Provincetown

[Stu Fyfe]

Thought you might like to see some photos from sailing trips to Provincetown Harbor on Cape Cod. This often maligned town has a gem of a harbor. Deep water up to 70 feet. Good holding ground in sand. Pristine beaches in the National Seashore. Protection from SW winds. Lots of Stripped Bass and Blues. And a honky tonk town to visit if you feel brave enough. It's just 18 miles from my home port of Sesuit Harbor in Dennis. Straight north shot. It's easily my favorite Cape sailing destination. Below is Long Point Lighthouse at the opening of the harbor
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_SHBgt6toQvQ/Sl9HYwoI-jI/AAAAAAAAEGM/8AKyETUnpFw/s576/DSC01259.JPG
Here is the Schooner Hindu in the inner harbor.
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_SHBgt6toQvQ/Sl9HXlyWwjI/AAAAAAAAEGA/Ul3VYXBf53E/s576/DSC01247.JPG
Here's my boat Redwing anchored off Long Point.
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_SHBgt6toQvQ/Sl9HZHl9pUI/AAAAAAAAEGQ/8o155xe3vyc/s576/DSC01258.JPG
Sunset over Wood Endhttp://lh6.ggpht.com/_SHBgt6toQvQ/Sl9HZocEBII/AAAAAAAAEGU/HcnNUzKtU5c/s576/DSC00454.JPG

[Stu Fyfe]

Outline of a wreck.
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_SHBgt6toQvQ/Sl9GBzqFukI/AAAAAAAAEF4/_wF3jpEYCz0/s576/DSC01263.JPG
Nighttime visitor and dinner.
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_SHBgt6toQvQ/Sl9HXVjr7-I/AAAAAAAAEF8/DW3ljfpvSok/s576/DSC00463.JPG
Hindu under a full moon.
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_SHBgt6toQvQ/Sl9Hcyi_pzI/AAAAAAAAEG4/Kqr3c8709Lo/s576/DSC01159.JPG
At anchor on Long Point.http://lh6.ggpht.com/_SHBgt6toQvQ/Sl9Hb1sTtVI/AAAAAAAAEGs/_EfycReQkJ0/s576/DSC01269.JPG

[Stu Fyfe]

Dinner
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_SHBgt6toQvQ/Sl9HbIkNcTI/AAAAAAAAEGk/EoRAwYGNEBw/s576/DSC01301.JPG
You can even get your first tattoo!
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_SHBgt6toQvQ/Sl9HbXBXULI/AAAAAAAAEGo/TKwD8wdp1Mc/s400/DSC01266.JPG
My daughter Carrie.
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_SHBgt6toQvQ/Sl9HduvnDYI/AAAAAAAAEHE/I_vXuWnySwY/s576/DSC01158.JPG

[Ian McColgin]

Sporting that tat around P'town eh?

It actually is a fantastic destination, even if one remains sober and tatless.

[Stu Fyfe]

Now, now Ian.

[elf]

No need to drink, either, to get a little unsober. Just the scene can give you a new perspective!

[rbgarr]

Steamers and corn.... yum.

But are the clam flats open down there? All are closed here due to a ferocious red tide.

Have you had a chance to talk to the new owners of Pagan?

[Domesticated_Mr. Know It All]

I haven't been to P-town since 1975.
A wonderful place back then.
Is the "Lobster Pot" still in business?
Great photos Stu.

[Lance F. Gunderson]

Great Pics! Inspiration to cruise. Once I was anchored in P'Town, watching the crowded whale watching boats going out...as a beautiful minke whale swam 'round and 'round my boat right there in the harbor.

[Stu Fyfe]

Don't know about Pagan. The flats are open on the Cape. We had some red tide in the Nauset Estuary, but that has passed. No, I didn't dig those clams but they were awesome! The Lobster Pot is still open and doing well. They opened an upper deck that has great views of the harbor. We send alot of our guests www.candleberryinn.com (http://www.candleberryinn.com) there as part of a Whale Watching Special. Having sailed the whole New England coast, I find Provincetown to be one of the finest destinations. It's got good yacht services (if that's what you want) and in my case, a good dingy dock you can tie up to and walk into town. Great restaurants. Marine Specialties. The Provincetown Museum and on and on.... I prefer to stay over at the Point away from town. Often times I'm the only boat over there. The water is warm and clean. Just a great place to spend a few days. I've done Nantucket and the Vineyard many times, but I think Ptown is a better destination and much more user friendly.
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_SHBgt6toQvQ/Sl9HdfXXIJI/AAAAAAAAEHA/Ib2-NaQL4ZA/s576/DSC01152.JPG
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_SHBgt6toQvQ/Sl9HZ6-vCvI/AAAAAAAAEGY/8x9OTVGbtNs/s576/DSC00423.JPG

[Woxbox]

I agree 100%. I've been going there on and off since I was a kid. What other small town offers so many good restaurants? Where else can you get such a great variety of places to take a walk or ride a bike? It's all good.

