Provincetown

[Jjk2783]

Hi all, Last year was my first year in the "cruising" world as I purchased my Island Packet 31. I spent the season close to shore learning some of the ins and the outs of the boat. This summer I am going to be bit more adventurous with one of my planned trips going to Provincetown from either Hull or Scituate MA. (perhaps even Green Harbor). I have made the trip a number of times on power boats. However would you have any advice/precautions etc. for my first time sail? JJK

[SVAndante9]

Pick your weather and don't be on a schedule. If you have time, head through the Cape Cod Canal (time it with the current) and explore the incredible harbors of southern Cape Cod. If you don't have much time, just going to Cuttyhunk and Hadley Harbour are great stops. That being said Provincetown is quite a trip (I mean that in the spectacle way vs. difficult journey way).

[gunnado]

Carefully pick your weather. Watch it every day until you depart on the perfect forecast.

Prepare your boat to the best of your ability.

Expect the worst

Then it should be a perfect sail with the odds in your favour

[Jjk2783]

Originally Posted by SVAndante9

Pick your weather and don't be on a schedule. If you have time, head through the Cape Cod Canal (time it with the current) and explore the incredible harbors of southern Cape Cod. If you don't have much time, just going to Cuttyhunk and Hadley Harbour are great stops. That being said Provincetown is quite a trip (I mean that in the spectacle way vs. difficult journey way).

Thank you. My home port is a straight shot across the bay to Ptown... Seen the spectacle many times. Later in the summer I plan to head through the canal and maybe head over to Vineyard Haven.

I anticipate that the return forecast may be more an issue with the prevailing southwest wind building which would be more on my nose... Thoughts???

JJK

[Jjk2783]

Originally Posted by gunnado

Carefully pick your weather. Watch it every day until you depart on the perfect forecast.

Prepare your boat to the best of your ability.

Expect the worst

Then it should be a perfect sail with the odds in your favour

Thank you.

[Krogensailor]

If you go "cruising" in P town, be sure to wear your foul weather gear

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Jjk2783

Hi all, Last year was my first year in the "cruising" world as I purchased my Island Packet 31. I spent the season close to shore learning some of the ins and the outs of the boat. This summer I am going to be bit more adventurous with one of my planned trips going to Provincetown from either Hull or Scituate MA. (perhaps even Green Harbor). I have made the trip a number of times on power boats. However would you have any advice/precautions etc. for my first time sail? JJK

Watch for tides going against the wind when approaching the race point and the long shore stench till you made the turn. Don't get in too close to the shore as the depth comes up fast and if wind/tide counter current it will get bumpy.

At the same if the conditions are calm and you hung the shore line during low tide there are sometimes a good dolphin show.

[Cormorant]

Easy trip as long as it's not blowing a gale. With luck you'll beam reach both ways.

P-town is a great anchorage and a wonderful town. Our family sails there every year and it's one of our favorite destinations.

Watch for whales!

[smaarch]

did this last summer. coming out of the Cape Cod Canal it was a straight line. The marina moorings are close together. Assuming you are heading to the marina, just be comfortable in close quarters. There's room but it's the tightest mooring field anywhere i've ever been. You can raise the launch operator on the radio and they will meet you at the entrance and "walk" you to your mooring.

[tartansail]

We kept our previous boat in Hull. The trip to P'town was one of our favorite weekend jaunts. If you're further down the coast, it's an easy shot. There's a good anchorage inside the point though it shoals quickly so just pay attention to your sounder. It's a longer dinghy ride to town than picking up a mooring, but the swimming is very nice along the inside beach.

As others have said, it's always good to pay attention to the forecast. It's no fun having a squall line come through in the middle of the bay. As you probably found out last year, the afternoon southwest wind comes up pretty quickly early in the season, but it's nothing your IP will worry about.

Enjoy the trip.

[Krogensailor]

IF YOU GO "CRUISING" IN P TOWN, BE SURE TO WEAR YOUR FOUL WEATHER GEAR!!

[Jjk2783]

Originally Posted by Krogensailor

IF YOU GO "CRUISING" IN P TOWN, BE SURE TO WEAR YOUR FOUL WEATHER GEAR!!

C'mon man... Got it the first time

[Noreastern]

Cruising New England to me presents three potential challenges in my opinion. Wind alone is not one of them. Forecasts are pretty good up to three days. Sure a stray squall or slightly higher then predicted winds do happen but nothing a good weather eye and fast reefing can not handle. The three things I worry about are fog, current against wind causing standing waves and lobster pots in that order. With all three expect the unsuspected, they can all happen fast and without warning.

For example, transiting Cape Cod Canal from Plymouth to Onset on a beautiful summer day we decided to tow our Dyer dink instead of hauling it on deck because we were only motoring thru the canal and anchoring just outside the southern end. Wind was southwestern at about 18 knots and we were moving thru the canal at about 10 knots with the current. When we got to the channel leading to Buzzards Bay we were seeing 8 foot standing waves coming down the channel with rock jetties on both sides! I did not think the dingy would stay upright and knew we would have to cut it away if it went over. We also prayed the engine kept running because we had no sail up and those jetties where very close.

Another example, transiting Watch Hill passage with decent visibility using line of sight with navigation marks fog rolled in within minutes giving us less then 50 feet visibility. It was a scary few minutes before we had the GPS tracking and radar in transmit.

Lobster pots? We have a full keel with propeller in cutout in keel and keel hung rudder. We have still managed to tangle with three, one having to dive under boat to get free.

[barboak]

Great trip, enjoy! We have done it many times from Gloucester before heading to the Caribbean 10 years ago. Coming from the south shore should be straight forward though if the tide is running out it takes longer than you think to get all the way into town from the sea buoy

[JK n Smitty]

You got some good advice already, so I won't repeat it. Check out activecaptain.com for some advice on anchoraging, moorings and slips.

Definitely leave from scituate. Much easier course. We keep our boat in Hingham and view Scituate as the best place to leave from. About 8-10 hours to get across. Leave a little before dawn (5-5:30 in the summer).

From your area some other good local cruising sites are World's End in Hingham, Cape Anne and Gloucester (definitely go up the Annisquam) and Cuttyhunk and the Vineyard for longer trips.

Good luck and fair winds,

Jesse