Late Summer Cruising

We’ve been busy making up for lost time since August. We typically spend nearly 100 days a year at sea, and due to issues in the first half of the season, we’ll fall well short of that. But we have managed to get over twenty days in and another twenty on the schedule.

This essentially covers three weeks of cruising, so I’m breaking from my usual chronological storyteller style and just giving you the more interesting highlights.

Cruising Destinations

As you may know, I’m a huge Edgartown fan, and I diligently work Dockwa to book nights at one of the two harbormaster slips.

We spent seven days in Edgartown during late August and early September.

Our first trip to Edgartown was with our daughter and her family. We ended up in Menemsha and celebrated my son-in-law’s birthday at Homeport.

One of the main drivers to upgrading from Relentless to Amazing Grace was to enable our grandkids to join us cruising. Whenever we told our 5-year-old granddaughter we had to leave the boat to go home, she said, “Why can’t we stay? ❤️

After four years in a row, we’ve developed a tradition of spending Labor Day Weekend in Edgartown. This year, Peter joined us along with Daisy.

We ended that trip with our first visit to Oak Bluffs in Amazing Grace.

Our first out-of-town guests arrived on September 6, and we started our four-day weekend in Plymouth.

We were planning on visiting Salem for the first time on Saturday, but there was severe weather forecast for Boston North, so we detoured to Provincetown, which looked like to escape unscathed.

I’ll cover the highlights of each trip in a minute, but suffice it to say that our 13 late Summer days at sea have pretty much erased the issues that delayed the start of our season.

Noteworthy Highlights

Although we visited familiar ports, we did experience several new restaurants, beginning with my first breakfast at the Rosewater Cafe in Edgartown.

Edgartown Pizza

We had a late lunch at The Atlantic, so I decided to order a pizza around 8:30. Ordering delivery on a boat is tricky business. Still, Edgartown Pizza’s online system works as well as Domino’s (which is probably the the best.)

We ordered it Well Done (which was the first time I’ve seen that option.)

We will certainly do this again!

The Faraway Hotel

The Kelly House in Edgartown was closed for the entire 2022, undergoing major renovations. It reopened this season as Faraway.

The hotel looks fresh modern, yet honest to Edgartown style. It will compete with the Harbor View down the street but also the White Elephant complex on Nantucket.

$905/night is rather sporty for late September!

The Newes From America

Although we have dined here in years past, Peter and I decided to try it under the new Faraway brand.

The lair-like interior has clearly been updated but still retains the original Old World charm.

The 20-ounce Hazy IPA was cold and crisp.

The Newes has a fun program. You get a wooden coin for every beer (2 for a twenty-ounce), and when you get to 500 coins, they put your name on the wall in the bar!

Peter and I split lunch.

We started with The Bag O’Rings. The breading clung to the onions perfectly, and the spicy aioli was sublime.

We also shared the Ruben. The corned beef was outstanding: moist, thick, and salty.

The Atlantic Bar Back

We are definite regulars at The Atlantic. But that doesn’t do you much good when you walk in at 6:30 on the Sunday of Labor Day Weekend. Vlad’s main bar was packed, but we were offered the Back Bar, and we jumped at the option to try something new.

Damon runs the Back Bar, and he does it with aplomb.

You may know that I order this almost every time I eat at The Atlantic. In my opinion, it’s the most flavorful sandwich served on earth.

First of all, it’s not a taco; it’s a Pita Sandwich, and the pita bread tastes freshly baked. The rotisserie veal and beef is loaded with Middle Eastern seasoning and incredibly tender.

Finally, the combination of feta and the crazy sauces creates a total flavor bomb. The description is a little scary, but at $22, I suggest you order one for the table and let everyone try it.

We also met some lovely women at Damon’s bar.

Mrs. Horne and I really enjoy socializing at bars with Peter. Good food is important, but meeting new friends is really a treat.

Fishbones Oak Bluffs

This is another spot that was closed last season for renovations. I think it may have closed for Covid in 2020 and just reopened for 2023.

I have a lot of fond memories of Fishbones. In 2000, we bought our first boat – a 26’ Whaler Outrage, and Oak Bluffs was the outer edge of where we’d venture with her. We’d raft on a mooring, hail the launch, and start our visit with lunch at either Fishbones or Menemsha Blues (now the Sand Bar).

It was sad when it closed, but it was wonderful to see the results of the renovations.

From The About Section at fishbones-MV.com – Fishbones Bar & Grille is proudly owned and operated by Santoro Hospitality, owner of sister locations Lookout Tavern & Oceanview Restaurant, both located in Oak Bluffs, MA, and Rockfish, located in Edgartown, MA. Proprietor Michael Santoro is a long-time restaurateur that focuses on quality food, drinks, customer service, and an inviting, comfortable atmosphere.

You learn something new every day! I frequently eat at The Lookout, but never at Rockfish. I’ll have to give it a try.

The new Fishbones is clean fresh, and airy.

They have a very fun Drink Menu.

I started with my favorite- Fiddledhead Draft IPA

It’s the quintessential New England IPA; hazy and tangy.

The menu has all the summer fun foods.

Peter ordered the Jerk Style Wings.

The quality of wings is determined by the plumpness of the wing itself. All the sauce and seasoning in the world won’t save a scrawny wing.

Fishbone’s serves a large portion of plump wings, and the Jerk seasoning is a little hot but much neater than a wet buffalo wing.

Mrs. Horne went with the Poke Bowl.

I had the steak tacos. Not quite Carne Asada, but still good.

