The June J Class Regatta in Newport, RI is the inspiration for a cruise for Elise and me. We begin on a Monday afternoon, after a hectic day of provisioning our Cape Dory 270 Avanti and last minute repairs, with a run to Cuttyhunk on a NNE wind. Avanti has been commissioned for the season just two days before and we are eager to be on our way.
Martha's Vineyard Shipyard eases Avanti into the waters of Vineyard Haven harbor.
We get in at 9 pm and have to motor into Cuttyhunk Pond and Marina in the dark. An aggressive tide added an hour to the trip and so we crept in with all lights on. Using a flashlight to light the way forward, we found a mooring and tied up. I had never arrived in port after dark, so it was a baptism of sorts and we glided by a small clutch of moored boats without mishap.
Cuttyhunk appeared desolate for mid-June. The season really doesn't start until July.
The next morning a strong 20 knots was blowing and we were awakened by the repeated blasts of a horn. I looked out the porthole to see a 40-foot sailboat drifting backwards within 20 feet of our boat. Their anchor had gotten free and the couple on board was hastily trying to get their motor started and the anchor hoisted.
Close-up of a mooring with its single inquisitive eye.
I radioed the harbormaster who I later learned was off-island. I asked the man who answered the hail about launch service and he advised me to put on a life jacket and "hop over [the side]." Later the real harbormaster had a good laugh out of that. (It was pretty funny.)
"Ghost town" is a good way to describe the Cuttyhunk dock & harbor in mid-June.
We spent the day in Cuttyhunk, wondering where the people were. The few boats moored near us stayed put with only one person venturing out to shore. Late in the afternoon the sun came out and we pulled Avanti up to the dock and went ashore to look around.
Avanti at the Cuttyhunk dock.
With the emergence of the sun, so did the people of Cuttyhunk. It felt like a moment in the Truman Show: Que the people, here comes Truman! Here a woman came pushing a cart to the Raw Bar which was only open from 5 to 6. There a golf cart comes with an aged couple. And over there a boat bumps up against the dock and off comes a father and two small boys dragging a wagon loaded down with strippers and blue fish.
We walked up the singular hill along which are several homes, visiting a tiny grocery in one of them. At the Raw Bar we feasted on clam chowder and raw oysters (located right on the dock) and engaged a pair of elder fisherman who were waiting for their captain and an evening of casting.
That night Elise cooked up a pasta dinner with salad while we planned our escape. Next destination: Sakonnet Yacht and Marina in Rhode Island.
Read all the posts in the J Class Regatta series:
Final Day of J Class Newport Regatta Has Moments of Drama & a Velsheda Win
