First half of July - by Elsie

Yes, Lionel asked the question, what could possibly go wrong and we found out the question the next day.

Ruby

1st July saw us anchored at Rockport just off the old harbour. A very convenient spot for access to the town with the dinghy dock just inside the harbour wall, although at low tide the barricade of rocks makes it look inaccessible but with care it can still be done. However, I would recommend tying up at one of the empty floating pontoons as there is a long climb up the ladder from the designated dingy dock. This is about the third or maybe fourth time we have anchored here but we never went ashore as we were always on our way somewhere or going back south. It is a very convenient place to stop for the night. Every time we have visited one of us has remarked on the huge picture window that a building has overlooking the anchorage. Tonight, we will have the chance to see the window from the inside. It belongs to the town arts theatre and is a huge window at the back of the stage. A film of The Tempest is being shown tonight and we got tickets. On our morning walk we called into the booking office to collect the tickets. There were no seat numbers on the tickets so Lionel asked if we should show up early to grab good seats. The lady looked, then replied no, you should be alright. Little did we know. The walk continued along another street we had not explored so far. All streets lead to the small independent grocery/all things store at the top of the town. Expensive but nice stuff. The bread was just being delivered so we waited for fresh bread and bought a few more things. Of course, when going to the theatre you must have “sweeties” and they must not rustle or make a noise when eaten. Li picked up some strawberry pretzels but I couldn’t find anything to my taste. I had remembered the sweetie shop in the centre. On our way back I feigned surprise and managed to get half a pound of gummy bears. Excellent choice for a theatre visit. No paper rustling, chewy but not noisy chewy and lasts for ages if sucked.

Typical Rockport street

After lunch we did more investigation into our water in the bilges problem. Lionel will write a separate posting about this as it gets very complicated and somewhat technical. We made a joint decision that it would be better to get it looked at now, when we had time on our hands and the boat yards were not busy. After asking for recommendations from his sailing gurus, we decide to turn back and go to a highly recommended boat yard at Marion, Massachusetts. Then, a big problem was met. The Americans have a holiday on 4^th July, something about Independence, I don’t understand why but they seemingly decided to go it alone. The problem was they just don’t have the day off they turn it into a long weekend which meant the preferred surveyor and boat yard were shut till Tuesday, a week away. We could either turn back tomorrow and spend the holiday in Marion, which would be OK but not as fun as spending the holiday in Provincetown so you guessed, we were heading back to Provincetown for the holidays. We had been on our own in this anchorage for a couple of days but I spied several boats heading our way as I sunned myself on deck. It’s a good sport watching people anchoring and it’s even better when they see someone on deck in a boat that is already anchored. Trying to judge the optimum distance to anchor away is an art and some people will never learn it. It took two attempts for one of the boats to get it right but eventually everyone was happy and the four of us settled down for the evening.

Ruby at anchor at Rockport

Another thing I don’t quite understand is the prohibition malarkey. Rock Sound was a dry town until 2006 when some restaurants were granted a liquor licence which meant people could have a drink with their meal. It was only in the Spring of this year that alcohol was allowed to be sold in the grocery store. A visit to the theatre always includes a drink in the interval so Lionel made up some rum punch in a water bottle and off we went with our theatre proofed sweeties and our illicit drink. We now understood what the lady in the box office meant, there was at the most thirty people at the film. The large window was covered up by the screen so we did not get to see the view from the other side. The film was good. We have been to many of these live films of plays and opera over the past year but when they said it had been filmed in Stratford, we did not realise they meant Stratford, Canada not Stratford, England. The lead, Prospero, was taken by a female actress which was unusual but had been done before. Li’s daughter, Artie, had played the Duke of Milan in her last year at her drama club. In the interval we sneaked out and sat on a large window sill sipping our cocktails, little knowing that the rest of the audience also came out for a breath of fresh air. We did get some funny looks but no comments but I did notice that the people who had been sitting beside us had moved further away for the second half. Ah well, they will catch on eventually.

Next morning light airs were forecast so we decided to do the passage to Provincetown in two days. We were still in two minds about where to spend the holiday. Plymouth could be an interesting option as this is where the Pilgrim Fathers eventually settled but we knew thousands of other people would have the same idea. Also, Plymouth is not a very anchor friendly place and although there are three free mooring balls just outside the harbour they are uncomfortable for a couple of reasons – they are positioned outside the no wake area and the locals seem to take great pleasure in speeding as close as possible to them as they go pass and they are made of metal which means they bang against the boat hull with certain tides and currents no matter what you do. So, we set off motor sailing slowly in the general direction but going nowhere in particular. Lionel went down for a cat nap and the wind slowly built so I switched off the engine and sailed very slowly enjoying the silence but keeping a sharp eye out for fishing buoys. We may not be in Maine yet but they do love their buoys in Massachusetts as well. Lionel identified a possible anchorage at Green Harbour and we drew into a large bay with a wide sandy beach, dropping the anchor in time for a late afternoon tea. It was warm but not warm enough for us to think about swimming but the temperature didn’t seem to deter the locals who splashed about in the shallow water on the beautiful beach.

