Memorial Day 2025 – Falmouth Town Docks

After three days in Oak Bluffs, we made a seven-mile trek across Vineyard Sound to the one slip in Falmouth big enough for Amazing Grace.

The weekend winds had died down and the temperature was up in the mid-60s. Armed with our new thrusters, I made a beautiful pirouette and started into the slip bow in.

It’s a great slip; 85’ long, 22’ wide, and pilings off the starboard side, right below the helm window. I like to hug the pilings until the stern clears the corner and then tap-and-go the thrusters until we kiss the dock.

My logic is simple. There is no harm brushing a piling, the stainless steel rub rail could knock down piling without leaving a scratch.

On the other hand, the edge of the dock is low and down by the cabin windows. The wrong contact could do serious damage.

Helpful Harry – DON’T BE THIS GUY!

I pull the bow forward, while Mrs. Horne is on the headset giving me my distance off the floating dock. Everything is going perfectly until I look toward the port bow and I see this guy waving his hands frantically motioning me to get closer to the floating dock.

I can tell by the way he’s dressed that he doesn’t work here, but he’s freaking out waving his arms.

I ignore him until he takes his boat hook and pulls the bow line off the boat and into the water.

Now we have a serious problem!

The line he pulled into the water is now inches away from the bow thruster propeller. I know from experience, that I can no longer use the bow thruster without risking sucking the line and snapping the prop.

This happened with both Vigilant and Relentless. Not only would this render my bow thruster useless, but it’s a $2,000 bill to repair. And I’d have to bring the boat to Plymouth to haul and replace the prop, burning 200 gallons of diesel.

Normally, I would abort the landing and quickly back straight out without using thrusters. But the crew had already secured the spring lines to the dock.

So now I’m just screaming into the headset “Get the line out of the water” so I can bring the bow into the dock. Mrs. Horne is not happy.

I quickly came up with a Plan B. I fired off the stern thruster to starboard and spun off the spring lines pushing the bow back to the dock without using the bow thruster. The crew fished the renegade line out of the water and property secured the bow line.

I shut down the engines, yanked off the headset, and scrambled downstairs to rip Harry a new asshole. But by the time I got there Mrs. Horne had already eviscerated him with kindness and he’d scurried back to his boat with his tail between his legs.

Lessons Learndt

There are two lessons to this story.

The first is for Harry:

• If you see a big boat with a crew coming into the dock, assume they know what they’re doing and DO NOTHING unless they ask,

The other is for First Mates and Deck Crews everywhere,

• Always keep an eagle eye out for Helpful Harrys lurking on the dock as the Captain brings the boat in. If you spot one, shout out very clearly and loud: “THANKS, BUT WE’VE GOT THIS.”

Falmouth Bliss

With the cold of OB behind us, we planned to pack a lot of action into what was left of Memorial Day 2025.

Mrs. Horne challenged Peter to research “Fun Things Happening in Falmouth Today” and he came back with a Parade and the Shining Sea Bike Trail.

It was too cold to bike over the weekend, but by the time tied up, Memorial Day was already a perfect 70° bluebird day.

We typically have dinner at Anéjo in Falmouth, but I had a new restaurant I wanted us to try for dinner, so we unloaded the bikes and headed to Anéjo for lunch.

Peter discovered a nice Route 28 bypass to town via Queen Street that eliminated the drama of competing with cars squeezing us off the road.

Anéjo offers a superb bike rack just to the right of the side patio.

Peter was in a brunch mood and ordered the egg burrito.

Mrs. Horne went for the Tostada.

I did toy with the idea of ordering the massive carnitas nachos, but ended up with my new favorite – the taco sampler.

Great as always, but I made a determined effort to rank them and concluded that I prefer the Elote (corn) and Carnitas much more than the Carne Asada.

The Shining Seas Bikeway

Having lived on the South Coast most of my life, it’s highly unusual for me to discover anything new. So when Peter started describing the Falmouth rail trail that had been converted into a seaside bike trail, I was all in.

It’s only 10.7 miles, but it’s a straight run (versus a loop), so if you get on it and ride end-to-end, it’s 21.4 miles – which is the perfect length for a good bike work-out.

It’s about a half mile from Anéjo to the entrance to the bike trail and only a few hundred feet on Route 28.

I’m not sure how old this trail is, but most of the roadway is smooth and free of bumps and potholes.

The first few miles run through the woods, but you do get the sense that you’re near the ocean.

A few miles south you cross Surf Road near Quissett Beach.

After about three miles, the trail dumps you into the heart of Woods Hole right by the Ferry Terminal.

One could imagine biking to Woods Hole for lunch and then heading north for a long afternoon ride.

The ride north runs along the southern edge of Buzzards Bay.

We retraced our way back through Falmouth and continued north to Wings Pond.

At this point, it was 3:00 PM and we had logged 12 miles, so we took the obligatory selfie and headed back to the boat.

We logged just under 20 miles for the day and perhaps discovered the best bike trail on the South Coast!

Romeo’s

Not only did we discover a great new bike trail in Falmouth, but also a wonderful restaurant as well.

Last week I published a full review (Romeo’s NOBU in Falmouth?).

Romeo’s offers an exquisite culinary experience that we compared to NOBU (the world-renowned gourmet dining experience).

You can find more details in the full review, but here is a quick “fly-by” of the incredible dishes we enjoyed for our Memorial Day Dinner…

Romeo’s Korean Fried Chicken – $20
gochujang bbq, peanuts, green chile goddess

Romeo’s Crispy Green Bean – $19
miso mustard, basil, crimson lentil, sesame

Romeo’s Thai Beef – $26
grilled prime bavette, aromatic herbs, crispy shallots

Romeo’s Veggie Fried Rice – $24
soft egg, everything fresh

Romeo’s is only about a half-mile walk up Route 28 from the marina or a $10 Uber ride.

We have visited Falmouth more times than we can count over the decades, but this trip was different. The F-7 Slip, Shining Sea Bikeway, and Romeo’s add up to make this a truly special cruising destination.

Yes, it’s a little odd in that you can easily drive here as well, but the plus is that it’s a short boat trip from anywhere on Buzzards Bay.

On the way back to Onset I opened Dockwa and booked two nights on the back-end of Columbus Day Weekend!

Next Up: Provincetown