August 3-August 25

We got a late start on the 2007 Cruise, which didn't begin until August 3rd.  Nora and I picked up Seabird II at the Hinckley Yard in Portsmouth where it had endured the winter on the hard.

This was the first time I had left any boat up north during the winter months and I probably will not do it again.  I elected not to shrink wrap the boat after weighing the pros and cons, but in retrospect I'm not sure that was the right choice.  The varnish suffered greatly from the cold and moisture.  This was particularly vexing as I had just had the boat varnished before lay-up.  Unfortunately the flexing of the hull was just enough to create some cracks in the varnish at the joints and points of contact with the hull and stanchions. It only takes a little water under between the varnish and the teak rails to create a stain and marring of the finish.  It cost more to re-do than the original and the end result was not nearly as good.

Nonetheless we departed on August 3d and made a short run to Jamestown, RI and the Conanicut Marina.  This was an interesting choice and a distinctly different from the crowds of Newport.  There are two or three good restaurants within walking distance of the marina and reservations are definitely needed in peak season.  We took a long hike along the waterfront and near waterfront and had dinner the first night at ??  We spent two nights, which is about right as there is little to do there, although they have a water taxi to Newport which runs regularly.

On Sunday we left Jamestown, stopped at Cuttyhunk where we took a mooring outside the inner harbor for lunch. We had planned to spend the night there but the winds were from the NE which made the outer harbor too choppy for a comfortable anchorage.  We continued on to Falmouth for the night.  Falmouth has a large and well protected marina with a decent but unremarkable restaurant on site.  The marina is home to a large sport fishing fleet.  Had some difficult with adequate power and had to run the generator all night.

Next stop was Hyannis, a leg made in heavy winds from the East at 25 knots.  Picked up plenty of salt.  It should be noted that there is a good deal of shoal water in this area and keeping an eye on the charts is necessary.  Docking at Hyannis Marina was a bit of a challenge and required significant use of a forward spring line to bring the boat along side the windward face dock.  The marina had a good restaurant on premises.  Tom and Charmaine Hall joined us in Hyannis.

We spent a couple of days in Hyannis due to high winds.  Departing for Boston on August 9th.  In Boston we berthed at Constitution Marina in Charlestown.  Constitution is both convenient to the north end of Boston and well protected from the choppy water in Boston Harbor.  It is within walking distance to the Charlestown Navy Yard, USS Constitution, ferry terminal and several good restaurants.  The Hall's departed on the 11th and we headed north to Gloucester, MA where we met some friends and moored for a couple of nights on an Easter Point YC mooring.  Our friends, the Coopers, joined us for a trip back to Boston with a stop at Salem where we visited a couple of museums and witches. 

We stayed for several days in Boston, got some minor repairs done on the guest shower before departing for Vineyard Haven aka Tisbury on Martha's Vinyard, where we visited and dined with the Newman's who have a summer home there.  They are also neighbors at L'Ambiance in Longboat Key.

From Martha's Vineyard we headed back to Newport, berthing at Goat Island Marina.  GIM is located on a small island just west of downtown Newport.  It is less crowded and more quiet and within walking distance of the town, or reachable by water taxi.

We wound up the short summer cruise at the Hinckley yard in Portsmouth, just north of Newport where I turned SeaBird over to delivery captain Bob Grote for the delivery back to Longboat Key.