Today we had three lovely ladies and their pooches onboard for a day trip to Cuttyhunk. We started at about 10am in Dartmouth with light winds and overcast conditions. We motored out to Buzzards Bay at which point the wind was strong enough to propel us at a comfortable 6 knots. A little less than two hours later we took the sails down and motored into picturesque Cuttyhunk. Once anchored, we had a snack on board and then took the tender in to shore. The ladies took their time exporing the water front area and we place an order at the lobster shack for an early fresh lobster dinner. Little did the ladies know, the lobsters we were going to eat that afternoon were still in the ocean. We then headed out for a walk and the ladies enjoyed our brief history lesson of the island as we climbed the great hill to the overlook above the island. At one point this overlook was a site where islanders would watch out for passing ships and then signal to their family members down below to set lanterns and fires down below on the beaches to confuse captains into running aground on the shoals surrounding the island. The islanders would then race to the rescue and salvage the wrecked ships and save the crew for a fee.

By this point the day had become nice and sunny. We were able to take beautiful photos showing the great 360 degree water views from the top of the island. We then walked down the hill to a rocky ocean beach filled with driftwood. One of the ladies is a crafter and was very excited to sort through and collect some of the driftwood for her artwork. We stopped at a booth selling art and then at the islands gift shop. We then walked back to the harbor area and were served the freshest lobster dinner you can have in New England. We watched as the lobsterman plucked the crustaceans he had caught earlier that morning from small bins he keeps in the harbor right in front of us. Twenty minutes later, we enjoyed a lobster, linguica, potato and onion dinner on a picnic table overlooking the harbor.

The return trip to Dartmouth was under sail and filled with good conversation. We were blessed with a great sunset as we approached Dartmouth. We know the ladies and their pooches had a great time and we hope to have them all back again next summer.