Conference unifix::sailing

    Bristol to Jamestown Day 1 for a shakedown and a good place to layover
    for the night.  Can get supplies in Jamestown.  Alternate, go down the 
    West Passage and stay at the Island/State part off the western side of 
    Conanicut (Jamestown) Island. 
    
    Jamestown to Cuttyhunk Day 2. Good anchorage, moorings available, easy to
    get into and out of.  Figure 6 +/- hours depending upon wind, tides etc.  
    
    Cuttyhunk to Cotuit day 3.  Easy sail, time to enjoy the Weepeckets,
    Tarpaulin Cove, Hadley's Harbor or even Lake Tashmoo on the Vineyard 
    
    Time your trip through Wood's, Robinson's, or Quick's Hole to go with
    or at slack tide.  Quick's is closest to Cuttyhunk, easiest and 
    manageable against the tide if your engine is up to it.  All the 
    passes are better done at slack or with the tide though especially Wood's 
    Hole.  
    
    If you get a really early start, have fair weather and don't mind the
    possibility of sailing at night, Bristol to Cuttyhunk could be done in
    a very long day.   
    
    Watch for the fish weir North and East of Naragansett Bay.  Don't know
    if it is still there or not.  
    
    Brian

    Another alternate is to leave through the Sakonnet River which will put
    you farther East but not by too much.  The current through there
    especially around Tiverton can be fierce though so timing is important.
    
    Brian

I think you will enjoy it more if you take a couple of days.  If the goal is 
transporting  the boat it can be done in one.  However, you may wish to move it
over land.  Probably costs more, but much much faster and less hassle.

If you are starting on Buzzard's Bay, you have pretty much sheltered water the
whole way up.  Remember that the wind builds from the Southeast as the day goes
on.  Wind and seas get stronger the further up the bay you go.

I have not sailed south of Cuttyhunk.  You have open water from Naragansett
around to Buzzard's Bay.

Check Eldridge for information about the tides.  Go at the right time and get
about a 1 knot kick.  As I recall, a rising tide gives a favorable current north
into Buzzard's Bay.

I personally like Cuttyhunk.  You can take a lunch break at the Weepeckets. 
Quisett is a bomb proof harbor, but I do not think there is an anchorage there.
On Vinyard Sound I like Tarpaulin cove.  Hadley's Harbor is quiet and pretty. 
Guests are welcome on the island at the mouth of the inner harbor (Bass
Island?). There are always empty moorings in Great Harbor at Woods Hole.  The
down side is that it is a long row to shore.
If you stop there, go to the aquarium (its free).

There is a pilot chart for Buzzards Bay.  I do not remeber the NOAA number.  It
forms a booklet about 10" high x 4" wide when folded.  They are reasonably hard
to find, but excellent for having on board.  Much easier to hold than a full
size chart.

When do you plan on going?

Doug 
dtn 592-4787

In looking at the charts, I was thinking of trying to go down the
Sakonnet River, then head over to Cuttyhunk and north through
Vineyard Sound. I had heard that Tarpaulin Cove was an excellent 
anchorage, so I had thought perhaps attempt Bristol to Tarpaulin
that the first day (with the fallback plan of Cuttyhunk). There will 
be at least 2 possibly a third who can drive, so I had expected to 
be able to sail at least 12 hours each day.

I was thinking it didn't make sense to go through Buzzards Bay
even if it were more protected, since then I'd have to go through
Woods Hole to get back on the south side of the Cape.

We did decide to get a quote on having the boat hauled, but that's
not nearly as fun as sailing it ourselves....

Tentative plan is for the weekend of the 8th/9th of July.

Thanks for the suggestions so far... 

		-Maria

  
>  Another alternate is to leave through the Sakonnet River which will put
>  you farther East but not by too much.  The current through there
>  especially around Tiverton can be fierce though so timing is important.
    

it looks like it's 2 knots at its worst, but it changes direction
dramatically.  is that what you're referring to?

    There is (was?) a railroad bdige on a turntable just north of Tiverton
    that has a pretty fierce current running through it at the peak.  I
    never looked it up but I would have gauged it at much higher than 2 kts.  
    The current going throught the breakwater at the other end of Tiverton
    Harbor was not nearly as bad as I recall.  
    
    Brian