Vineyard Haven

Stardust is out of place, surrounded by wooden masted schooners.

This is the stern of some old boat. Our dog likes the name.

This is the home of Black Dog clothing. There are black dogs everywhere.

The cold fronts have gone through, leaving it clear and cold. The fronts brought winds up to 30kts, but this is a nice mooring behind a breakwater so the boat was relatively calm. The temp was 55 degrees when we woke up this morning, so the generator and heat were the first priority, hot coffee the second. With the sun shining, it has warmed up to near 60, and the boat is comfy, especially the sun room (the cockpit enclosure). Whitefoot took me on a long walk around Vineyard Haven this morning, and she soaked up some sun while I browsed in a bookstore.

We’ll get water at the town dock, and then sail for Cuttyhunk Harbor 20 miles away in the Elizabeth Islands. I shouldn’t have told Kathy that the nickname for the area we’ll be traversing is The Graveyard due to all of the shipwrecks there from the wild currents. The currents around here flow upwards of 6kts and the direction of flow is all over the place so there is no figuring it out without the Eldridge Pilot Book. The favorable flow begins at 2pm, so that’s when we’ll leave. Block Island was going to be our destination, but the winds and seas do not favor that route, so we’ll head for Point Judith, RI instead, and then follow the mainland for protection from the strong north winds forecasted for the next few days.