What a splendid day to cast off from Hawthorn Cove, Salem. After months of prep it felt surreal that we were finally underway. With clear skies and north easterly winds we were able to raise 3 sails after passing Marblehead Rock to port. This was the maiden trial for the new stay sail which performed beautifully at a True wind angle of 130 degrees in 10 knots of wind with code zero and full main up. We had a great downwind sail for a couple of hours until Boston Light was a beam and the wind died.
A choppy sea state and the light winds required the full main and stay sail to stabilize the pitch in Kailoa and we had a great motor sail the rest of the day. We always enjoy the waypoints along the journey. From Salem to Plymouth, we typically set our course to just of Minot’s Ledge in Scituate. I looked it up this time and found that the Light House marks a submerged ledge that claimed 40 vessels between 1832 to 1841, causing serious loss of life and damage to property. The first light house was destroyed within months of commissioning. The current light house took 5 years to build because the construction could only take place at low tide. Operational since 1860 the lighthouse was built of large and heavy dovetailed granite blocks, which were cut and dressed ashore in Quincy and taken to the ledge by ship. The lighthouse was equipped with a third-order Fresnel lens. The signal, a 1-4-3 flashing cycle adopted in 1894, is locally referred to as “I LOVE YOU” (1-4-3 being the number of letters in the phrase), and it is often cited as such by couples within its range.
A few hours later we approached the buoy marking the entrance to Plymouth harbor. The shores of Duxbury frame one north side of the channel and Browns Bank mark’s the south. It’s forever a thrill making port in Plymouth. At low tide there is always a fleet of beached boats and their passengers enjoying a swim. Plymouth has it all from several large fishing vessels, great restaurants, and rich history. We took the dogs a shore and enjoyed a new Brewery call Vitamin Sea, with lethal stout. We had an uneventful night and an early morning after being awakened to fishing boats leaving at 4 AM as sunlight just began to peak above the horizon. We are off to a great start.
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