This is an ambitious trip for a single day, including as it does a beat from New Bedford Harbor down the Acushnet River, 12NM across Buzzards Bay, negotiating the tricky currents of Woods Hole, and then a long sail down to Hyannis with potential trouble from the currents in Vineyard Sound and Nantucket Sound. I would not have considered it a one-day trip at all, except that I did exactly that about a year ago. Granted the conditions were just about ideal, so I will have to build-in a stopping point in case--this time--they're not. This is also the part of the trip in which a whole string of tides and currents have to work out just right.
Departing New Bedford Harbor, with the usual sw prevailing wind, requires an ebbing tide. The hurricane barrier that makes the harbor such a safe place also makes it a bear to get in and out of without a motor. The barrier effectively blocks the wind as you approach the entrance, so even if my boat pointed higher than she does, she'd still be at the mercy of the tide in the end. It doesn't matter what stage of tide I leave at, but it needs to be ebbing. If I can't get a good ebb tide pretty early in the morning, I'll have to put the boat in the water the night before and find shelter outside the harbor for a night--not an attractive possibility. Once out of the harbor, getting down the Acushnet River into the open Bay is usually a beat, but it's fairly routine, if not very fast.
Once out in Buzzards Bay I have about 12NM to sail (perhaps a 3 hour trip) to get to Woods Hole. Woods Hole is one of three "holes" that perforate the Elizabeth Islands. (These islands are destinations in their own right, but on this trip they are simply obstacles.) Woods Hole is the largest of these passages, and the most direct for my purpose, but also the trickiest, with many rocks and reefs and strong currents. Even if the wind were favorable, the currents are so fierce that I have found it hopeless to oppose them. So I must have a favorable current to get through Woods Hole. In case the passage among rocks and reefs and tidal waves doesn't get my adrenaline going, throw in constant ferry traffic between Woods Hole and the islands; some parts of the passage seem barely wide enough for a big ferry by itself, let alone a mammoth ferry and little ol' me! Here, then, is the trickiest line-up: falling tide in New Bedford Harbor in the morning, a favorable wind to Woods Hole, and then favorable currents when I want to pass through in the early afternoon.
[In the event I am delayed getting through Woods Hole, I will still try to get though the same day, and will then head for Vineyard Haven in Martha's Vineyard. VH has a fine harbor that I am familiar with, and I know just where to drop the hook to be a stone's throw from a public shore but out of the way of other boaters. If this happens, the trip will automatically become one day longer! In that case, I might just make a virture of necessity by going ashore for a nice meal at the Black Dog Tavern or somewhere.]
Once through Woods Hole, I have a fairly straight shot to Hyannis. If the currents in the Sounds are against me, they can take a full knot or more of my speed. And if winds are light, the trip could be nearly endless. (I have twice found myself sailing backward for hours at a time in Vineyard Sound due to weak winds and opposing currents--and there was nothing I could do about it in either case!)
The entrance to Hyannis was difficult to see when I sailed there last year, but gps will make it a snap. Ideally, I will swing in to anchor behind Dunbar Point before full dark. Hyannis is a neat little town to wander in, but having done so before, for this trip I will likely waste no time even going ashore.
This whole leg is about 34NM as the powerboat flies, but of course it will be longer for me!
Departing New Bedford Harbor, with the usual sw prevailing wind, requires an ebbing tide. The hurricane barrier that makes the harbor such a safe place also makes it a bear to get in and out of without a motor. The barrier effectively blocks the wind as you approach the entrance, so even if my boat pointed higher than she does, she'd still be at the mercy of the tide in the end. It doesn't matter what stage of tide I leave at, but it needs to be ebbing. If I can't get a good ebb tide pretty early in the morning, I'll have to put the boat in the water the night before and find shelter outside the harbor for a night--not an attractive possibility. Once out of the harbor, getting down the Acushnet River into the open Bay is usually a beat, but it's fairly routine, if not very fast.
Once out in Buzzards Bay I have about 12NM to sail (perhaps a 3 hour trip) to get to Woods Hole. Woods Hole is one of three "holes" that perforate the Elizabeth Islands. (These islands are destinations in their own right, but on this trip they are simply obstacles.) Woods Hole is the largest of these passages, and the most direct for my purpose, but also the trickiest, with many rocks and reefs and strong currents. Even if the wind were favorable, the currents are so fierce that I have found it hopeless to oppose them. So I must have a favorable current to get through Woods Hole. In case the passage among rocks and reefs and tidal waves doesn't get my adrenaline going, throw in constant ferry traffic between Woods Hole and the islands; some parts of the passage seem barely wide enough for a big ferry by itself, let alone a mammoth ferry and little ol' me! Here, then, is the trickiest line-up: falling tide in New Bedford Harbor in the morning, a favorable wind to Woods Hole, and then favorable currents when I want to pass through in the early afternoon.
[In the event I am delayed getting through Woods Hole, I will still try to get though the same day, and will then head for Vineyard Haven in Martha's Vineyard. VH has a fine harbor that I am familiar with, and I know just where to drop the hook to be a stone's throw from a public shore but out of the way of other boaters. If this happens, the trip will automatically become one day longer! In that case, I might just make a virture of necessity by going ashore for a nice meal at the Black Dog Tavern or somewhere.]
Once through Woods Hole, I have a fairly straight shot to Hyannis. If the currents in the Sounds are against me, they can take a full knot or more of my speed. And if winds are light, the trip could be nearly endless. (I have twice found myself sailing backward for hours at a time in Vineyard Sound due to weak winds and opposing currents--and there was nothing I could do about it in either case!)
The entrance to Hyannis was difficult to see when I sailed there last year, but gps will make it a snap. Ideally, I will swing in to anchor behind Dunbar Point before full dark. Hyannis is a neat little town to wander in, but having done so before, for this trip I will likely waste no time even going ashore.
This whole leg is about 34NM as the powerboat flies, but of course it will be longer for me!
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