Dorchester and Through the Canal

        We set out in the dinghy in Gloucester Harbor on Wednesday morning (Sept 28) to go ashore for a walk before heading out to Boston Harbor.  We paused to meet the neighboring boats - two sailboats from Canada heading south, hoping for a Bahamian winter - and then rowed over to let our friends on Oyster know we would be heading out later that morning.  They were troubleshooting a fuel leak - and Dan went down into the engine compartment with Jeff to help figure it out while I sat with Trish in their spacious salon.  The good news: it was the injector pump, the bad news: their spare didn’t quite fit so they had to order a part.  At least it was something easily fixable.  We did get ashore for our walk and then set off for Boston Harbor.

Our younger son and his wife live in Dorchester, so that is the harbor we set our sights on.  Dan contacted Old Colony Yacht Club to find out if they had a transient berth and spoke with several members who admitted they didn’t know, but please come!  The restaurant is open til 10:00 pm!  Old Colony Yacht Club is a private club, over a hundred years old, and doesn’t solicit new members, but still welcomes people with open arms.  Members were there on the dock to help us tie up, insisting we come up to the bar, extolling the virtues of their famous Mud Slide, a potent drink with chocolate sauce and whipped cream.  One of the members, Kevin, fished his key card out of his wallet and handed it to us, so we could enter the building any time.  They asked questions, offered advice, gave us a tour, and invited us to stay as long as we wanted.  Dan and I had a drink with them and then set off for the T to meet our son Will and daughter-in-law Tam for a tour of his office.  

Old Colony Yacht Club, Dorchester MA

Will works for Google.  He arranged for guest passes for us all and took us through his multi-storied building, showing us offices, lounges, the library, the pickle ball court, and many different food stations.  What a place!  Very impressive.  After the tour we all went back to the Yacht Club restaurant for dinner.  It was busy with members playing pool and hanging out at the bar and again they welcomed us all like family.

Thursday morning we bid goodbye to our friends at Old Colony Yacht Club with multiple offers to come back anytime, and a few offers to visit some of them in their winter homes in the south.  

It was a very uncomfortable passage.  We had considered going to Plymouth or even all the way through the Cape Cod Canal but after a few hours of lumping through the swells, we turned into Scituate Harbor.  Why make ourselves miserable, we thought.  So we settled down gratefully in the calm and scenic harbor, enjoyed a beautiful sunset and a good night’s sleep.

Scituate Harbor Light

The forecast was for smaller seas and less wind on Friday, and the extended forecast was for everything building - the effects of the Hurricane Ian going extratropical.  Our plan was to get through the Canal and over to New Bedford, where we’d secured a marina mooring for several days to wait out the weather.  As we made our way into the lumpy seas - definitely not “smaller”!- an MTOA associate contacted Dan about the availability of his mooring in Scotch House Cove, Pocasset, located to the east of the Cape Cod Canal entrance on the Buzzard Bay side.  As this was both closer and free, we canceled our New Bedford mooring and concentrated on getting to Pocasset.  The cruise from Scituate Harbor was one of the most rolly we’ve had to endure so far, and we learned we aren’t quite as battened down as we thought we were.  It was such a relief to get into the canal and experience calmer waters.  We’re in a beautiful, protected spot nestled in with several other boats on moorings.  We’re going to be here for several days as the weather plays out.  

Through the Cape Cod Canal