TEXAS RANGER: Plymouth, MA to Cape Cod Canal, Buzzard's Bay, Fiddler's Cove, and Nantucket, MA August 27--29

We had a somewhat choppy passage down the coast from Plymouth to the entrance to the Cape Cod Canal, timing it to arrive around slack water at noon. We arrived on schedule, and had a smooth passage through the land cut of the canal, with the current ebbing to aid us along. The payback came, however, as we exited the canal into Buzzard’s Bay with the current opposing the fairly strong wind from the south, the combination creating significant waves on the nose, and a very nasty ride. Spray was flying over the flybridge! We didn’t have far to go, however, and tucked ourselves into a hurricane hole in Megansett Harbor near North Falmouth, MA known as Fiddler’s Cove. It is a nice marina, and we hunkered down to await the passage of a cold front that evening. The front was less than impressive, and so the next morning with the northwest wind behind us, we set out for Nantucket Island. The trip down Buzzard’s Bay was uneventful, and we rapidly (timed to have current with us) transited the Wood’s Hole channel, passing the world-famous research institute and exiting into Vineyard Sound. Martha’s Vineyard, site of a recent vacation by the president, was only four miles away, and we passed through Vineyard Sound and into Nantucket Sound. Our trip was delayed about ¾ hour as we stood by for a small outboard which was disabled and contacted Sea Tow on his behalf. When the towboat was en-route, we moved on east, arriving in Nantucket and picking up a mooring about 1300.

Nantucket was discovered in 1602, and was actually a part of New York until the late 1600’s. Everything is imported on ferries that carry only trucks, and so prices are quite high. E.g., gasoline is $5.40/gallon. There are no traffic lights, only five colors allowed for houses, and a place where you can pay $1500 per night for a hotel room in the historic district if you miss your ferry back to the mainland! Nantucket is known as the “Gray Lady”, because of the appearance of many of the houses, especially when fog is present. Only five house colors are allowed by the historic commission. The oldest house surviving on the island dates from 1686. There is a hatch in the roof adjacent to the chimney to allow roof access to fight the common chimney fire. There are few windows, because houses in early Nantucket were taxed based on the number of windows. Many of the houses have a “widow’s walk” platform on the roof; some say to watch for their husbands returning from sea—some say to allow chimney access to put out the chimney fires. The old windmill, the oldest continuously operating windmill in the U.S., allows for rotation of the entire vane superstructure to face the wind, which seems to come from every direction here. Sankaty Light claims to be the second-oldest lighthouse in the U.S. (Boston is oldest), but we noted in Portland, Maine that Portland Head Light made the same claim.

An architectural lesson is present in the photos below. A full-cape house is shown; two windows on each side of the door. A half-cape has a door and two windows on one side. A ¾ cape has one window on one side of the door, and two windows on the other side. These patterns were frequently observed in old Nantucket houses. Also of note is the Pacific National Bank Building from 1818. This is an unusual bank name for an establishment in the Atlantic, but evidently the greatest profits from the heyday of Nantucket whaling came from expeditions to the Pacific Ocean. Nantucket whaling ships journeyed around Cape Horn on voyages lasting 3-5 years to search for sperm whales in the Pacific Ocean! The Whaling Museum was outstanding, as was the view from its roof, in which Texas Ranger can be seen (by a sharp eye) moored in the harbor between the upright sign supports in the middle of the photo. Alas, we cannot afford to stay here long, and we must continue to move toward southern climes. Martha’s Vineyard is “full” for the Labor Day weekend, so we may head further west toward Rhode Island. Many of these locations are prime sailing locations for years, and places we have read about for decades!