We've had the Kalmar Nyckel up there the past several summers, and it's always a good time. The only hard part is getting into the dock when the tide is down. How high can you toss a heaving line?

[Stu Fyfe]

Here's the Kalmar Nyckel from last summer in Ptown.
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_SHBgt6toQvQ/Sl9Hafk1wvI/AAAAAAAAEGc/Cld9wncNAB0/s576/DSC00426.JPG

[rbgarr]

Having sailed the whole New England coast, I find Provincetown to be one of the finest destinations. It's got good yacht services (if that's what you want) and in my case, a good dingy dock you can tie up to and walk into town. Great restaurants. Marine Specialties. The Provincetown Museum and on and on.... I prefer to stay over at the Point away from town. Often times I'm the only boat over there. The water is warm and clean. Just a great place to spend a few days. I've done Nantucket and the Vineyard many times, but I think Ptown is a better destination and much more user friendly.

That's nice to hear. The last time I went to MV and Nantucket was a few years ago after a thirty year absence. Except for Gannon and Benjamin I felt kind of sick at heart about what has happened to them. Your P-Town sounds more like the waterfront Cape of old (at least my childhood in the fifties-sixties)... but there's a certain amount of nostalgia in my outlook, of course, and the same would likely be said about this coast, too. :D

[Brian Palmer]

30 years ago this summer, I rode my bike from Woods Hole to P-town on a Saturday. I had a large pizza in P-town (I ate the whole thing), and then stayed at the youth hostel, can't remember where it was. On Sunday I got up and rode back to Woods Hole, taking the route along the north shore of the cape and down route 28. It was quite a memorable trip.

Brian

[Stu Fyfe]

Nantucket has changed so much. It's priced it's self out of the common man's price range. If you're going to anchor, expect to be quite a ways away from the harbor side. It's also difficult and inconvenient to find a place to tie up your dingy. Don't get me wrong, it's beautiful and I truly love the island. It's just becoming more like an old episode of "Life Styles of the Rich and Famous". I want a cruising destination that I can anchor in, can spend a relatively quiet night and not break the bank.

[rbgarr]

My brother (he of the stolen boat) has a Marshall cat (not stolen!) that he used to sail over to MV and Nantucket. They had wonderful times sailing well up into the shallows inside the northeast capes of both islands. He said it was like being in a different world, quiet and wild, almost desolate, but hard to capture on camera, because so much of the sensation was in the sounds.

That's what your brief description of the tip of P-Town anchorage reminded me of.

[adampet]

Nice pictures Stu, a great way to show of your cruising grounds.

Off topic, but of interest to rbgarr. I've chatted with PAGAN's new owners. They are loving it. We were out rowing this AM and they went by, taking a short cut across the flats, on a rising tide. Easy to spot with that black hull. No noise, no fuss and almost no wake. This in contrast to just about every boat that went by. I felt like I was rowing in a washing machine!

Adam

[rbgarr]

Thanks Adampet. I'll pass that on to the former owner.

[Stu Fyfe]

Fill me in on Pagan. I don't think I know that boat.

[rbgarr]

It's the original Top Hat shown here: http://www.dhylanboats.com/tophat_plans.html

http://i25.tinypic.com/2rfv5ll.jpg

[Stu Fyfe]

OK. No, I haven't seen her yet. I would have recognized a Top Hat design if I saw her. Where is she out of? Who's the owner?

[adampet]

She's in Pleasent Bay. Moored just outside Lonnies Pond. Bob Wilkinson bought her as a replacement for JUDITH.

Adam

[Stu Fyfe]

Looks like Bob just picked up a few knots. From a catboat-like launch to a Hand-like launch. The guys got good taste!

[bobbys]

Thank you so very much for the pics, I went there on me honeymoon in 1974 but did not get to see to much of the cape.

We wuz to busy chasing each other round the hotel room but did surface for Lobster, clams and corn every day.

One of the best places i have ever been.

