Travels with Martha

Memorial Day Weekend- What a beautiful 3 days for boating and exploring Martha's Vineyard! How did I love the long weekend? Let me count the ways. Had a super easy light wind crossing from Falmouth Sat Morning. Visited Mytoi Japanese Garden on Chappaquiddick. Kited at Katama Bay. Anchored and took the Chappaquiddick ferry to Edgartown for a hot shower and supplies. Walked most of the Joseph Sylvia State Beach looking for kite launches, found some. Explored Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary by packraft and on foot. Tied up at the Dinghy dock in Oak Bluffs for a Lobster Roll. Had a super easy light wind crossing back to Falmouth Monday evening. Mytoi Japanese Garden Anchorages   Friday Night- Falmouth, Eel Pond, off Waquiot Bay, N wind.   Saturday Night- Edgartown, Chappaquiddick Point, in no wake zone, SW wind.   Sunday Night- Sengakontacket Pond, Bran Point cove, SW, NW, NE wind.     Next time- Anywhere around Felix Neck in Sengakontacket Pond, very quiet, pretty.     Next time- Caleb Pond, off Katama Bay, a few houses but very scenic, not official anchorage? Shear Pin Rd, Lighthouse Rd, and a fish. This must be Chappaquiddick. Low Bridges   Kennedy Bridge on Chappaquiddick- I fit under at dead low only.   Sengakontacket Pond, Center bridge, (Jaws bridge)- I fit under at dead high or low.   Sengakontacket Pond, North Bridge- I fit under at dead low only.     I used to fit under all these bridges but my boat keeps growing, (windshield, roll bar). Packraft on my roof. Now I don't fit under any bridges. Motor trouble? Yeah, it's still not running right.

Birding for Kiting

Andre and I fill the back seat of his helicopter with kiting gear, take the bird to Martha's Vineyard for an after work session. This is the kind of birding I really enjoy! I wonder if I should feel guilty about flying at 100 MPH over the traffic jams below. I don't. This is the scenic route. Getting there is as much fun as the kiting. Charles River               Boston Harbor The Approach to Katama Bay     Kitesurfed, Martha's Vineyard- Katama Bay, SW 12-18, 17M Fat Lady/Flex 138 with Andre.

Martha's Vineyard in a Bathtub

I have no idea if this crazy plan is going to work. Everyone I told about it said I was nuts. Probably true, but it still might work. Martha's Vineyard in a 12' Dinghy- I spend the first half of my vacation working on my tiny boat, getting it ready for open ocean and to sleep in. I install a battery, bilge pump, a charger for my phone (which I use for navigation), a bench seat that also holds my gas tank, tent poles to support the canvas cover, and a sleeping board that I can move into position for sleeping. I'm ready for the seven seas. I boat out and spend one night camping in a tent on Washburn Island, Waqoiut Bay. That's been on my bucket list for a few years! Then on to Martha. Nice Secluded Campsite on Washburn Island The wind is 15-25 when I cross the 6 miles from Waqoiut Bay to the Vineyard. More wind and waves than I wanted for my first crossing with my little boat! At least it's a NE wind for a following sea. I get knocked around but I'm very happy to arrive, kinda dry and still floating. My toy boat made it! I go into Edgartown and notice that my dinghy looks different from all the other dinghies at the dinghy dock. Mine has the bright red canvas covering the bow, gear strapped all over the sides, the big bench seat, a kiteboard hanging off the back. I stand out like a circus clown among grey suited businessmen. I worry that I might be told to leave because I'm obviously not a tender for a yacht but nobody says nothing. They just stare, (in admiration I assume). I love kiting and spending the night in Cape Poge. I anchor near the lee shore and set up the boat for sleep as the setting sun paints the sky deep orange and the almost full moon creeps above the horizon. Beautiful. Kiting in Cape Poge, Chappaquiddick Now's the test. Can I really sleep on this tiny thing? I have just enough room to stretch out on my sleeping board. Clearance between my forehead and the canvas is about 2 inches. I drift off to sleep to the sound of ripples lapping at the bow. I feel like I'm sleeping on an air mattress adrift on the ocean. I sleep 8 hours, more sleep than I've had in forever. I learn a lot about cruising in a boat. How the dinghy docks work, where to find showers, ice, fuel, and legal anchorages. Many harbors have amenities such as the dinghy docks etc. set up for visiting yachts. I feel like I'm cheating because my dinghy is my yacht but these amenities are great. It makes getting what I need way too easy. I could stay out here until the snow flies. Getting Underway Early, This is the Moon Setting as the Sun Comes Up With light wind for a few days, I boat around the island and explore all the bays and harbors along the way, (I cover 80 miles in 2 days according to my phone, 40 miles per 6 gal gas). What I learn- Katama Bay is off limits for legal overnight anchoring. Edgartown is great and has everything I need right there. Oak Bluffs has a vibrant party feel, almost a Caribbean vibe. The west side of the island is fairly secluded and rocky with striking cliffs that I want to climb, rocky areas where I want to snorkel. Menemsha has a fishing village feel with a beautiful hidden cove that I find to anchor in. The south side of the island is fairly secluded but not varied, except for the stunning cliffs at Gay Head. No harbors or shelters on this entire side, not a place I would choose to break down please. Menemsha Night The Menemsha cove is my high point of the trip. Glassy water encircled by marsh and stubby trees. 3 deer watch me enter the cove before bounding away. I eat my dinner anchored in the middle of this secluded pool as the golden full moon rises. Fish are jumping all around the boat. I stretch out in my dry sleeping bag surrounded by whispering water. The night is perfect. On the last day Josh boats out with a friend to meet me and to do some kiting and fishing. I've had trouble off and on with my 25 HP motor during the trip. Now it finally dies. Unbelievable timing! This is the opposite of Murphy's law. If anything can go wrong it will at the best possible time. Josh goes to work and determines that my motor is not getting a spark. Done. He has my old 8 HP on board as his back up motor. We swap motors, (not easy but Josh doesn't hesitate), and I'm saved from a near death experience. I boat back to the mainland at night because the wind is almost still. I use the full moon for light and my phone for navigation. Lights on the mainland, shining off the black water, act as a beacon. It's stunning! I'm sad to go home to a backlog of work emails, phone messages, estimates, invoices, scheduling headaches, and all the trivial ups and downs of running a small business, although I'm glad to be back with Barbara. This trip was a bucket list trip that I didn't even know was on my list. Until very recently it hadn't occurred to me that it might be possible to live and sleep on a 12' dinghy for a few days, not to mention crossing over to Martha's Vinyard and back. It took a little creativity but that was part of the appeal. Out on the water I had a feeling of complete freedom, joy, and adventure, with many moments of tranquility and bliss. I think I was using a part of my brain that's dormant in 90% of my life. Now I'm using all of my brain to think about my next trip.

