Casting Off
On the greenish-gray tv screen of my childhood Saturday mornings, the villain in pursuit of the hero would be led off a cliff and then pause in midair momentarily, giving a chagrined look before plummeting to the ground below.
We rose before dawn on Saturday in Gloucester harbor, to the tune of a passing fisherman exclaiming to his colleague, “Are you fucking trying to piss me the fuck off?” We pulled up the anchor and slid out into this new thing we’re doing. I don’t think we’re villains, nor (knock on wood) do I expect to crumple on the ground at the bottom of a cliff, but I did experience the sensation of being suspended in midair for a moment….what’s next?
For us the next stop was Cuttyhunk island, still technically in Massachusetts, but a world away from Gloucester. We had a little rain en route, while the tide zipped us swiftly through the Cape Cod Canal, and approaching Cuttyhunk the world was silvery and deep slate gray. We were serenaded to sleep by an excellent local band playing on shore.
Sunday we got up and out to head to Block Island, but the wind had other ideas. After beating our way slowly in that direction for some time, we decided to instead go to Newport. We had a spectacular sparkly sail in, past Castle Hill and Clingstone to Newport Harbor, where we picked up a mooring before heading to the Newport Maritime Center for much needed showers. At $1.75 for seven minutes, it was a game of beat the clock, but we emerged refreshed and ready for a delicious dinner. We had been only 48 hours on board but already the hordes of cone-lickers on Thames Street seemed even more alien than usual.
The wind was not looking friendly for the next leg of our journey south on Monday and Tuesday, so instead we had a sweet sail further into Narraganset Bay to lovely Wickford, RI, where we visited with our friends Ed and Nancy, and noticed things that needed noticing. Now’s when you remember the things you forgot.
Tim’s parents, Sue and Tom, are on board for this first leg of our journey, and they’ve been putting their mad skills to use. Sue is the refrigerator whisperer, able to Tetris our expansive collection of food items into a diminutive space. Tom is not only a tireless helmsman, but a guy who is willing and able to take on all manner of boat projects. Challenge accepted!
Today we’re sailing down Long Island Sound to the Thimble Islands, off the Connecticut Shore, not far from New Haven. Instead of Wile E. Coyote’s resigned fall to doom after discovering the land was no longer beneath him, instead we’ve gently found our feet planted securely on deck.
—-Lesley
