Category Archives: Cruising

My last sailing blog entry,   2014 Launch Kicks-off with a bang,   was about how wonderful the “Three Sisters” looks with her new gelcoat and lettering.  This blog entry, unfortunately, is about how that damn hurricane/tropical storm Arthur, commenced to ruin that gelcoat! As Arthur approached I prepared like a good sailor.  Doubled up my mooring lines, double checked the chaffing gear, secured all gear below.    The good news was that Arthur’s path, see below, was way offshore as it passed Martha’s Vineyard, and it was downgraded to a tropical storm as it moved up the east coast.   There was some strong downpours, but the main threat was sustained winds, with guts into the sixties mph range. The mistake I made was that I kept the boom tent on the boat during the storm.  I had secured the tent with clips and bungee ties, but the wind proved to sustained and strong.   The bungee cords wore with the sustained winds, lost their tension and allowed the metal clips to begin fluttering wildly in the wind.  What was the result you ask?  “Shotgun” spray marks on starboard and port aft hull in my beautifully newly gelcoated boat.   So what did I learn?  To do everything you can in a major storm to minimize windage and to take this type of event in stride.  Now I have to figure out how much it is going to cost to fix the damn gelcoat. So damn you Arthur, and please tell your friends to stay away from Martha’s Vineyard!!!

Every year, my friend Jamin and I try to get away for a fall sail together.  We have managed to make it almost every year since 1998, only missing about  three years.    This year marked my first multi-night sail on my Rhodes 19, the Three Sisters.  The plan was to sail from Menemsha Pond, Martha’s Vineyard to the Elizabeth Islands in Vineyard Sound and back;  Cuttyhunk, Tarpaulin Cove, and back to Menemsha, and then haul my boat for the season at West Basin.

Setting Sail

Nothing is more exciting then setting out to sea, especially in your own boat.  I have sailed Rhodes 19s, in Menemsha Pond and Boston Harbor, but have never taken one out into more open bodies of water like Vineyard Sound.  We rowed out to the mooring at Red Beach, packed up the boat and set sail.  It was an absolutely beautiful fall New England day, with the promise of a beautiful three day window of perfect sailing weather. Timing is critical when you combine a Rhodes 19, tides, and serious current.  We left the pond around 11:30 with the tide and had a perfect beam reach out to power us out the channel.  As we passed West Basin to port and approached the entry to Vineyard Sound, the sight of a wall of water came into view.   Next our wind was shadowed by the land, and our sails began to flap.  Luckily we had started our engine, a 6hp outboard, and had it idling during out entire sail out.  We throttled up and plowed our way into the wall of water formed by the ebb current of Menemsha Pond meeting Vineyard Sound. As we killed the engine and set sail for Cutthunk, the wind quickly picked up to a brisk 17 knots, accompanied by 3 – 4 foot seas.  With the current against us, we decided to keep close to Martha’s Vineyard and tacked back and forth until the current was more favorable.   We made our last tack, and pointed straight toward our destination for the day, Cuttythunk.

Cuttyhunk

The wind and swell were both building.  We reefed and surfed waves, averaging around 5 1/2 knots.  I was expecting to have to tack as we approached Nashawena Island, but we not only got lifted, but also had the current with us.  Beautiful weather, favorable current and a lift, you can’t do any better than that.  We pulled into Cuttyhunk Pond around 2:00 pm, grabbed a mooring ball, and chilled for lunch. We went ashore and explored Cuttyhunk.  Grabbed a book from the book exchange table to read on the trip, and walked to the look out tower.  One thing I love about the Three Sisters is its center board.  Grabbing a mooring at Cuttyhunk $45 a night.  Anchoring in 4 feet of water…free!

Tarpaulin Cove

We set sail from Cuttyhunk with our eyes toward Tarpaulin Cove on Naushon Island.  Tarpaulin Cove is a beautiful anchorage I have always wanted to visit, and for me personally, the most exciting part of the trip.  The current was ebbing strongly as we followed the channel out, and let me tell you, the water really moves in and out of Canapitsit Channel.   As we approached the end of the channel into Vineyard Sound, like in Menemsha, we were greeted with a wall of water where the two bodies of water met.  This time however we didn’t have the engine ready and idling.  After a mini fire drill, we quickly turned on the engine and punched our way through the chop and into the sound, turned north and killed the engine.  We had great wind, weather, and minimal, following seas.  We spent the day jibing back and forth down wind.  We saw cattle on Nashawena Island, swimming in the water and grazing on the shoreline.  Then we had a fun time trying to spot Robinsons Hole. Robinsons Hole is a small little passage between Pasque and Naushon Islands that is very hard to see as you approach from the south west.  Once we finally confirmed that we had in fact passed Robinsons Hole, we knew we were approaching our destination for the day, Tarpaulin Cove.   We rounded the point with the picturesque Tarpaulin Cove light house, dropped the hook and once again had lunch in a beautiful fall, New England cove. Now anyone who has ever sailed a Rhodes 19 is probably thinking by now “a Rhodes 19 is a pretty small boat for two people to stay overnight on” and you would be right.  It is more like camping in a small tent, and sleeping on very thin benches.  Next year I am going to build a V-birth and make two almost real sized births. For dinner we had chicken noodle soup, straight from the can.  How luxurious the simplest of foods tastes when you go offline for a few days, and connect with nature.

The Voyage Home

We woke very early on Saturday, our final day of sailing, as the current was going to be 3 knots against us if we didn’t get out early enough.  We wanted to cross Vineyard Sound and then tack back and forth to stay close to the shoreline and out of the current.  The plan worked well in the beginning, but the wind was rather light, and we certainly could feel the current.  At one point we were maintaining about 1.5 kts into the current, and 3.5kts on the other tack.  Eventually the wind picked up nicely, and we were back to 4 knots even into the current.

We were once again blessed with a nice lift, and only had to tack a few times during the entire day.   By the time we finally approached the entrance to Menemsha, the sky had gone from a beautiful cloudless blue to a windy and rather ominous dark grey.  We rolled up the jib and flaked the main for the final time for the season and motored our way into Menemsha.

The current was ebbing strongly as we entered Menemsha channel, requiring a health throttle on the engine to make headway.  We rounded the corner into West Basin, tied up, and began preparing the Three Sisters for her fall haul out.

An uneventful sailing adventure is the best kind, and I am happy to report the first multi-day sail on my Rhodes 19, was an uneventful adventure to remember.  

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