October Boating Bliss

Do you remember the end of the 2023 boating season?

Here’s a hint…

From my October 2023 report:

Everyone in New England knows just how crappy the weekend boating weather has been this year. This morning, Danielle Noyes on NECN reported what we mostly knew.

It rained Saturday or Sunday every weekend in the fall of 2023 and we were constantly on the dirty edge of endless tropical storms.

Our Wonderful Autumn 2024

2024 couldn’t be more different. With the exception of one weekend, the weather has been near perfect going back to mid-August. In fact, Boston nearly broke the record for consecutive sunny days (26).

We have been on the water every weekend except September 20-22. That was the only rainy weekend and Mrs. Horne was in a cast with a broken ankle, so we weren’t going anywhere anyhow!

We returned to boating last weekend for our final cruise of September and began October on Thursday night in Onset.

We had planned to visit Newport. It has a vibrant October scene with waterfront festivals and everything is open.

Plan B

We needed to end up in Plymouth on Sunday night and the forecast called for 15 knot winds from the northeast. Newport to Plymouth is almost 100 miles and the thought of plowing into a nor’esta for 4 hours forced a Plan B.

We’d been talking about a short trip to Provincetown at the end of October and since Peter hadn’t been there in four years, it made sense.

Thursday Night in Onset

One of our great discoveries this season has been the 1883 lounge at the Glen Cove Hotel on Thursday nights.

The food is great, Vanessa and Heather are a hoot, and they have live music starting at 7:00.

Tequila Jim was playing and we ordered “the usual”.

Mrs. Horne wanted the 1883 burger that included bacon, fig jam, Arugala, fontina, topped with a fried egg, and Parmesan Truffle fries when she ordered “The Burger.”

She hadn’t seen the pedestrian burger – also on the menu, but that’s what she got.

It was still a great burger, but Mrs. Horne was craving a fried egg.

Peter and I shared my custom-crafted pizza and fries.

My custom pizza is tomato-free. The base is EVOO, garlic and Parmesan. It’s topped with pepperoni, Portuguese linguica, and onions.

On the way back to the boat we found a guy fishing off the bridge behind our boat.

Apparently, the teal underwater lights on Amazing Grace attract some very large bass.

Friday – Provincetown Bound

Friday morning ushered in another blissful October day.

Friday was also our final day of the season at Safe Harbor Onset Bay. We move our base of operations to Safe Harbor Plymouth for the month of October.

We bid adieu to the Onset team and shoved off around 9:45.

Onset to Provincetown is only about 35 miles, but the first nine are in the Cape Cod Canal where speeds are limited to 10 MPH.

Cape Cod Bay was as flat as I’ve ever seen it.

We brought along Mrs. Horne’s wheelchair, but she felt confident enough to make the short walk to lunch.

Tin Pan Alley

We ate here a few times but always sat at the bar. Friday we decided to sit our back on the beach side.

They apologized for not seating us outside under the tent

But in the sea breeze, the inside dining room was perfect.

The Food

We’ve never had a bad meal at Tin Pan Alley and the menu is somewhat interesting.

After a tasty lunch, we stopped by my favorite candy store on Cape Cod – Chabots Candy.

The dark chocolate truffles are pure heaven, but I really enjoy the ability to create my own bag of Salt Water Taffy from the 30-40 bins they offer.

$50 lighter, we returned to the boat and filled the candy bowl.

This was totally an end-of-the-season indulgence; we would never allow this sort of sugary temptation onboard early in the season.

But October means the end of summa vacay is near, so it’s okay to live it up while we can (how’s that for rationalizing bad behavior!)

Marine Traffic App

Back in the flybridge, I was reading a Charles Thayer murder mystery where he uses an AIS tracker app to catch the bad guys.

At the same time, one of the Dolphin Whale Watch boats pulled out of the marina and it got me thinking about taking Amazing Grace whale watching.

I grabbed my iPad and started looking for an AIS Tracking App. I found Marine Tracker and the fun began.

The Dolphin boats turn off their AIS once they leave the harbor, but the Barnstable Whale Watcher boat leaves theirs on.

Next, I started looking for Amazing Grace…

The “Starter App” is $9.99/year, so I bought it. This only provides the bare minimum, but it does allow you to click on any boat and see their past voyages.

Our Friday trip from Onset to Provincetown:

Not sure how much I’ll use this, but for ten bucks who cares?

