|
It was a perfect weather forecast for
an overnight out to Misery Island: Sunny and in the mid-80s for
Tuesday with winds SW at 10-15 knots, waves one foot or less. More
of the same was predicted for Wednesday but warmer, into the 90s, and
unseasonably warm into early Thursday when a cold front was supposed to
move in with rain and thunderstorms. My plan was to sail out,
borrow a mooring in the cove for the night, then come home the next day:
A simple overnighter.
Chip Ahoy was waiting on its mooring ready to go, I thought -- until the
Honda outboard wouldn't start. (Sep. 25.
2007) |
 |
A couple hours later, after getting
the motor to run (with a little help from Ryan Marine Services), sailing out to Misery Island with the SW breeze behind
me, it was mostly wing-to-wing all the way, making 3.5 to 4 knots.
Instead of taking my planned "new" and longer route outside Eagle
Island, with the late started I decided to head straight up the North
Shore coast directly to the cove in hope of still finding an empty
mooring. |
 |
On arrival in Misery Island Cove, I found the moorings
less than half occupied, but still busy. I easily found one for
the night and was soon tied up to it. |
 |
Most of the traffic, it turned out, were folks out just
for the beautiful end-of-season day. By sunset most had pulled out, a few more leaving as
the evening went on and the partying subsided. |
 |
Having forgotten to pack my
sandwiches, I cooked an easy dinner -- heated a can of Campbell's
Chunky Soup from the "food pantry" -- in the cockpit under a
rising full moon. I then retired to the
cabin for the evening to read my the oil lamp. I enjoyed a good
night's sleep aboard my very gently rocking boat, cribboards open and
hardly needing the sleeping bag (though I did close the forward hatch
before retiring). |
 |
Up before dawn as usual, I got the "cowboy coffee"
heating in the
percolator, prepared the evening before, ready to just fire up the stove
and add flame. The sun coming up at 6:30 over the Atlantic between the tip
of Misery Island and House Island beyond was quite impressive. (Sep.
26, 2007) |
 |
With the coffee brewing, I dug out my journal/log and
began catching up with yesterday's events in the solitude. Only
three other boats remained moored in the cove: Two powerboats
further in and a 36-foot or so sailboat which arrived later and moored
outside of Chip Ahoy. The only sounds were the waves gently
lapping against the nearby kelp-covered rocks and the seagulls. |
 |
As the sun rose higher and morning arrived I realized I
was in no rush to go anywhere. I enjoyed the coffee, kept writing
in the journal/log, and simply appreciated being where I was with no
immediate need to hurry on. |
 |
The height of relaxation: A quiet morning aboard
in
a quiet and calm cove rocking gently with no need to move. |
 |
My closest neighbors were the seagulls hoping for a
handout and a couple of herons that kept coming by and landing in the
trees for a look around. I dropped the mooring just before noon
for an uneventful sail back to Marblehead and my mooring.
Sailing back almost directly into the SW breeze -- almost non-existent
at first until I got out of the lee of the island, then picked up to 15
knots or better before I reached Salem Harbor. This made quite a
bit of tacking necessary. Eventually I furled the headsail, then
started the motor (yahoo, it started again!) outside Salem Harbor for
the rest of the trip back in to Chip Ahoy's mooring. It was a nice
(and rare) little overnight getaway in late September! |
For Chip Ahoy's complete log of its 2007 Misery Island overnighter
click here |
