After our unscheduled (but successful!) haul-out & repairs, it was finally time to shove off & have some fun! While we knew we’d be constantly running away from Covid-19, little did we know that there would be more!
Our first reward after our hard work hauled-out (we saved one for the photo)!
This is the path to the only grocery market on quaint Cuttyhunk Island, one of the Elizabeth Islands south of Cape Cod. With only 20 year-round & 200 summer residents it seemed like a safe stop, however, 2 days after we left testing found 20 Covid-19 cases – the highest per-capita in Massachusetts!
Running away to the north – thru the foggy Cape Cod Canal
The rugged coast of Rockport, Massachusetts (along with lobster boats & lots of pots) lets you know you’re getting close to Maine. Near this spot we noticed a seal popping his head up, followed by a shark fin! Further offshore we saw a few whales, but unlike the whale watching boats, didn’t want to nearly run down the whales for a closeup photo.
With Covid-19 travel restrictions in Maine, we decided to only go as far north as Newburyport, Massachusetts.
Hey – we can’t help it if they have 2 great donuts shops plus a bakery right near the waterfront! These are brioche donuts from Angry Donuts.
Donuts weren’t the only reason – Benj was able to drive out from Vermont to visit for a long weekend!
This is beautiful Hadley Harbor (at the other end of the Elizabeth Islands from Cuttyhunk). Owned by the Forbes Family who provide great scenery & free moorings for visiting boats (just don’t try to go ashore).
Sunset off our mooring in Hadley HarborAs you may have guessed, our next running-away decision was Tropical Storm Isaias on it’s way
north. We almost kept to our plan for a marina stay in New Bedford, Massachusetts as they have a hurricane barrier they close to protect their harbor from large storms. However, with possible 40 – 50 knot winds, we decided not to take the chance as the harbor is fairly wide so waves can still build-up within the harbor.
Since we had planned on returning to our slip in Deep River, CT in a week anyway, we just headed right back. Did we make the right decision?
Well …. no. Tropical Storm Isiasis veered west, missing New Bedford by 100 miles, but passing just west of Deep River giving us the higher winds. With gusts to only 55 knots & well secured in our slip, it wasn’t that bad at all … until we listened to the news & walked out from the marina. Trees down everywhere with the 2nd largest loss of power in recent CT history!
We were originally going to wait it out at the marina, but it gets hot without A/C & we don’t want to run our generator constantly. Plus, the docks were without water & we couldn’t exactly use our watermaker to make our own, as further north on the Connecticut River there was a massive raw sewage discharge (thanks Holyoke, MA). So off to Greenport, NY for water, groceries & laundry. Be back in a few days when the power is restored??
Cruising along the East Coast and Bahamas 
Nice write up again Russ. Assuming the new shaft bearings etc all performed well. Nice to hear everyone made it through the storm unscathed. Times like these, I glad I have a small boat that rides these out safely tucked away in the boat barn. My brother rode it out at Beaufort Yacht Basin on his little Com-Pac with no issues. A water spout did form there in Town Creek though spinning one boat around on its mooring. Safe Travels and hope to finally see you guys on your next run south.
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Glad you and your brother had no issues. Always a worry when these storms blow through.
Hoping we can connect in NC- hoping to spend some time in New Bern and Beaufort.
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Wow that post was a handful! Glad you got to see Benj!
On Sat, Aug 8, 2020, 4:22 PM Cruising along the East Coast and Bahamas wrote:
> ortolancat posted: “After our unscheduled (but successful!) haul-out & > repairs, it was finally time to go out & have some fun! While we knew we’d > be constantly running away from Covid-19, little did we know that there > would be more! ” >
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Yep – that was the best part!
– Russ
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Without any real knowledge/experience I had always just sort of assumed that going that far north would be ‘safe territory’ if a hurricane were to come up from the tropics. Clearly that’s not the case huh? I was tied up at a marina 18 miles up the NC Cape Fear River (8 miles to the ocean as the ‘crow flies’) and did Ok through the 80 knot gusts. But my marina neighbor one boat away from me lost their large solar array and a new 56 Hatteras powerboat was sunk when a cleat tore out leaving a 6 inch hole (improper backing). Then just down river at Southport all the the marinas were wiped out! This collective damage resulted from just a ‘puny’ Category 1 storm! I hate to think what it would have been like were this have been a typical 2 or 3 level. Yikes. It seems that there really aren’t any safe places on the entire East Coast. 😦
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Glad you made it thru o.k.! Have seen the Southport pictures- the destruction was absolutely unbelievable!!
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