We departed Cuttyhunk around 9:30am headed for Martha’s Vineyard which is about twenty miles away. The tricky part today is an area called Quicks Hole. By consulting the Eldridge book, we knew when the current would be in our favor. When we got to Quicks Hole we were being pushed almost eleven knots- that’s four knots faster than we normally go! We made our destination of Vineyard Haven is two and a half hours. We were again going to an anchorage as all the marinas past Port Jefferson charge almost three dollars a foot which is too rich for us. As we entered the harbor I called the harbor master on the radio and inquired where I could anchor. He directed me to an area where we could see a few sailboats already anchored. We inched up as close to a small beach as we felt comfortable and dropped the hook. The anchorage was kind of exposed to rolling waves and wakes but it wasn’t too bad. We waited for a while to ensure the anchor was holding then I took Frank to shore for a walk. Once we returned Lauren and I loaded the bikes and went to the town dock and unloaded. We rode along and passed a cemetery which Lauren noticed a headstone that said “Firm but fair.” I looked at the name and it was Mike Wallace. That made me google the tv news anchor and sure enough he was buried here. We continued on to West Chop, which of course has a lighthouse. “The first 25-foot rubblestone lighthouse and dwelling were built on the bluffs of West Chop in 1817. Following constant erosion, the lighthouse was moved back in 1830, and again in 1846.” You’d think they would have learned not to build them so close to the edge! We looped around the awesome bike path and came back to town, then decided to go to Oak Bluffs. Google Maps said it was three miles and there was a brewery there in my future, so I was agreeable. We made it there and saw an old carousel: Flying Horses Carousel- “The Flying Houses Carousel is the nation’s oldest platform carousel. Since 1884, the Flying Horses Carousel has delighted visitors in the town of Oak Bluffs. Constructed by Charles Dare of New York Carousel Manufacturing in 1876, it is one of only two Dare carousels that still exist. Originally operated as an attraction on Coney Island, it was moved to Oak Bluffs in 1884 and includes stationary carved wooden horses with manes and tails of real horse hair and inset glass eyes. Each horse is brightly painted and fixed to the rotating platform by a metal post.” Cool. Now time for the beer. We found the Offshore Ale Co. and sat on their patio and enjoyed a snack and some beer. We kept on truckin’ and found the Gingerbread Cottages also known as the Painted Ladies. From Country Living: “The 318 whimsical Victorian cottages found in Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard are an exceptionally well-preserved collection of Methodist camp meeting houses. Laced with fanciful gingerbread details in an array of shapes and colors, they also happen to be the most adorable homes we have ever laid eyes on.” They are pretty cool to see and walk around the neighborhoods- they look like doll houses to me. We walked around the main drag and did a little hat shopping and got some ice cream. At this point to was time to head back before it got dark. On the way back we stopped at a seafood market and picked up some clams and chowder and returned to the boat. We left the bikes locked up on shore since we were going to be using them again tomorrow.
Day 2- We had to see Edgartown while we were here so we biked there. It was about a ten mile ride from Vineyard Haven, but we felt up to the task. There were again awesome bike trails to ride on so it was a pleasant ride. We made it to town and walked around a bit then figured we needed some food. We got a couple of pieces of pizza from A Slice of Edgartown. We had picked up some ciders too, so we took our food and drinks and sat on a beach overlooking the water next to the Edgartown Yacht Club. We then were still a bit hungry and noticed a small shop Macphail’s Corner Cafe selling lobster rolls so I got one of those too. After eating we hiked over to another lighthouse: the Edgartown Harbor Light. “It is one of five lighthouses on the island of Martha’s Vineyard. The first lighthouse, a two-story wooden structure that also served as the keeper’s house, was constructed in 1828. It was demolished, and replaced by the current cast-iron tower, in 1939. Originally located on an artificial island 1/4 miles from shore, the lighthouse is now surrounded by a beach formed, since 1939, by sand accumulating around the stone causeway connecting it to the mainland.” Now it was time to head back to the brewery. We had stopped earlier but they didn’t open until 4pm. It was about that time so we went to Bad Martha Farmers Brewery. We got there around 4:20pm and it was already packed. They sat us at a small table and we ordered two beers. It took over twenty minutes to get them! We were getting ready to leave when the beer showed up. We drank those which they comped and got two more. Now it was time to bike back. Instead of going back the way we came, we followed the beach road all the way up to Oak Bluffs and then back to Vineyard Haven. We probably biked well over twenty miles for sure, but it was a nice day. Our plan for tomorrow is to go to Nantucket- it seems silly not to since we’re here.