And we all vouch for the Curly Fries!

More Big Changes In OB Restaurants

My favorite Oyster Bar 02257 has been replaced by The Red Cat Kitchen, which moved over from its tiny venue on Kennebec to replace the Oyster Bar. I think Chef Ben made a brilliant move. I never understood why he had three restaurants inside a 500’ block in OB. It looks like the larger space will offer a more extensive menu as well..

Chef Ben’s other restaurant was the Cardboard Box, right below the Oyster Bar.

Mikado Oak Bluffs

We almost missed the next culinary find, which is located where the old Cardboard Box was located. It’s called Mikado, and based on the short menu by the door, it looks like a sushi bar.

Back on the boat, I pulled up the website and discovered a very substantial Asian menu full of both Japanese and Chinese dishes. You can click here to see it.

The atmosphere is pure Tokyo. I’m not a big fan of well-lit rooms, and blue neon ceiling lights were a bit of a turn-off when we first sat down.

That said, I eventually adapted to it, and in the end it was fine.

We tend to over-order Chinese food because who doesn’t like the leftovers? And bring our first visit to this exciting new restaurant, we really over-ordered!

Shortly after we placed our order, a Sushi Salmon appetizer appeared “compliments of the chef.”

It was incredible and certainly belongs on the menu. Raw Salmon bathed in a fantastic array of sweet and savory Asian spices.

Here’s a quick flyover of our over order.

Everything was excellent except perhaps the General Tso’s. It had the flavors you’d expect, but the chicken breast meat was dense and perhaps overdone. The fry was missing that KFC Crunch that I was looking for.

I was really impressed when the owner and sushi chef came over and introduced themselves.

And thus ended our nine days on Martha’s Vineyard.

Austin Vistors

Our first out-of-town guests arrive Thursday after Labor Day from Austin.

Our four-day trip began with a rare event – the lowering of the Cape Cod Railroad Bridge.

Cork and Table

Mike and Susan are winter neighbors in La Quinta, California, so we arranged a little reunion with John and Jeanne, who also winter in the desert.

It was our first meal there, and it was easy to see why it was so popular. It’s a bit of a Tapas Bar, so I went with two small plates.

Baked Oysters $22
Pancetta, tomato, panko crumbs, fennel pollen, chive fondue

Grilled Octopus $20
Harissa chickpea salad, pickled red onion, rouille

Successfully Excuted “Plan B”

We booked Hawthorne Cove for day two with Mike and Susan. As I watched the local news over my morning coffee, I heard about some horrific pop-up thunderstorms sweeping across northern Massachusetts the afternoon before. The weatherman made a point to say that it could happen again, but they couldn’t predict where.

My Captain’s instincts fired up, and I started looking for a Plan B. We were scheduled into Provincetown on Sunday and Monday, and maybe we could go for two nights and outrun the squalls?

The forecast was hot and humid in P-Town, so I messaged the marina, confirmed we could get in, and then told the crew what I was thinking. Needless to say, our guests were all in on anything, but Mrs. Horne was really looking forward to visiting Salem for the first time.

About that time, I spotted Dave Hogan on the dock. I told him what I was thinking and asked him to pick apart my weather forecast as we headed for breakfast.

Meanwhile, long-range radar was forecasting lousy weather north of Plymouth, passing north of Provincetown.

We returned to the boat, and Dave concurred with my new plan. We shoved off to P-Town on one of the smoothest cruises we’ve ever had.

As we reached Provincetown, I got a text from Dave:

Plan B averted 50 MPH winds and penny-sized hail! Other than a very brief shower Sunday afternoon and fog Monday morning, Provincetown gave us splendid weather.

Jim and His Belize 54

In 2021, I did a story following my decision to have a Maritimo built for us. Some guy named Jim reached out to me for advice on his next boat. He was at FLIBS and ready to pull the trigger on a Belize 54. I concurred, and we stayed in touch since then.

Saturday afternoon, I was sitting on the sky deck, and I heard someone shout “Hey, My Buzzards Bay!”

I looked down, and Jim was standing next to his Belize 54.

Jim was even more excellent in person. He hails out of Cape Elizabeth, Maine.

Bumping Into California Friends

As Mike and I were leaving the marina, we ran into our La Quinta friend Nancy. They were in town for the weekend. We later discovered Tom and Kathy were coming over Sunday afternoon, so we put together an impromptu party to watch the Patriots game.

The TV in the Sky Lounge turns to face the deck seats.

I really love the fact that everywhere we go, we’re running into old friends or making new ones.

Odd Fog Encounter

We wrapped up our third day in Provincetown with a crawl through the fog across Cape Cod Bay.

Visibility ranged from 500-1500 feet, and I ran at 15 MPH to watch for lobster pots. Suddenly, I’m getting hailed on channel 16.

“Amazing Grace, Amazing Grace, this is Utopia, come in,”

I reply, and Utopia says, “We’re a quarter of a mile in front of you, and you’re bearing down on us. I just wanted to make sure you see us.”

I replied, “I don’t see you,” and immediately cut my engines. “What is your vessel?”

“We’re a sixty-five-foot sailboat heading for the Cape Cod Canal.”

I crawled for a minute, changed my course to starboard, and sped up to 10 MPH.

After about ten minutes, Utopia appeared on the radar a mile and a half off our port bow.

Apparently, the Captain was misreading his radar and mistakenly thought we were a quarter of a mile away when it was actually three miles.

The moral of the story is it’s probably best to trust your radar!

Sorry about the length of this report; I’ll try to stay current in the future!

Dave