windy, windy night at anchor in cuttyhunk. we were anchored in a spot that was well protected from the waves, but not from the wind. the land upwind was not hilly enough to block any of it’s force. after being seasick for most of the day, i was beat, so i conked out on the settee early in the evening, but when i woke it was blowing like crazy out there! i knew the winds were over 17 knots because i could hear the rigging whistling. thought i’d better check to see how cricket was sitting and went outside (pam was asleep in the bunk). whew! my bed-head hair was undone in a moment, transformed into windswept hair. i flicked on the chart-plotter to check the wind speed: 23 knots. 20 knots. 24 knots. 20 knots... never under 20. a hefty, steady blow. on the chart-plotter it looked like we’d moved a bit at anchor, but the boats around us appeared to be in the same place (hard to tell in the dark). into bed i got. got up a couple of other times to see if i could quiet those banging halyards. they like to start swaying in the wind, get going at certain frequencies, and bang against the mast and the shrouds. ting, ting, ting, ting... i can usually sleep through the noise, but i couldn’t sleep through it ‘cause i knew pam couldn’t possibly sleep through it. but after going out a couple of times i realized all the fuss was in vain. there was no quieting all the noises out there. just one of those nights...
waking, we found we HAD dragged anchor, quite a ways! we were well watched out for because not only did we drag in a relatively safe direction, but our anchor had rehooked on something solid down there and stopped us from dragging all the way to deep water, and to the open sea (or into a neighboring island). whew! thank you Lord!
it was just as windy when we got underway. as we motored out of our little bay the wind whipped up the seas into a frenzy! the waves were 7 feet tall, and at such a frequency that our dear cricket began to look smaller and smaller on these big seas. she was tossed way up to the top of a wave, and then plunged down into trough between waves. cricket was not complaining, even though it was quite a ride (roller coaster’s got nothing compared to this!). up and down. crash, splash! up and down, crash and splash! wow! salt, sea spume everywhere. on the decks. on the dodger’s windshield. on my glasses. on my face. amazing thing to experience! amazing to think how big cricket seemed when she was on the stands, out of the water, in the boatyard. how high we had to climb to get onto her deck, but now how small she seemed. small, but tough. tough and brave. she is taking very good care of us, for sure!
but poor lila! had no idea what was coming her way when we left anchor! early in the morn she was at her usual post, helping me winch up the anchor (which was stuffed full of weeds when i finally hoisted it up to the bowsprit), then lila her position on the foredeck to enjoy another day of sweet sailing... i was at the wheel, piloting through the amazing, wind tossed waves, when after a little while of these “bow up the hill, bow down valley” here came poor, wet lila stagger-running back into the cockpit. i would’ve liked to have scooped her up and hold her, but i needed to stay at the wheel. she was in a panic! her whole world was erupting into an unpredictable, uncontrollable chaos! she ran to her favorite hiding spot, under the kayak lashed to the deck. but this was no better than where she’d been before. up and down. splash, splash, splash... this spot had always worked before! back she came to the front of the dodger. i could see her meowing for help. pam waited for a moment when the waves allowed her to get little lila from the foredeck, and put het into the cockpit. she stagger-ran down into the cabin and went to her other place of refuge... a little locker by the bow bunk... even though this was drier than outside the boat, it was a far rougher ride than anywhere she’d tried yet! the bow of the boat was leaping up ten feet, and down ten feet at a time. poor lila! all her refuges where no good. she was crying out in misery. finally we pam was able to put her midships, on a settee, with pillows surrounding her to keep her from being flung around. she rode out the waves there... we’ll have to teach her that the stern of this boat is the best place in heavy seas. it is there that there is the least heaving motion. we’ll build her a little safety nest in the stern berth, and she will learn that this is a comfort zone for her in heavy seas.
once we rounded the corner, and went with the waves things settled down a little bit, and then when we got under the protective, windward shore of martha’s vineyard island, the waves settled way down, and it became a glorious morn/afternoon of sailing!
we’re now anchored in “vinehaven.” a lovely harbour, full of lovely boats, and a fullish moon giving a silver lining to the tattered clouds up there in the heavens. all is well. after some sailboat watching, a little salty swim, and a game or two of cribbage it is time to be rocked asleep by the hand of God.
tomorrow we’ll take a day to explore martha’s vineyard : )
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