LON: W 70° 56.7'
today's sunset
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LAT: N 41° 34.9' LON: W 70° 56.7' |
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50's mostly sunny. winds 15 - 20 kts today's sunset |
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Canal Proves Relaxing,
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Captain's Log808 - Left our cozy mooring and chugged back out of the large Plymouth harbor. 907 - Out of the harbor and moving south into the sun. 1100 - Moving at a steady 8 knots right outside of the notoriously fast Cape Cod Canal (fast from the tidal currents moving through). 1108 - Now just inside the canal moving at 10 knots (a much quicker stride for us). 1147 - Made it through the Canal with more speed than we thought we'd have, now taking on the choppier Buzzards Bay, much like a large boat playground. 1315 - Deep into the Bay, following our GPS towards a martini shaped landmark (the largest thing in sight on the west coast!). 1420 - Caught an open mooring in South Dartmouth (otherwise known as Padanaram) after a couple of tries and a lead by two kind harbormasters. (The first moorings were meant for smaller vessels than big ole Slowly). 1615 - Took Surely into the small boating town for a visit. 1750 - After a two block walk in Padanaram's downtown and a quick rest stop for a small local snack we skipped back to our stink pot. (Slowly is referred to as a stink pot only because she is a trawler and not wind powered, like most others in this famous sailing town.) arggg me maties, Padanarama-ling-dong. The Cappy says: "Click here to see a chart of our progress." |
 Free window wash with every passage through Buzzards Bay. Panoramic PadanaramQuaint Like a PorcheTrogdor the Burninator - guest Editor Today proved our most challenging of our entire voyage to date (yes, all THREE days...). Not knowing what to expect, we were greeted by small whirlpools at the mouth of the Cape Cod Canal. Passing those, we realized they were a shock and awe tactic, the canal was actually smooth and pleasurable. We climbed up to the flying bridge (the boat's roof) and enjoyed the foliage and admiring spectators (you go, Slowly!) on the canal banks. Buzzards Bay was indeed not a walk in the pond, yet we took the seas in stride, and let the kitchen utensils fall. We were going into the southerly wind and swells. Going into the waves head first is much easier on the stomach than getting side stepped. It was after shutting the engines down when we faced our first real trials of the day. The local yacht club had closed for the season and we simply did not know which mooring would suit us best. The first was too hot (not heavy enough for a big boat), and the second too cold (we apologize to the owners of this mooring who will need to hire a diver before using it again), but the third was juuuuust right. It was only when we had finally hooked a good mooring in Padanaram Harbor that we were able to feel good about ourselves and sorry for others. [Burninating the sailboats! -Ed.] In the end, we got to shore smoothly, and found the tiny town to be rich in the history and rich. It is a summer yachting village with wonderful proportions. The sidewalk fits one walker, and you can touch the ceiling in the local bar. Similar to Plymouth, the only place we found people was near the PGA tour on ESPN (and the beer taps). Summer is (has been) over; this little town is getting ready to hibernate, awaiting the cruisers and racers to return to their moorings (minus one) next season. In our book, since the bartender was happy to chat, and the harbormasters were understanding, this town is good with us. p.s. No one was hurt in the boat fire we witnessed. There were many helpers and despite the billowing black smoke, the boat remained afloat. All's well that ends well!
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Fun Facts! Surely, our 8ft Dyer Dink sailing Dinghy rides along on Slowly's back most of the time. When it comes time to do some exploring, we lift her out of her cradle with help from Slowly's mast and boom. Much like a human powered crane, we pull ropes to hoist Surely up, push her out over the side of the boat, and set her down easy in the water. We then climb down to the swim platform on the Slowly's stern and jump aboard Surely. Though she floats, Surely loves a good leak. Luckily, at present time, the leaks are slow, like her mom.
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