Riding Out Tropical Storm Philippe

Columbus Day Weekend isn’t always the final cruising weekend of the season, but even in a good season, it’s usually the second to the last. Mrs. Horne’s dear mother turns 100 this month, so she’s swamped preparing for the festivities, and thus our October cruising is limited.

As painful as it is to miss those precious end-of-the-season days at sea, it’s kind of okay when every weekend seems to sweep in another tropical storm.

Columbus Day Weekend has been on the calendar with Mrs. Horne’s sister, Gail, and Rudy for months. And I was determined to preserve it despite TS Philippe’s impending arrival.

I originally planned to visit Falmouth Friday, Edgartown Saturday, and wind up in Oak Bluffs on Columbus Day.

But as we looked out at Buzzards Bay’s calm seas on Thursday afternoon, it looked so inviting that I asked Mrs. Horne “Do you want to take off this afternoon?”

To my delight, she said, “I’ll need an hour to get ready.”

Even though most marinas are empty this time of year, Amazing Grace is sixty feet, and since it would be near dark when we reached The Vineyard, I had to make phone calls to ensure we could dock.

Falmouth only has one 60’ slip, which was already taken for the night. OB had room, but the harbormaster goes home at 5:00, and she said, “Tie up anywhere, but I have no control over boats that arrive after 5:00.”

Given that most of Philippe’s fury was arriving late Saturday and throughout the day on Sunday, I added Sunday night to my Edgartown reservation.

Buzzards Bay Serenity

As captain, you’re always making last-minute changes due to the weather. It’s seldom to take advantage of great weather, but usually to avoid a storm.

But as we left Onset around 4:15 PM on Thursday, I realized this may have been the best “weather call” I’ve ever made!

We had planned to tie up in front of Coop deVille, but two small boats were hogging the dock. We ended up in slip 79, an excellent slip for a 60’ boat.

It was dark by the time we left for dinner.

As you may recall, we discovered a great new Asian restaurant – Mikado, in OB last month. Gail and Rudy love Chinese, and Mrs. Horne loves sushi, so our dinner venue was a no-brainer.

I’m so happy that Kevin has taken over the old Cardboard Box and brought such delectable Asian Cuisine to The Vineyard.

Day Two – Quick Run to Falmouth

Thursday night’s fog lifted early on Friday morning, revealing a perfect October cruising day – Bluebird skies, no wind, and temperatures near 70°.

We shoved off for our brief eight-mile run around 10:00 and decided this was a perfect day to get Mrs. Horne behind the helm.

She never drove Relentless – just Vigilant, so Amazing Grace’s 100,000 lbs. of mass and 2,000 hp took some getting used to.

I’m committed to getting basic operating training for all regular crew members next year. Not just in case I have to go to the head, but let’s face it, we’re not getting any younger, and we need to prepare for all contingencies.

Falmouth Town Marina

Falmouth is really a little gem for South Coast cruising. The Town Marina is well maintained, and it’s the shortest walk to town. It’s relatively inexpensive, and although the quaint downtown village is almost a mile away, the Uber service is excellent.

We stayed at the Town Marina in 2021 and recalled the Harbormaster saying Relentless was as big a boat as they could handle. So, when they accepted a reservation for Amazing Grace, I was a little surprised.

It turns out they have one slip (F7) that can accommodate up to an 85’ boat. It’s the closest to town, and it’s a very high-quality metal floating dock.

My only reservation would be the piling you can see in this photo. I’m guessing it’s no more than twenty feet wide, which is fine for Amazing Grace but could be problematic for an 85’ yacht.

Falmouth Raw Bar – A New Find

Years ago, when we visited Falmouth in our center consoles, we’d grab lunch at the Flying Bridge. Then, in 2015, we discovered downtown dining and never ate near the harbor again.

Given the mediocre Yelp ratings of all the harbor-side eateries, it wasn’t a difficult decision. I decided to do a little research into the ratings for the Falmouth Raw Bar and found a lot of four stars with a smattering of one stars going into their lackluster rating. Most of the single stars were for silly things like showing up late, poor service for a large group, or high-priced shrimp!

It was time to decide for myself!

The location is excellent – it’s on the northwest corner of the harbor and a very short walk from the marina.

There are two great pirate statutes by the front door – fun for photos and selfies!

My only knock would be the absence of glasses – just plastic cups.

That said, the beer was ice cold, and it’s was a very tasty local IPA (Cape Cod Brewing Company).

The food was fine and bar scene was fun. I’d definitely return.

Last Day on the Sky Deck?

In mid-October, you don’t expect to be able to hang out on the water comfortably. But every now and then, you get a flashback afternoon, and that’s what we got on the Friday of Columbus Day Weekend.

I kept an eye on the NOAA website for Philippe as we enjoyed the warm sunshine on the Sky Deck.

By 5:00, we could see the outer edge approaching with a smattering of light rain.

La Cucina Sul Mare – Epic Fail 😡

If you are a regular reader, you know I bend over backward to avoid badmouthing any business on the South Coast. But if I run into a total failure, I feel compelled to issue a warning.

We’ve dined at La Cucina Sul Mare several times, and I even gave them a nice review a few years ago.

But they failed in epic proportions last Friday. Three of us ordered meals based on rigatoni, and our dinners all came with nearly raw rigatoni.

