Cruising Ideas - Boston/Cape area

[DrB]

I posted this on the Mass Bay Sailors forum, but that doesn't get a lot of traffic, so I am hoping that folks here can help.

We just got a sailboat last year in June and did only day sails with it. We are still fairly novice with our new-to-us boat, This summer, I am looking for a few Overnight/Destination type of sails ideas so we can start getting experience with extended cruising trips. Our boat is a Pearson 10M with a 6 foot draft.

Two Destination Idea Sails that I looking for suggestions on:

Overnight: Basically leave Salem Harbor, sail for 6 to 7 h, moor or dock somewhere, then sail back the next day.

Multi-day/Extended Weekend: 3 day, Same as above but maybe sail to Destination 1 on Day 1, Day 2, destination 2, and then Day 3 return.

I think Boston Harbor From Salem is a good overnight. But looking for other ideas that would make for a nice cruise and get us more comfortable with extended cruising. Is Provincetown or say the South Shore doable in our time constraints? How about the Isle of Shoals?

Thanks in advance.

DrB

[JohnRPollard]

The Boston Harbor Islands should be an easy daysail/overnight destination. You can go to the southern end and visit the Hingham, Nantasket area as well, some good seafood restaurants there.

I would think you could reach a number of places on the South Shore in one 6-8 hour daysail. Cohasset harbour is pretty tight, but there is a nice low-tide sand bar out near the mouth for a quick stopover and good swimming. Scituate harbour is quite a bit larger, very nice with good provisioning, restaurants, ice cream shops, movie theaters, etc., all easy strolling distance.

Just a mile or so south of the Scituate harbour bell buoy is the shared mouth of the North and South Rivers ("New Inlet" on the charts, between Third and Fourth Cliff), where there is a massive sand spit. Great beaches at low tide, and even at high tide duned portions remain above water. There is good anchorage protection up the North River portion in a hole beyond the dunes. HOWEVER, DO NOT attempt this inlet in anything but completely benign conditions, preferably even then at slack tide. Also, it is powerboat mayhem on sunny summer weekends -- to be avoided. At other times it is bucolic.

It would be a longer stretch down to Duxbury Bay/Plymouth Harbour, you'd probably want to stopover somewhere enroute unless you had a fair wind and plenty of daylight. Arrive with a rising tide or fight a nasty current on your way in. Once there, Plymouth is nice for a visit, and there are some quieter anchorages further up into Duxbury Bay past Clark's Island. It would be good to have a dinghy for getting ashore at the Gurnet or Saquish.

P-Town is also within striking distance, but requires more planning and a decent weather window.

[HarveySchwartz]

Isle of Shoals is about 18 miles from the tip of Cape Ann. A great place to visit, really feels like you have travelled someplace. It is a mooring-only area, tough to anchor in. The drill is to pick up a vacant mooring (local yacht clubs have placed loads of them) and hope nobody kicks you off. It changes from daytrippers, who leave an hour or so before dark, to overnighters, who often show up late in the day.

Ipswich Bay Yacht Club, behind Plum island, has guest moorings and is a gorgeous place. With six foot draft you want to come and go with half tide or more. There's a 3 knot current with the tide. You follow the channel right in front of Crane Beach. Its all sand if you touch bottom. Best to do it at less than high tide in case you run aground.

[petegingras]

Drb,

I sailed out of East Boston for a year in the late 90's and always enjoyed my time outside of Boston Harbor. Many trips to Salem, Beverly, even a night at Misery island (apply named). I always found Boston a place to escape from, as the big ship traffic was troublesome and added to converging tides, current, and chop.

I did shot out to P-town early and late in the same season, and found it pleasant enough. The early season was foggy and desolate and the late was crowded, but fun.

Concluding, I would think Hingham would be a nice alternative to Boston, and P-Town would be worth the adventure given the prevailing winds in the area. Got a cruising spinnaker for the ride back?

