This sailboat was aground during the few hours around low tide

The wind situation was such that sailing became possible for the three-hour trip to Scituate, MA. The pot float situation was bearable and we managed to dodge them expertly including the one Russ took down the middle. I was below and wondered what the “clunk” sound was; just the stick part of the float hitting the hull. Oh.

The mooring situation was unusual (for us), tight, and somewhat painful (for Lori). Lots of moorings not all spaced equally and again you’ve got that 9-10ft tide to deal with. Because the launch service operates some of the moorings (they are privately owned though) the launch comes out to you in the channel and leads you to your mooring; much easier than you trying to find it yourself. We get to the first one and are partially attached but Russ decides this is too close quarters and when the wind dies (as forecasted) Ortolan will be smoochin’ with one of her neighbors for sure. Call the launch and head back to the channel; time is 6pm-ish and she’s busy so we wait. Luckily she had another one open (balls filled up right after) and it looked good three out of four ways but that was good enough. I nearly killed myself getting the big hook onto the pennant eye splice. I didn’t have enough slack in our new special setup line which made it a Herculean feat getting the hook off the Fortress’s anchor bar where we hang it when we are going to pick up a mooring. Oh, did I mention we’d used our wonderful headsets but part way through the first ball pickup mine went dead; naturally. So I can’t tell Russ what to do when I’m having super difficulty getting the hook onto the pennant. I nearly end up going over the seagull stays (the ones right at the thick crossbeam) but manage to only mess up my elbow and leg. Of course one boat is very near to us and I imagine is getting a good chuckle from our seeming ineptness. Spent the entire next 24 hours charging both headsets; mine appears to have a short.

The in-town situation is attractive and being so close to Boston, everyone is well dressed but maybe that was a bit influenced by the First Friday Festivities.

Most shops offered finger foods and music on Friday

 This was also Heritage Days so lots going on. Saturday ended a streak of nice weather with cold and rain all day. We did get in later for dinner, a delicious Manhattan and yummy cake for dessert.

The shopping and such situation was easy, everything is within a few blocks of where the launch brings you to. The Laundromat was amazingly clean with nearly all machines in working order. But oops- the washers and dryers don’t accept quarters; you need to put money on a card.

Sunday before we headed to Boston in the afternoon, we dinghied over to the lighthouse. In the below photo you can’t see the lighthouse which is on the right, but it is attached to the house and the connector room; very unusual.

The British kept many cities and towns busy with all their attacking and Scituate has its story. You can read the plaque below. Those girls assessed the situation and even though they must have been scared they got the job done.

The mooring field for Duxbury is in that white kite-shaped square in the upper left.

A channel diverged, and we turned right. Turn left into Plymouth or bear right into Duxbury. Both are steeped in Mayflower history and both have plenty to offer a boater; just depends on what you are looking for and maybe just a bit of who you know. A few years ago we got invited, along with our son, to visit “the old house” on Clarks Island located behind Saquish as you enter the channel.

We admired many pretty homes along Washington on our way to the market

Our primary reason for stopping here was to have that once-a-year meet-up with our friends Linda and Glenn on s/v Indigo who you have read about here before. We came so close in Great Bridge, VA where Indigo was going to hang out for, well I am not sure of the original intentions but she didn’t head for home until late July! Duxbury is such a quietly classy place with at least seven commercial oyster operations and one of the first Talbots; what’s not to love?

Duxbury was our first stop on the canal’s “other side” where the tide range is extreme (9ft compared to the 2-4ft we are used to) and only a picture can adequately describe how that looks. The temps are even cooler, not that we needed it. Has been a very cool and comfortable summer, temperature-wise thanks to the regular cold fronts that keep pushing across bringing rain, TSs and moderating the not-very-hot anyway temps.

Low tide allows you a sneak peek at a mushroom mooring

The beach is a drive on. Sure is convenient to have your car close by

The Duxbury Harbormaster is a busy office with several boats and a late-model truck. In addition to harbor duties, the very long Duxbury Beach is under their purview. Moorings are all privately owned, with some being owned by members of the DYC. We were assigned a ball in the limited big boat section. At high tide the spacing looks acceptable but at low tide you’ve got more scope and if the wind dies things could go bump in the night- because that’s when they always do, right? Russ has expressed this concern at many of the mooring fields this trip, but so far no problems. Yet.

Wednesday evening was delightful, the Duxbury oysters delicious. Our hosts along with a close friend and Glenn’s sister couldn’t have made us feel more relaxed and at home. A G&T in one hand and shucking corn with the other- I felt so useful in Linda’s spacious new kitchen. The roasted corn was excellent. Remove the tough outer husks, leaving a layer or two of the lighter inner ones. Remove silk and brush the kernels with a mixture of chopped fresh herbs and EVOO. Use a strand of long husk (peel it a narrow width) to wrap around the ear and keep the husks fastened. Grill and enjoy.

While waiting for Glenn to pick us up for dinner at their lovely home with a harbor view, we saw the person who is our second connection to Duxbury; Kerry’s Uncle Skip. We chatted; mostly talked boat talk and island talk. Hopefully Skip would be able to fit in a visit to Ortolan before we left on Friday.

Success! Skip heads off in one of his many boats

Duxbury Harbor is an oyster farmer’s heaven. The very shallow waters with the constant ebb and flow are ideal for raising oysters. Every day we watched the boats head out and around 3pm they’d start bringing the day’s harvest to the ramp by the YC. Naturally, we managed to find time to visit Snug Harbor Wine & Spirits, the seafood market, French Memories Café and Bakery, Talbots (can you see the 50% off sign calling out to me?), dump our trash and recycling and walk about 1 ½ miles toward the town center for a visit to Foodies Grocery Market.

Began in Hingham,1947. One of the first locations sits invitingly in Duxbury

A morning surprise as locally built m/v Surprise gives us a love tap

Friday morning we’d planned to head north 15 miles to Scituate and had “reserved” a mooring with EZ Rider.

However the Captain decided we needed to circumnavigate Clarks Island and anchor off the “old House” for lunch. Even with a 9ft tide range we wanted a good 6ft over the extremely shallow one foot areas.