We set out from Norfolk, VA, at the mouth of the Chesapeake, for our journey north. We had initially planned to head directly to Nova Scotia but knew we had to watch the weather. In addition to reviewing the data ourselves, we paid for a professional weather routing service. Meteorologists review the larger weather patterns & our desired course and then make recommendations based on wind speed and direction, wave height and direction, and weather (squalls and thunder/lightning in particular).
Tropical storm Chantal had different plans for us. Due to effects from the storm passing just to our south, we had to change our route. Rather than shoot right for Nova Scotia, we opted to stay closer to the US Coast, and after 3 nights underway, we arrived on Cuttyhunk.
With our friend Brian helping us crew, the watch schedule is quite manageable. We each take 4 hour shifts during the day and 3 hours at night. This means we can catch 4-5 hours of sleep at a time and have daytime hours to relax when we are off watch.
Cuttyhunk is a small island just north and west of Martha’s Vineyard — we can see the well known Aquinnah Cliffs and the Gay Head Lighthouse on the western end of the Vineyard from our mooring field. We were on Cuttyhunk twice last season and love the quiet. The single town on the island, Gosnold, is the smallest town in Massachusetts, with an official population of 70 in 2020. It has a fair number of vacation homes, a few restaurants (all but one of which are closed mid-week), a post office, and one shop. A few groceries are available at the fuel dock in the harbor.
Serendipitously, our sailing friends Kim and Scott from Marblehead, MA arrived a few hours after we did. They’ve been on their boat for over a year and are headed home in the next few days. We had a wonderful evening catching up & eating fresh shucked oysters and clam chowder, all delivered to the boat. We’ll spend another night here before the weather is right to head to Nova Scotia.
