Cuttyhunk Harbor
Did you go anywhere good last summer? We had a heck of a trip, though it came about a little unexpectedly. The original plan was to sail to Maine, but work and family conspired to nibble away at both ends of the time set aside and closed that particular window. Instead, with only six days to burn, we headed north from Newport, Rhode Island, to catch the
Fourth of July in Nahant, Massachusetts, a small town just north of Boston with a very grand fireworks display. Though we’ve sailed that patch of water many times before, the entrance to the Cape Cod Canal still managed to throw us a curve; the sailing, heading north at least, was spirited; and on our way back south, we ventured into a Buzzards Bay harbor that we’d never visited before.
Just outside Red Brook Harbor, in Pocasset, Massachusetts, is Bassetts Island. After lunch, we headed there in the inflatable and had maybe the best afternoon of the summer. All along the sandy beach, on both sides of the island, dinghies, Whalers, and every other sort of small runabout were beached. Families had brought dogs, chairs, and umbrellas. Coolers were in abundance. And the swimming couldn’t have been better on this scorcher of a day. We stayed until late in the afternoon and watched as a parade of sailboats came in the twisting channel. By the time we left, most of the crowd had gone on their way, and we had the sand spit pretty much to ourselves. Then, with a round of sundowners to quench the thirst, we took a harbor tour before heading ashore for dinner.
I mention all this because not all voyages need be epic. This one certainly wasn’t, but still, that beach and that afternoon will serve well to ward off the chill of the winter evenings ahead. And when the conversation turns to favorite harbors, as it inevitably does when you start talking with other sailors, we’ll have this new one to add to the list.
So what are the harbors on your list? Where are the destinations that keep begging to be revisited? They can be a short hop down the coast, or maybe just across a lake somewhere. They can be an anchorage you head to for a weekend getaway or a distant destination you work hard to reach. Regardless, we’d like to hear about them, because this year we’re planning a Summer Destinations issue, and we’re counting on you for help. Here’s what the editors at Cruising World need: Send us an email (editor@cruisingworld.com) containing your pictures (high res, please) and a short story of, say, 200 words or less describing a place to which you like to sail.
We’ll read them all, of course, and post them at www.cruisingworld.com so you can, too. Then we’ll run the best of them in our July issue, and you can decide which one you want to visit first. Sound like a plan?
Mark Pillsbury
