Puffin Travel Adventures at Cuttyhunk Island

Our first longer overnight getting used to the boat before our Great Loop venture in the Spring- May 2017.
We ventured outside the hurricane barrier about 2 1/2 to 3 hours from New Bedford Harbor to a little island, Cuttyhunk, at the western  end of the Elizabeth Islands, a chain of islands extending west from Woods Hole in Falmouth,.  This island is close to Cape Cod (Woods Hole), Martha's Vineyard (8 miles) and a little further, to Nantucket. On a clear and bright sunny day, one can see from the Bourne Bridge connecting the mainland to Cape Cod, down the shore line to Rhode Island. The trip was great, beautiful weather, motoring at about 6.5-7 knots, for approximately 14 miles total.
Several ledges, Phinney Rock, Great Ledge, and Wilkes Ledge to name a few, appear along the course to Cuttyhunk forcing the skipper to stay  alert to keep the boat in deeper waters until you reach Penikese, a small island in front of Cuttyhunk, and the mouth of Cuttyhunk Harbor. There are two separate mooring fields to use in the Harbor, some in shallow water. We decided to bypass these and go in to Cuttyhunk Pond. Incidentally, Penikese was formerly used as a leper colony, then a home for troubled boys.
Once in the harbor you can see an opening leading into Cuttyhunk Pond with moorings and dock slips to the very small town of Gosnold.  Cuttyhunk Island is part of the town of Gosnold. We arrived on a Friday afternoon after the busy summer season and made our way through the narrow and shallow channel to the pond. We picked up a mooring, had dinner on the grill then dinghied into town for a little tour. Gosnold has under 20 residents in the winter, yet offers Library, Schooling, Methodist Church, Post Office, Town Meeting Hall, and Cuttyhunk Market.   During the summer  the town swells with seasonal residents, both on land and in the water. There are rental homes and apartments during the season plus Cuttyhunk Fishing Club Bed & breakfast Inn, and Avalon( The Inn at Cuttyhunk). Many homes are multigenerational dating back to the early 1900's. Cuttyhunk Ferry brings visitors to the Island at 9:00 am and leaves at 3:00pm weekdays for New Bedford. One needs to check with the Ferry company for weekend times. Transportation on the island is mostly by 4 wheel ATV's and golf carts, or bicycling or walking. There are very few cars or trucks on the island

Cuttyhunk Island has a small beach, a great harbor, good fishing, some beautiful hiking trails- I have pictures from the top of the hill.
Shellfish Farms "Floating" Raw Bar delivers to your boat. Cuttyhunk Oysters delivers meals to your boat also. Cool!!
There are a few other places to eat, Cuttyhunk Corner Store, and of course, Ice Cream.










Almost September and here it is

It has been a busy summer with family and friends, not much time for getting the boat ready for adventures and ventures. Not boating much this summer. It seems to have passed too quickly. Most of the boat is ready for travel. We ordered a replacement battery holder for the stove igniter, ready to install. Put off working on the antenna for the top of the mast and installing a new mast head light until the mast is on the ground end of season.

Just recently we had the remnants of Hurricane Hermine. It was not too bad on our South Coast, the winds were from the N NE.15-25 mph.  We secured Puffin from the winds by adding additional bow, stern and spring lines. Dean went to the boat at our slip many times to make sure we and others were secured for no damage to the boats.
We have made a new list of boat items we want to accomplish this winter while out of water to make the boat comfortable and tech savvy for our Great Loop trip next spring.
We need to have a chart for our expenses while traveling and those at home still being paid. Someone on Sailblogs.com just posted their boat travel expenses for 2016 so far.
These expense charts give a wealth of information generalized for the Great Loop trip.
You can find these charts on various sites including AGLCA site.
Back to the List:
1) Puffin is a ketch sailboat, thus we have 2 masts- you can not have your masts up while traveling on the rivers and canals due to low bridges to pass under. Maximum height for the trip is either 15ft. 6 inches or  19ft depending on your route. We have to decide whether to take the main mast onboard, put up a small back mast for radar, radio, and mast light which can act as one crutch plus an additional crutch forward, or just leave the mast at home and motor the whole trip. I believe carrying both masts and booms, the majority of the trip in crutches above the pilot house will be too much gear overhead, and too much hassle and cost to take down, store on board then put up again in the Great Lakes and then again in the Gulf. Having the masts trucked to the Gulf to await our arrival is another option, but I think,an expensive one.
2) We would like to install 2 solar panels and a wind generator for energy independence on mooring or at anchor and change the lighting to LED.
3) Screens for ventilation in cabin windows and hatches are a must as we will be traveling where there are many insects I don't care to have inside the cabin and a ventilation system for the aft cabin.
4) Mount the dinghy davits so we don't have to drag the dinghy behind-especially handy in locks.
5) To ease the strain of many hours of piloting -an Auto Pilot
6) Inverter to change 12 V to 110, and
7) I-Pad for backup technology for the chart plotter and trip planning.
There are a few more items, but you get the idea- we have from now to spring to prep and be ready to roll - sail/motor to and up the Hudson River in May, 2017. Our boat will be stored in our yard so easy access for repairs and completing our list.