Skip to content
Downrigging Weekend, October 28, 2016

Buzzards Bay

Photo: Pride II, Downrigging Weekend, October 28, 2016

Date: Saturday, June 8, 2019
Time: 0600 EDT
Location: Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, motoring toward Cape Cod Canal (passage of canal expected to be between 0900 and 1100 EDT)

So far, ‘tis been a motoring transit toward Lunenburg. Contrary winds from E-NE-N have fortunately thus far been light in strength or not at all.

While coming out of Delaware Bay Thursday afternoon, weather forecasting indicated easterly winds reaching upwards of 20 knots for the time of Thursday night and all day Friday over a swath of the Western North Atlantic somewhat south of Long Island, with much less wind strength close to Long Island. So the route out of Delaware Bay was about getting to the north and near Long Island promptly. We were able to cut across New York Bight toward Shinnecock Inlet, Long Island, from near Little Egg Inlet, New Jersey, Friday due to finding light winds to the north Thursday evening as forecast. At no time have we experienced more than 10 knots of contrary winds. So it seems the northward deviation, versus heading more easterly to pass by the Atlantic side of Cape Cod, was a beneficial idea.

Diverting northward from the more direct route toward Lunenburg, which passes to the Atlantic side of Cape Cod, and instead of passing close to Long Island, has presented the opportunity to use the Cape Cod Canal to get further north before heading eastward across the Gulf of Maine toward Cape Sable, Nova Scotia. Forecasting indicates favorable winds that can be used for sailing over the first part of next week.

Captain Jan C. Miles