On Friday 6 September: we had 25-35 knot winds with up to 50kt gusts, with at least 2” heavy rainfall, as forecast. Skipper had taken many precautions over the preceding couple of days, including: attaching boat to mooring with a stainless shackle plus two extra lines, removal of all items on deck that might catch the wind, wrapping of lines around the foresail, the mainsail bonnet and the bimini cover, covering the deck-mounted navpod, and removal of all items and outboard motor from the dinghy.
As we were finishing our supper aboard yesterday evening, we felt the boat begin to roll; at 19:30 the wind was 20-25kt, maximum gust 33.4kt. At 22:40, with the boat swerving back and forth, straining at the mooring, we prepared to retire; wind now 25-35kt, max seen 36.6kt. However, sleep was slow to come, and was at best shallow when it did - it’s hard to get comfortable when the boat is shifting about so much, side to side and up and down - reminiscent of our Atlantic crossing almost 4 years ago - and there is an intermittent graunching noise, with the occasional sudden jerk, all night long. Eventually, about 02:30, when one felt the storm had reached its peak, sleep arrived. At 06:00 the wind had turned to the north and calmer conditions prevailed; the max wind gust during the night had been 41.9kt or force 9, classified as ‘severe gale’. Thank goodness we had not been out at sea for this!
Prior to this tropical storm experience, we had enjoyed 3 days of lovely weather. On Tuesday 3 September we had sailed up Vineyard Sound from Cuttyhunk island where we had anchored overnight following our passage west through the Cape Cod canal 2 days earlier. Timing our arrival in Oak Bluffs Harbour on Martha’s Vineyard for the day after Labour Day, there were plenty of moorings available. Fortunately for us, our good friends Lee and Deborah who are also here on their yacht North Star V, know this Island very well and were able to ‘show us the ropes’. This included swimming off the beach - a girls only activity - and paddle-boarding. Deborah demonstrated how it was done and encouraged First Mate to try it.
First we used it as a kayak just to get the feel of it, then it was time to go solo. Kneeling on the board was fine but trying to stand up?
Well, the most inelegant of postures were required in the effort ... the knees shake uncontrollably and just turn to jelly as soon as you try to stand on your feet. Take it from me: it’s not easy! The first three attempts resulted in a ducking. On the fourth attempt a standing position was achieved for a few seconds with a couple of strokes of the paddle but the end result was the same: another ducking. Never mind - at least I had managed to stand. I can imagine it would be a fun activity but... more practice required!
Once the storm had passed, everything settled down. Follyfin’s crew was treated to a tour of the island by Lee in a car kindly loaned by a friend of his. Menemshah, on SW corner of this triangular Island is lovely but the docks there were still showing evidence of the tidal surge following the storm.
Next stop was Edgartown on the SE corner of the island. From here the tiny ‘Chappy’ ferry plies the channel to Chappaquidick Island.
Apart from the notoriety associated with that name (editor’s note: quiz question for our younger readers), Edgartown itself became very wealthy on the back of the whaling industry in the 19th century - as shown by the opulent residences all over the town.
All in all, it’s a beautiful island. We leave today, Sunday 8 September, heading west back into Long Island Sound towards New York.
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