In the morning Lionel was awoken by splashing all around. The fish were rising and he threw out a line to see what he could catch for dinner. One smallish fish which we decide was a striped bass. Nothing else. It was light airs so we motor sailed to Provincetown and back into our preferred anchorage. We both like this place and it has everything an independent cruiser would need. The water is on a courtesy dock costing 25 cents for some? We couldn’t work out how much because it seemed to vary every time, we went so eventually we decided it was on a clock. The dingy dock was always busy but there was lots of room and there was no need for security as it is a very open friendly place. I had found out that there was a 4^th July Parade at 1030am going down the Main Street and a firework display at sunset. We planned the next day’s activities as Lionel ate his bony and rather tasteless fish and I enjoyed a veggie stir fry. We would be the ultimate tourist and arrive early for the Parade, armed with lots of water and find a nice shady seat. The firework raft was moored in the harbour so we decided we would go out in the dinghy for a good view. The day was sorted.

Provincetown sunset

A beautiful day dawned. Maybe a little history of Provincetown is needed. This was the first land fall of the Pilgrim Fathers on the Mayflower. They soon realised that it was not going to sustain life and moved down the coast to Plymouth. The first European death was here. Whether it was a natural death, a suicide or a murder is up to who you believe. However, the Europeans had noted the tall trees and came back to use the wood to build their houses in Plymouth, stripping the natural forests. Thank goodness someone had the sense to replant them about 50 years ago. Did you know that the Fathers were aiming for Virginia and was swept off course on their very rough passage? They had to petition the king for permission to stay in Plymouth which he granted.

Pilgrims Monument

 Nothing much else happened there until war was declared in Europe in the twentieth century. When it looked as if America was going to join in, the artists and their followers arrived in Provincetown to escape all the war talk and they have never left. Every second shop is a picture gallery or some sort of craft shop. There are as many theatres as there are public houses and everywhere is a party zone. It is a colourful, happy place with two flags flying beside the Pilgrims Monument, a huge Stars and Strips and an equally big Rainbow flag. We arrived and found an empty bench beside the library, not in the shade but not long to wait. So, we waited …and waited …. and waited…. It isn’t a hardship to wait around in this town. There is always something to watch or observe. Lots of interesting people and dogs. Eventually, almost an hour late, the Parade started with the usual dignitaries and some soldiers carrying flags.

Soldiers and flags

Miss Massachusetts was next in the obligatory open car then pensioner of the year and some other worthy towns people.

someone very important

Two drag queens in full regalia with sparkly stilettoes on tricycles were next, so Provincetown!

The rest of the Parade was a celebration of all things American, dressed up trucks, fire engines, ambulances. Sponsored flatbed trucks, decorated in red, white and blue filled with people throwing sweets and toys to the crowd. I managed to catch a windmill but realised there was a babe in arms behind me so I handed it over. I do have a conscience.

do you think

The last group was a Youth Theatre Group who were performing Cabaret some time during the summer. Every hundred yards they stopped and gave us a song and dance. Very entertaining. After the mornings excitement we took a stroll to the supermarket then returned to Ruby for a quiet afternoon and early dinner so we had time to drift to the firework display …which was late… very, very late … in starting. Once the Harbour Master had got everyone where he wanted them to be then decided to park herself in front of us for the best view the display began. It was good with only one or two misfires. That was our most exciting Independence Day so far – no aliens, that we know of – but exciting.

Fife and drums

The next morning, I took charge and arranged a day of sightseeing using the local bus. The day ticket was very reasonably priced and it meant we could jump on and off at will. There was a bus scheduled every hour which was just enough time to see each of the towns on route. Off we went. The first stop was at a place called Wellfleet where Marconi made the first transatlantic radio message at a place called, interestingly enough, Marconi Beach. What a coincidence! Thank goodness for tourist orientated bus drivers. It wasn’t at Wellfleet, it was about five miles outside the town but we got dropped off at the junction and was pointed in the general direction. Now, the adventure began. We walked down a road for a mile then saw the headquarters of the Park Rangers which we decided to go into and see if we could get some more information. Good job we did. This turned out to be the museum as well with a small exhibit of Marconi’s life and a scale model of the equipment he used to make the ground breaking message. Quiet disappointing. After a conversation with the lady on the desk we decided that going to the actual sight wasn’t worth the effort and to go for a small stroll instead and catch the next bus to see what other delights we could find. The stroll turned into a major hike ending up, you guessed, at Marconi Beach.

