Hiding from Hermine

Hiding from Hermine

A quick stop in Scituate helped us time our trip through the Cape Cod canal where the penalty for getting it wrong is a -4 knot current.  After the canal we headed into Onset Harbor for a few nights of calm water.  Steve took a damp 20 mile dinghy ride around to Wareham finding it more fun than the public bus option.

Scituate Lighthouse

Onset Bay Cape Cod Canal Tour Boat

 While a half dozen sailboats were fixing to sit out the possible weather from Hermine, we headed toward New Bedford to check our options.  We had a date with the Customs Office to update our Local Boater cards after finally getting those new passports in hand. 

New Bedford - oldest continuous operating Customs House

A short week later……

New Bedford is a safe place to hide from a hurricane or even a tropical storm.  Luckily the center of Hermine stayed well south and east of New Bedford so we only experienced one day where staying on the boat was better than sloshing ashore. (With nice northeast protection we endured sustained winds in the low 20s and only a few gusts in the 40s plus intermittent rain bands.) On the nice days we enjoyed a free tour in the New Bedford National Historic Site thanks to the National Park Service, a stroll through the mansion district, and a tour of the Rotch-Jones-Duff House.  We were so busy we didn't find time to revisit the famous whaling museum located in the historic district.

lightship and bell to honor those who served 

Then there was the hospitality of our fellow boaters.  Most notably we were grateful to have Mike and Denise offer us dinner on their boat in its home port slip next door to our Pope Island mooring.  We also followed their advice and stayed put behind the hurricane barrier in New Bedford’s harbor for the duration of the slow moving Hermine.  They also gave us a walking tour of Fairhaven – on the east side of the river and a car tour of their nearby land home with stops at big box stores to replenish our stores. 

Thanks does not cover all the fun.  Mike and Denise also are responsible for reigniting our jigsaw puzzle hobby, and our hurricane break gave us time to finish another puzzle provided by their generosity. 

However, with a mooring field full of stranded boaters we enjoyed time with fellow Krogenites on Sweet Ride and made new friends on sail boats as well.  Steve says we boaters are easily entertained. Being marooned by weather with friendly folks at hand makes an extended stay almost a pleasure.

hurricane?  who cares