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.