Sept 30, Montauk, NY

Dan and Katie left us in Oak Bluffs, Martha's Vineyard, about 11:30 to fly to Boston and then West Palm Beach. Really enjoyed their visit!

Linda and Owen took KOKOMO II all the way (65 miles) from Martha's Vineyard to Montauk, New York, on the eastern tip of Long Island. Seas were two feet or less the whole way and it was just about a perfect day for an open crossing.

Bay Head Lighthouse, west end of Martha's Vineyard.

Cuttyhunk

We went past Menemsha and Bay Head Light (Lighthouse) on the southwestern tip of Martha's Vineyard, then Cuttyhunk and finally Block Island on our way to Montauk and saw a fair amount of other boaters out today but we can tell the boating season is winding down. We saw one big pod of Dolphin, a few lobster pot floats and no whales. Water temperature is 65 degrees and the air temperature was about the same.

Busy entrance channel into Montauk

Coast Guard Station dominates the Montauk harbor

Commmercial boats in Montauk

We arrived at the Montauk Marine Basin Marina about 4:30pm and were directed to a slip that was 15'6" wide. Our beam is 15'6" - so we backed in and got stuck halfway into the slip. No damage. We came back out and went into the 18' wide slip next to the first one. I'll learn to ask in the future.

Montauk is a very active fishing port. The good restaurants near our marina were all very busy and it was hard to get a table even on Sunday evening. I think the recreational and commercial fishermen go out and have a great meal before they go out on their overnight fishing trips. The tuna boat next to us in the marina left the dock at 3 am heading for the "canyons". The dockmaster said the giant tuna are already gone but the smaller Bluefin are still around.

Sept 28-29, Martha's Vineyard

Rain stopped this morning in Nantucket but sky is still somewhat overcast. Temperature is 70 and it is expected to cool off later today after the front passes through. We head out for a walk around town after breakfast. A beautiful, but grey, early morning.

Katie and Dan in front of an interesting shop in Nantucket

Owen and Dan both catch their first Striped Bass

Our mate in front of a portion of our 18 fish, all 20 pounds or more.

Dan and Owen have been looking for a fishing opportunity and decide the best option is to go fishing in Nantucket for Striped Bass before we head for Martha's Vineyard. We joined with four other anglers and charter a boat in the harbor at Nantucket, JUST DO IT TOO, that was fishing for Striped Bass exclusively, and seemed to know what they were doing. The other anglers were all from Florida (two Seminoles) and all were experienced Striped Bass fishermen and had been on this boat before. Our crew of six left the harbor at 11 am and motored to the east side of Nantucket, just under the Sankaty Head Light, where the captain knew the fishing was good. Dan and Owen had never caught Striped Bass. We started fishing about 12:00 pm and began catching fish right away. The six anglers caught and kept 18 fish (our limit - all keepers of 32 inches or more) by 1:30 pm and we quit fishing and returned to port. The captain said he had never had such a good day and he took lots of pictures of all his fishermen and the fish for his website. Said our trip would be the "defining trip" that he would use to advertise his fishing business in Nantucket.

We got back to the dock about 2:45 and after getting our fish cleaned, we boarded KOKOMO II and motored about 20 miles in some fog (visibility one mile) to Martha's Vineyard and the town of Edgartown.

Linda and Katie as we near Edgartown in Martha's Vineyard.

Edgartown Lighthouse at the entrance to the harbor

We are staying at the Harborside Inn which has some docks and is located in the heart of Edgartown. One deficiency - no shorepower. So we run our generator at the dock. Location makes up for the deficiency.

Edgartown Harborview Hotel

Edgartown ferry's to Chappaquiddick cut in front of us as we enter the Edgartown Harbor

Our marina at Harborside Inn, on Katama Bay, downtown Edgartown

Weather on our arrival is clear and is getting cooler. Beautiful evening at the dock. We are cooking fish (Striped Bass) for dinner and have so much we give some to a sailboat crew next to us on the dock. After dinner we walk downtown Edgartown. Most of the shops are still open. We stop in the two bars along the main street and look for celebrities but nobody's out so far tonight.

Saturday morning is clear and cooler (60) in Edgartown. Wind has shifted around after the cold front came through and is now blowing from the north at about 15 mph, but we are sheltered at the dock by a big shed next door. We all explore Edgartown and find it is a VERY attractive residential area. Lots to see.

Downtown Edgartown

Harborview Hotel, Edgartown

Commercial fishing boats in Edgartown

KOKOMO II in front of Harborside Inn, Edgartown

About 11 am Dan and Katie head off in the local bus to see the rest of Martha's Vineyard and Linda and Owen move the boat 5 miles north to Oak Bluff, still on Martha's Vineyard. Seas have a three foot chop this morning with the north wind and we have a very bouncy ride for about an hour. KOKOMO II is now secure in Oak Harbor and we are watching the Saturday college football.

Ferry from Hyannis to Oak Bluffs docked next to us when it comes to drop off passengers

KOKOMO II with the ferry from Hyannis at Oak Bluffs

Crowds are noticably smaller this weekend than last week when we were here, probably because of the wind. We don't mind as we have the area to ourselves.

Dan and Katie find a 13 pound lobster in Menemsha at a lobster pound. They bring it back to the boat for our last dinner. WOW !!!

Sept 26-27, Nantucket, MA

We woke up to more wind this morning. Somewhat hazy but 75 degrees and pretty. Wind still 15-20 kts. We are expecting a somewhat "bouncy" day on the water.