Fine Dining at The Red Inn

Peter’s brother lives on the Cape and he’s told us more than once that the Red Inn is his favorite restaurant in Provincetown.

Every time we wanted to try it, we couldn’t get a reservation and it’s 1.5 miles from the marina.

I nabbed a 5:45 reservation and called Uber “Comfort” for a $13 ride up Bradford Street.

It’s a serious inn with a great restaurant set on the water.

It’s a mile and a half from the downtown marina area, but it could be hundreds of miles; this place doesn’t feel like it’s in Provincetown or even the Cape.

The service was prompt and the menu was full of favorites and a few unique dishes.

We started with the Pâté.

This is a large and well-executed starter. There were plenty of onions and relish and it felt like a trio of dips. The only issue we had was the baked bread chips. They were dry and brittle.

We quickly switched over to using the wonderful bread they served as a moist and stable platform.

I almost passed on the pâté because of the Creole in the name, but there really wasn’t any.

I ordered the filet…

One of the highlights of dining at The Red Inn is all of the steak sauces they offer.

By the way, the steak wasn’t too peppery and perfectly cooked.

Peter ordered the Rack…

Mrs. Horne ordered the scallops…

They weren’t seared and didn’t look quite right. Mrs. Horne asked if they were supposed to be seared and our server said: “Let me get you a fresh order with seared scallops.”

Mrs. Horne was happy!

Our server also brought us a scrumptious dessert…

It’s a large muffin-shaped crunchy bread pudding and absolutely sublime.

Back on the boat, I got a nice new cover photo of Amazing Grace.

Lazy Saturday

Despite the pleasant forecast, Saturday morning was somewhat gray, breezy, and cold.

That was all the motivation we needed to spend the morning hanging out, reading, and catching up on the All-In Podcast.

We headed out for lunch just after noon.

We passed the Farmers Market where there was a man on a Spinning Wheel making yarn.

I noticed a guy in a Safe Harbor shirt and introduced myself.

His name is David and his home port is Safe Harbor Plymouth. He has a beautiful Great Dane Rosie.

Local 186

In our never-ending quest to try every great restaurant on the New England coast, we followed our first dinner at The Red Inn with another first-time visit to Local 186.

It’s a ten-minute walk from the marina, just across the street from Ocean 193.

It’s a large restaurant with a decent-sized covered outside dining patio and several interior dining areas.

It was a spectacular autumn day so we elected the front porch dining room.

It was shady, but right across the street from the ocean, so we got a gentle breeze on the 70° day.

I told our server that I’d have “whatever hazy IPA they have on draft.” I’m happy to report that I may have discovered something to challenge Fiddlehead for my top IPA!

It’s called Juice Punch from Lone Star Brewery and it’s spectacular.

Peter elected a vino…

The menu wasn’t huge, but it was very interesting. They obviously take their meat very seriously.

ABOUT OUR MEAT
We proudly serve Painted Hills Natural Beef.
This consortium of family-owned and operated ranches based in Wheeler County, Oregon, uses wholesome ranching practices. All cattle is humanely raised and fed a 100% vegetarian diet.
Painted Hills Natural Beef gives its animals extra care all throughout their lives, and that care translates into safety and natural health in their beef. It also translates into outstanding flavor, texture and overall food quality.
No hormones. No preservatives. No antibiotics. Just good meat.

Local 186, Provincetown

The lunch menu features a lot of appetizers, salads, sandwiches, and burgers. They offer the most comprehensive custom burger menu I’ve ever seen.

Peter opted for a bunless burger that didn’t photograph particularly well.

Mrs. Horne went for chips and guac, along with some grazing.

Since this was our first visit, I decided to sample two appetizers rather than get into a big sandwich and fries.

This was delicious. The carnitas were perfectly cooked. The corn tortillas on the bottom we crisped tostada-style, but I left most of them because the dish was so filling.

I’ve been considering fried artichoke hearts for years but never ordered them. Saturday was the day.

The chokes were moist and tender. The fry was perfect. The aioli was good but delivered a very distinctive flavor.

I researched Bravas Aioi and discovered it’s made with extra virgin olive oil, smoked paprika, tomato paste, and I assume mayonnaise for texture. This is not one of my favorite flavor profiles, but it was fine.

Commercial Street Shopping

One of the nice side-benefits of walking ten minutes down Commercial Street is the different shopping vibe; high-end shops – less essential body oils, tee-shirts, and cannabis shops!

