So many ports, so little time. Sometimes it seems like we’ve been everywhere, but this morning we are cruising to a new place. Yay. As usual, I’m up with sun, excited about the impending trip to Hull Bay, but the XO is still lights out. I pull out the large frying pan and start cooking a rasher of bacon. Finally, I sense movement in the berth. Yeah, the aroma of bacon cooking gets me going too.
After breakfast we head out of Scituate Harbor, go north, and hang a left at the famous I Love You lighthouse. (So called because its flashing sequence is 1-4-3.)
The sun is strong and bright, the waves are small, and the wind negligible. We knock on wood at our good fortune. So far, the weather gods have smiled upon us.
The I Love You light.
We rarely rent a slip, but at the Sunset Bay Marina in Hull, Massachusetts, it’s our only option. When we get close, I hail them on channel 7, a nice lady answers and dispatches a gaggle of able-bodied children to guide us in. They have us tied up in no time, spring lines and everything. Very pro.
Ginger Lee is slipped.
It’s nice having a slip. For one thing, you can walk off your boat onto a dock. Also, we can have real electricity and not have to use battery power. Lastly, we can connect our boat to the town water system. That means taking a shower and washing the dishes with the water running, just like at home. Something we never do while anchored or on a mooring simply because Ginger Lee only holds 80 gallons of water.
But there is a downside to having a slip: the lack of privacy. People are always walking by, and other boats are very near. And they’re not always quiet. The boats, I mean. There is a tendency for boat owners to leave their air-conditioners on even when they’re not around. And then there’s the dreaded “Party Boat.” Every marina has a boat that the local slip owners gravitate to for some after hours drinking. I understand they’re just having fun, and I certainly have nothing against drinking, but sometimes it can get a little loud. We have the misfortune of being across the fairway from such a boat, and I have a feeling it’s going to be a nightly event. In their defense, they are not playing loud music, which surprises me, but they are whooping it up. Hopefully they’ll knock it off at a reasonable hour. Meanwhile, the XO and I retreat to the foredeck to watch an event this marina is well-known for.
The sun sets behind the Boston skyline.
