Cuttyhunk MA: Sat 19 Jun - Sunshine, Light SW Winds, Slight Seas

Departed New Harbor 0500 trying for an early arrival at Cuttyhunk Island MA (photo left). Summer weekends at Cuttyhunk mean crowds and tight anchoring and I was determined to get in early. Motorsailed the entire way (about 38 NM) but alas, even our 1230 arrival made us late to the party so I anchored temporarily in the shallows on a rising tide until I could move to deeper water later in the afternoon. It seemed that every yacht in Padanaram also had the same idea, but considering they came only 12 NM, they won. Quite a colorful day for us boat watchers, with the binoculars getting much use.

On the ride from Block Island I was able to do the first of what will surely become many “re-sorting exercises” of gear and equipment aboard ship. I went through all the lockers below trying to organize the mass of stores and personal gear, plus yacht-related equipment, that had been loaded over the previous 2 ½ months. This is inevitable and boring but unless it is done there is no way to find important gear on the ship.

At Cuttyhunk I made another stab at locating a coolant leak on the Volvo diesel, an annoyance since last summer. Last fall I replaced several coolant hoses and all the rubber gaskets and I thought the issue resolved. We’d seen no leakage since April with about 17 hours on the engine prior to departure. However the leak showed up again motoring into Block Island. At Cuttyhunk I detected one leak in the coolant overflow tank and made adjustments. However this was not sufficient.