Nice artists and scofflaws

As we were motoring over to the causeway near Matt's cousin's vacation home to be picked up, a catamaran that was anchored near us in Bassett's Harbor waved us over. It was actually one of the models that we were considering purchasing. The captain said hello and told us that his companions on board had done some nice drawings of our boat and that they wanted to give us one. We didn't have time to talk long because Matt's parents were waiting to pick us up so they were nice enough to drop off a cool chalk drawing while we were gone. The photo probably doesn't do it justice. The artist, Erinn McCusker, runs a studio that teaches art, including private lessons.

As we approached the causeway where we've been leaving he dingy, the harbor patrol boat pulled us over for speeding. Although we always slow down in the mooring fields and around anchored boats, we do get the dinghy up on plane in the main bay. Apparently the whole area has a 6 mph speed limit, but you'd never know by the one little "no wake" sign near the narrow channel over a mile away, or by the dozens of other boats zipping around. They let us off with a warning, but Matt's mother witnessed the whole thing as she waited for us. Not exactly the best first impression of our competency as sailors...

I'm not talkin' about daysailing. I'm talkin' about sharkin'!

My awesome friend Lory hooked us up with Ocearch and we, including Matt's parents who are visiting from Chicago, spent a few hours aboard. The Ocearch folks are like rock stars around here. The team is super-friendly and the entire crew (including the scientists onboard) appear to be charismatic, photogenic, and knowledgeable. The great whites couldn't have picked better ambassadors.

Unfortunately we didn't see them catch any sharks but it was fascinating to see the ship. We also had a good view of the hundreds of seals on the beach that are the reasons the sharks are here.  Mark and Conrad had fun playing with the ship's dog, Nixie. At one point we looked over to see Mark flat on his back with the dog on top of him, licking his mouth. Mark stands up with a big smile on his face and says, "Yuck! She got her tongue in my mouth!" Everyone got a good laugh out of the incident, even Mark (after he spit out the dog saliva).

Even the ride to and from the big boat was fun. Even though we are sailors, we appreciate a super fast boat. It was a little chilly and damp on the way back because of the fog but we got there quickly. As we walked up the beach back to the car, a woman that was standing on the beach drinking a cocktail asked whether we had seen any sharks. We shook our heads disappointedly. She said, "Well, that's not a bad thing!" We laughed, understanding the perspective of a vacationing beachgoer.

We have been enjoying our visit with Matt's parents, aunt and uncle, and cousin Charlie. Matt's parents brought a small truckload of Lego and books for Conrad's birthday that have almost given cousin Charlie a run for his money for the boys' attention. They (and our aunt, uncle and cousin) have also played taxi service for us, which has been incredibly helpful.

This is a shot from a dinner to celebrate Charlie's birthday. Every meal we share requires that the boys flank Charlie and his birthday dinner was no exception.

Gotta get your beef shield

That was the song that Conrad and Mark were singing on our sail from Provincetown back to Bassett's Bay. "Gotta get your beef shield! Gotta get your beef shield!" There was a dance too. It was a mix of hip hop and Elaine on Seinfeld. Their energy cannot be contained. At the end Mark said, "We hope you enjoyed the show. Visit sillysongs.com."

We had a great sail back to Bassett's Bay. The winds were in the mid-20s and we had a screaming (for us) 9 to 10 knots with a reefed sail almost all the way to the canal. We barely move when the wind is light (as in we could walk faster) but when the winds pick up we routinely pass other sailboats. Not that we're competitive about it. Much.

Then in the canal, the current and wind gave us a speedy 10-11 knots. We saw a boat sailing the other way and it looked like it was barely making any progress. This trip was better than the one to Provincetown, when we had to motor the whole 6 hours. This trip back took 5 hours and we only ran the engine for a couple hours in the canal. We'll take good sailing days when we can get them.

We went to Matt's cousin's vacation house to pick up some packages we had shipped there (have we mentioned how awesome his cousin and her family are?) and got some fish for sushi. We are blowing our grocery budget on fresh fish here in Cape Cod and loving every minute of it.

Matt's parents will be here tomorrow. They haven't seen Matt's uncle and aunt in over 10 years so it will be a nice mini-reunion. Conrad and Mark are excited to see their Nana and Grandpa again too.

P-Town Carnival Parade

We went to the Provincetown Carnival parade yesterday. This year's theme was Vegas, baby. It's a good thing they gave away beads and beach balls or the boys would have given up and gone home (and we would have been okay with that). We waited over an hour for the parade to start and then stood through an hour and a half of the slowest parade ever during the cloudy and partly rainy afternoon.

It was fun, though, and quite the show. There were some very elaborate floats and zero politicians, as far as we could tell. It was a little less family-friendly than the Independence Day parade in Beaufort but not as raunchy as the Gay Pride Parade used to be in Chicago. And it can't touch Mardi Gras for adult-only content.

