Day 21- Cape Cod Canal

We are  up early to travel through the Cape Cod Canal.  Transiting the canal will move us from the mid Atlantic region into New England.   It is here the geology changes, the water changes, and the weather may just change.

The canal separates Buzzards Bay in the south (which we crossed yesterday) from Massachusetts Sound in the north.  There is a large tidal difference between these bodies and therefore a very strong tidal flow in the canal, which earlier today was about 5 knots.   So for transiting the canal we want to move with the tide. Sailors talk all this hype about taking the canal, but it all comes down to coordinating plans with the tide, then it doesn't seem to be a big deal. Timing our arrival at the entrance to the canal will set the schedule for our day.

We make the canal entrance right at our target time. 

It seems every other north bound sailboat has the same plan.  We join a parade of about 20 sailboats all entering the canal within about 20 minutes of each other.

We can see most of them, and also hear the chatter on the radio.  We pass only two southbound large ships.  While there is plenty of room in the canal everyone needs to be paying attention.  Second Star  zooms through the 8 miles of canal riding the strong tide driven current with engines just above idle.

Once out of the canal

the decision is Provincetown on Cape Cod or Plymouth, home of the Mayflower.  The winds tell us Plymouth.  The 20 sailboats that came through the canal together all move in unison up the coast.  The forecast looks beautiful.

As the morning ripens we end up with nearly twice the forecasted wind speed.  (The forecast is very consistantly wrong!) Second Star is moving fast.   We decide to reef as the wind builds, and move ahead very well even with reduced sail area. The boats around us reef shortly after we do, it is as if nobody wanted to be the first, even though several boats were clearly overpowered.  

Out in the middle of Massachusetts Sound the wind continues to build and we are skimming along.   Shelby is sound asleep on her blanket under the front window. The window is open to catch the cool sea breezes on a terribly hot day. A big wave breaks over the bow and maybe 30 gallons of seawater flies in onto Shelby's head.  Poor  baby! She looked so startled, angry & confused.   She got lots of sympathy, a towel to dry off and laid on her bed under the table eating biscuits, still looking unhappy. 

With the miles rolling by we pass Plymouth by about 10 am.  Looks like we can make Gloucester Massachusetts if these conditions continue. Plymouth Rock will have to wait. 

The Boston skyline appears on the horizon. The  fleet of boats separates, with some going to Boston, some to Marblehead, and others into Salem.  There are only two boats pushing on to Gloucester.

Gloucester has some historical significance for Lois: her 11 times great grandfather William Vinson (14 generations ago!) owned a large piece of the harbor ca 1650. She has a description of the land from his will, and from the glimpse we got as we pulled into the harbor,  this is the hill where his house may have stood

and this is the island he owned and left to his daughter. It's not much- just rocks with some scrub trees, but the gift of that island made her a landowner, which was a huge game changer in the mid-1600's.

Another interesting (to Lois!) historical note recently discovered is that William's wife, Sarah,  her 11x great grandmother, was tried for witchcraft at the Salem witch trials, but found not guilty for lack of evidence. (Phew! That was a close one!)