Maiden Voyage

The weather was not in our favor as we planned our departure from McDougall's Marina in Falmouth to Hawthorne Cove in Salem, Massachusetts. Adding to my angst were a few missteps (mainsail forgotten in the sail loft, questions about fuel on board etc.) We had no choice but to proceed, bend the mainsail ourselves and wind the engine. Winds were out of the Southwest blowing at 25-30 knots. The seas were clearly angry that day and the Woods Hole passage lived write down to every cautionary story I'd heard about it. Andy was cool and composed at the helm while my Father was ricocheting below deck like a pinball. Following heavy seas in Buzzard's Bay, the calm of the Cape Cod Canal was welcoming and warm.

As we motor through Cape Cod Canal, Jim Cosgrove tells the story of two optimistic but lost kayakers he encountered one foggy day while sailing the Imagine (Hunter 30) on Cape Cod Bay.

The kayakers claimed to be heading for Provincetown and estimated only two more miles to go before reaching the harbour. Armed with a GPS, Jim informed them they had 12 miles to go. After some initial crazed optimisim, the kayakers did a 180 and returned to shore.

We motored through the Canal encountering a few barges. At the other end of the canal, we were greeted with the same forceful winds and seas we'd hoped we left behind in Falmouth. It was a long day of motoring to Taylor Marine in Marshfield, but exciting to on a the water on a boat of our own!