[Stu Fyfe]

Going back on Wednesday for a three day sail-about.

[Stu Fyfe]

Just got back from another PTown sailing trip. Had some very interesting company this time.
Here's Grayling the Doug Hylan rebuilt sardine carrier.
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_SHBgt6toQvQ/SnNItM1QYRI/AAAAAAAAELQ/eoHvbzf44qA/s720/DSC01449.JPG

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_SHBgt6toQvQ/SnNItddutEI/AAAAAAAAELU/KEdg2P4WjeI/s720/DSC01450.JPG

Mystic Seaport's Brilliant.
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_SHBgt6toQvQ/SnNJtVku7kI/AAAAAAAAEMc/Z652iRjrxnM/s640/DSC01474.JPG

Brilliant Crew taking a swim.
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_SHBgt6toQvQ/SnNJunxOx-I/AAAAAAAAEMo/Dkq0ih4YtUg/s640/DSC01484.JPG

[Stu Fyfe]

Brilliant from Redwing's cockpit.
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_SHBgt6toQvQ/SnNJwPfPo1I/AAAAAAAAEM8/-1itnxU4940/s640/DSC01491.JPG

Coyote tracks on Wood End.
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_SHBgt6toQvQ/SnNJDHluu2I/AAAAAAAAENA/Zni00VsJFzU/s512/DSC01455.JPG

Grey Seals
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_SHBgt6toQvQ/SnNJD9rA8zI/AAAAAAAAEL4/N6OcOVxS2yU/s640/DSC01473.JPG
Lots of time to read.
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_SHBgt6toQvQ/SnNJDsJOJ-I/AAAAAAAAEL0/5xXLcN5ahh4/s640/DSC01467.JPG

[rbgarr]

I can taste the salt!

[BillyBudd]

What size is your boat, Stu? How'd you get to P'town and from where?

I ask because I'd love to sail the bay to P'town, but.... I've been content for going on to 3 summers now with sailing on a Vermont lake. Yet my Bolger Chebacco was originally built with hopes of sailing such as you did. I'd have to trailer in from western MA and would be happy, as I'm sure you were, with anchoring in odd bits of P'town, but also other places nearby. Where to put in, what to do with truck/trailer, etc., etc.!!

You bring me out of WBForum retirement!

Cheers, BillyBudd

[Stu Fyfe]

My boat is Bolger's 22ft Triple Keel Gaff Sloop. She's designed to ground out and remain upright. I keep her in Sesuit Harbor (East Dennis) which is about 19 miles south of Provincetown. It takes me about 3 1/2 hours to get there. The trip back can be much longer depending on the wind. I had 20mph SW winds on my nose for the trip back. Motoring took me 5 1/2 hours. Cape Cod Bay is doable in a Chebacco. You can launch in Provincetown, Truro (Pamet River), Wellfleet, Orleans (Rock Harbor), Sesuit or Barnstable Harbor. Besides Provincetown, Wellfleet is a fine harbor for a shoal draft vessel. Anchorage in Wellfleet is pretty tight. The inner harbor is packed. Just outside the inner harbor is a fine anchorage over by Great Island. Great Island is also National Seashore property. Nice and quiet. Lots of Grey Seals. There is a good seafood take-out restaurant in Wellfleet "Mac's" right on the town dock.
Parking in Provincetown can be a hassle. Expect to pay a daily rate at one of the public lots.
You'll get strong SW winds in the afternoon. 25mph is not out of the question. The bottom is sand in PTown, mud in Wellfleet. Bring a fishing rod, the Blues are everywhere. Water is warm. Excellent swimming.
The Pamet River in Truro is nice, but empties out at low tide. Expect to take the bottom if you go in there. Same with Rock Harbor.
I'm a big fan of this type of camp-cruising. This last trip was my fourth visit to Provincetown this summer.
Stu

[BillyBudd]

Stu,

Wellfleet would be the highest of desired anchorages. We've seen a modestly sized camping boat inside near Great Island and thought it a terrific location. A dinghy or wading would get one to either the harbor proper (dink) or to Great Island and the hike into the harbor proper. Is there parking for truck and trailer at this harbor? Some sort of harbormaster to contact via phone?

We won't make it this year...darn, but next year? Sounds good from here if we/Wellfleet can work it out.

I used to study winds/tides and usually ended up at Truro's bayside beach, watch in hand and ... bingo ... on the dot the blues came at high tide with help from an onshore wind. Then, quick as can be, on to the cooking! Mmmm.

