Thursday, July 14, 2016

Best Little Harbor in Massachusetts

We are spending a couple o' nights in Hadley Harbor in the Elizabeth Islands, near Woods Hole. So cute! We lucked out picking up a mooring in the small inner harbor, next to a boat shop complete with a few Herreshoff 12 1/2s at dock and a railway to haul craft into the shed. We hear horses, hidden in the wooden shores. A few cottages line the shores. A large white New England style house sits hill top and gives me a serious case of chimney envy.

These lands, and the mooring at which we rest, are owned by the Forbes family, like most of the Elizabeth islands. Though the moorings are 'private', but free for public use on a first-come basis, mama duck with kiddos in tow came up to collect the rent. "Two nights please harbor master." A handful of trail mix pays the rent. Off they go, crabbing along in the increasing afternoon wind.

A small island, Bull Island, behind us is open to the public for aimless wandering and picnics. Otherwise all is private to the low water line. A pleasant side effect of having no place to land is no outboard powered dinghies zooming around: quiet and peaceful. A few boats come and go to the rhythm of the currents through Wood Hole cut, just around the corner to our little pond. A kayaker slowly cruises the Bull Island shoreline.


Across the harbor, which isn't far (spud gun range for sure), someone pulls off his T-shirt, jumps in for a few strokes, climbs out, shirt back on, disappears into the cabin up from the dock. A few people, obviously guests, arrive on a private ferry and reappear later on the boat shop docks to jump, en masse, into the waters for a quick swim as well. They get out so quick is looks like they bounced off the water. They too disappear.

Cath learned a new word today: 'gunkholing'. We launched Puff and went gunkholing around the harbor. One inlet took us under a low bridge into another shallow bay with bright green grass along the shores. Coming out and turning to port, we circumnavigated Bull Island, landing at a small dock. We walked along the trail just as far as the Lyme disease warning. Eek, and we scurried on back to Puff. We still need to comes to terms with the tick thing.
Long since fired as sailing instructor, I only watch as Spencer teach Cath the ropes in Puff. I try to keep my mouth shut. She buzzes by Alizée to show off. To the west of us a cold front lurks. The SW winds continue to build and the sky clouds up, cutting our sailing day short. As the hidden sun sets, we close up the boat expecting a line of strong storms tonight. Sleep tight!




2 comments:

  1. I've been there! Biked down from P-Town with a friend, and stayed with friends of his in Wood's Hole. We cruised over to Hadly Harbor the next day. That's my favorite part of the Cape.

    Please stop in Nantasket so I can say "I've been there" again! Don't miss George's Island, in the Boston Harbor, either!

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  2. Too cool! Unfortunately, we had to pass on the Boston islands. Summer's a wastin' and we must get up to Penobscot. I trust life is good and your Summer sweet.

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