Marconi beach

Nothing is left there except a sandy beach with the Atlantic pounding on it. The radio station was only there for about six years as the erosion of the beach was so severe it was in danger of falling into the sea so they dismantled and moved it to safer spot. I bet the locals were pleased. When it was operating the noise of the sparks could be heard six miles away.

Wellfleet walk

Onward we went, eventually hitting the main road. On the travel web site, it said the bus could be hailed and stopped on this stretch of road anywhere as long as it was safe. It looked safe so we waited for the bus. Half hour later it passed but did not stop. Ok. We decided to walk to where we got dropped off. That was an official bus stop. The buses were an hour apart so we took the scenic route but still had plenty of time to catch the scheduled bus. By this time, we were commenting on the heavy traffic on the main road and how Cape Cod would soon be full if this carried on. The bus was very late. Lionel found a bus tracking page on the transport website and reported that there was a bus coming the other way in ten minutes. The decision was made to cut our losses and return to Ruby which we did. Afterwards we found out that it was common for people to spend the actual 4^th July at home then travel to their holiday destination the next day hence the heavy traffic. Never mind, we got lots of exercise.

Provincetown walk

I had picked up a whole lot of leaflets about walks in the area at the headquarters and found that there was a walk in Provincetown down to one of the famed beaches, Herring Cove. After much reassurance (and checking for himself) Lionel decide it would be a good idea to go for a walk and we headed out towards the park the next morning. It was yet again another lovely day and we enjoyed a good walk in the woodland and around some lily ponds. Where was Monet when you needed him?

Monet

We took our lives in our hands and walked along the cycle path expecting irate cyclists to be ringing their bells and shouting but it was very peaceful and pleasant and we all shared the path amicably, cyclists, walkers and the occasional jogger.

sand dunes

The beach was reached, eventually and we turned for home after filling our water bottles at a fountain made available by the beach café. Thank you. On our homeward journey we came across a metal sculptures yard. Fantastic sculptures and garden models and a very interesting man to talk to. A metal tree with lamps hanging from it caught my eye but alas, there is no room on Ruby for decorations like that. Once more a visit the supermarket (Stop and Shop is almost my favourite American supermarket now) and an early evening as we had a “long journey to make” tomorrow. We moved over to the other side of the bay for a quick getaway in the morning and because it would be more comfortable in the wind direction. Over there, there are two house structures built on floating platforms, my kind of place. One had a forty foot sail boat moored up alongside. Bliss.

my dream

Everything was timed today so that we could get through the Cape Cod Canal with the tide so we lifted anchor about 1030am and sailed across the wide expanse that I felt we knew very well by now. The wind was right behind us so a preventer and pole were rigged and we goose winged toward Sandwich (more or less) at a good speed amusing ourselves on the way by watching a boat which had left the anchorage well before us. The captain couldn’t make up his mind what was the best point of sail to adopt. One minute he was on port tack, the next on starboard then ten minutes later back on port. Once he spotted us goose winging, he tried that but to no avail. To be honest we soon realised why, the wind changed dramatically and we put away the sails as we approached the canal entrance. We motored through the canal and over to an anchorage on Wings Bay which we had used the previous week. It was as lovely as I remembered it to be and at sunset, we were treated to another firework display from across the peninsula as good if not better than the one we attended on the 4^th.

Cape Cod Canal

Next morning, we motored round to Marion slowly. There was no rush as nothing could be done till Tuesday morning. We were assigned a buoy amongst thousands and settled in for the afternoon. The boat yard thoughtfully had a courtesy launch so there was no need to let loose the dinghy and we took a slow stroll through town, found a very upmarket supermarket and a very good ice cream shop with two people serving. I must have looked hungrier than Lionel because my tub was about a third fuller than his. Flavours called purple cow and moose footprints were on offer. They were excellent. Marion is a very affluent town with a private school, Tabor Academy, which has extensive buildings and grounds. The emphasis is on outdoor living so we didn’t feel like a spectacle walking around the town as we usually are made to feel. Henry James, the author was born here. The boat yard was clean, tidy and offered everything that a cruiser would need. However, it was definitely not a DIY boatyard. All the storage we could see was indoors so it would be expensive to leave a boat here over the winter.