Martha My Dear

9-10-2016 Josh and I make it over to Martha's Vineyard in his boat for kiting and fishing! This has been a goal for both us with our boating this year. Josh kiting in Katama Bay Is it crazy to come over here with his 40 year old motor that cuts out frequently? Yes, probably. It helps that we have an auto mechanic on board. Also Josh has a small back up motor just in case. Still it takes a little faith or foolishness. We have plenty of both. With Josh, Darren, Kaitlyn.

Chappaquiddick Escape

Chappaquiddick. Beautiful Chappy. So quiet and peaceful. Where else on the Cape can you find deserted beaches on a hot Summer weekend day? Only in your dreams. I think the second ferry usually keeps the Rif Raf, like us, out. We snuck onto the island for 4 days. Thurs night-Monday night. The kids were with us for 2 1/2 days. What we did- Kitesurfed 2 full days, windsurfed, boated, SUP'd, snorkeled, biked, fished, puzzled. What we didn't do- Unicycled. Not enough time to do everything. Katama Bay- We boated out to Norton Point Beach, launched kites and I pretended I knew how to teach this sport. The big shallow flats at that end of the bay made a good bodydrag/waterstart/crashing ground. Our inflatable was the chase boat. 2 full days spent kiting here, nice. Cape Poge/The Gut- We drove to the end of North Neck Rd, walked the narrow path to the Gut, (the mouth of Cape Poge). We could have paddled across with kiting gear on SUP but wind was light at the time. We SUP'd, snorkeled, fished. Later I came back and windsurfed. The 4x4 driving pass to Cape Poge costs $180. No day passes, (like Norton Beach $30/day), are available for Chappy. It would be worth the $180, if we were here for  a week, so we could drive out easily and kite. Cape Poge looks like it has the best kiting slicks on the island, supposed to have better wind too. Wasque Reservation- Solo session at the mouth of Katama Bay. Nice spot in SE wind! Sandbars, slicks and waves. Mean current though. Learners report Josh- A quick learner, had his first fully powered sessions, got his first long rides, first slide transitions, good upwind bodydrags, easily kited upwind on outgoing and incoming tides. It must be nice to be 22. Ben- The wind lulled every time he looked at a kite. He only had 1 session due to wind dropping on first day. Did many water starts on 2nd day but never really had enough power to get riding. I should have given him a bigger kite. It was an exercise in frustration tolerance, not Ben's favorite kind of exercise. Paige- Trainer kite session during a gusty spell. She remained in 1 piece, a major success. Barbara- First time flying the trainer. She didn't crash it once! Maybe this is where the kids get their kiting genes.

Hello Martha's Vinyard

Unloading a few toys at Katama Bay I knew something was wrong. We had 30 people going to Martha's Vineyard for 3 days of kiting and camping and the forecast was for nearly perfect weather- blue skies, warm temps, windy... For 3 days in a row. It was like reverse Murphy's law. Whatever can go right will, and at the best possible time. So, of course, I'm waiting for something bad to happen to mess it up. Saturday is great! Great weather, secluded barrier beach, kiting inside in flats, outside in waves, or in the tidal inlet. Everyone is completely psyched to be here, pulling off their best crashes right next to the beach in the offshore winds. Nice dinner and bull session around the campfire apres kite. Incoming! Johnny D covers his head to avoid getting a haircut Sunday is great! Repeat of Sat. This is making me nervous. I do some pain free backroll practise in the shallows. Upwinder in the bay, walk over to the oceanside for a downwinder to the inlet, upwinder in the bay back to where I started, good company, so fun. We counted 19 people on and in the truck for the 4 x 4 ride out to the launch. Monday starts great! Then the wind gets flukey. Ahh, now I feel better. I could stop worrying about a natural disaster striking us. Although flukey wind is pretty bad, at least it's a disaster I'm familiar with. We all get some water time to stretch our tired muscles. Note: Click on pics to see full size. I like the way Dunoyer summed up the trip, "those sweeping views of sand, sea and birds will stick with me for at least another year..." I hope so. Thanks to Eric F for bravely leading 30 crazed kiters to a salty canvas waiting to be painted with kite tracks and rooster tails. Martha's Vineyard- Katama Bay, kitesurfed 3 days, 8-28, SW, SSW, 13M Octane/Mako 150 & 6' Surfboard, with Masskiting, others.