M/V MAERIN

Provincetown is known as the Key West of the north. Having been to Key West, I can vouch for the comparison. Smaller old homes are stacked one against another facing narrow streets filled with wandering tourists and shops of every stripe. Oh, and the rainbow stripes. Rainbow flags, rainbow stickers, rainbow bunting under windows. Very bohemian, but a very relaxed atmosphere. We decided to spend a day in Provincetown to explore and perhaps avoid some rather windy weather that was predicted.

Jared enjoyed doing some fishing on the cruise to P-Town, and was successful in landing a fair-sized sea gull, which we decided to catch and release. Seems the gull just couldn’t resist that lure flashing just under the surface! We arrived in the harbor at 1712, and picked up a mooring for two nights, just between the breakwater and the pier. Not a bad location just a short dinghy hop to shore. We visited the Pilgrim Monument, and took advantage of the sparkling clear skies to take in the view from the top of the tower. Lots of stairs!

Constructed of granite, the tower is an impressive monument to the pilgrims who landed in Provincetown. Lots of history, and homes dating back to the 1600’s. There is a small fishing fleet remaining, but most of the town is given over to tourists. This is “off season” as we’ve discovered along most of the New England coast. Labor Day seems to be a line of demarcation. As a result, our choices are improved, and costs are lower! Our weather was clear, but also quite windy as predicted, with winds into the 20-25 kt range, so our decision to stay paid off. We enjoyed a lunch out of oysters on the half shell and lobster toasties and a beer. The harbor is a beehive of activity with all sorts of watercraft moving about from kayaks to high speed Boston ferries.

We decided to head out Thursday morning, and after consulting crusing guides and tide and current tables, determined that we would need to be underway by oh-dark thirty to enable us to transit the Cape Cod Canal on a favorable tide, so we raised the dink after our return from the evening shore leave for the pups and ice cream sampler for the humans, and set alarms before heading to the rack.