Summer finally arrived on Father’s Day. We wrapped up our 4 day trip to Nantucket with egg sandwiches on board. It was a Perfect 10 day for boating all across New England. We left at 11:00 and dropped anchor off Weepecket Island just before 1:00. There we savored Father’s Day afternoon. We returned to MBY around 4:00 and it’s was still perfect weather. My First … Continue reading Father’s Day 2018
I woke up to our third day in Nantucket with absolutely no agenda. Sure, we’d kicked around a few ideas but nothing concrete. There was almost no wind so Vigilant rested perfectly still on the Straight Wharf and the girls slept in. A Fog Island Breakfast Isn’t San Francisco supposed to be Fog City? Who knows? But I do know the top rated breakfast on … Continue reading Things To Do In Nantucket
Day Two in Nantucket didn’t quite start like the weatherman promised. Not only did the 70 degree forecast vanish in thin air (revised forecast high was now 59), but it was raining! I brewed my morning coffee and turned on the heat. Nantucket Tide Mrs. Horne didn’t sleep well because the boat and dock creaked most of the night. NBB is all fixed piers and … Continue reading All Weather Day in Nantucket
The list of destinations Vigilant has yet to visit got shorter yesterday with our Father’s Day 4-day weekend trip to Nantucket. All week long the local weather reporters were promising the best weather in years and when we woke up, it looked to be true. By the time I got on Mattapoisett Boat Yard launch to head out to bring Vigilant in for loading, the … Continue reading Getting to Nantucket
Last week Mrs. Horne decided we needed a getaway and with that our mid May mini vacation began. I think this is the first time we ever left home without a destination. In fact, we weren’t even sure how long we were going to be gone! Since the odds were that we’d be out at least one night, we dragged our little Westie Daisy along … Continue reading Our Preseason Mini Vacation in Newport
Our quest for preseason seaside eating and free Dock and Dine continued Friday when we visited Falmouth for a little late Cinco De Mayo with our favorite yacht broker – Joyce Richards of Boston Yacht Sales. Falmouth was one of the first Dock and Dine reports I ever did, but Friday was the first visit in our largest boat – Vigilant. The free dockage is … Continue reading Falmouth Friday
Growing up in Mattapoisett, Martha’s Vineyard was always the island we saw off in the distance just outside of Buzzards Bay. But when it came to boating, it was always “so close, and yet so far.” Those of us who boat on Buzzards Bay are quite fortunate to have such an exotic venue so close. People all over the world know about the Vineyard. It … Continue reading Destination – Martha’s Vineyard
The season began today as Mrs. Horne, her sister Paula and I kicked things off with a little Dock and Dine. Considering that it snowed here 3 weeks ago, the temperature forecast was unbelievable – mid 70’s. Of course it’s May 2nd so the wind forecast was more typical for Buzzards Bay – light winds in the morning followed by a steady 20+ knot southwest … Continue reading First Cruise of 2018 – Back to the F/V
There are plenty of ports all over the world with crazy weather, but I can state categorically that Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound represent a unique climate challenge that one seldom finds anywhere else in New England. Growing up on Buzzards Bay and boating in our 12′ dory or the 15′ Thunderbird, we simply “toughed it up” and slogged through whatever the bay threw our … Continue reading You Don’t Need a Weatherman to Know Which Way The Wind Blows!
Mother, mother ocean, I have heard you call Wanted to sail upon your waters since I was three feet tall You’ve seen it all, you’ve seen it all Watched the men who rode you Switch from sails to steam In your belly you hold the treasures few have ever seen Most of them dream, most of them dreams A Pirate Looks At Forty Jimmy Buffett … Continue reading The Sound of Music… at Sea!
Christmas is my favorite holiday of the year. Not only is it the celebration of the coming of Christ and the promise of salvation for all, but I also love that everyone slows down, spends time with family, and everyday life stops for a while. Tonight is New Years Eve and the end of 2017. Although we’ll miss her, the arrival of the new year … Continue reading My Top Ten Salute to 2017!
I’m back in California for the winter and I already miss Buzzards Bay. It’s in the eighties out here, so it feels like July and time to go boating. I have already found myself looking back at some of the stories from last season and thought you might feel the same. As the season went along, I started doing more videos and even created a … Continue reading 2017 Video Collection
When I’m not busy skippering Vigilant or telling stories on My Buzzards Bay, I also dabble in music. For years it been covering popular songs. I learned a while back that people love to hear me perform songs they know. They can sing along and I also find that they subconsciously “hear” the other instruments in the original — even if it’s just me and … Continue reading A Prayer For The Cove
All good things must come to an end and so it goes for our 2017 season on our new Back Cove 41 Vigilant. She was Christened on April 24 which means she’s been in the water almost 6 months. We put 125 hours on her this summer and somewhere around 2,000 miles. Final Friday We leave our beach house for the winter on Sunday … Continue reading Final Cruise of 2017 – Fisherman’s View Restaurant
I admit it, Mrs. Horne and I have been working hard to make up for lost time on Vigilant due to the wave of hurricanes that messed up the second half of September. Last week we ended up spending 3 days in Vineyard Haven thanks to some pea soup fog. This week we threw together a last minute overnight cruise to Newport with our #1 … Continue reading Benjamin’s – Newport Rhode Island
Mrs. Horne’s sister Paula and 5 of her girlfriends came to visit this weekend to celebrate her birthday on Buzzards Bay. Many of them had never been to Martha’s Vineyard so we were planning on taking them to Edgartown on Saturday. Unfortunately, it was another one of those weekends with a rainy Saturday! Sunday looked like it would be a much nicer day so I … Continue reading The Copper Wok Saves Breakfast
Our quick overnight trip to Oak Bluffs became an adventure when we woke up Wednesday morning to near zero visibility in the fog. I was hoping it would burn off like it did on Tuesday but it looked darker. Still, it was a little erie and beautiful at the same time. Dock Building in the Fog Oak Bluffs seems to have become a major recipient … Continue reading Fogged In On Martha’s Vineyard
After cancelling a couple of trips early this month due to nearby hurricanes, Mrs. Horne and I decided to take a spur of the moment overnight cruise on Tuesday. She was arriving that morning after caring for her dear mother Doris and I had no idea exactly where we were going until she arrived. I was determined to go somewhere we hadn’t visited this summer … Continue reading Oak Bluffs – An Ideal Autumn Destination
I’m just sitting here today waiting for Mrs. Horne to return from San Diego and waiting for Jose. We were planning to visit Nantucket starting Wednesday, but that idea is just a distant memory. I spent Monday morning bringing in all the outside furniture. If anything truly interesting happens I’ll head out around Mattapoisett and grab some photos or video. Meanwhile it’s hard to believe … Continue reading Waiting for Jose
Mrs. Horne is in San Diego celebrating our grandson’s 3rd birthday so I invited my favorite crew members Rudy and Peter down for a boys weekend on Buzzards Bay. The forecast was good, but we woke up to pea soup fog. My weather app said it would burn off by 8:00 so we stayed with the plan to go to Martha’s Vineyard. MBY owner Dave … Continue reading Boys Day Out
