Boston to Cuttyhunk Island and Woods Hole

[matt_unique]

Boston – Cuttyhunk Island July 9-11, 2010

Total distance: 174 nautical miles

Day 1
The Admiral and I got an early start out of Boston today. We were loading the boat as the sun was rising. We were headed for Woods Hole and wanted to make slack tide at the Cape Cod Canal.

The skies were clear in Boston and the seas and winds were calm. About 15 minutes past Nantasket Beach we came into thick fog. I could see perhaps one boat length around me. Radar and GPS are beautiful things! I set my radar range to .750 nautical miles and maintained course and speed (23 knots). This range offered a good balance between target detail and distance to target if I needed to change course. The nice trade-off with fog is (usually) very calm seas as the wind is dead. The seas were extremely calm all the way down. Joedee crawled into the forward berth to nap. A few times on the way down the visibility would begin to improve but close right back in. This was my first voyage through the Cape Cod Canal and I hoped to do so visually. As we approached the entrance of the canal we came through the end of the fog curtain. We had nice sunny skies and great visibility. We could already see the Sagamore Bridge.

I had read about the speed limit through the canal and the various levels of enforcement. After four boats passed us in the opposite direction fully on plane I decided to punch up the speed to 18 knots. I was able to maintain this speed all the way through the canal. (Entered at 0755 exited at 0823). The canal is actually quite a beautiful ride.

It was about 35 minutes to the entrance of Woods Hole from the South/West side of the Cape Cod Canal. I had paper and electronic charts of course and I was expecting some challenging navigation through Woods Hole based on what I had read. When we arrived it was flat calm with no current. The hole is actually quite short. There are definitely some dangerous rocks that have no doubt touched many hulls, particularly when the tidal current is up. We made our way through to the Water Street drawbridge leading to Eel Pond. We had made reservations at Woods Hole Marina for two nights. The drawbridge operates on a schedule, during the summer every half hour from 6am to 9pm (different hours of operation at other times of the year). Mariners also have to radio ahead as the bridge will not open without a request even at the scheduled times. We radioed ahead and had to wait about 10 minutes before the next opening. Once through Eel pond was of course completely flat and quite beautiful. I radioed to the marina and the owner met us near the docks. I tied up and settled the cabin. (The trip from dock to dock was just under 3 hours). The owner (Buzz) came over to greet us, complimented the boat, and proceeded to tell us some useful info about the area. We went into town to have breakfast.

As the sun continued to rise in the morning the temps really began to soar. Even with full curtains the interior of Napoleon was heating up. We were tired from the early start but it was too hot and humid to try to nap. We decided to shove off to cruise a bit and find a nice place for a refreshing swim. We motored through the hole over to Hadley’s Harbor. Hadley’s Harbor presents its own navigation challenges but is a great, idyllic New England coastal area. We found a nice cove to drop anchor and went for a swim. It was soooo nice to submerge in the cool ocean water. We had been on a 7+ day spell of 90+ degrees in Boston. After a refreshing swim we had a snack then unloaded the dinghy to check out the harbor. Woods Hole marks the beginning of the Elizabeth Islands chain. Hadley’s Harbor is made up of a few islands including Bull Island. We putted around the coves and found a few channels with walking bridges. There were several beautiful little beaches (all marked with Private Property signs). We eventually made our way back to Napoleon and loaded up to continue cruising.

We made our way out of Woods Hole and headed to Cuttyhunk Island. It was about a 45 minute cruise through the famous “holes” in this island chain including Robinsons Hole and Quicks Hole. The islands were incredibly beautiful and the scenery dramatic. We dropped anchor and took the dinghy to shore on Cuttyhunk. The island has a unique charm to it. There are perhaps 2 cars on Cuttyhunk (police SUV and one other truck) and the rest of the vehicles are golf carts. Cuttyhunk had a few modest restaurants as far as we could tell from walking around (lobster shanty type places). They also had a few stores and one B and B. The above may not capture how low key and quaint this place is. By stores I’m referring to small places with basic supplies and funky souvenirs. This place would be GREAT for a short retreat with spectacular views. It would be a dream to own a home at a place like this to be sure.

At this point it was getting late in the afternoon and we wanted to make our way back to settle Napoleon at the marina and shower. After a nice cruise back to Woods Hole we arrived at the entrance to discover RIPPING current. The nav buoys were heeled over the water bubbling at the center of the hole. We had no problems with Napoleon but small boats or sailboats with limited power could get into trouble in a hurry. I dropped the engines to neutral in the middle of the high current area to take a few pictures and a video. It was quite impressive.

We went back through the drawbridge and back to the marina. The marina office was closed so we showered on Napoleon and went out to dinner. We found a great place on Eel Pond called “The Waterfront” at Captain Kidd. (One half of Captain Kidd is more of a bar atmosphere, the other half offers more upscale dining). The lightly fried oysters with Asian salad were outstanding as were the margarita’s and Yellow fin tuna entrée. We sat on the deck overlooking Eel pond and it was just perfect. Toward the end of dinner clouds came in quickly and it began to pour. Joedee stayed while I went back to Napoleon to batten down the hatches. The rain stopped almost as soon as I returned to the restaurant. We then walked through town to find a place for dessert. Woods Hole is a great walking town. We found a place called Pie in the Sky. They offer organic/local foods and fresh ground coffee. I had some great Espresso and perhaps the best slice of apple pie I have ever had! I will definitely be ordering Thanksgiving pies from this place! Back to Napoleon under the stars to play some cards, relax with some music, and have a little wine before bed. Ahhh…what a great day!

