We spent three nights in Cuttyhunk, anchored near the shallows in the northwest corner. The first night, the last Thursday in July, was lovely.  The harbor was uncrowded and the weather was perfect.  Flybridge Evening weather, the Cuttyhunk Raw Bar, and great views.

The next morning we woke up to PEA SOUP FOG.  It was so thick we could just barely see the one boat anchored near us.  We had a lazy day, staying put just because we could.  We wondered if the fog would hold, and if the harbor would fill.

For most of the morning the fog stayed very thick and there was little movement in the harbor.  By mid-day we got some intermittent clearing and sunshine and a few more boats arrived, but by the end of the day the fog settled in hard and it was very wet.  When it came time to run the generator to charge batteries, we closed up the boat to run the air conditioning, partially because it was hot but mostly just to dry things out.

The moorings were still not full even though it was a Friday night, and only four boats were anchored.  It was even too wet for a Flybridge Evening, so we enjoyed the evening surveying the scene from the pilot house instead.

Saturday brought more of the same, but this time the weather was a bit more feisty in the afternoon.  In spite of the weather, lots of boats made the trek to the island.  The moorings filled up, the anchorage got crowded, and many boats had to stay outside.  It’s always fun to watch the parade of late arrivals, and the show did not disappoint.  In addition to the fog rolling in and receding, lines of strong thunderstorms rolled through to our south, with some of them grazing us enough to bring downpours and strong gusty winds.

The strongest of these cells arrived just at cocktail hour and delivered the predictable results.  The wind shifted, the strength increased, and boats started to drag.  We kept our eyes on the show, electronics on and engine ready.  Fortunately our anchor held tight, but those with less scope suffered the predictable results.  The only apparent damage was to a few egos.

After the final storm cell rolled out, we were all treated to a spectacular full rainbow across the dark sky. Mother Nature was strutting her stuff.

By Sunday morning we were itching to move and press towards Maine. We were up before sunrise to feed and walk the dogs, and were under way by 0700.  The storms from the day before had cleared out the hot and humid air mass.  Dawn was clear and lovely.  The sunrise was beautiful.  The wind was calm.  The air was dry.  Our general plan was to get through the Cape Cod Canal with the morning fair current, fuel up in Sandwich then overnight in Provincetown before crossing the Gulf of Maine.

That’s not, of course, what we ended up doing, but that was the plan!