Monday, August 27, 2012

We're Island Hopping

Departing Block Island @7:30 a.m.

Our plan had been to leave Block Island at 8 a.m., but Richard took another look at the weather forecast and wanted to get a jump on the day. He was kind enough to say I could stay in bed and finish my first cup of coffee while he handled everything (he is THAT kinda guy) but team work is important so I jumped up and readied the mooring line for slipping as soon as he got to the upper helm (and I'm THAT kind of mate).  Yea us.

A successful cruising couple must be mutually supportive. Guess that's true on land, eh?




Here's what we monitor on Bel Sito's GPS system...you see the dark icon with the red line going upward? That's Bel Sito and the course we are heading:



We were back in the rollers of the Atlantic Ocean. I love the motion at 1-2'...probably not much more, though. We kept a look out for whales and lobster pots. No whales, but lots of pots to dodge.

Here is a glorious site we came upon in the open water....a beautiful old schooner named Lynx. Richard gives his commentary describing what we are seeing in the video:


Click here to see a schooner underway by Martha's Vinyard


We made it into Oak Bluff Harbor of Martha's Vineyard, a 100 square mile island, and opted for a mooring ball instead of a slip (it's a bit quieter out here in the field). We ambled around this neck of the woods, scoping out a grocery store etc and revisiting the Methodist Camp Cottages, 









I'm usually curious about real estate when we visit places. Here's what $15,000,000 can buy you: 

$15m house on MV






Or, if the little gingerbread houses have any appeal, here's one for $320,000. 

Overview of Gingerbread House for sale


Six years ago we came to Martha's Vineyard over on the Edgartown side of the island aboard Alleluia, a 41.1' Bristol, with Eric and Shelley Rubin, then returned to Annapolis with Drew and Margaret Davis. We had to contend with storms and all kinds of problems associated with fog and not having operational radar, let alone AIS, on that voyage to and from Annapolis. 

Wonder how Martha's Vineyard got the name? Wonder what movies have been filmed here? Wonder what celebrities have lived here? All of this is answered and more in the Wikipedia entry for Martha's Vineyard. Interesting stuff:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha's_Vineyard








Bel Sito in Oak Bluff Harbor, Martha's Vineyard. Many more sunsets.