 

 

We'll be up early tomorrow to head back to Bassett's Bay to meet Matt's parents. There's a chance of rain, so it may be a little wet.

Seals, again? Sigh.

Just kidding, we love seals. Heck, we still love dolphins, despite their being all over the place. It's not yet like eagles in British Columbia. There were so many eagles when Matt and I visited way back, that they were like pigeons to us by the time we left.

 

 

Where there are seals, there is always a chance of great white sharks. Check out the folks at OCEARCH.org who just completed a white shark tagging expedition on the other side of the Cape, just a few miles away (they also have a cool "shark tracker" that shows the location of their tagged sharks).  Of course, if we really thought there were 2-ton carnivorous sharks here at the Provincetown anchorage, Matt wouldn't be diving into the water to clean the bottom of the boat. As he scraped the numerous barnacles and other critters off the bottom, some of them dug their appendages into his clothes and skin in a desperate attempt to reattach to something.

 



In the morning we had school. We spent the afternoon at the beach, as low tide approached. The ten-foot tides here really mess with people trying to visit the beach. We did a little better with the dinghy today and didn't have to drag it quite so far back to the water. A 25 foot powerboat that was too big to drag was not quite as lucky. They were firmly high and dry and were going to be there for quite awhile waiting for the tide to come back in. The owner took the time to do some boat maintenance. Matt was actually thinking that beaching our boat would have been an easier way for us to clean our bottom.

 

 

 

 

 

Climbing things is fun. Also, seals!

Pilgrim monument in the background.

This houseboat anchored here in Provincetown is really cool. It doesn't look to have a motor so it might need to be towed places but it has a very modern, sleek look, including the way the solar panels are mounted.

 

We climbed Pilgrim Monument, which commemorates the Pilgrims' arrival in the New World. It is billed as the tallest all-granite structure in the United States (of course, I'm not certain how many all-granite structures there really are). The views at the top are the best in Cape Cod and the museum was small but educational. Fully half of the museum features stuffed arctic animals (polar bear, walruses, wolves). This had us scratching our heads until we saw that the most famous Provincetown resident is apparently some early 1900s arctic explorer that you've never heard of.  One exhibit showed what the Pilgrims did during their five week stay here. First thing to do once off the boat? Laundry. I have to imagine they were a bit ripe after a two month cruise. Next, they "borrowed" some corn (nice euphemism for steal) and then a few days later got arrows shot at them by natives (understandable, I'd be pissed too if my corn had just been "borrowed"). Eventually they decided it wasn't the place for them and they packed up and continued on to Plymouth.  Although we enjoyed our visit, we may need to expand our recently created "no paying to climb lighthouses" rule to include paying to climb other random towers as well.

 

Matt and Conrad caught a bunch more squid the other morning. Matt made Buffalo squid with the tentacles, which turned out really well. Of course frying anything tends to make it yummy. Mark loved the ones without the hot sauce. Conrad, however, was not too keen on eating the tentacles. I get the feeling that he was concerned about getting suctioned. Even though it's good stuff, we may be squidded out for a bit.  Also, we have learned during the last couple of days that squid squirt ink even when out of the water and that it's a real pain to clean up the very tenacious black stuff off a white boat.

 

 

 

 

We took a ride over to the beach on the other side of the harbor. The boys saw their first seals. The seals were swimming around in the water, fishing. We walked along the beach as low tide approached and saw a ton of hermit crabs, squid eggs, and crab shells of all varieties.  Unfortunately, the tides are large here (10 feet!) and we didn't leave the dingy anchored far enough offshore and had to drag it a good ways to get it back in the water.

 

This anchorage is nice but it can get pretty roll-y when the high-speed ferry passes by. We think we'll be leaving Friday when north winds are forecasted to return.

P-Town--heh, heh, it's called Pee town

After spending the last month in relatively sleepy, seaside areas, it's a bit of a shock to the system to come to Provincetown. It's not a huge town, but it is bigger than anywhere we have been recently and it crammed full of tourists and shops that cater to them. The town's main street stretches for a couple of miles and is mostly filled with pedestrian traffic.  Importantly for us, there is a real grocery store within walking distance and a great Portuguese bakery that serves up some tasty fried dough.  The boys had a great time rummaging through the very varied inventory at the landmark Marine Specialties Store.  Apparently the same crate of "American Airlines First Class soup bowls" (for only 50 cents each) has been on sale for the past 15 years.

 

Matt and Conrad have been fishing for squid and caught a big bucket of them. A local man of Portuguese descent named Carlos showed us his jigging technique and, on Pendragon, gave an impromptu cooking lesson on how he makes his signature squid stew. For dinner, Matt whipped up an amazing white-wine based linguine with grilled squid, clams, scallops and shrimp. Both the boys loved the grilled calamari and Conrad changed his mind and decided he likes shrimp now.

