Labor Day 2005 on Lake Tashmoo
We had planned to spend the entire week on the Vineyard, but heavy rains washed out a Monday departure. It did not dry out until Thursday, when we made our way through Woods Hole, and on to the Vineyard. We ran across Buzzards Bay under main and jib, doused both for the passage through the hole, and entered Vineyard sound to find a surprisingly lumpy sea, strong current and steady wind. We sailed under jib, which stabilized the boat, and gave us a good 4+ knots of speed. Just fine for the short passage. It never seems quite worth it to raise then stow the main for the short run from Woods Hole to Tashmoo.
We arrived in the harbor, and Kim Baptiste hooked us up on a nice mooring close to the wooded shore. As always, I started to snooze as soon as everything was in it’s place. Our first night was solitary, and the next day we spent on the beach by the harbor entrance. Greylag and Black magic arrived later on Friday, and we had a fine meal as the sun set. Both Mars and Venus were visible after sunset; we saw satellites as well as a shooting star. Black Magic had to return mid-day Saturday, but did have the time for the traditional blueberry pancakes before they departed mid-day. The pump out boy came by, and created trouble for Kim again, a theme for this summer.
We headed into Edgartown the next day, and had a leisurely search for Nantucket Reds. Loring was determined to find a pair of these hard to find shorts. Our dinner was at Lattanzi’s, one of the finest restaurants anywhere. Loring and Joanna both loved the meal, as did Cheryl and I. It is a northern Italian restaurant, one that serves exceptional meals in a great atmosphere. We went from there to Oak Bluffs for ice cream. We returned to Vineyard Haven quite satisfied, and had a nice walk back to the harbor.
Monday was Labor Day, and we needed to depart by 11:30 to make the 12:30 crossing through Woods Hole. It was a moderate wind, but we were early to leave, so sailed under jib across the sound. There was a strong current that pushed us towards the east as we sailed, but we arrived right on time to the first set of buoys, along with sailboats for as far as the horizon…this was the one window to cross through Woods Hole on the last day of a long weekend. I tried to line up behind the boat in front, to pace the speed of our crossing, but then there was the 45’ sailboat that thought he could sail through on the port side of the channel, and the powerboat that was dying to pass the entire flotilla…
Most of the many vessels fell into line, and we all crossed into Buzzards Bay, vessel after vessel spilling out of the confines of the channel and setting sail for various points. I held a reef in the main, hauled out the jib and we took off, sailing a good six knots. It was a delightful sail back, with Cheryl taking the helm for most of the sail. We returned, and had a leisurely dinner before we headed back to shore at sunset.
The end of another delightful cruise aboard Yuletide.