Dave and Joyce Powell got off the ferry from Cape Cod this morning (not knowing where we were) and Dave said he looked at the nearby boats and there was KOKOMO II. They stopped to say hello and gave us a glowing report on Nova Scotia. Small world.

We finally got underway about 11:30 and it was bouncy with a 2-3 foot chop for the 20 miles or so to Nantucket. Lots of salt on the boat today. Uneventful crossing and we arrived about 1:30.

Arriving in Nantucket

We are right on the wharf in the middle of things and are awaiting Dan and Katie who are flying in from Florida via Boston.

KOKOMO II at the Nantucket Boat Basin. Buildings behind us are Nantucket Boat Basin Hotel Cottages built over the water right on the wharf.

This freighter followed us the last 10 miles into Nantucket Harbor. He stayed 1/4 mile back but it seemed right behind us.

Shops of Nantucket Boat Basin. Most of these are art studio's but we have a fish market and a deli that makes a "Turkey Terrific" sandwich (turkey, turkey dressing, cranberry, mayo, lettice and tomato and onion). Pretty terrific!

Dan and Katie arrive about dinner time and we head off for some LOBSTA!


Thursday begins with an overcast sky and fog out in the harbor. Not much wind today. Temperature is still on the warm side, in the 70's and humid. We will see the sights.

Nantucket Whaling Museum is a real treat

Garden shop showing fall colors

Working windmill

This lighthouse is the Sankaty Head Light on the eastern shore of Nantucket. It is in the process of being moved 400 feet away from the shore to prevent it from collapsing into the ocean because of beach erosion. The move is to be completed before the winter storms come this winter.

This is the sign (a three dimensional model) over a store in Nantucket. Very nice shopping area.

Dinner tonight is more lobster cooked at the fish market and consumed aboard. KOKOMO II. That's lobster two times in two days. When in Rome....... Gentle but steady rain began about 8pm and lasted all night. Makes it cozy on the boat.

Sept 24-25, Martha's Vineyard

We left Falmouth about 10:30 after refueling and proceeded less than ten miles to Vineyard Haven on the Island of Martha's Vineyard. This is a small town and is a port of entry for many tourists as most of the ferry's from Cape Cod stop here. The weather today is beautiful, 75 degrees, clear and the seas are calm.

Vineyard Haven, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts

Vineyard Haven

Vineyard Haven

We did not go ashore at Vineyard Haven but moved on to the next port just about 3 miles east on Martha's Vineyard to the town of Oak Bluff.

Lighthouse, West Chop Light, Martha's Vineyard

Oak Bluff, on Martha's Vineyard, is a very nice little harbor and we are at the Dockside Market Place and Marina right in the middle of things. We are off season now and so there are slips available but in the peak summer season we would be on a mooring here rafted to several other boats. We are at the dock and are plugged into dock power so we do not have to run the generator. I think we like it better this way.

Oak Bluff Harbor, Martha's Vineyard

"Martha's Vineyard Camp Meeting Association" is located adjacent to Oak Bluff and was known originally as "Weslyan Grove". It was founded as a Methodist Church "Camp Meeting" site in 1835 . The idea was that this would be a place where preachers would preach and sinners would come and stay for a week at a time. Hopefully to repent and be saved. Everyone lived in community tents set up around a preaching site in a grove of Oak trees. Initially there were 9 society tents with 65 people in attendance and the main emphasis was strictly religious. About 1850 or so families began to come for the good weather and social aspects as well as the preaching. By 1860 there were 500 tents (many of these tents now housed only one family) and as many as 12,000 people attended services over the course of the summer. By 1869 more than 30,000 people visited here . Around 1860 the tents were gradually replaced by "cottages" which could have a dimension no bigger on the ground than the tent that it replaced (approximately 24x40 feet).

Martha's Vineyard Cottages

More Martha's Vineyard Cottages

Thus the "Martha's Vineyard Cottage" came into being. It is unique in that it is relatively small, usually two story, has Victorian architectural elements, is generally in the shape of a tent, is highly decorated with trim (gingerbread) and is usually brightly painted with contrasting trim. There were 40 cottages in 1864, 250 in 1869 and 500 by 1880 and there remain 315 today.

Iron Tabernacle

The original preaching tent was replaced in 1879 by an iron building (in the center of the homes) known as the Tabernacle.

The town of Oak Bluffs started as a resort community in 1866 and was not welcomed by the people in the cottages who considered the developers of the new town to be "the devil" and a threat to the serious nature of the camp meeting. Owen says "Some things never change!"

Oak Bluff Homes are larger

Oak Bluff overlooking the ocean

Oak Bluff and Weslyan Grove now seem to be somewhat comfortable side by side. The town has grown over the years and now completely surrounds the original camp meeting site. There is still a religious element in the Weslyan Grove area but it is no longer just Methodist but non-denominational and open to all. Linda and Owen remember visiting Chautauqua, NY, another Methodist Preachers summer retreat site and stayed there and enjoyed several of their non-denominational thought provoking programs.

Tuesday we rented a car and toured the whole island. Drove through Vineyard Haven and then found several smaller communities, Menemsha, Chilmark, Aquinnah and West Tisbury.





Chilmark is a small fishing village and we found some large cliffs and the Gay Head Lighthouse at Aquinnah.




All these communities were very small and had a rural feel and did not look very prosperous. Then we headed for Edgartown and had lunch overlooking the small car ferry to Chappaquiddick.




More on Edgartown later as we plan a boat stop there later in the week.

Wind picked up to 15-20kts and we have a secure but noisy night.