 

 

It is Carnival week so the alternative vibe is amped up even higher than usual (or so we're told).  We're looking forward to some flamboyant costumes at the big parade on Thursday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are the vuvuzelas that Joe from Pendragon so kindly gave to the boys (in addition to a great sea life encyclopedia for Conrad's birthday). Note that these often carry safety warnings because they can be so loud and have been banned in some public places. Joe also had a great time practicing with the boys to yell, "Wake up, Daddy!" at the top of their lungs. Thanks, Joe.



Tipsy boats

I saw the mast of this boat the other evening, looked over and saw this. I guess they got a little too close to shore. Fortunately for them, it was pretty calm so they just waited for the tide to come back up. We can't criticize too much, having hit bottom before, but it makes for a good picture.

By the way, we are in a marina for a couple days to get our engine fixed (that rear seal issue) and happened to see this boat had been pulled out of the water. It looks like the whole rudder has been removed and it seems that they were taking on some water after hitting that rock. What a bummer. It reminds us of the price you can pay for any misstep out there.

Let's talk about seaweed

We went to a talk on seaweed at the historic Cataumet Schoolhouse given by local expert Gilbert Newton. The one room school dates back to 1894 and was recently restored. It was very "Little House on the Prairie," down to the lunch pails left hanging by the door. You might not think a talk about seaweed would be very interesting but practically every seat was filled and the boys stayed interested for most of the hour-long talk.

Gil is very enthusiastic about seaweed and gave a great talk. We found out that nori, which is the seaweed that's used in sushi and roasted seasoned seaweed (the boys' favorite food), can be found in the Cape Cod area. Matt was online later that evening looking up where to harvest the stuff.

We also learned about killer seaweed, which is not in Cape Cod, but is a terribly invasive species that wipes out whole swaths of ocean floor and is just about impossible to control as nothing eats it. The most interesting thing about it to me was that it was created on purpose (for aquariums, with involvement by Jacques Cousteau, no less) and then got way out of hand. It's yet another instance of humans trying to mess with nature and having it turn out really badly.

Afterwards, we tried to get ice-cream from the little gift shop at the marina (um, oh yeah- the reason the kids made it all the way through the talk and walk home may have had something to do with promised ice cream if they behaved). As we walked in and headed towards the ice-cream case, the friendly owner/manager took one look at us and said, "You're not here for ice-cream, are you?" You could literally see confusion, followed by dread, descend on they boys' faces as they sensed a disturbance in the ice-cream force (sorry, the kids' obsession with Star Wars is rubbing off).  Apparently, someone had accidentally unplugged the ice cream case and everything melted and was now in the dumpster.  Luckily, the manager took pity on us and gave the boys some half-melted Dove bars for free. Although they were wearing most of it at the end, they were happy. So we were happy.

The first rule of boating--don't hit a rock

 

The weekend is here again and with it comes the hundred or so boats that descend on the anchorage.  One of them had a less than optimal day.

The main channel near our anchorage is near two danger buoys marking a rock that is submerged except at low tide. You can see one of the markers right in front of the boat in the picture. If it looks like the marker is really close to the boat, that's because it is. The photo was taken right after the boat ran into the submerged rock with a resounding crunch that made Matt say, "What was that?" Apparently the woman in red standing to the side of the boat was thrown from the boat when it hit the rock.

Unfortunately, the woman was unable to swim back to the boat (because as we found out later, she had hit her head on the offending rock with enough force to feel dazed and give her a good gash). The boat could not go to her because the rock was still there (which is what she's standing on in the picture). Matt, Boy Scout that he is, got in the dinghy to pick her up and deliver her to her boat. Of course, that was after he snapped this picture and chuckled at the situation. Maybe he's not that much of a Boy Scout. To be fair, he was not aware that she was injured until he got to her.

Matt has been busy crossing boat projects off the list. He installed our new radar and it works great as far as we can tell. He serviced a couple of our winches that really needed it. He started reconfiguring the 230 volt system so that it probably won't electrocute someone when the generator is running.  There have been a lot of other smaller jobs that have been completed.

We have ordered the rear seal for our port engine and hopefully the mechanic can work on it next week or the week after. We had wanted to explore more of the Cape Cod area but have been stuck in place waiting for responses on who could do the engine work and also to receive packages that we ordered.  At least we have pretty good internet connection to keep us amused.  On the not-so amusing side of being in one spot, our holding tank is filling up.  We are hoping to time the emptying of our holding tank with the marina time that will be needed for the engine repairs. It's a race between our poop and the mechanic, and our poop has been a lot faster so far.

Bassett's Island

Conrad and Mark have had a great time with their soon-to-be-12 year old cousin Charlie. His parents have a house near the anchorage and we have really enjoyed spending time with family. They also let us use their shower and laundry, among many other things. Boat life is nice, but there's certainly something to be said for unlimited running water.