[paulk]

Have not been in that neck of the woods myself, but have read and recommend "The Coast of Summer" by Anthony Bailey. He wrote for the New Yorker Magazine for 35 years and has a polished and enjoyable style. Though he focuses more on areas south of the cape, there are good stories included about his trips to Plymouth, Barnstable, P-town, Wellfleet and North Truro that would be of immediate value to you. After exploring those places you'll be ready to venture further afield. Bailey visited these ports over a series of seasons a while ago, so don't expect lists of current marinas and how many amps they provide at dockside. He tells, rather, of the constants that make sailing (and cruisng) pleasurable.

[sailingdog]

Another good sail might be to circumnavigate Cape Ann. I did that two years ago... anchored out behind Great Misery Island, then overnighted in Rockport Harbor, and travelled down the Annisquam river.

A good, slightly longer trip would be a circumnavigation of Cape Cod or a trip through the Cape Cod Canal, with stops in Plymouth, Onset, Cuttyhunk, Tarpaulin Cove, Menemsha, Nantucket. The circumnavigation of Cape Cod is a bit more challenging than just cutting through the canal.

[DrB]

I wasa looking at charts last night and these ideas were some of the ones that I was thinking also.

I agree with the observation that Boston Harbor can be a PITA to sail in, especially on a nice day in the summer. I took sailing lessons in the harbor and is was a challenge just avoiding all of the other traffic (ferries, ships, big stinkpots, and other newbie sailing classes). It might be nice though to come down for an overnight and hit the Barking Crab or something.

The circumnavigate of Cape Ann could almost be done in a long day sail for us. I sailed from Salem Harbor to Newburyport city docks in about 9 h last fall. We left at 9:45 AM and rounded Thatcher's around 1 PM, turned on the motor just after Thatchers because the seas where 4 to 6 ft and the 15 to 20 knot wind dead on the bow until we got to the Merrimac. We had to get in before dark so we could ready the boat for winter haulout. Got to the city docks in Newburyport around 6:00PM. Up until rounding Thatchers it was a beautiful sail on the lee side of Cape Ann. For the Cape Ann circumnavigate, I'd have to time the tide right. The Annisquam get get shallow quickly if you wander only a few feet out of the sometimes narrow channeland we draw 6 ft.

The Isle of Shoals for some reason with me has this mystique. I got a figure a way to get there.

Provincetown would be a long haul for us, but it could be our end of summer graduating cruise. Maybe over Labor day weekend.

Thanks again for the ideas.

DrB

[JohnRPollard]

Originally Posted by DrB

The Isle of Shoals for some reason with me has this mystique.

Same here. I think it's from always hearing the buoy reports on NOAA weather radio, and wondering what it must be like out there....

[Herreshoff01]

Try the different harbors along the south shore - Cohasset, Scituate, North/south river, Green harbor, Plymouth/Duxbury, or even down to Barnstable. All are day sails inside Mass/Cape cod Bay - good weekend overnighters. All have pretty good facilities - and things to do off the boat as well. A good reference is the the US Power Squadron Site for MA -www.boatingguidetoamerica.com/index.cfm?doc=Boating_Guide_to_America:State_MA

Others mentioned through the canal - I always hit some of the harbors just on the other side (onset, Sippy, etc.) - and some are close enough to be considered day trips. - See:Welcome to SouthCoastNavigator, your #1 boating source!

[JohnRPollard]

Originally Posted by Herreshoff01

Try the different harbors along the south shore - Cohasset, Scituate, North/south river, Green harbor, Plymouth/Duxbury, or even down to Barnstable. All are day sails inside Mass/Cape cod Bay - good weekend overnighters. All have pretty good facilities - and things to do off the boat as well.

......

Originally Posted by DrB

...Our boat is a Pearson 10M with a 6 foot draft...DrB

I had left Green Harbor off my list and would recommend avoiding it. The channel is dredged to about 6 feet (MLW), but the harbour itself only supports 4-5 feet MLW. There ARE a few sailboats in there, but they are mostly centerboarders. It's primarily a motorboat harbour (sportfish and workboats). DrB could duck in quickly at high tide for fuel in calm conditions, but I would not advise staying long and certainly wouldn't regard it as a harbour of refuge in bad weather.