We began at a very interesting shop – Roots Home and Gift.

Of course, no visit to Ptown would be complete without a stroll through the Marine Supply Store.

As I was leaving the Marine Supply Store I got a message from Miss Peggy – “Don’t forget to stop at the Portuguese bakery!”

Thanks, Peggy! I left $40 lighter with 10,000 sweet calories in a box.

Final Skydeck Day of the Season?

Back on the boat, we opened the Skydeck and enjoyed a marginal day basking in the sun and people-watching.

We left for dinner just as the sun was setting at 5:45.

Front Street

As you may recall, my personal history with Front Street goes back almost fifty years!

Like many below-grade restaurants, it’s dark but cozy.

It’s a special restaurant in that it has a huge menu and no matter what you order, it comes out delicious!

Don’t forget you have to order the bread service…

As much as I wanted to try something different, the homemade Gnocchi with White Truffle is one of the tastiest dishes you’ll find anywhere.

I added a side of sausage and barely finished half of my meal. Thanks to our Open Grazing policy, no leftovers made it home!

By 7:00, the wind had completely died and it was very pleasant on Commercial Street.

Plymouth Sunday

We needed to be home early Monday, so we planned to move Amazing Grace to her winter home – Safe Harbor Plymouth and take Uber back to Onset early Monday to pick up our cars.

We had switched from Newport to Provincetown due to the wind forecast on Sunday.

The landmass blocked 15-knot northeast blow as we left the harbor.

Surprisingly, Race Point knocked down the wind for the first ten miles of the run to Plymouth.

By the time we reached halfway, we were fully exposed to the northeast wind and surfing amidst the spray.

Once we docked, Mrs. Horne decided to give her walking boot a full workout and walked over a mile to The Artisan Pig.

The Patriots game was just starting so we grabbed seats at the bar.

The only Hazy IPA they had on tap was something called Third Revelation which features Dragonfruit and Passionfruit. It was drinkable but still odd. It tasted better with my sunglasses on!

The Food

Coming off pizza at The 1883 Thursday night, it was the last thing we wanted for lunch! But after we saw a few go by from the wood-fired oven, we had to order one.

As we finished up, the bartender started handing out samples of drinks he was considering for the menu.

I didn’t care for any of them – they tasted like medicine. Just before we left he brought an old-fashioned with maple syrup and that was good.

I had the good fortune of sitting next to a charming couple from Falmouth.

Ciara was a bit of a cocktail sommelier and gave me a thirty-minute education on what we were sampling.

After lunch, we visited some antique shops on Main Street and Peter found a beautiful oil for a mere $50.

On the way back to the boat, we ran into Lauren and Jeff by the member’s firepit.

It’s a comfortable little oasis on the water with comfortable seating and firepits. You can bring to-go beverages over from the Surfside Smokehouse.

Salt Raw Bar and Fine Cuisine

If you recall our Maine trip, we finished up in Plymouth and our dinner at Salt was our favorite meal of the fifteen-day trip.

We’ve eaten at Salt several times over the years. The first was great, but the next few weren’t quite as good. Those days are gone – Salt is better than ever!

The only issue with our first meal was the noise. I’m happy to report that we’ve discovered Table 34 is both quiet and comfortable.

The Food

We tried four new dishes.

Mrs. Horne has always been a huge fan of Salt’s Fried Rice. The last time we got the Seafood Fried Rice which did have several large shrimp, but cost $35.

Not only did the Vegetable version cost half as much, but it was missing the only ingredient at Salt that none of us like – Chinese Sausage.

It’s kind of a little chewy, flavorless, pork, hockey puck, and since it’s meat, it’s not in the Vegetable Fried Rice. I’ll probably order the Seafood version again and have them hold the little puck.

By the way, we shared Mrs. Horne’s rice and there was still enough left over for lunch on Monday.

Knowing he’d have full grazing rights to the rice, Peter went extremely healthy and tasty!

I didn’t want a lot of rice, so I tried to create a low-carb dinner beginning with a very tasty celery salad.

I opened it up for grazing and everyone partook!

I also tried a small plate I’d been thinking about for a while.

Although I left most of the Sushi Rice, I was full. This is an incredible flavor bomb for a mere $15.

“Red sky in morning, sailor take warning!”

We packed up and got our Uber at 8:45 AM. As we got to Onset, the torrential rains began and lasted all day.