Our first Lobster

Finally!!!!!!!!!!  We have caught up with our cruising friends and are in New England.  Wednesday, June 26th we left Port Washington, NY and cruised north to meet up with our friends.  On the way we made a short stop in South Norwalk, CT to pick up our dinghy, which we had dropped off several weeks ago for work (see previous post).

Here they are dropping the dinghy back into the water

And then bringing it out to to us.

After that we cruised up the remainder of Long Island Sound and eventually out into Block Island Sound.  There was no space at the docks for us in Falmouth, MA where our friends were staying that night; so Keith and I went into a small harbor on the island of Cuttyhunk.  This is just south and west of Martha's Vineyard, MA.  It was quite busy there with several dozen boats on mooring balls.  We simply dropped the anchor and spent a quiet night on the hook.

The morning started with "you guessed it" FOG.  I hate fog, but this is New England, and I knew we would have to deal with this weather phenomenon.  We waited about an hour and when we got a little break in the density of the fog, made a run for it.  This was about 7:30 AM.  Coming out the channel at Cuttyhunk went fine, but it sure was foggy.  Once we exited the channel the fog got even denser and stayed thick all morning and into the noon hour.  Thank goodness for radar and our horn.  The larger boats were easy to see with the radar, but there was an amazing number of small boats out running around which the radar did not pick up.  I was glad when it started to lift around noon.

So how does all this fog form in New England?  Most coastal fog is the result of advection.  This is when relatively warm, moist air passes over a cool surface like the cold waters of this area.  The cooled air at the water surface begins cooling the warmer air just above until the moisture in this air condenses.  It becomes so heavy that the air and condensed moisture settle to the surface of the surrounding land and water as fog.  Coastal fog in New England and Maine is most common in the spring and summer when the water is cold but the air has begun to warm.

Pengi hates fog also.  Here he is trying to help keep a sharp lookout, wishing he had two good eyes instead of one.

As we got close to Nantucket Island, we began seeing seals in the water which was way cool.  They would just barely stick their noses out of the water as they swam along.  Not good for picture taking but still cool.  One seal did give us a good look at himself as he munched on a fish he had caught; but I did not have the camera handy and he and his fish were gone quickly.

We arrived in Nantucket about 1:30 PM and picked up our mooring ball.  Our friends Pete and Lyn Walton on Kiwi III with Mike and Mary McLean aboard, and Bruce and Darlene Rouser on Miss Darlin II arrived just after us.  TOGETHER FINALLY!!!  We dropped the dinghy and went over to KIWI III to catch up and visit.  How wonderful to see everyone again.  After catching up we all went to dinner in town at a small restaurant and got ice cream afterwords.  A good nights rest and we were rejuvenated and ready to go exploring.

Brandt Point Light at the Nantucket harbor inlet

Kiwi III arriving and picking up their mooring ball.

Miss Darlin II arriving

There were several very large boats in Nantucket 

Many of the homes here are great examples of the New England style of cottage.  They have clapboard or other wooden siding.  The flowers in the gardens and along the fences are beautiful here also.

An example of the New England Cottage

Nantucket is a small island about 3-4 mile wide and 13-14 miles long.  The whaling industry in America began on the island of Nantucket in the late 1600's.  In 1694 Nantucket had her first whaling sloop.  There were 28 whaling vessels here by 1727 and Nantucket whalers began building their own boats on island by 1730.  The fleet continued to grow and dominate the whaling industry.  Of the 250 whaling ships engaged in whaling in 1774, 150 of them were in Nantucket.   The famous whale ship “Essex” and her crew were from Nantucket.  The Essex was attacked and sunk by a whale in the south Pacific in 1820.  8 of her 20 man crew survived after 3 months in a small whaleboat.  Their story was the origin for Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick.   Around the mid 1800's several factors contributed to the decline in Nantucket’s whaling industry.  A large fire in 1846 burned the town’s wharves and commercial district, the 1849 California Gold Rush lured several hundred men away from whaling in hopes of striking gold, and sand bars began to format the island’s inlet making it impossible for heavier whaling ships to access the town docks.  The historic district is still a great example of a 17-18^th century New England seaport town.  Keith and I visited the Whaling Museum on Friday.

The Nantucket Whaling Museum

The museum has a real sperm whale skeleton on display.  This whale died just off the beach of Nantucket and washed ashore on the  south beach in 1998.  The historical society was granted permission to keep the skeleton for display in the museum.  Here it is above a whaleboat used to get close to the whales so they could be harpooned.

Sperm Whale skeleton

The museum's scrimshaw collection is one of the finest in the world.  Scrimshaw is the intricate carving of designs on bone or ivory.  Most often it is associated with the bones or teeth from whales.  Sailors would pass the time carving designs on whale teeth and give them as gifts or sell them once back home.  

Scrimshaw on a whale tooth

We visited the oldest house on the island built in 1686 as a wedding gift for Jethro Coffin and Mary Gardner.  Both the Coffins and Gardners were wealthy families and the house is very large for one of this time period.

It even had glass windows which was almost unheard of at the time.

The Old Gaol (Old Jail) was built in 1805 and used until 1933.  Pengi is sitting on the bench just outside of the jail.  You can just barely see him.

After the whaling Museum and walking around town to some of the historical spots Keith and I stopped to have a lobster roll at The Lobster Trap.

I thought this beer tap was appropriate for the restaurant

Lobster roll for lunch.

Then it was on to a bus tour of the rest of the island.  This took us all the way to the far end of the island.  We saw one of the other light houses at the eastern shore, Sankaty Light.

Sankaty Light

We passed the Old Mill.  This is the oldest continuously operating windmill in the country.  It was built in 1746 and when conditions are right the mill is fitted with sails and grinds corn for demonstration to visitors several times each week.

The Old Mill

After all our adventures of the day, we came back to Southern Style and had everyone over for snacks and a cocktail before dinner.

Friends arriving by dinghy