At sea again and thinking about old times.

It’s Monday morning and we are on a mooring in Cuttyhunk, a spot that brings back so many memories.   I am out with my friend Craig for a week as we head toward Nantucket.

I have been visiting this harbor since the early 80s and have visited here in each of our six, count em, boats.   Beginning with our first in the late 70s, that would be Tao and Sappho, our two Cape Cod catboats, Artemis, our 1962 Pearson Invicta yawl that I actually spied the first time, prior to buying her, here in Cuttyhunk,.  Elektra, our Tartan 37 and most recently Pandora, our SAGA 43.  Being here brings back so many memories of summers past.

Interestingly, last evening someone stopped to ask about the boat and when I confirmed that she’s an Aerodyne 47 he told me that Rodger Martin, the designer of the boat, was here in the harbor on his own boat.  I didn’t stop to see him last night and unfortunately, he left early today so we didn’t connect.  Oh well, perhaps when I am in Newport as that’s where his office is.  Better luck next time.

Anyway, Cuttyhunk is a special place for me.  I think that the last time I was here I think was when I visited here with my sons Rob and Chris and my dad.  Dad died about a year ago. That trip, about 4 years ago and the last time that Dad was aboard.  It was a very special trip.  As the sun set last night it took on a bright orange glow.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t show here but it turned a cherry red as it drifted toward the horizon.  I can still remember the ethereal light that surrounded us when Dad and the boys were here with me.  That day we hiked up to the top of the hill on Cuttyhunk and posed on a picnic table.  What a great day it was with three generations of Osborn boys.   A wonderful memory.Nearby, on another mooring, there is a lovely Marshall Catboat that is a dead ringer for our second boat, Sappho.  I love the little gig rowing nearby too. We left Essex on the 4th and spent the night at Fishers Island.   You’d think that we were heading out for a month.     From Essex we made our way down the Sound there wasn’t a breath of wind and  didn’t arrive at Fisher’s till after dark.  Along the way we were treated to a beautiful sunset which combined with the fireworks along the shore, made for some wonderful views.  From Fishers we headed here, about 55 miles yesterday.  The wind was right on our stern and freshened as the day progressed to give us a really nice run.  By the time we got here it was blowing about 20kts which meant that picking up the mooring was a bit challenging.  The moorings in the harbor are packed very tight so there isn’t much room for error.

Today we head up to New Bedford and dinner with my good friend Patty, a fellow Corinthian.  Patty was the first female Master of the group and is a great personality.  It will be fun to spend time with her for a drink aboard Pandora.

So much has changed since I first visited Cuttyhunk but nothing perhaps says it better than this picture of my friend Craig talking on the phone with our friend Brian.   “Can you hear me now?”  Not really as the service here isn’t great  but who back in the early 80s would have imagined that we’d have phone service from aboard much less the ability for me to post from aboard.  Pop quiz:  Who decided that blogs should be called blogs, anyway?  Hmm…

Well, writing this isn’t getting us on with our day so perhaps I should sign off and even though Brenda isn’t along for the week, it’s good to be at sea again.

One response to “At sea again and thinking about old times.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *