Another rainy day

So we spent the day on the boat. I am 99.9% finished with my cross stitch. Yeah! We also tackled some engine "issues" and Bill cleaned out the sump pumps - never a fun job. I cleaned down below and Bill did a lot of planning for the next month or so this afternoon. I also got to chat with my sister, Nancy, and Melanie, which was a treat.

We are in for the night (chili and a movie) and off early tomorrow for Cuttyhunk - if all goes according to plan, which we know it doesn't. I have been keeping track of mooring and slip reservations in a notebook, which also includes (tentative) future dates and destinations. Right now my notebook is full of scratched out lists and torn out pages (I have to get over having a "perfect" to-do / to-go list or else I am going to drive myself [and Bill] crazy!)

And Bill and I wanted to clarify. We are not complaining that we are "stuck" in Nantucket. Poor us, right?!!!? Nantucket has been amazingly beautiful and a lot of fun. We just didn't think that we would be here for a week!

Here are some pictures of one of the storms (we have had several today) that passed through. Thanks Capt Dave for the heads up - or else we would have been sailing in this mess.

Still...in...Nantucket....

Bill and I are still in Nantucket. We were supposed to leave on Monday, but extended our stay last week until Wednesday so we could see some more of the sites. Then on Wednesday we extended our stay another night so we could get our mail (which was delivered to Nantucket Moorings) and stay in Cuttyhunk only one night instead of two. Today, Thursday, we decided to stay another day because of some nasty weather that is supposed to come our way. Since we do an average of 8 knots (sailing or motoring) there is no way for us to "outrun" a storm. Bill made the decision after getting a head's up from Captain Dave, then listening to the marine forecast and reading online to stay here safe and sound on our mooring for another night. As the Captain, Bill makes all decisions related to navigation and weather, etc. I always 100% trust his decisions either way (but am glad we won't have to deal with any "hail and damaging winds" today!) Here is the weather report:

Nantucket Sound-
Today S winds 15 to 20 kt with gusts up to 25 kt. Seas 2 to 4 ft. A chance of showers with a slight chance of tstms until late afternoon...then showers likely with a chance of tstms early this afternoon. Patchy fog. Some tstms may produce heavy rainfall...large hail and damaging winds early this afternoon. Vsby 1 to 3
nm.

Tonight S winds 10 to 15 kt with gusts up to 20 kt. Seas 2 to 4 ft. Showers likely with a chance of tstms. Patchy fog in the evening. Some tstms may produce heavy rainfall...large hail and damaging winds. Vsby 1 to 3 nm.

Right now it is pretty choppy and there is about 20 kts of wind (and rising) in the mooring field and the sky is getting darker. So looks like we are in for another afternoon on the boat. I am going to do a good cleaning down below and hopefully finish my cross stitch. There are also a few boat maintenance projects that we are going to work on as well as continue to make reservations for Annapolis, etc.

So we have been mostly hanging out on the boat the past few days. We did some errands yesterday and had sushi for lunch. We also walked around and found the beach at Brant Point (and saw the lighthouse up close). A few more v-e-r-y big boats have been in and out of the harbor - to include My Shanti, which is listed as one of the top 100 boats in the world. After watching the Red Sox win in the 12th inning last night, we made dinner (bacon and egg wraps) and watched a movie.

I have been bad about taking pictures for some reason, so I don't have many to share. Except for this one of a sign that we saw at a dog park the other day, which made us both do a double-take then laugh out loud. Enjoy.

Nantucket Pt. 3

Well, we are still in Nantucket and not too much to report. Today it alternated between rain and thunderstorms ALL day. We stayed on board the duration of the day - Bill on the computer and the hand-held yahtzee game, me doing cross stitch (I am about 3/4 finished with my first "master" piece.) We watched the mooring field empty and then fill up again - to include a IP 485 sister ship (complete with a painted hull!) We are just hanging out and relaxing. Here are some picture of the storms via our viewpoint in the mooring field.

Yesterday I went into shore for awhile, walked around and went food shopping. We stayed on board, had dinner (tacos!) and watched a movie. The night before we went out with Keith for sushi and drinks. It continues to be a fun time at Nantucket. We actually started to call around for places to stay in Annapolis (since we will be there for about a month) but everywhere so far is full - so we might have to come up with a plan B. We are still planning on leaving Nantucket on Wednesday morning. We will head to Cuttyhunk for two nights (and hopefully meet up with Carol and Bill from sv Rigel). Then we are on to Block Island, RI for three nights and then Mystic, CT. Slowly but surely we are making our way south.

For more pictures of Nantucket, click below.

Nantucket Cont...

We continued to have another perfect day on Nantucket. After doing a little more polishing of the stainless, we took the dinghy (and our trash and recycling) to shore to say goodbye to Dave and Molly. It has been such a treat to be in the same place as they were for the past few days. We have really enjoyed seeing them and getting to spend some time hanging out. Both Bill and I look forward to seeing them in Maryland later this summer.

After we bid them farewell (and watched capt' Dave nail leaving a very tight slip at the dock) we had lunch and then went to the Nantucket Whaling Museum. I have to say that it is one of the nicest museums I have ever been to. The picture below is a full size, real skeleton of a whale that washed up on Nantuckets shore in 1996. We sat and listened to a 35 minute talk of the history of whaling and Nantucket, which was extremely interesting (so much so that I bought Moby Dick, which I have never read, in the gift shop!) We saw scrimshaw, nantucket baskets, tools and a replica of a boat that the whalers would have used, and a ton more. It is a very fascinating subject, and one that I didn't know anything about before our visit to the museum.

There was also an "observation deck" on the roof of the museum. I took this picture of the mooring field from the deck. Mary Elizabeth is out there somewhere.

Afterwards we got ice cream and walked around a bit more. We went into several neat stores and Bill bought a clock from a local artist Don Freedman. We and are now back at the boat, having happy hour and about to start a game of yahtzee before we go back into shore for dinner.

Nantucket

Bill and I are having a GREAT time in Nantucket. We arrived here on Thursday morning. When we pulled into the mooring field, Bill noticed that we are directly next to sv Madhatter, which is the boat that our friend Keith captains. Small world....

The best part about being in Nantucket is that Dave and Molly are here!!! It has been so nice to see them and hang out. And Bill and Dave have actually had enough time for a little yahtzee tournament.

Friday afternoon Bill, Dave, and Frank, the owner of the boat that Dave captains, went fishing. They caught a few and saw lots of seals. Bill actually thinks he saw a shark stalking the seals. There have been numerous shark sightings in Nantucket and Marthas Vineyard, and a great white (female, 6 1/2 feet) actually washed up on the shore in Nantucket the other day. While the guys were fishing, Molly gave me a great tour of Nantucket (there are so many shops and beautiful cobblestone streets, and plenty huge, monstrous boats!) It was the perfect afternoon!

Friday night we had Keith over for dinner. I used the rest of my dad's sauce and made chicken parm, which was delicious (if I do say so myself). After work, Molly and Dave came over to the boat for some yahtzee.

Saturday Bill and I did some walking around for a bit. We went food shopping and finally got to a ship's store. After a little afternoon yahtzee with Dave, we made dinner and watched a movie and called it an early night.

This morning Bill is doing some boat maintenance. He is checking the fluid levels and topping things off as necessary. We seem to still be having a problem with the generator, so, in addition to the wind generator, we have been running the engine to charge the battery.

The weather has been perfect. Sunny and warm and windy every day. We are actually going to extend our reservation a bit (until Wednesday) so we have time to visit the whaling museum, go for a tour of the island with Cindy's friend LJ, and possibly go on a boat tour to see the seals.