To Boston (10115 miles)

Scary boat in Boston

I enter the Cape Cod canal in peasoup Fog, there is a convention that you keep to the right in the canal so hopefully if everyone did the same speed there would never be a problem, In the end I get shouted at by fishermen standing on the bank casting in front of me. Sometimes I can hardly see them. A couple of speedboats and a cat overtake me, They are going faster than the declared speed limit. I see one yacht going the  other way and see two other vessels on the radar.

No more photos as I got too busy.

On the other side the Radar and AIS proved useful

The red rings are sentry alarms - useful, often false triggers on wavetops but better safe than sorry. On the close in 3 mile range on the radar I see even small boats. Nav marks give big echoes too.

The fog comes and goes, I get another thick bank as I approach Boston's outer area.
One eejit does 27 knots and comes within 600 feet of me.I have measured the visibility at 1000 feet by creeping past nav marks and I can see the speed on my AIS. Not a safe speed on fog.

The outer area of Boston is an archipelago of islands, some of which have been made into parks  - lovely!

Ferries galore, they go fast too.

And into Boston proper

A small free anchorage across the river from the main town, it's quite a distance and I make sure I have fuel - It would be a difficult row - ferries and lots of pleasure day-triipper yachts about the place. See the fog is still there, it is just up in the air a bit! The anchorage is beside the airport but there is a large hilton hotel in the way that masks the plane noise almost entirely. Apart from some wash from water taxis the anchorage is perfect and very peaceful.

As usual, lovely at night - still fog in the upper parts of those buildings though,

A marina across the way allows me to park my dinghy for a few hours whilst I explore - it is raining and foggy a bit though.

The marina looks after its ducks!

Boston has a historical train - just follow the red line! great idea

My impressions are that Boston is a lovely city, nicer than New York in many ways, I love the old buildings, tastefully blended in with the new, I find the streets full of tourists but not too full - a quarter the people density  of NY - though maybe the weather kept people away. Near the docks the Vibe was good - good cheap cafes and restaurants - not too cheap but good looking food at good prices. Music from street buskers was nicely done and I think I will return to Boston some time. Matt had recommended the Cambridge area near the university but I decided to press on - the rain was a bummer.

Yet another lightship!

Goodbye Boston

Long Island Sound Part 3, Martha;s vineyard (10030 miles)

Some lovely yachts at Martha's Vineyard. I sail to the  anchorage at Edgartown, the furthest town but a better anchorage, Exposed to the North but winds are light from the South. The town is remarkable in that a lot of the buildings are similar sizes, no massive hotels blight the collection of nice properties. Martha's Vineyard has no vines by the way, originally there was farming, fishing and whaling. in the summer there was not as much to do and a large Methodist revival meeting was held - with people coming from New York. A proliferation of tents and then tiny wee cabins came about and a property developer expanded this to create holiday homes  and then  as traditional industry died and summer residences become desirable the properties grew. The town came into being.  It is not that big, 3 or 4 streets and 7 or so avenues. It has no real heart, the roads are packed with cars trying to get into the many car parks. The cafes and restaurants are packed. The island has nice beaches and walks and the shops await the visitors. Jewelry, Art and craft predominate, lots of galleries, some of the restaurants are in the upper range, no Starbucks, Subway or MacDonalds here (no bad thing!)

I am forming ideas about my tour through the East coast - as I write this I am in Canada. I have been surprised that I have been in twee places the entire time - with the possible exception of Baltimore. I think the phrase is "Gentrification" maybe places price themselves up and up and the poor go elsewhere. I didn't invent the use of Gentrification, I have read a few thoughtful opinion pieces in the online Guardian app. There are not many (i.e Zero) beggars in Martha's Vineyard. Everyone has (to have) money.

Docks everywhere

 Nice boat a catboat

The ferry disgorges scores of tourists with bicycles.

State, Church and the Judiciary, what happy bedfellows.

It all gets a bit too much so I retreat to a nice air conditioned museum

Sorry for the quality - my laptop batteries are low and preclude cropping if I am to upload before losing WiFi (and my camera zoom is broken)

Claims to fame, Jaws was shot (sic) here.

I buy a book on shipwrecks - for a rainy day, but discover most are either recovered or taken by the sands...

Another nice old boat goes past the anchorage, which has two superyachts anchored in it too.

After a morning spent in Martha's Vineyard I head across the sound to the Island of Cape Cod and through a narrow gap at Wood's Hole to get into Buzzard's Bay, this leads up to the Cape Cod canal - a 10 mile long short cut that saves 50 miles of treacherous open sea. I "borrow" a mooring near the canal start as dusk falls and resolve to get up at 6 a.m the next morning to get down the canal. The two bits of sea at each end of the canal are usually at different heights and current flow in the canal is fast - I  will have it with me in the morning - I have trouble keeping to the 10 mph speed limit.