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Follow our progress by scrolling down. This photo log progresses in chronological order. Enjoy!
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The Great Harbours charge out of Jamestown, Rhode Island, staging point for the Downeast Cruise, sponsored by Mirage Manufacturing. The fleet had a leisurely 40-mile passage through an unusually calm Buzzards Bay, under beautiful clear blue skies.
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The first stop was the Victorian seaside village of Onset at the West end of the Cape Cod Canal. East Passage and C-View took advantage of the town pier, while the remaining six anchored in the bay. Great holding here!
Evening was pizza night for many of the cruisers, at Marc Anthony’s pizzeria.
The village hosted an open-air jazz concert that night, and some of us attended. Others strolled the shady streets or simply relaxed in perfect evening temperatures.
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On to
P-Town
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Aug. 27
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With a boost from the flooding tide the GHs made quick work of the 9-mile landcut that forms the Cape Cod Canal. With an 8 a.m. departure from Onset, we arrived in Provincetown at the tip of Cape Cod at around 2:30 p.m., thanks to near glassy conditions on Cape Cod Bay.
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Sue Graham of Odyssey photographed this scene from the Pilgrim Memorial; it shows six of the eight Great Harbours. the beach leading to the tip is visible and the curving arm of Cape Cod is at top.
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With the Pilgrim Memorial in the background and cups of genuine quahog chowder in their hands, the Great Harbours pose on the beach of the Cape Cod National Seashore. Chef Charles, at center, prepared a meal that also included steamed and raw quahogs, baked whole codfish, native squash like the pilgrims ate and blueberry cobbler and streussel for desert.
At left, Gail O’Donnell and Terry Woehr, caught up in the spirit of culinary adventure, slurp down their first raw littleneck clam, aka quahog.
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Fiddler’s Green steams northward astride Stellwagen Bank en route for the Isles of Shoals off the New Hampshire coast. Because a rough patch of weather associated with Hurricane Katrina was expected on Aug. 31, The Great Harbours were bypassing today’s original destination--Gloucester, Massachusetts--and forging ahead to the next stop at Gosport Harbor on the islands. The change will allow the boats to arrive in Portland before the snot hits.
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As luck would have it, the most playful of the dozen or so whales spied by the Great Harbours performed his acrobatics in front of Odyssey. Odyssey is home to Paul and Sue Graham, the latter being the most prolific photographer in the fleet. She captured this big humback as it waved to the passing trawlers. There was some speculation that the great creature was attracted by Odyssey’s unique aquamarine colored hull.
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As the Great Harbours approached the Isles of Shoals, an impressive 100-foot schooner drove past us. By now the boats were surfing on comfortable 4-foot seas, before finally rounding up into placid Gosport Harbor.
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Isles of Shoals to Porland
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The Great Harbours hunker down at the Maine Yacht Center as the remnants of Hurricane Katrina pass through Portland. Because of Katrina, Portland has become a three-night stopover, but that has allowed the group more time for shoreside exploration, including the famous L.L. Bean store in nearby Freeport, Maine.
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A night with Eileen Quinn
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Sept. 1
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The Great Harbours enjoyed a performance by Eileen Quinn, whose songs are an amusing and sometimes sad commentary on the cruising lifestyle. Here in one of the funnier moments Eileen dons a mermaid costume while the audience creates special undersea effects. The concert was held in the lounge of the Maine Yacht Center.
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