Home Again!

It was a rather quick trip from Cape May to Freeport. We left Cape May, New Jersey on May 15th and 49 hours and 291 nautical miles later we were at anchor in Onset Massachusetts. We had great sailing for the first day but then the fog rolled in and the winds died for most of the second so we had to motor sail. About 4:30 pm we heard a squealing sound from the engine room.The alternator had seized up and refused to turn. We had to shut the engine down in order not  to overheat because the belt that drives the alternator also drives the water pump. Fortunately we had a spare unit but it was internally regulated and the one that died uses an external one. After doing some research in the onboard library, I was able to build a new wiring hook up for the spare alternator and after a couple of hours had everything up and running again. It was a calm as a millpond in Onset harbor and we had a well deserved full night's sleep.

The next stop after passing through the Cape Cod Canal was Provincetown at the end of Cape Cod. We arrived early enough to go shore and explore the town and tour the Pilgrim Monument and the Provincetown Museum. The Pilgrims first landed at P-town before landing at Plymouth. They signed the Mayflower Compact in the Harbor and stayed a week or so before moving on.

Pilgrim Monument in P-town

We left Provincetown at first light the next day and set a course for the Isles of Shoals right on the New Hampshire- Maine Border. About 6 miles from the end of the Cape we had the greeting committee meet us and welcome us back to the Gulf of Maine. There were more whales than I have ever seen in one place! It was not uncommon to see three spouting at the same time they were frolicking about for over a hour and we estimated about 30 to 50 whales were in the group. They were mostly finbacks about 60 or so feet long and thankfully did not get much closer that 50 yards with most of them staying about 1/4 to 1/2 mile away. Dave who was sailing with me and spent 7 years living or board and cruising from the Chesapeake to the West Indies had never seen so many at once either. It was an amazing morning to say the least. We arrived at the Isles of Shoals where we spent the night at a mooring in the harbor.

 Anxious to get home, we again left early in the morning and pulled into Freeport Harbor about 4PM on the 20th. It was a round trip of 3718 miles; we certainly enjoyed the journey and hope to sail south again next winter. It is great to be back in Maine and we are looking forward to a summer cruising our in our home waters and spending some time in our favorite local spots.