Edgartown, Marthas Vineyard

Kinvara left Cuttyhunk at 7:30 AM to catch a slack current in Buzzards Bay then the full current through Quick's Hole into Vineyard Sound. Our planned destination was an anchorage near Vineyard Haven called Lake Tashmoo but we decided to keep going though since we had current and wind to aid our trip around the tip of Vineyard Haven and south to Edgartown.

We had not been in Edgartown on our own boat. Two or three times in the past Peter tried to call for reservations for the long fourth of July weekend and could not get through or it was already booked. There is such a process to get a mooring with dates, specific times, online reservations only etc. Tuesday, when Jane called by phone to get a mooring they told her check in/out was 11AM, that reservations are only online and to call back at 11AM. When we arrived at the harbor entrance she again called on her cell and got exactly the same statement. She told them we were at the harbor entrance but they wanted us to hail on VHF when we entered. Not 5 minutes later we arrived in the harbor so Peter hailed and we were instantly directed to a mooring. What a process!! There were at least a dozen moorings empty the 2 days we were there. Again today, 2 days later, Jane asked the collection boat to take payment for 1 more night. She was told, again, that check in/out was 11AM and to call them back at 10:45 to see if it was available. We could count at least 20 mooring balls empty. So we sat until 10:30 then let go of the mooring and moved just outside the harbor and happily anchored.

Edgartown is a beautiful little village with lots of expensive shops and plenty of restaurants and beaches. We met our friends Bernie and Aiden Gleeson, who gave us the use of their ball in Newport. We walked around the town with them a bit and chose a restaurant to go to for dinner. When we returned to our mooring the sky opened up with torrential rain and lasted for over 2 hours. It started to soften by 6PM so we took the launch in and picked up the Gleeson's on the way. We had a delightful dinner at an Italian restaurant and returned by 9:30PM. Because it was high tide and the wind was blowing the tide into town we found the docks under ankle deep water when we returned to get the launch back to our boats.

The next day we rode our bikes about 2 miles to a beach and soaked up the sun and salt air for a bit. On the way back to Edgartown Peter's rear tire was failing. We found a little bike shop who replaced the tire for $25 so we are now good to continue riding.

　

On our third day in Edgartown we moved off the mooring and anchored just outside the harbor entrance. Later that after noon our friends on s/v Brenna arrived from Nantucket. We had a lovely evening with drinks, appetizers, and watched a glorious sun set. We planned to go to Block Island tomorrow so we had an early bed time.