Onset Bay, Massachusetts

We were safely anchored last night, but we did not feel secure.  The wind shifted to the west and then the northwest as the night passed.  The baseline wind speed was 20-25 knots, but there were gusts up to 40. The wind howled in low tones and whistled in shrill notes, waking us up quite often.  Despite the fact that we were in a small salt pond with only one channel into it from the east, waves developed all around us and smacked against the sides of the hull.  The waves and wind shifted the boat around constantly so that it felt as if we were underway in the ocean as we lay awake, even as  we remained firmly anchored in the same spot.  

By morning, the wind had calmed considerably and the sun was winning out over the clouds.  By 11 a.m., the breeze was blowing at 17 knots from the west northwest, perfect for a beam reach.  The brightening sky was deceptive.  It was still quite cold, 44 degrees F accounting for the wind chill factor.  We bundled up.  I put on long underwear under jeans, socks, a heavy long-sleeved shirt, a hoodie, a fleece jacket, a baseball cap, a scarf and gloves, and my foul weather jacket, and I was still cold!  Peter, who usually is not as sensitive to temperature, had on layers himself and was not warm either.  Nevertheless, we hauled up the anchor, headed out through the channel and had the sails up within 20 minutes.  It was pretty much a straight shot northeast across Buzzards Bay.  The wind abated in the afternoon and the temperature rose to the mid-50's, and we were able to take out the two reefs in the mainsail.  By 2:30, we were anchored in Onset Bay near the head of Buzzards Bay (so named because the first colonists misidentified the abundant osprey population).  

Unfortunately, I was busy at the helm and didn't have time to photograph birds while we were underway, but we spotted flocks of buffleheads, cormorants, terns, gulls, teals and loons.  We didn't see any osprey, but we did find an osprey nest in an unusual place, on the deck of boat anchored and apparently abandoned in Onset Bay.  

Large osprey nest on a sailboat in Onset Bay

We took the dinghy into town.  Most of the restaurants and shops were closed for the season, just as they were on Block Island.  The yacht club was closed, as have been others we have passed the last couple of weeks.  They were taking up the mooring balls in Cuttyhunk Bay as we were leaving there this morning, in anticipation of storms and ice during the winter.  Even though businesses have closed for the season here, the mooring balls are still in place, and there are still quite a few day boats in the water.  We keep expecting to see fall foliage as we sail north, but we have only seen a few yellow-leaved trees, mostly in Mystic, Connecticut.  

After a late lunch/early dinner at the only place open in Onset, a place with acceptable food and lots of local color (not to mention Halloween decorations), we stopped at a little grocery to buy toilet paper because we were down to our next-to-last roll on board.  I will get provisions again in Boston, but I definitely need to do a major shopping trip to Costco before we leave the States in a few weeks.  

Halloween is coming!

There is a waterfront park in town with a bronze statue of a Native American woman looking out over the lovely beach and bay.  Across the street from the park are small hotels and inns.

Native American statue in Onset (Is she thinking, "This used to be our land and water?")

Waterfront hotel in Onset

We dinghied back to Mantra as the sun was setting.  We are holding off on turning on the generator and the space heater until closer to bed time.  I think we will sleep through the night.  The boat is only gently rocking, and the rigging is quiet. 

Sunset from our dinghy, Onset Bay