[elf]

Just outside the inner harbor is a fine anchorage over by Great Island. Great Island is also National Seashore property. Nice and quiet. Lots of Grey Seals.

There is a good seafood take-out restaurant in Wellfleet "Mac's" right on the town dock.


Great Island in Wellfleet is one of the most beautiful places on Cape Cod.

Mac's seafood is a big bust compared to PJ's which is apparently not gone out of business. Unfortunately PJ's is on Rt. 6 at the entrance to Wellfleet so Mac's floury clam chowder gets unwarranted attention.

PJ's chowder has no flour - just clams, potato cubes, onions, clam broth, tenderly warmed milk and clams.

[Stu Fyfe]

There is ample parking right in Wellfleet's harbor as well as good launching facilities. Harbormaster # 508-349-0320.

[BillyBudd]

Thanks Stu,

We'll check out details maybe in October, especially boat ramp angle/depth of water, think 'when' then ... ?

Will call harbormaster during the week.

[R.I.Singer30]

Where to put in, what to do with truck/trailer, etc., etc.!!


Cheers, BillyBudd



You could save yourself the tedious drive of the cape and launch her in Plymouth. From there you would be sailing due east in the bay to Ptown or Wellfleet. Just a thought.What do the locals say? My friend put's his power boat in there for fishing and whale watching but I haven't sailed it yet.SW winds are the common direction here so it would be a reach coming and going.

[Hwyl]

That's what I was going to say too. I've sailed from Plymouth to Provincetown, nice sail. I'd be tempted to look at Duxbury too, or Scituate.

Provincetown is the only place i like on Cape Cod.

[Stu Fyfe]

You're right. Sailing over from the South Shore (Duxbury, Plymouth, Scituate) works as well.

[BillyBudd]

Surely anyone who has driven out to Wellfleet knows the pain of 2-lane 1940 highways jammed lanes of over-revved pickups and bumper-to-bumper BMWs...pure insanity. So, thanks for info on other places to put in. Would anyone have further info on a 3-4-5 day parking of truck/trailer at such places like Plymouth? On ramps & water depths. Sailing routes -- direct to Wellfleet or coast skirting? Usual time out of Plymouth to Wellfleet? Will ferret out Plymouth, etc., Harbormasters phone #'s. Clearly I'm psyched, and hopeful this state of mind has the capacity to stay on for a year or so.

From the MA hilltown heights, I can only relay my bubbly sense that...This is doable! That's why Phil Bolger / Brad Story came up with the Chebacco.

Got to get out that beloved (because it catches fish!) stripped bass rod/reel (umm, it is a surf casting outfit, but what's to worry?), those anchor setups. Get LEDs/battery packs for those mast/sides/aft fixtures, maybe get at long last one of those 2-way walkie-talkies from Hamilton, an over-the-side propane burner (Big Box store item?) for grilling those, surely nearing the line, bluefish. Shoestring retirement has its challenges...Thank you!

Pleased to be back on the WBForum, and tacking in to harbor!

[Pirate-at-heart]

yes, domesticated know it all, the lobster pot restaurant is still very much alive and torturing. Plenty of awesome vegan restaurants too, though, for the pirate with a long life in mind. P-town is a marvelous melange of flavors, smells, ethnicities and even sexual orientations. Fearsome currents in the bay, from what I understand. There's an Army/Navy store there, forgot its name, which is a marvel of nineteenth century architecture. I love that place. I wish I had a sailboat. sigh.

[Vince Brennan]

Plenty of awesome vegan restaurants too, though, for the pirate with a long life in mind.

"C'mon, youse swabs! Ya wanna live FOREVER???"

Germantown philosophy: "Live fast, die whenever."

[Stu Fyfe]

The Army Navy Store is known as Marine Specialties.

[Pirate-at-heart]

Stu - Thanks for that name! Marine Specialties! What a great store!

Vince, is that you? I am Joshua Hantman, and I think you were friends with my mother Sylvia. Are you the same folk musician I think you are?
Good to meet you, in either case.
Joshua

[B. Parkes]

How does the triple keeled sloop do when it's close hauled? Is the sail area that Bolger drew for it adequate or do you find yourself using the engine a lot?

