Month: June 2018

We left Cuttyhunk and went to Hadley Harbor near Woods Hole. Most of the land in the area belongs to the Forbes family and they graciously allow cruisers to use the mooring balls in Hadley Harbor. The harbor itself is totally protected and the balls are in good condition and have long pennants that are easy to pick up. Plenty of swing room. There are about 20 balls but a third are occupied by local boats. When we arrived at noon or so there were 4-5 balls open and during the day a number of boats came and left. By nightfall there were two balls left open. We were here years ago in July and were not able to find an open ball. Boats were also anchored within the mooring field. (I will withhold my comments on that behavior). That time we anchored in the somewhat exposed outer harbor.

The harbor and surrounding area is peaceful and attractive, with just a few houses tucked away in the woods. The main house, more a mansion, sits up on the hill in the distance.

We splashed the kayaks and had pleasant and relaxing tour of the waterways between the islands.

If you go, be mindfull that the approach to the harbor has quite a few rocky outcrops just submerged at high tide. You are fine if you follow the channel.

We took the boat to Cuttyhunk on Sunday. Because winds were forecast to clock 180 degrees during the night we choose a mooring. There are three mooring fields at Cuttyhunk. The inner harbor field is for boats 50′ and under. The two outer fields, Frog Pond Mooring’s to the SE of the entrance channel to the inner harbor and Jenkins Moorings to the NW. We choose Jenkins and were the only boat. When the fellow came to collect fees ($40) he said we were the first of the season. Note for trawler folks with high bows, the mooring ball has a 4′ vertical shaft with the loop at the top. Lisa could reach it from the side door easily. If necessary, one can hook the loop and extend it a few more feet. With no other boats on the moorings around us we swung close to other balls in the field but didn’t hit any.

The “town” is quaint and pleasant to walk around in and the locals are friendly, but not much was open yet as the season hasn’t really started.  That Sunday was opening day for the Fish Market so we each got lobster rolls and were happy cruisers.

Not much activity at the Shellfish Farms and the Cuttyhunk Fish Camp, a bed and breakfast that serves meals as well, doesn’t begin meal services till the 23rd of June. We will come back again later in the season, although it was nice to have the place mostly to ourselves. This place gets very crowded on summer weekends.

Plenty of room to anchor in the outer harbor. We did anchor there years ago with no issues. More info available on Active Captain.