We’ve officially reached New England. And you can certainly tell because when we listen to the coast guard and the radio chatter it sounds like New England (a lot of dropped r’s— cahhhhhhh for car, etc). Paul and I skipped into the Atlantic to visit Rhode Island for the first time – Block Island- before jumping to Mass; Martha’s Vineyard and finally to Nantucket.
These islands have a long history of sailors coming to visit, and we enjoyed learning some of the history, seeing old Whaling Captain’s mansions, widow walks, and the tail end of Hydrangeas blooming. Summer was having its final fling in the area, and the weather was ideal. The islands were all bustling with visitors and each island had such different character. Block Island felt like an east coast summer camp and Catalina island all rolled into one (mooring balls, shore boats, boat shoes, weekend warriors, ice cream joints). Everyone told us we had to try the mudslide at the Oar, and apparently that was also the day that Paul learned that brain freeze is real and not something people faked for attention. It was good, but with our body temperatures dropping, a frozen ice cream drink wasn’t our ideal.
Martha’s Vineyard, where they filmed the movie Jaws, and where the newly rich come to live for the summer, was gorgeous. WE visited multiple towns, but we loved Edgartown the most. It felt the most historic, and the city obviously goes to great lengths to ensure that the old houses stay as they once were.
Lastly, Nantucket. Whatever you’re conjuring in your head about Nantucket; old money, whaling history, big houses, Coffin family, the Chicken Box, overpriced, mega yachts; is true. We experienced the poor man’s Nantucket, which is probably still well above the median income of most of America. The old money and the summer people there seem to be in direct competition with the year round locals who were born there and will most definitely live there until they die. We enjoyed the brewery, having specialty cocktails at old timey whaling bars, and then (our honest answer) shopping at the Stop and Shop and cooking dinner onboard. We like to visit and to witness, but we can’t afford to eat at every restaurant, and much prefer our own cooking, so aside from an appetizer and a cocktail, we eat on the BlueBelle.
We left Nantucket at 5am on a Saturday, and made our way to P-Town Massachusetts, through a minefield of lobster pots and with a backdrop of whales jumping. This was our first visit to Cape Cod, although we visited just the tip. Provincetown, MA is a rainbow paradise filled with joyful holiday makers in short shorts, every color and all welcome. We loved P-town, although it was only a middling welcome for transient boat people.
We anchored far out at the edge of the anchorage and took the long dinghy road to shore past a very smelly floating dock to park our dinghy amongst crowded and perilously lifted outboards. There were plenty of friendly people to point us to the cool things to see, and we found a great dive bar and a gym. We went to perhaps the country’s oldest gay bar. We did laundry and shopped and in general merry made. The weather worked against our leaving so we stayed for 5 days, and Paul’s work schedule dictated that we had to get close to an airport, so we planned to leave and head toward Boston-
Which lead us to our next stop; Salem, Massachusetts. The Witch City. We made a wonderful friend who taught us the accent, and drove us to Trader Joe’s; we bought warm jackets, and toured a witch museum. The city is extremely touristy, but we leaned into it. The official logo of all city services has a witch on it- what can you do but be spooky?
From Salem, we jumped to New Hampshire and then to Maine, which means we’ve covered all the coastal states of New England. The leaves are starting to change, and the temperature is beginning to drop, but there are still blue bird days on land. WE run our engines for an hour at night to heat up the water so we can shower (it’s hard to shower in cold water when its 50 degrees outside) and being on the water is significantly colder than being on land. But we haven’t turned around yet, and still plan on sailing north from here to fully enjoy the coastal beauty of Maine, and hopefully Acadia National Park
Warmly
Paul and Lindsay (both wearing sweatpants, sweat shirts, socks and hats!)
PS One day I will write about the patchwork of liquor laws in New England. In Martha’s Vineyard, some towns were dry, some towns were soggy, some towns were wet. IN Rhode Island, they have outlawed happy hour. In some states, groceries cannot sell wine. We have learned so much about legislation just through our simple shopping habits. Live and learn!
PPS Radio etiquette is different on the East Coast than the West Coast. There’s less chatter, but its still there. Each state has different levels of politeness in chat. In Massachusetts, You hear “fuck yooooo this is my whale!” and “Your muddas bedroom!”, (with occasional reminders for no profanity or personal insults on 16), while in Maine its mostly “Excuse me, I’m on your port…please go ahead, no you, no you…have a great day”. Mane-ahs are polite, Massholes are rude, and New Hampshire was silent. Very interesting chatter!
TIBURON MARINO 