After a rocky May, did a lot of cruising in the last 30 days; Falmouth, Newport, Nantucket, and Oak Bluffs. So we took a bit of a break before things get really crazy for the rest of the summer.

Thanks to her seaworthiness and 1200 gallon fuel tank, we have a lot of potential destinations within reach, but none are quite as sweet as Edgartown.

Edgartown

For years it was our #1 day trip destination. We started by bringing our 26’ Whaler to Oak Bluffs, grabbing a town mooring, and taking the #13 bus to Church Street.

When we got Mean Kitty (our 33’ Hydra Sport), we discovered the four town slips next to the Yacht Club.

With only four slips, I would time our arrival for 11:45 AM. Never once did we not find at least one available!

When we started cruising overnight with friends, I got very good at booking one of the two slips at the Harbormaster’s wharf on Dockwa.

Back then it was the best summer bargain on Dockwa – $300/night (now they charge $9/foot).

Edgartown Moorings

A few years ago the Harbormaster put the town moorings on Dockwa for $40 from 11:00 AM to 11:00 AM. Combine that with the Oldport Launch ($5/person each way), and we found a great day trip or tranquil overnight mooring only 30 miles from home.

Visit #1 – Day Trip

We were hosting guests for the first time on Amazing Grace for a day trip.

I was able to book a mooring on Dockwa about two weeks in advance, but I also made lunch reservations at Fisherman’s View in case the weather stunk.

Fortunately, the weather was great and we set off at 10:00 from Onset.

Mrs. Horne ran the deck solo…

Although when we got to our mooring, she accepted some help from Scott and Tara – both are long-time boaters.

Edgartown maintains four moorings for 65-foot boats over near Katama. They are spread out, which allows one to run a generator without disturbing your neighbors.

More importantly, the vibe in the mooring field is both beautiful and tranquil…

As you well know by now, we always bring our first-time Edgartown guests to The Atlantic. A unique feature of the Atlantic bar is that the horseshoe end is big enough to seat 6-8 people.

The Atlantic

And at the bar, we get quenched, well fed, and entertained by the excellent bar tenders

Our guests ordered a few items we don’t usually see…

After an excellent meal, we did some shopping and of course I ended up at Portobello Road.

I bought my grandkids a couple of books.

We had a very smooth ride home and Scott shot a great photo of the Captain at the helm…

Visit #2 – The Family Fourth of July

We have long been marina dockage cruisers. It just works better with guests aboard – everyone is free to come and go as they please.

That all changed last year when my daughter suggested Edgartown for the 4th of July fireworks. The two Harbormaster slips go in the first five seconds on Dockwa, Mad Max is $2,000/night, and Harborside is $1300, but the yacht club blocks the view.

So I booked a mooring for two nights for the grand total of $110.!

Everyone loved it and it became an instant tradition. Mrs. Horne came up with a great idea – have our 11-year-old grandson Jack help her pick up the mooring.

We gave him his own headset and he was in heaven❤️

The views down near Katama Bay are far better than you get at any Edgartown docks.

Sixteen years of visiting Edgartown results in lots of traditions and #1 is probably lunch on the patio at The Seafood Shanty…

Staying out of the sun is always a challenge, but the bay breeze can’t be beat.

Edgartown bathed in a perfect Blue Bird Day, but the temperature was well into the 80’s.

We had planned to dine at Sweet Life, but it’s not air-conditioned and we decided to stay in town and try dinner at Rockfish.

Our daughter and her husband headed off for a date night, so we had the grandkids. The menu at Rockfish was far better suited for 8 and 11-year-old palettes.

The last time we dined at Rockfish we sat upstairs at the bar in front of the highly authentic brick pizza oven, so I had to order one!

Interestingly enough, they will not customize any pizzas.

I was fine with everything on the Italian Pizza, but I would have skipped the tomato sauce and just gone with EVOO, garlic, and parmesan if I had the choice.

Nevertheless, it was still very good and very authentic.

About halfway through dinner, the power went out. Apparently it wasn’t just Rockfish or Edgartown, but much of the southeast coast.

The temperature rose quickly, so we finished up and left. With no electricity, they couldn’t process any credit cards. Fortunately, I had just enough cash to pay for dinner and the launch back to the boat.

The Fourth of July

It was already too hot at 9:00 AM, even on a mooring south of the harbor. My daughter and her husband took off for coffee at Rosewater, leaving me to hopefully catch fish with my grandkids.

I was using sinkers and hooks with squid I had bought in Wareham on the way to the boat.

We were about fifteen minutes into the quest when my grandson hooked something. He hauled in his line and he had landed a massive Great White!

LOL – It was actually a cute little Baby Shark, but it was enough for him. Now he will always be known to his friends as the kid who caught a shark on Martha’s Vineyard 😂

A few minutes later, Lucy caught one too – a respectable scup that she kissed before I tossed it back,

Dining on The Fourth

As you may have guessed, we took the family to our two favorite Edgartown restaurants for lunch and dinner on the 4th – The Atlantic and Atria.

I think I have already used up my monthly quota of photos of dishes at the Atlantic, so I’ll spare you any for another month.

After lunch, we took an Uber to Oak Bluffs so the grandkids could burn through $100 at Ryan’s Arcade on Circuit Ave.

They had fun, but the highlight was Mrs. Horne, who nabbed two beautiful stuffed animals at the heavily rigged crane game!

It was 91° in OB and we couldn’t wait to get back to the boat where the kids all went swimming.

The walk up the hill to Atria wasn’t bad, but we had to walk down the middle of the street because the sidewalks were covered with people in lawn chairs waiting for the annual Fourth of July parade.

As always, every bite was delicious, although the food came out rather slowly – likely due to the heavy holiday crowd.

The grandkids sat patiently and Jack did a nice sketch of Amazing Grace…

By then we were running late so we took our desserts to-go and made our way to the launch.

We ran a little late, and watched the beginning of the show from the launch.

It was a magnificent and long show. We were all comfortably seated on the Skydeck for most of the show.

Next Up: The Southern Tour Begins