[MRJarret]

Dear-god-in-heaven, how is it possible that a P-Town thread has gone this long without any mention of the Provincetown Portuguese Bakery???? Fish cakes, Lemon squares, Shrimp pastries, Chourico rolls, Meat pies...
A block south of the Lobster Pot at 299 Commercial Street. :) :) :)

[Stu Fyfe]

When close hauled, I find if I sit to leeward and get the boat to heal over alittle more so the bilge keel digs in a little deeper, she points just fine. If she's allowed to point upright, she doesn't do well at all. The sail area Bolger drew is perfect. In one of my conversations with Phil, he asked if I'd capsized her yet! He wanted to know how quickly she self-righted. I told him I hope I never get to answer that question. Yes, I do motorsail often to windward. Who doesn't? I usually motorsail with just the main sail up. Her hull speed on a broad reach can get to 7 knots. After sailing her for over 20 years, I've learned to trim the sails so she balances out nicely. With the jib in tightly, there is very little weather helm. Loosen that jib, and she rounds up like a catboat. This makes reefing easy.
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_SHBgt6toQvQ/R6JSdH_FOUI/AAAAAAAAAPc/yVLx-vEHrYs/s720/is_00095.jpg

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_SHBgt6toQvQ/R6JSXX_FN1I/AAAAAAAAALg/o5l42Gq3RCA/is_00056.jpg

[Stu Fyfe]

MRJarret, you're right! Add to that Napi's, The Red Inn, Bubula's, Fanizzi's and Front Street. Napi's kale soup is outstanding.

[BillyBudd]

Stu,

You're grounded boat's photo is terrific. I'm sure that Bolger's Chebacco would lay a bit to starb'd or port with its small 8" keel. But, otherwise, it seems to me that Bolger either designed your boat and then the Chebacco, or vice versa. There's lots of similarities but they don't include a bowsprit, a cuddy roof that's full width, the classic over-the-stern mains'l.

Your boat looks fantastic for 20 years of use. Good maintenance! Good materials to begin with, I presume. You built her?

On camping out in the mud flats, do you bug-seal yourself in the cuddy for sleeping or have you evolved a screening system for the cockpit? BTW, we've got a system of raising cockpit floorboards to seat height for a full width sleeping platform.

Talked to Wellfleet harbormaster. Will check it out later in the year. Thanks for tele. #.

[Stu Fyfe]

IIRC, Bolger's Triple Keel Sloop was designed in 1981, before Chebacco. He used the same companion way, transoms, bowsprits and hull configurations for many of his designs. I believe my Redwing was the only one built to this design, although I've been contacted by people who bought the plans and are considering it. Mine was built by a guy in my town who completed her in 1982. I have pipe berths in the cabin. Very comfortable and they fold up and out of the way. I took some nylon screening and glue gunned the seams around a bungie cord. Cut to fit the cabin opening, it seals the cabin off nicely from bugs. As far as camp cruising is concerned, see if you can find a copy of Beach Cruising by Alfond?. Lots of good ideas in it.
Materials- strip plank fir, miranti ply, doug fir, polypropolene fabric over the hull and epoxy coated. Engine- Yanmar GH1 Diesel. Sails- Manchester

[B. Parkes]

The boat certainly looks terrific. Bolger expressed his view, in a number of his books, that jibs on a highly tensioned forestay were not a good thing. I've read some things about Black Skimmer for example, that lead me to think that she had trouble getting through stays. Further, he seems to expect a large number of his sail designs to make heavy use of the engine and leave the sails for down wind work.

Your photos are very impressive and the unpeopled background looks very appealing.

[Stu Fyfe]

You're right about his thoughts on jibs. My mast only has running back stays. The jib is set flying with a wire in the luff. The running back stays keep the jib relatively tight and give more support to the mast.

[BillyBudd]

Stu,
Just because we need to share comments from Phil Bolger....

RE: Capsizing. Comment from Phil Bolger on Chebacco: "None have as far as I know." Nice to know that you too have not been over! We dug in the other day on some strong gusts and wife thought we might ease out the mains'l some (?...?) but we thought better of it and let her heel on over and race. Marvelous! Snug down on that chine. Watery rush.

RE: Jib. Comment from Phil Bolger on Chebacco w/ full sized jib: "Doesn't need it and don't much care for the idea." (unstayed mast, yet one that has a mast step at keel, is well braced at the deck, shims in place...) -- PCB does show an optional jib on plans--a very small one that is a bother and not effective. We're going to extend forward from bow a temporary broom stick with this jib on it, enough to clear the mast and see if windward pointing improves. Some have 3' bowsprit w/ jib. Unstayed masts holding, as far as I know. PCB did like the idea of a spinnaker, though.