| |
Buzzards Bay to Martha's Vineyard Rendezvous
Or How Do You Spell Fun? On the sv/Dolphin we call it the Buzzards Bay rendezvous.
By Tony DiStefano With Pictures from Rani Chadowitz
and the Walkers
I was lucky enough to sail with Ed Goodhue on the Dolphin (a 1978 San Juan 26). My tow vehicle is in the shop so the Beep had to sit home. Ed keeps his boat at Barlow's landing on Buzzards Bay and he was in charge of the rendezvous so why not hitch a ride from him. We met at his house on Thursday night a couple hours of good talk with the Goodhue's then bed and up early to move all the supplies and gear to Dolphin.
Ed and Tony
That was the plan but the tow vehicle for Puddle Hopper was damaged in an accident and off we went to take Puddle Hopper to the Wareham ramp. Once launched we took the trailer to Ed's house and then went to load the Dolphin. By the time this was done it was to late to go for a long sail so we chose to enjoy the 8 miles to Wareham to help the people who were arriving. It's about a hour and a half to get there and at the dock we found 3 boats in all stages of getting ready to launch. The afternoon was spent helping both NE-TS members and power boaters on the ramp.
Sunset at Wareham
At 5:30 the word was put out that we were going to leave for our nighttime anchor behind Pocasset island. Some of the boats that stayed behind and took the midnight tour of the canal led by Puddle Hopper. It's a trip not to miss if you can do it. It was a difficult for Dolphin to keep the lead as Not Last (Seaweed 2 at that time) found out that the extra 4 feet made for more speed. At Pocasset island the boats rafted up and we had a great evening with dinner then talk and drink and more talk. The word got out that the voices carried over the water so those boats not rafting were enjoying the talk of the rafters and the VHF conversations.
At 8:30 am it was time to sail again, we were off to Cleveland Ledge to meet up with the rest of the fleet from Wareham. This did not happen but we did get some good sailing in before we had to motor to make the tide at Woods Hole. Then the fun started it is only a short distance from the Hole to Tashmoo but what a ride. We pushed the Dolphin over to more than 40 degrees and kept her at hull speed for the trip. What a ride, this was sailing and fun. But with our quest for speed we noticed Time Enough had the perfect line to sail into Tashmoo that we did not. Inside Tashmoo we all got to practice our anchoring ability as it usually takes 2, 3 or more times to set in the weeds. But once the anchors were set the rafting started again the this time the call for ice cream was heard and at 4:pm we worked out how to get to the dock and off to Mad Martha's.
How MacGregor owners get back from the dock to the boats
Mad Martha's
Ice cream and good talk and a little walk, what a way to spend an afternoon. Then it was back to the boats passing Magic going the wrong way each time. This time our raft of Dolphin, Puddle Hopper and Endurance was full of testosterone, which was reduced by Barbara from Buckaroo and Nan from Ynot. The mix kept changing as dinks came and went. Food was eaten in the dark and talk centered around sailing and where and who and what to sail or change on different boats. Of course the vice grips and coat hanger on the top of the mast of Endurance held a lot of the conversation.
Sunday morning NOA radio told us that the trip to Nantucket would be called off. The wind and the waves would be too much and to sail there would be very rough and even worse on the way back on Tuesday. So it was sit tight and wait for noon so we could go through the hole. Again the sail to the hole was great and the wind was such that we motor sailed through. The other side was another story. We hit the wind head on so it was motor, Endurance and Puddle Hopper tried to sail but the wind and waves were too much.
Buckaroo heading upwind on Sunday
At Scraggy Neck Zemer Hayam left for Wareham and home. Spice, Endurance and Puddle Hopper continued with us to Pocasset for the evening again good talk, good food and great rafting. It was a bit cold and windy but we go 8 people on and in the Dolphin so we could eat and talk. Part of the talk was the Oyster Fund, more to come on that!
Thanks to Ed for hosting the rendezvous and all that attended as I believe this was the largest group we have had on Buzzards Bay.
|
|
