Edgartown Lighthouse, the greeter for boats entering the harbor.
We left Nantucket at noon on Sunday, August 18 and arrived in Edgartown around 3:30 pm, a 25 nautical mile trip. We were assigned a mooring way back at the end of the field, #86. It’s a longer ride to the public dinghy dock, but it was actually nice to be away from the traffic. Edgartown remains one of the more reasonably priced town moorings among the New England islands. $45 for one boat and for two rafted the second boat is only $20 more. Most harbors charge the same price for two boats on one mooring.
Such sweet boats! We really like it when we can raft together because it makes it sooo much easier to plan, visit, have dinner together, work on boat projects. With our own boats, it is also easy to have our own space when needed.
There was a super blue moon that would appear for three days, from Sunday morning until early Wednesday morning. A “Super Blue Moon” is simultaneously a full moon, a blue moon, and a super moon. Everyone is familiar with a full moon, the phase in the lunar cycle when the Earth, sun, and moon are aligned with the Earth in the middle, so the moon is fully illuminated on Earth. A blue moon is not about the color of the moon, but instead the frequency of the full moon. There are two definitions of a blue moon—the first describes when there are two full moons in a single month. Our average calendar month is 30-31 days but the moon’s cycle is 29.5 days, iso although it is very rare to have two full moons in one single month, it is possible, and happens every two to three years. There are also seasonal blue moons, A seasonal blue moon is the third full moon that occurs in an astronomical season the has four full moons. This full moon was a seasonal blue moon. The next seasonal blue moon is expected in May 2027. The super moon part refers to the moon’s orbit. Since the orbit is elliptical around the Earth, there are times when it is further and closer to us. When it is closer it appears bigger and brighter, therefore “super.” Science lesson over.
The super blue moon on August 18, 8:00 pm.
Same super blue moon on August 19th, 9:00 pm.
Time to stretch our legs so off we went on Monday to stroll around Edgartown, truly one of the loveliest towns.
We stumbled upon a small art and craft fair.
Back down near the harbor is the Old Sculpin Gallery with the huge anchor and whale tail on its grounds.
The Edgartown Memorial Wharf was open to the public again after being closed for much needed renovations. The top deck on a day like this is a perfect place to look out over the harbor.
Looking out towards the entrance to Edgartown harbor. Love that blue-striped sail!
The lighthouse at the entrance.
Looking back at the shore. Those are some beautiful homes and gardens.
From this lookout you have a perfect view of the Chappy Ferry that runs between Edgartown and Chappaquiddick — “Back and Forth Between Two Worlds ~ 527 Feet Apart.” The two little ferries, “On Time II” and “On Time III” run continuously (and that’s the truth, back and forth and back and forth with only time to load and unload) from 6:30 am to midnight during the summer season The round trip fares are $5 per person, $7 for a person + bike, $15 per person + car. It is clearly stated on the website – “Missing the last ferry run because you stayed on the Vineyard side too late does not qualify as an emergency. Please do not bother the hardworking and dedicated people at the Communications Center with this type of problem. Plan ahead, keep track of the time and don’t wait until the last minute to rush to the ferry.” LOL. I like that.
It would be easy to spend hours watching these ferries make their trips. They leave at the same time and pass by each other. Sometimes the current can be a challenge for them and they are always a challenge for pleasure boats entering the harbor!
I loved watching these ladies work the ferries. They have it down to a science. Wouldn’t that be a fun retirement job?
All that walking meant a stop for ice cream at the Scoop Shack.
We love Edgartown but the public dinghy dock is inadequate, to put it simply. Dinghies are often layered 3 deep and you have to crawl from dinghy to dinghy to get to your own. If a dinghy has been left tied up for days it can be filled with water from rains making it even more fun to step in and out of. The guys are very chivalrous and bring the dinghies over to another easy place for us to board.
Our guys in action doing the dinghy dance. Al is very good at this, but it only takes one slip for a mishap to occur. Into the water he went. He was fine, no damage done except wet clothes, wet wallet and wet iPhone. The iPhone survived – good job, Apple!
Back at the boats, it was time for a swim. The water was 74 degrees and the sun was shining. Even Al got in, but only to clean the waterline along the hull.
Wednesday, August 21 was a beautiful day for a ride out to Norton Point through Katama Bay. BEACH DAY!! It is always a special treat when we put this on our Edgartown itinerary. For more information about the Katana Bay/Norton Point breakthrough check out an older blog from 2017.
It’s a long ride from our boats (red star) to Norton Point (blue).
There are a number of oyster farms in the middle of Katama Bay.
Vehicles are on the bay side of Norton Point now. Out here it’s a big deal and permissible, to drive onto the beach, bay side and ocean side. I am not a big fan of that.
Well now. This is a new one. Way out here a sign is posted to direct you where to land your dinghy?????? No one was there.
A wide sandy path to walk over to the ocean.
I just love a swirling, frothy ocean wave on the beach!
An outstanding day at the beach. Definitely worth the long dinghy ride here.
We finished our day with a dinner at Rockfish.
No trip to Martha’s Vineyard is complete without a Vineyard Sound acapella concert. The current 2024 group has many members from Connecticut colleges – Wesleyan, UCONN, Connecticut College. From their webpage – “In 1992 Chris Bettencourt and Townsend Belisle got eight friends together and came out to the Vineyard to sing and have a great time. They didn’t want to work the normal corporate summer job and thought singing would be a blast. At first the group struggled and had to work other jobs, but over the past 30 years we’ve built a following and now singing is all we do! The group has over 100 alumni and continues to thrive every summer.“ How many times have we listened to them? EVERY time we have been on the Vineyard since 1993, when we first heard them sing at the middle school I was teaching at in Wethersfield, CT, over 30 years. The current acapella group wasn’t even alive then! Their parents might not have met yet.
Strolls around Edgartown include revisiting favorite sights and sometimes finding new ones.
A Giant Pagoda Tree, brought to Edgartown from China in 1837 in a flower pot by Captain Thomas Milton for his new home. It is believed to be the largest of its kind on the continent.
Right on the harbor with beautiful gardens.
The Old Whaling Church’s steeple is a favorite sight here.
This photo is for our son, Adam, a dedicated cyclist.
The Edgartown Yacht Club was holding a sailboat race for a mixed group of smaller boats. I zoomed in – that is a mermaid on one of the sunfishes! Her tail gave her quite a challenge when coming about.
The last activity on the float plan for Edgartown is a stop on the water dock before departing. BEST harbor idea ever! It is so easy to pull up to it and fill the tanks up again. Having water onboard is critical so we plan our stop here in Edgartown around our water needs.
what wonderful photos…it’s so thoughtful of you to share your trips with us landlubbers. harry did fine on our ocean cruise but that’s so different than what you and al do…the summer is coming to an end…the boat will go to wherever boats go when their time is over for the season…can you possibly think of a winter hobby (not to infer that boating is a hobby by aby means) so we can continue to be entertained and jealous as hell!!!
glad you enjoyed…martha’s vineyard is a beautiful place!
Ellen Seltzer
what wonderful photos…it’s so thoughtful of you to share your trips with us landlubbers. harry did fine on our ocean cruise but that’s so different than what you and al do…the summer is coming to an end…the boat will go to wherever boats go when their time is over for the season…can you possibly think of a winter hobby (not to infer that boating is a hobby by aby means) so we can continue to be entertained and jealous as hell!!!
glad you enjoyed…martha’s vineyard is a beautiful place!
xo
watsons
Yes, the season is ending. We will haul out on Sunday. Sad, but also gives us a boating break so that our enthusiasm will be high again in the spring.