Day 2
We had a GREAT nights sleep! It was smokin’ hot during the day but fortunately cooled nicely at night. I brought a fan and that help keep us cool and block out some of the sounds of bar hoppers. We returned to Pie in the Sky for a great breakfast then took a walk down the bike path toward Nauset Beach. Halfway there the clouds formed quickly once again and it began to pour. We were just walking under a bridge at the time of the rain and decided to wait it out. Many bikers and joggers did the same. We spoke to someone who had lived in Falmouth (nearby town) for 50 years and shared some interesting history about the wooden bridge above us. The rain stopped and we made our way back into town. Joedee and I were looking forward to checking out the NOAA and WHOI (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) exhibits and science centers. There were several including an aquarium and they were quite interesting. One center had a lot of Titanic information for example considering Robert Ballard’s connection with NOAA/WHOI. We also happened upon a boat building workshop. They were building an 8’ dinghy type vessel. I love this stuff of course having built two of my own. I discussed building methods and got some interesting ideas about other providers of boat plans.

After lunch we walked back down the bike path to Nauset Beach. Nauset Beach is very idyllic and beautiful at the foot of a light house. The beach is private to Woods Hole residents though. We walked back to the boat, getting some ice cream on the way, and showered for dinner. We decided to eat again at The Waterfront followed by dessert at Pie in the Sky. We love this place! The apple pie was just too good…they keep the peelings on the apples among other differences. Back to Napoleon for wine, music, and cards before a good nights sleep.

Day 3
I wanted to make the entrance of the Cape Cod Canal at slack tide once again. This gave us time to have breakfast and settle the cabin. We made our way out the hole and headed toward the canal. As it was a bit later in the morning, and other vessels were cruising slowly, we decided not to push our luck and maintained about 9 knots through the canal. On the other side the winds and seas were bumpy; nothing crazy but definitely bumpy. I could not seem to find a comfortable cruise speed to flatten out the seas. We also wanted to make decent time so I cruised between 18 and 26 knots the entire ride back. In retrospect, I should have just slowed here down to 18 knots and left it there to make the ride as comfortable as possible. There were several other larger vessels cruising north including a large yacht. We were making better headway than the yacht so I decided to pass them. The wake as you can imagine was impressive. Definitely one of those times when you need to close the windows and warn passengers about a few “bumps”. The wake was high and we took a good amount of windshield splash as we passed over. No big deal but amazing to see the wake of a yacht at cruise speed.

We rounded Nantasket in pretty good time. It took about 2.5 hours to get from the North/East side of the canal to Boston. Upon cleaning up Napoleon I discovered the GPS receiver had broken off its mounting pole. It was really bumpy, but nothing worse than we have experienced before. I suspect it was just a matter of the sun drying out and weakening the small threaded plastic piece that holds the receiver to the top of the aluminum pole. (I contacted the manufacturer Seaview the following day and they are sending me a replacement part for free). I used some electrical tape as a temporary holder until I can fix the mounting.

What a great trip! We had good weather, a great nautical experience in cruising 174 nautical miles, and just a great time exploring the area on water and on land. We would definitely return to Woods Hole.

[Captains Cat]

Great trip and story Matt, thanks for sharing. Any idea how much gas you burned during that 174 miles?

Charlie

[matt_unique]

[Will-C]

Hi,
You might consider starting with full tanks running the boat in your normal fashion for an hour or two then top off again. You can come up with a gallons burned per hour and have a good idea what you have left in reserve. Keep a tablet near the helm to keep track of hours on your last fill up which should tell you via subtraction approximately what you have left.
D.D.

[matt_unique]

[Will-C]

Matt,
I was attempting rather indirectly to answer Capt. Charlie's fuel question as he has had a number of posts concerning trying to keep track of fuel burned as boat fuel gauges are inaccurate as current estimates of the current national debt. It was kind of like average per hour rather than per mile.
D.D.

[Captains Cat]

I am paying attention Dave. One problem I have is trying to figure out when the tanks are full w/o dumping fuel out of the vents. Now I fill until the vent sputters a little but I'm not sure if it's a "blurp" or a real sputter. I know if I fill it too much in the water, put it on the lift and tilt the stern down a little, I do have fuel coming out of the vents. With startron and blue stabil in the tank it really stains the side of the boat. The only good cleaner I have found is this purple stuff which really does a good job.

I think I have them "full" now, whatever that is and will watch the hour meters until I fill again.

Charlie

[matt_unique]

I went out diving today and added a few nautical miles to my trip above.

But since my last fill up I cruised exactly 195 nautical miles and it took 96.4 gallons to refill today. That translates into 2.02 nautical miles per gallon. Slightly better than my previous estimates actually. Most of that 195 nautical miles was was at about 22-23 knots.

[Captains Cat]

Thanks Matt. Any idea how many engine hours that was?

Charlie

[matt_unique]

[Captains Cat]

I'd guess about 10 Matt. 195 miles at roughly 19.5 knots overall average. For 96.4 gallons, that's about 9.6~10 gallons an engine hour.

Since my gauges don't work worth a hoot and the engine hour meters work fine, that's a pretty good gage for me. On longer trips, we run about 21 knots, that's about 4200rpm for me. Much of the time, we just leave the creek with a good book and glass of wine and drift in the river!

Charlie