We left Martha's Vineyard Tuesday, cutting through Woods Hole again with the tide. Another scary ride as the swirling currents don't always go in the direction you need to go...and the channel has rocks on the edges! But I'm getting used to this stuff, sort of.
Anchored in the outer harbor of Cuttyhunk around 3pm, an easy day. This place is well positioned for a crossing of Buzzards Bay towards Long Island Sound.
Our friend Dan came to visit us from across Buzzards Bay where he keeps his boat in New Bedford. He sails a trimaran, pictured here. They are very fast, he can go 15 knots fairly easy. We struggle to go 7k in similar conditions. But, we have much more space plus our weight makes a much smoother ride in rough seas. Our friend Chuck rode with us from Norfolk north in June with 30k wind & 8' seas. He has a catamaran, and after riding with us in the rough stuff is considering a switch to our type of boat. All boats are tradeoffs.
Dan rafted with us for the night, we had dinner and plenty of discussion topics till midnight. In the morning, we cut him loose as a storm front was approaching. Turned out to be minor wind but a lot of rain.
After the storm, we bid Dan farewell over the VHF and got underway across Buzzards Bay. No wind, so we motored. Shortly after getting underway, I went to check on things below. Smoke coming from the engine room is generally not a good thing! I hollered up to Chris to cut the engine. The alternator was smoking. I've been fighting various issues with the alternator/charging system for a while. While we drifted in sloppy rolling seas, I swapped out for the spare alternator. Other than some mild queeziness, no issues. Fired up the engine and continued on. We'll be buying a new alternator soon!
Arrived in Point Judith in the PM and anchored in the "harbor of refuge", a big area protected by a stone breakwall. Bought some 'cheap' diesel & gas at a marina Thursday morning before heading west to Stonington, Ct. We've been to all three of these places on the way up. It's nice to know the surroundings and what to expect.
We had good sailing conditions heading east in this area but now it's been pretty calm and back to motoring.
Posted by Ed aboard S/V Freedom
Its always something. Hope the alternator swap isn't too much of a hassle. So happy you got to spend time with Dan and Chuck.
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