Cuttyhunk to Bristol

The photo below was the last I took on Martha's Vineyard. When we anchor in Vineyard Haven, this is the view we have of the ferry arriving from the mainland - I love watching that ferry as it comes closer and closer. Our last day in Martha's Vineyard was spent again on Lake Tashmoo, just a few miles from Vineyard Haven, because we were expecting thunderstorms and wanted a protected anchorage. Those storms didn't materialize, but we did get another chance to spend time with our friends, John and Joanna. It was a real treat - they drove us to a lovely interior part of the island for a beautiful hike through fields and woods, then we had lunch at Menemsha Pond, then returned to the boat for a swim and happy hour together.  Dang - why didn't I take some photos?!?

The next day we sailed from the Vineyard to Cuttyhunk, a very small island and the furthest west in the Elizabeth Islands chain. The harbor entrance is very narrow (see below), but it's protected on all sides once you're in. Cuttyhunk harbor is now so tightly packed with mooring balls that you can no longer anchor safely outside the mooring field. We've seen boats try it and end up in poor holding and on the rocks when they drag. As in most places we've been this summer, a mooring ball is now about $5 more than 3 years ago when we were last here. Prices seem to range from about $35-$50 a night now.   Luckily, we've been able to anchor in most places we've stayed.

These Blues Brothers grace the entrance to a restaurant on Cuttyhunk....

The island has very little in the way of amenities for either residents or visitors. We were told at the tiny museum that there are now about 100 houses total, and in the off-season, only about 30 people live full-time on Cuttyhunk. The little school has 2 kids at present - a brother and sister. The photo below shows the market.

 This is the harbor, seen from the highest point on the island. There is still a WWII bunker on top of this hill, used apparently in looking out for submarines along the coast during the war.

From Cuttyhunk we sailed to Wickford, RI in Narragansett Bay. We had planned on stopping in Newport, but the harbor was still crowded from the recent jazz festival and we decided to keep on sailing a couple of hours further.  Wickford is a pretty little town with many buildings from the early 1800s. Lots of buildings have plaques that read, for example, "Samuel Harris, 1807" or "Isaac  Barnstable, 1823". My favorite is below:

A typical house facade in Wickford...

And with old houses you get old, massive, beautiful trees

This is the lighthouse (now private) at the entrance to Wickford harbor. I took this photo from the boat as we swung gently on a town mooring ball.  One obviously wonderful thing about cruising is that you get to hang out in an ever-changing succession of beautiful spots that are frequently inaccessible and hidden from you if you are confined to land.

After Wickford, we took advantage of a north wind to go to Bristol, where we are now anchored. Bristol can be super choppy or rolly in a prevailing SW wind, but at the head of the harbor in a north wind it's very protected. So much so that these little kids were barely moving the day we arrived.

Bristol is a quiet (except of the 4th of July!), old-fashioned town steeped in history. Many of the houses are either old, unusual, or both. This one had a complex paint job and a lovely garden. 

This photo is of a garage beside a house built in the same style on one of the main streets in Bristol.

















This morning we took the dinghy over to the "Lady Maryland" at the town dock and spoke with the captain. This authentic reproduction of a "punjy schooner" is the only one in existence today.  Originally these schooners carried perishables in the Chesapeake Bay area and were apparently famous for speed and maneuverability. The Lady Maryland is used for kids' hands-on learning by the Living Classrooms Foundation, supported by Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Over 4,000 kids per season spend extended time aboard learning about the ecology, history and economics of the Chesapeake Bay and New England.

Tomorrow we will head south on Narragansett Bay to Newport. More later....