Five days on Cape Cod Bay

[JeffM]

The plan was to launch from Plymouth and spend most of a week cruising the inside of the Cape.  My crew were the regulars: 10-yr-old Trevor and 7-yr-old Stephen.  The new cabin would keep us comfortable and dry, and the bicycles towed behind us in the pram would provide ground transport

[JeffM]

Whoops! how do you get pictures and captions in here?

[Greg Luckett]

This was quite a story!  Thank you for sharing it.

[Frank Hagan]

Whoops! how do you get pictures and captions in here?

Its a little confusing ... you have to click the "Additional Options" link at the bottom of the editing window, and then browse for the "attachment" (we allow .doc, .pdf and .xls files as well as pics!).  To add another, you click the "(more attachments)" link.  Unlike the prior software, this one doesn't actually upload the image until you click the "Post" button ... you won't see them on "Preview".  I'm hoping to change that, but so far no luck.  I'm looking for a modification that will allow us to insert the images into the post, rather than at the bottom also.

[Garry]

If things had gone smoothly it wouldn't be so memorable. Actually, it sounds like a great adventure! I'll bet the boys have learned something about dealing with adversity without falling apart.

[Norman Colter]

Great story Jeff, thanks for sharing. As a boy, I spent a couple weeks in the Maine woods Boy Scouting. My fondest memory is looking at the night sky. The Milky Way is the defining feature of the night sky. We can't see it at night in Ipswich. Looking forward to seeing some pictures of your trip.

Norm

[JeffM]

Thanks, all!  Actually, Gary, in retrospect its a great blessing both boys sleep like rocks--some of my maneuvers that first night should have sent them both tumbling.  I don't know what I would have done if they had both popped up in alarm at a critical moment!

[JeffM]

Frank, after much wrestling it seems I can only get one picture at a time in here--maybe the TOTAL of all files must be under 256K?!

Here is the roof in place.  The wave shows you why we needed it.

[JeffM]

Sunset.  Bebe tows pretty well.

[JeffM]

The morning after.  We ain't goin' NOwhere for a while!  The boys go off exploring while I mull things over.

[JeffM]

Walking along the dike towards town, ready for adventure.

[JeffM]

Second attempt at anchoring in WATER, but still able to wade ashore.  The slot top makes this cabin very friendly for a 6'2" captain.

[JeffM]

Beach beside town dock, less than two hours after I anchored in 2ft of water.

[JeffM]

The light that saved us.  It is GREEN not red!

[JeffM]

Next to the light, Stephen poses solemnly beside the grave of a lone WWII soldier.  A row of nails holds the flag to the cross.  There are 8 additional rows of nails with shreds of earlier flags.

[JeffM]

Goodbye to Provincetown.  The stone tower commemorates the Mayflower's first landing site, before going on to settle at Plymouth.

[JeffM]

Headed back for Plymouth.  A better view of the slot top with hatch covers stowed.  In light winds, boys are allowed on the foredeck.

[JeffM]

It has been raining for hours, but the sea is calm, Beatrice Ann skims along on a broad reach minding her own course, and the skipper is happy as a lark.

[mustangermatt]

Cool pictures, looks like it was a great trip.

We have alot of tide here in the northwest, and rocky shoreline to boot. I have found I like to carry a couple hundred feet of decent line. When I come into an anchorage I drop the hook in deep enough water that the boat will stay afloat when the rode is pointing toward shore. I put a pulley and buoy (usually a fender) on the end of the anchor rode, then create a loop of line that the boat is attached to. The loop is secured to something solid on the beach, looks like you might have to use another anchor on those long sandy beaches.

Now I can beach the boat and unload the camping gear or whatever, then pull the boat out to the to the pulley on the anchor rode using the loop of line. You can leave whenever you want that way, but it can be alot of screwing around, especially at 1:00 am (don't ask how I know this ).

The other option is just to plan arrival and departure around tides, kind of a novel approach that I find difficult with the light winds around here:-)

I did read on the web site about the couple that took a bay river skiff to mexico, and used fenders to roll the boat on and off the beach. I haven't tried that one yet. It might be dicey with the weight of my CS17 loaded, and even more so with your 20.

[JeffM]

That's a good idea, Mustangermat.  I might try it simply to keep feet dryer.    My one serious disapointment with my boat is that it can't really be beached for any length of time, since she weighs maybe 700lb empty.  (I know Graham launched his EC22 on rollers, but I bet he isn't going to make a habit of it!)