Remember those choose-your-own-adventure books that we read as kids? That sums up this off-shore run to Maine. We looked at all the options based on distances, weather, winds, and personal preferences, and then constantly changed our minds. Not for the newbie cruisers, but we have been doing this a while.
We left Bristol early Monday morning, heading for the Cape Cod Canal. The sail up Buzzards Bay was great, the only scary thing being the radio reports of a boat on fire just to the east of us in Martha’s Vineyard (we could see the smoke). We had the option of stopping in Onset, but we were so close to the canal we had time to get through (the current is strong enough that we can only go through riding the tide, not bucking). Our next option was to anchor just on the other side of the canal, but the winds were so nice and the bay so calm we decided to sail an extra 13 miles up to Plymouth for the night. Within 5 minutes of setting sail again we realized that we were adjusting course and going straight for Maine.
Why the changes? Any of the anchorages we picked would have been great for the night. However, major thunderstorms and a massive heat wave were forecasted for the Boston area the next two days, followed by Tropical Storm Elsa. The anchorages would have been safe enough. But the forecast was winds from the south 10-15 knots, the best possible forecast for running to Maine. We could escape the heat, the storms, and get there sooner.
When the conditions are right, and they were, overnight runs are incredible. You have the night sky with no light pollution and the bioluminescence in the water trailing the boat is amazing. Because we were under sail all you could hear was the sound of the wind and the waves.
We didn’t completely escape the weather, but our radar did help us identify one morning squall in time to reef (shorten sail). We still managed to make a ‘Mae West’ out of the jib (tangled lines and fouled sail) which we were able to eventually untangle.
The seas were pretty big but well-spaced so it was a tad bumpy, but averaging 5.3 knots made for a not too bad ride. We even managed to get up into Harpswell Harbor and drop anchor before the sun set. A wildly successful run and we were back in Maine.
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