Albany New York to Salem Mass

We are sailing seven knots on the coast, leaving from Plymouth, Massachusetts, headed to Salem, Massachusetts! ‘Saw our first whales about an hour ago! A lot has happened, and we’ve covered a lot of miles since Albany! We have transited 1200 miles since leaving Madeline Island and burned 130 gallons of diesel. It is so nice to quietly be sailing on open water and finally be headed down east!

Yesterday right after we picked up a mooring in Plymouth, a small boat passed by and a couple of guys hollered at us, “Hey ya got any cheese?!” We were kind of stunned, but in fact I had just set a chunk of cheddar in the cockpit to have with our baguette for lunch, so I waved it at them and said, “Yes, we’re about to have some cheese right now!” We’re still getting used to attention we get for having “LaPointe, Wisconsin” as our hailing port on Khira’s transom. ‘Good humor.

So, to backtrack, here is where we’ve been and what we’ve been doing.

From Albany we went down The Hudson River with a stop at the Poughkeepsie Yacht Club where the folks were so nice, and we put the sails back on the boat while at a mooring. Storms had caused there to be tons of flotsam and we saw lots of huge logs, etc., through the Hudson and into the Long Island Sound. Second stop in The Hudson was at Bear Mountain State Park for a refreshing swim in the beautiful State Park pool with a few hundred other New Yorkers! New York knows how to do public spaces!

New York City did not disappoint, but oh my, was it hot and humid. 'Very strange to be at anchor and have the knot meter reading three knots-from the current! We only spent one night at the 79^th Street Boat basin off the west side of Manhattan, walked Central Park, got a few groceries, then made our run the next morning through the East River, Hell Gate, and into the Long Island Sound.

In the Sound we stayed one night at Manhasset Bay, Port Washington, where we used the launch to do laundry, had a great run up hills through beautiful neighborhoods, listened to live music in the park, and did a long kayak to our first shell-covered beach. Next stop was Port Jefferson where we anchored just inside the cut, climbed beautiful dunes, swam from the boat and had shrimp shish kabobs on the grill. Next night we grabbed a mooring at Fishers Island, a town that’s said to be unwelcoming as it is where famous NY folks hide from publicity; we swam to the raft at the wonderful public beach, talked to some locals, and had a quiet night with a lovely Hinckley on the mooring next to us.

They take their beaching seriously on Block Island, with miles of family groups who take their umbrellas, chairs, coolers, beach games, etc., and spend the day. We spent two nights at Block, ate lobster both nights, did a long run to the lighthouse, and then headed to Cuttyhunk. 

We anchored at Cuttyhunk with 50 or so other boats outside the harbor and dinghied into the harbor where there were hundreds of boats in a very tight harbor. We hiked high on the hillside for a fabulous view and picked up our first ice cream of the trip: $7.00 Klondike bars at the Cuttyhunk Market! That night as I prepared salad dinner the Raw Bar Boat showed up, so luckily, in addition to our salads we had fresh oysters and shrimp – right from the boat!\

Finally, we made our way to Martha’s Vineyard, a milestone to which we had looked forward for so long! Martha’s Vineyard is home to our sailing friends from 17 years ago, Patty and Paul, aboard Aura. First stop was at Vineyard Haven for groceries, then we sailed around to Edgartown where Patty and Paul live. We anchored and very shortly afterward were surprised by Patty and Paul who came out in their dinghy with champagne! ‘So fun to see them again! We rafted with Aura on their mooring for three nights, thoroughly relaxed and enjoyed happy hour conversations!

From Martha’s Vineyard we were deliberate in timing to transit of Woods Hole where the current runs hard, and then spent an uneventful night on the boat at Onset, Massachusetts. From Onset we went through Buzzard’s Bay and into the Cape Cod Canal which was hectic and nerve-wracking; had our biggest ocean swells and spray. We spent last night at Plymouth where we hiked around town (saw the rock and the Mayflower), had lobster dinner, and listened to live music from the boat.

We are looking forward to seeing Jenn, Jeff, and daughter Remi in Salem, cruising friends from years ago, who have generously been collecting packages for us. I’m glad we can finally relieve them of all the junk we’ve ordered that has been unavailable or prohibitively expensive while we’ve been coastal. 

From Salem we hope to get down east to Maine where we may see more friends and family on both sides. By Labor Day we will turn around and head south, chasing the season!

Thank you for staying in touch. We still miss you all!