Tuesday dawned and the surveyor turned up and examined Ruby. He banged and nodded, looked at instruments and banged a bit more. His prognosis was Ruby was fine. There was not cracks or ripples and there was no reason to lift her out. You could feel the audible sigh that the news brought. We thanked him profusely, went alongside to fill with fuel and water and settled our bill promptly then left for Provincetown again. What was the hurry? Firstly, we need a favourable tide to get through the canal again and secondly, and more importantly, there was a weather window coming up that meant we could get up to Nova Scotia in one hop instead of taking the long way up the Maine coast which was good news as we were already behind schedule. We had wanted to spend Canada Day in Nova Scotia and that was 8 days ago. The sailing season in Nova Scotia is short and the weather can be very fickle so every good day has to be taken advantage of. There was very little wind and what wind was against us so we never even took the sails out and motored the 40 odd miles across to Provincetown again, dropping the anchor in time for Lionel’s afternoon nap. I checked the weather again for the umpteenth time.

Cape Cod road bridge

A passage across the Gulf of Maine is only about 250 miles but it cannot be taken lightly. It is out on the Atlantic and by past experience we knew how swiftly the wind and waves can change out there. We also had tides and currents to contend with. Using Predict Wind the optimum time to leave was 7pm tomorrow evening which meant we would have two nights at sea but, we would definitely be arriving in daylight to navigate into the sound where Shelburne is. I looked for an alternative but found none so it was going to be two nights and one day at sea.

We had a rather lazy morning the next day, catching up with admin stuff and correspondence. To be absolutely clear about what we were going to be doing in the next month we went through it day by day, marking off where we would need mooring buoys and pontoons to tie up on. Going by the prices published on various websites it was far cheaper than USA for marinas and buoys so we thought we might take advantage of that. All the emails were sent and people notified about our intentions and we had a cup of tea feeling smug. It’s not very often we are in organised harmony but it happened that morning. Yet another visit to the supermarket and a last walk around the town. This place is becoming like our American Tobermory, every voyage leads us there so I don’t think it will be the last time we visit.

We upped anchor at 0705pm and set sail to Nova Scotia. There was no point in faffing about so it was right into watches with Lionel on watch and me sleeping. We were expecting a 15 knot wind just behind the beam and we got it that night. My attempt to put in the first reef woke Lionel and he helped me achieve that. Dodging fishing boats is always a good sport but the ones we spotted on this passage were very well behaved and stayed at least a mile away. On the second night I spotted about seven lights on my starboard side, only two of them were showing on AIS as fishing boats. We were fast approaching the Canadian border and it was obvious that they wanted to cross and be on my port side. I watched carefully the ones on the AIS. They organised themselves with one of the boats showing AIS at the front and the other at the rear. The first boat motored across my bow, maybe a mile and a half away. Not close enough to give me any concern. He achieved his objective and I could just imagine him radioing the rest, “ok, boys, its safe, they don’t panic”. They all crossed one by one with the last boat being the other one with AIS. That’s organisation for you or it could just have been coincidence. The wind got up to about 18 knots on the second night, I was glad I persuaded Lionel to put in the second reef before he went down at 11pm. I put away some of the jib and Ruby sailed like a Princess, hitting 8.5 knots on occasions and averaging 6.9 knots overall. I had been so busy watching the antics of fishing boats I hadn’t realised out course had changed and we were being swept into the land by the current from the Bay of Fundy. I adjusted it considerably. The speed was decreasing as well, although the wind was the same strength. For about two hours I had 3.5knots of current against me. Not good. Of course, at 5am, when Lionel came on watch the current had decreased and the speed increased. He did have some tricky navigation to complete to avoid the buoys along the coast as we were nearer land than we intended to be at this point but he managed…. my hero. We anchored in Shelburne on 12^th July at 1255pm, 42 hours passage, average speed 6.9 knots. It’s amazing what can be achieved on a flat sea with a good wind on the beam. Well done us. Sleep please.

looking back to the mouth of the bay from Shelburne

Sleep was not to be had. Lionel had hoisted the yellow, quarantine flag as we turned into the bay. This means that we are not checked into the country where we are sailing. He telephoned the number and spoke to a very nice customs lady who asked lots of questions then decided we needed a visit from her colleagues. Would we please tie up at the yacht club? We radioed the club and explained the situation and they saw no problem with us tying up on the outside of their long pontoon.

Shelburne Yacht Club

 Once we had achieved this, we decided to have lunch before the officers appeared as we had stories of fresh food being confiscated and destroyed. That arrived about an hour later, asked us lots of questions, filled in lots of paper work, stamped our passports, gave us our cruising licence number which was to be shown in a window at all times, wished us well and left. That was our welcome to Canada. Quick, efficient and friendly. Off we went to anchor again and sleep. Goodnight.

we are in Canada