I ordered mine with sausage and did my best to dig around for anything edible. Not only was the rigatoni grossly underdown, but the sausage was overdone and tasted old (like it was past its sell-by date.)

Similarly, the Prime Rib Special also failed

It too tasted old and had almost no seasoning.

Even the mashed potatoes were dry and flavorless.

It was very busy, and our server never came by to see how we were doing. After about 15 minutes, a busboy came by, noticed our nearly full plates, and asked if we wanted to-go boxes.

I told him the meal was inedible, and he simply cleared the table.

After another ten minutes, the server returned and chirped, “I hope you left room for dessert.”

We told him about the epic fail (in retrospect, we shouldn’t have let the busboy remove our uneaten meals), and he adjusted the bill (not a full comp, just 50% off).

Two words – NEVER AGAIN!

You’ve been warned…

Day Three – Riding Out Philippe in Edgartown

There was never any question about the best port to ride out, Philippe. Not only was Edgartown well sheltered, but the harbormaster slips point nearly due south. It also has much more to do than Falmouth or Oak Bluffs.

By 9:00, we were already registering 20 knot winds with Small Craft Warnings heading to Gale Warnings later Saturday.

As we headed straight into the eye of the storm, Mrs. Horne noted, “There aren’t any other boats out here!”

As I approached the outer slip, the harbormaster suggested we take the inner slip to be better protected. I was expecting the worst winds would come from the Southeast, making the starboard tie better protected, so I declined his offer. Plus, we had already inflated our massive Aere bumpers.

My friend Tom suggested these, and they are excellent for all those marinas we love with fixed piers and pilings (Edgartown, Nantucket, Oak Bluffs, Black Dog, Menemsha, and Cuttyhunk.)

We have two 8’ by 18” fenders that keep Amazing Grace out of harm’s way no matter what the wind is blowing.

I did start to second-guess myself after we tied up, and I noticed the wind was blowing out of the East and pushing us into the pier. But I knew we’d be set perfectly if the 35-knot southeasterlies hit during the night.

The Newes Of America

We headed to town in light rain with a plan to have lunch at the Newes at the Faraway Hotel.

The Newes is a legitimate old-time pub. In fact, it’s been operating in the lair under the hotel since 1742.

The dining room and front bar were packed, but we found four stools at the bar bar.

We had an excellent lunch with great conversation from our bartender.

The rain had stopped on the walk back to the boat, but we already had a plan to ride out the storm binge watching the Taken movies with Liam Neeson.

Mrs. Horne was lobbying for Door Dash, but eventually we all agreed we needed to get off the boat and headed downtown for dinner.

Rockfish – New Restaurant Find

I’ve walked past Rockfish for decades and never even considered dining there. I think the modest entrance may have chased me away.

But last month, when we were in Oak Bluffs, we had a great lunch at the renovated Fishbones and I discovered that a local restauranteur named Michael Santoro owned both Fishbones and Rockfish (along with The Lookout on OB).

Given that it was a cold and rainy night in Edgartown, it made sense to try an year-round restaurant.

The first thing we noticed was that it was completely packed (always a good sign). There was a wait for a table, but the host suggested we check out the bar upstairs.

Back by the pizza oven I found the last four open stools and quickly grabbed them.

The food was excellent and the pizza was legitimate wood fired thin crust. The best part was watching Tico and Sash work like a well oiled machine.

It was pretty calm when we returned to the boat, but the wind did kick up to 30+ knots overnight. As I anticipated, the heaviest gusts came in from the southwest, so Amazing Grace was blown away from the pilings. It was the first time we woke up from the noise of the waves slapping the hull.

By Sunday morning the rain had headed north to Halifax, but the wind was still howling at nearly 30 from the west.

Beware of the Fishing Tournament

My friend Ben was at Edgartown the week before and mentioned that the pier had turned into a crowded fishing dock and when the rain stopped Sunday morning, there were no less than nine fishing a few feet from the boat.

Rudy and Mrs. Horne went out to investigate and discovered that there was a big five-week Fishing Derby every fall starting September 10.

I get it – fishermen gotta fish, but the dock was pretty much covered with them and all their gear and spoiled the serenity one would expect at the Harbormaster Slip. We made a mental note to never visit Edgartown again after September 10!

Sunday – Funday!

We toyed with unloading the bikes, but it was barely 50° out, and the wind chill was brutal.

After some of the Captain’s Banana Bread, we took a long walk around the village.

While it was too cold for a bike ride, it was nearly perfect for a five-mile walk.

We considered lunch at The Wharf Tavern but decided to check out the Seafood Shanty first. The upper deck was closed, and the interior bar was packed, so we checked out downstairs and found a great horseshoe bar full of empty seats.

It was a great spot to watch a little football and enjoy a tasty lunch.

After lunch, we headed back to the boat and watched Taken 3.

After the movie, we took our final walk through downtown in the 2023 season.

We wrapped up Sunday with dinner at the Atlantic. It too was packed, but they sat us in the very back corner of the side tent next to a roaring fire – it was wonderful!

Columbus Day was crisp and clear but still pretty chopping on the run back to Onset.

We were hoping to visit OB for the Coop deVille Pig Roast on October 15, but the weather was looking good.

So that’s pretty much a wrap on 2023 cruising. We plan to take a few days bringing Amazing Grace to her Winter home at Safe Harbor Plymouth, including spending one last night on her next week, so we may have one more story.