Our Island in the Sun-Cuttyhunk

Our trip from Scituate to Mattapoisett (25 miles, 5 hours) turned into a 50 mile, 10 hour trip to Cuttyhunk.  Don't ask me why, but Cuttyhunk calls us.  Well, really, Marge and George and Tim, Bridget, Kira and Timmy called along with the promise of a cookout on the beach.  The trip was uneventful - we sailed for a bit, then the wind died and we had to motor.  We kept it at 2200 rpms for a good while, no over-heating incidents to report this day.  As we approached the Canal we could see a huge rain cloud moving toward us.

We dodged another one!

I suggested that if we kicked it up a notch to 2400 rpms we might be able to dodge it.  We did.  We kept on course to the Canal, got there about 1:30 and saw other boats heading west, so we entered too.  No record time going through this day, current was against us a bit, so only 5-6 knots, but a pretty trip.  Since it was a Saturday, mid-day there were a lot of people on the shoreline, swimming, fishing, sunning, sightseeing.  Very few boats, no tankers or barges.  As  we approached Buzzards Bay the wind kicked up to 20+ knots.  Quite a contrast to the flat calm of Cape Cod Bay.  We decided to motor all the way to Cuttyhunk - despite excellent sailing conditions.  We received a warm welcome from the Pavilonis clan and Marge and George.  They even saved some shrimp cocktail for us.

The sun always shines in Cuttyhunk.  Love it!

By 6:30 we were packed and headed to the beach.  Wood had already been collected, George and Tim got the fire going, and those delicious wings and hotdogs were ready in no time.

Hot dogs always taste better at a Cuttyhunk Cookout.

 It was a beautiful night.  Big Dipper, Milky Way, no dampness.  We sat there enjoying the fire and listening to the waves hit the beach on the Vineyard Sound side of Cuttyhunk.  So peaceful.  Our Island in the Sun, our favorite place.  The place we call home in the summer.  Good to be here.

I put a star where we anchor.  Our Cookout is always on the spit of land just under the lat/long box.  The waves we could hear the other night were hitting the shoreline just under the words "Cuttyhunk Island"

One morning a few summers ago we circumnavigated the island in our dink.  It was an interesting trip.  Need to do it again.

Marge and George headed out Sunday morning.  We stayed.  Bart's cart wasn't open (Best Burger on the Island - Only Burger on the Island) so a quick visit to "The Mall" with instructions from my mom  to buy some Mary Jane penny candy.  No Mary Janes either!  Chocolate ice-cream for lunch then.  Order stuffies and oysters and littlenecks from the Raw Bar, get fresh swordfish from Captain Bruce, and back to the boat for a nap before dinner.  Our contributions to Cuttyhunk's economy.


Good news - WJAR-Channel 10 news.  But since it was a weekend we'd have to wait for Monday for our favorites, Frank Coletta, Mark Searles, Dan Jaehnig, Alison Bologna.

By 1:00am the rain started, and by 2:00am the wind picked up to about 30mph.  Obsession's anchor held her ground - a neighbor was not so lucky we would find out in the morning.

Cross your fingers, knock on wood, that this never happens to us!

Vineyard Haven is our destination on this beautiful day.  POTUS is there.  Will we bump into him in any of our favorite haunts?  I hear they've already been to the Bunch of Grapes Bookstore and Mad Martha's.  Maybe the Black Dog? or how about Le Grenier?  We'll see.

Our cruising time aboard is coming to an end.  We will be back in Cuttyhunk this weekend before we head to Newport for next Monday or Tuesday (Aug 29 or 30).  Our friends Leslie and Carl have returned from their summer of sailing in the Caribbean.  Time to catch up with them before we all have to start a new school year.  I hear there are fireworks Saturday the 3rd in Newport.  We just may hang around to enjoy them.