That is Charlie going up the mast after Matt got back down from fixing some things. There was a bit of a misunderstanding with his mother about whether or not we were joking about his going up. But he was returned uninjured and had fun. He even inspired Conrad to try it. Conrad can't wait to do it again.

The cousins also spent several hours jumping off the boat into the water, playing a variety of games and having Lego building contests. Charlie is an amazing kid and the boys love him like no one's business.
One of the problems in being so close to civilization is the temptation to spend too much money eating out.  In addition to the very popular Chart Room (in the summer, it was crowded even on a Monday evening), the Lobster Trap is worth a trip. We have also made near daily trips to Cataumetfish for fresh-off-the-boat fish.  And the ice cream shop just down the street makes its own ice cream daily.  Cranberry bog is a perennial flavor favorite.

We also got to see our friends from Pendragon again. Joe went Quahog clam hunting with a local friend and was generous enough to share a whole bucketful with us (even if he was mum on exactly where he found them). That was a real treat. Around here, they eat them grilled, chopped fine, and mixed with breadcrumbs, garlic, onion, celery and bits of sausage. We mixed ours with bacon grease as well, so you know they had to be good.

We will be hanging around Cape Cod for a few weeks while we wait for Matt's parents to visit at the end of the month. Another item has been added to the top of our to do list. We have an oil leak in our port engine that is probably the rear main seal, requiring special tools to access. So we will have that fixed, as well as ticking off more repairs on our own. Also, we finally bit the bullet and ordered radar (mostly so we can see and avoid storms) and a pressure cooker (mostly because everyone else has one and says they're great--we'll see).

 

 

 

Atlantic City to Cuttyhunk

I feel like the universe is answering my blog posts.

A couple posts ago referenced mating horseshoe crabs and then we saw some frisky crabs on the beach in Atlantic City (Mark, "Look! He's holding on to her!"). Similarly, I posted a picture of a sign that warned visitors not to dive from the bridge. Then on Block Island we saw kids having a great time jumping from a bridge (the sign in the background says not to jump or dive from the bridge). Of course, maybe we're just in areas with a lot of horseshoe crabs and bridges.

The anchorage in Atlantic City had a beach nearby where cars drive close to the water and park on the sand. On nice weekend days, the entire beachfront is lined with the bumpers of cars. Even though it was cool and windy, there were a lot of people out. They may have been using their beach towels as blankets, but they were there. Mark and Conrad actually played in the surf. Just watching them made Matt and me want to drink hot chocolate by a warm fire. Later on, back at the boat, we caught a clearnose stingray but let it go. I guess they used to make faux-scallops out of them, so they are edible, but we were not sure how to fillet it and it was so darned cute to boot.

The next morning, we left close to low tide and white-knuckled it through the exit channel. The active captain notes on the anchorage reported that some boats had seen depths of five and a half feet (our draft is five and a half). Luckily, we never saw anything less than 7 feet, but the channel is very narrow and you need to keep the boat within about 5 feet of the grassy shore, so it's a bit of an adrenaline boost at 6 a.m.

The wind files lied to us again. We had waited to time our overnight passage with what were
supposed to have been 10 knot winds from the southwest. Instead we had 5 knot winds from the north northeast (we were headed northeast). So we ran our motor most of the day. Fortunately, the wind picked up in the late afternoon and overnight and we made up a lot of ground. We actually were trying to slow the boat down below 10 knots at one point in the middle of the night. We made it to Block Island (Rhode Island) the next afternoon. My goodness but that is a crowded anchorage. We anchored in about 50 feet of water because the shallower areas were full. There is quite an economy built up around the boats. You could theoretically never leave your boat and have everything you need brought to you. There is a bakery boat that comes around with pastries and donuts in the morning, a pump-out boat, a water boat, and finally a "raw bar" boat that will deliver oysters and lobsters. We even met a couple of enterprising kids in a dinghy who were hauling people's garbage to shore for tips.

 

 

Cuttyhunk Island (Massachusetts) and the town of Gosnold is a charming place with few cars and a smattering of golf carts. It sort of reminds me of Man-o-War Cay in the Bahamas, but with fewer churches.  The island seems to have a wry sense of humor. One jokester spends the off-season making and hanging signs proclaiming his "ownership" of certain things around the island (Joe's Garage, Joe's Garden, Joe's Bunker, etc.).  Another prankster has dotted the island with small signs advertising a new "country club" with the low, low initiation fee of $5,000.  The town is the smallest in all Massachusetts and the one-room public schoolhouse has only two students. One of the summer visitors runs an Art and Recreation camp at the school for 2 weeks.  Conrad and Mark attended one of the days and had a great time building wooden ships.