Update

Our stay at Isles of Shoals was great but short. We stopped just long enough to take a nap and eat dinner before leaving for Cape Cod. We are trying to take advantage of the few favorable winds we can find. After a very peaceful rest we got up, ate dinner, did the dishes and prepared for departure. At 2130 (9:30pm) we left Gosport Harbor, Isles of Shoals for the Cape Cod Canal and ultimately Onset Harbor on the west end of the canal. We did not find the favorable winds we were looking for, in fact we didn’t find any wind until we reached Cape Cod Bay. We ended up motoring almost the entire time but the seas were calm and the moon was bright. We alternated our watches two hours on two hours off which was just enough time in the cold. Had it been warmer we probably would stand longer watches.
We had to time our canal transit just right due to the current which runs 4 to 6 knots, which is approaching our top speed. We would never make it through running against the current. Running with the current we made it through the canal doing over 9 knots at idle speed. The channel to Onset Harbor is a sharp 90 degree turn to starboard and the channel itself is 100 to 150 feet wide (that’s very narrow with a 5 knot cross current). The entrance to the harbor channel is a big green day mark on top of a pile of rocks about 30 feet across, just enough to interrupt the canal current. Anyway, the current in the canal was running so fast we bypassed the channel, turned around and headed into the current, hoping for a bit more control in the sharp turn. Well, at nearly full throttle we slowly crabbed the boat from the canal current into the harbor channel. Once we got into the channel the current dropped to almost nothing…until we passed the big entrance marker, then 5 knots of current again. The bow of the boat was ripped 45 degrees before I could turn the wheel. I yanked the wheel hard over and slammed the throttle wide open but the boat wouldn’t answer. So we’re driving, very quickly and out of control, for the edge of the channel which is just over a boat length away…nice! Just before reaching the edge of the channel (I mean just before) the current died down enough for our baby to respond, and she did! She responded with a sharp turn back into the channel! “We’re alive” (shouted many times)! The rest of the ride to the harbor was uneventful with the exception of two people breathing rapidly and deeply into a couple of brown paper lunch bags. Very funny in retrospect! We dropped anchor in the harbor, turned on the TV and ate yummy leftovers and fresh baked bread and fell asleep listening to the rain (all night). What a great night. Today we pulled up anchor, made our way over to the yacht club, fueled up and topped off the water tanks. Once back at anchor we took the dinghy back to the yacht club and did a couple loads of laundry. We’re off to town in a few minutes for pizza and a pitcher of beer!
Internet is really slow so we will upload pictures another time. Tomorrow we are heading for Stonington CT or Block Island RI.