Our arrival into New Bedford harbor was interesting. A 15 nautical mile motor trip from Hadley Harbor just across Buzzard's Bay from Woods Hole, MA, took us across the bay on a hazy summer day. Just as we were approaching the western shore, a thick fog rolled in. In addition to turning on the radar Greg immediately started the fog horn, which he can do from our command mic in the cockpit (that is the VHF radio right by the helm seat for you non-sailors). The horn is mounted high up on the mast and blasts very loudly every two minutes. So, even though you couldn't see us coming, you certainly could hear us! The fast ferry from Martha's Vineyard to New Bedford approached the outer channel just before us, and slowed from 32 knots to four when the fog hit! You think the passengers were surprised?! As we got halfway down the channel between the outer harbor buoys the fog rolled by and everything came into view again. This was welcomed, as the harbor entrance is narrow, and there are 40 foot high concrete walls on both sides that support hurricane gates....nothing to take lightly.
We pulled off to the side of the channel for this beautiful shiny fishing boat from Beaufort, North Carolina to pass us by before entering the harbor.
Just click on any photo to enlarge
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| Approaching the open gates of the New Bedford hurricane barrier |
We followed him into New Bedford harbor through the hurricane barrier and on up to
Popes Island Marina. As much as we have heard of New Bedford and know it from living in Massachusetts, we have never been in the harbor. After the hurricane of 1938 severely damaged the town, sinking and grounding hundreds of ships, the town made the plan for a massive gated dike. Finished in 1966, it makes this one of the safest harbors on the East Coast. When there is a threat of high water, the gates are closed. (Coincidentally, we heard a Coast Guard special alert on Saturday, August 19 to announce the gates would close at 8pm due to an abnormally high tide.) For more about the
Hurricane Barrier click here, it's fascinating!
Today, home to some 400 fishing vessels, the town was once one of the richest per capita cities in the world due to the whaling industry and the products it provided. These fishing boats are all in the 100 foot range, some smaller, but many much larger.
A visit to the
Whaling Museum gave us a whole new depth of information about the industry. Even after the whaling industry died out, the textile and fishing industries stayed strong, keeping New Bedford economically healthy. Up until 1996 when over-fishing regulations were put in place, commercial fishing kept New Bedford thriving. Today it still remains the highest valued fishing port in the nation due mostly to its scallop fishery. As it looks to the future, it hopes to become a center for the growing wind energy market by being a base of operations for the ships, logistics and supply of wind farm equipment. The state and federal government spent over $100 million building a new headwall and dock system to accomodate this industry. Even so, water based wind farms are still tough to permit in New England. We'll see!
We really enjoyed our time in the town and recommend it to others that may be transiting the area. The Whaling Museum is the largest museum related to the sea that we've seen anywhere. We spent a half day, and left only because we were tired and needed lunch.
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| Entrance to New Bedford Whaling Museum |
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| Whale skeletons at museum entry lobby |
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| A drone that does all kinds of at sea whale research |
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| Azores whaleboat - gorgeous little thing! |
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| Half size model of whale ship Lagoda |
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Check out these beautiful walking sticks made from wood and ivory
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| All of these photos are buildings and monuments around town |
The reason we diverted to New Bedford was to be able to more easily find a rental car, have a safe spot for
Dream Catcher to hang out for a few days, and make our way north to the Great North Woods of New Hampshire where Greg's nephew was to be married. We picked up Greg's mom and headed north on Route 93, all the way up into the White Mountains, past Lincoln, through Franconia Notch and further north to Whitefield where we finally arrived at the
Mountain View Grand Hotel for the weekend. What a gorgeous spot. Having spent lots of time skiing and hiking the White Mountains in years gone by, it was a treat to be back in this gorgeous area. Unfortunately, the clouds sat low in the sky all weekend, so we never saw the majestic Mt Washington peak, but enjoyed the vistas available to us nonetheless. The wedding was lovely and it was great fun to share time with family.
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| Mountain View Grand Hotel |
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| Mountain View Grand Hotel |
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Cousins of the Groom Ben, Eva and Jack Page getting their growl on
for the ax throwing contest hosted by the resort |
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Greg foraging for wild raspberries as we
walked the cross country ski trails through the woods |
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| Setting up for the ceremony |
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Mother of the Groom (Greg's sister, Pam) and
Grandmother of the Groom (Greg's Mom) |
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| The Bride (Kimberly), Groom (Alex) and cousin Eva |
On Saturday, August 19, back on
Dream Catcher, we headed out of New Bedford harbor and made our way back to Edgartown for a week. After our last visit we discovered that small changes in location around the harbor produced very different celluar reception. So, when we arrived we motored throughout the harbor, identified four of the best spots, then called the Harbormaster and requested one of these. We had good cell coverage all week, but gave up our favorite scenic spot near Katama Bay (not complaining, though!).
We rode our bicycles around the island, and generally enjoyed hanging out. Sunday we landed our dingy on Chappaquiddick with the bikes in tow and enjoyed riding the few paved roads that exist on the island. We also stopped to see
Mytoi - a Japanese style garden designed and maintained by an old resident there, now a public park. It is a lovely spot. Then, we continued down the drive to the sand dunes, walked across the infamous Ted Kennedy bridge and enjoyed the spectacular vistas on East Beach. There are separate entrance trails for the four-wheel drive vehicles to use their part of the beach and a boardwalk for pedestrian swimmers to use their part of the beach.
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| These next several are from Mytoi Gardens |
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| East Beach, Chappaquiddick, looking north |
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| Looking East |
Last weekend, friends Jim and Joanne joined us onboard. It was the first time they had visited our floating home and it was fun to share time with them. Sunday, we all took a walk around Oak Bluffs and shared the beauty of the Methodist Camp meeting with them. All the small cottages are lovingly cared for and sport the fun gingerbread style with colorfully painted trim and welcoming front porches. This is a beautiful and special spot for an afternoon walk.
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The open air Tabernacle where services
and special events occur
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| Greg, Sharon, Joanne and Jim |
We said goodbye to Jim and Joanne, hopped the bus back to Edgartown, packed our bicycles on the dingy and headed back to the boat. With everything stowed, we decided to leave that afternoon, so we dropped the mooring line at 3:30pm and motored out of the harbor. A light breeze from our quarter made for a happy motor sail with the genoa fully flying. We were making great time at 7 knots due to a strong current pushing us along. Instead of heading through Woods Hole and anchoring at Hadley Harbor for the night, we took advantage of that favorable current and kept going down Vineyard Sound, through Quicks Hole and into Cuttyhunk Harbor just as the sun was setting. Anchor down by 7:00pm, it was a beautiful evening sail and we were halfway to Newport.
Tuesday morning dawned breezy and clear and we headed out very early to finish our trek to Newport. We will be here for a week or so. After more scheduled visits from friends and one more trip to Massachusetts, we start heading back south. It has been a really delightful New England summer!
'Til next time -
