Vineyard Haven, Martha's Vineyard to Dutch Harbor

             The beautiful weather continues, and I hope I don’t jinx myself by saying that!  It cools down, once the sun sets, in the evenings here at anchor.  By 7pm I’m sporting long flannel pj’s and a long cotton tee shirt.  Have also been closing both hatches (a rectangular opening in the deck through which passengers, like my granddaughter, can pass; also an opening whereby beautiful summer breezes tantalize us at night, along with the starry, starry nights!  And in the morning the sunshine beckons us to rise and make coffee.  All this coming through the hatch!)

I feel like I’m on vacation, and the boutiques keep calling to me….have bought for my children and myself. Need to start watching my spending habits and take on other hobbies like reading on the beaches and in the parks and staying off ALL “Main Streets”:) So tempting!

          

Tim and I spent a day touring the Island, and did a walking tour of Edgarstown, as well as picnicking.  Surprisingly, there hasn’t been the “crowds” I’m used to at summer vacation spots. It helps to be able to visit during the week.

         

The weekend has come now and the Vineyard Haven Regatta is in full swing! Various sailboats, as well as some Schooners, partake in the different races.  Slowly more “spectator” sailboats arrive for the festivities both on the water, and in the streets.  Along with the scheduled ferries carrying visitors to and fro, only remind us of the tourism that is so well known here on the Islands.

            

We were captivated by a young man who for over an hour kept us entertained with his kitesurfing/kiteboarding.  He used a board, with foot straps, and also used the power of a large controllable kite to propel himself across the water…..amazingly strong work-out. We were tired just watching him do all his maneuvers.

    

Sunday morning we headed out once again for Rhode Island so that I could catch a flight later in the week from Providence.  My son is getting married this week-end! Gosh that time came faster than I expected.  We enjoyd a gorgeous day of sailing, secretly hoping it wouldn’t end….but it did, at Cuttyhunk Island. Remember Cuttyhunk?  It is one of my favorite spots, where you can anchor or take a town mooring and drift off to sleep listening to the surf pounding on the other side of the rocks. (this through the opened hatches). The Raw Bar Boat once again visited us here, and this time we consumed fresh raw oysters.

          

Yesterday we went up for breakfast at the Cuttyhunk Fishing Club, and enjoyed the breathtaking views of the Island and sound.

            

Mid-morning we headed once again west towards Dutch Harbor but after 45 minutes we made the decision to turn around and head back to Cuttyhunk. The winds were howling and we were attempting to motor directly into the steady gusts. Not a good way to spend a day on the water, believe me. We would have been tossed and turned more than we wanted to be. We closed  all the ports since the spray from the crashing waves was coming inside….a bit unsettling for me to hear items in the cabinets being reshuffled by the thrashing of the water and the swells. But in the long end we arrived safely back where we left from, and I got another beautiful day here. Tim took me to the small beach where I spent a few hours sunning (like I needed to do anymore of that!!), and swimming and  reading and walking the desolate beach searching for that special seashell.

This morning, Tuesday the 17^th,  we left at daybreak in calm winds and hoped to make it to our destination this time, which we did. We are at anchor in Dutch Harbor til Thursday when I take the Jamestown Ferry, then an airport shuttle to the Providence Airport. Tim will then take a slip at the Wickfield Marina for the week-end so he can join me in Bethesda for the wedding on Saturday. Back to the boat on Sunday afternoon.

Many little things I didn’t take into account with living on a boat. You need to take a slip and not a mooring or anchor so that your refrigeration and batteries are hooked up to shore power outlets, otherwise you lose all your perishables. And provisioning is not the easiest thing to do at times, especially if you’re walking a half mile or so just to get to the market, then carrying it all back with you. If you need too, you do this twice!

Will be enjoying some time on land this week-end with my family and friends. It’ll be nice to spend time with my children (and Miss Viva of course) and my older brother, whom I don’t get to see as often as I’d like, living in Calgary.

Sit tight til then:)