Moving on, we left Lake Tashmoo. If you look closely at the photo below, you can see a boat nearing that red nun. It is a bit disconcerting to see such a narrow route into a reasonably wide channel opening.
That red nun again — marks the very narrow entrance in and out of Lake Tashmoo.
Making our way from Tashmoo, we passed across the entrance into Vineyard Haven, flanked on each side by two lighthouses, West Chop and East Chop.
West Chop Light, built in 1817, has been moved back from the edge of the 60-foot high bluff in 1848 and then again in 1891.
The East Chop Lighthouse, in Oak Bluffs, was built in 1878, 79 feet above the sea. Until 1988, when it was painted white, the East Chop Light was fondly called the “Chocolate Lighthouse” for its brown-red color until it was painted white in 1988.
We passed “Skipper”, a very crowded charter fishing boat. I guess they had to be careful as they cast out their fishing lines. And not to run to one side when someone has a good catch.
Before we left Tashmoo, I called to make a mooring reservation, something we don’t usually do in home waters (We must be getting older?) I used the online service, Dockwa to reserve a mooring. It was easy and worked well.
Edgartown Harbor is a busy place, with an outer harbor and inner harbor that is part of Katama Bay. The blue arrow is the path into the harbor.
The Edgartown Lighthouse (yellow star on the map above) greets us again as we turn into the inner harbor region.
The Edgartown Lighthouse looks especially cheerful on this day with the colorful sails of the sailing school dinghies.
The next step is to dodge, or patiently wait, for the Chappaquiddck ferries to make their crossing.
The two Chappaquidick ferries pass each other as they cross in synchronization.
The Chappy ferries each dock and discharge passengers and one or two vehicles.
The Edgartown Yacht Club.
Very sleek racing boats docked at the yacht club.
After passing EYC, we turned into the mooring field to hunt for our yellow ball assignment. Turned out to be a good location.
Kindred Spirit in the mooring field. Can you pick her out? Hint – the red bottom of the Snark and the edge of my green kayak are both visible on the port side of the flybridge.
It’s been 5 years since we visited Edgartown and we were eager to get reacquainted with this charming and elegant town, starting with the mooring field and boats.
The Edgartown dinghy dock. That hasn’t changed – you still have to jocky around and find a space. As long as everyone ties with a long painter, you can manage when the dinghies are two deep. But, hey, there IS a dinghy dock!
Mike!! He still runs the pump-out boat and he remembered us from the name “Kindred Spirit”. He was interested in our “new” boat and came aboard for a visit and tour.
This little catboat sailed out and back every day. That sail is amazing.
On one of our dinghy rides around the mooring field, we spotted two boats, not near each other. But combined, they brought a big smile to our faces and a chuckle. If you spend time in Hope Town, Abacos, you will know exactly why.
Now this sailboat caught my eye! Al loves to say “correcto mundo”, but I have never seen a boat named that before. Remember the character Fonzie on the sitcom Happy Days?
Getting reacquainted with Edgartown required that we spend some time during our stay evaluating the ice cream shops. We tested Mad Marthas, Scoops, and Scoop Shack.
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