Back to Winthrop
Moorglade's Voyage
Ted Wilson
Mon 17 Sep 2012 04:09
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Our position is 42:22.116N
70:58.474W
Winthrop was a little deviation on our track down
to Plymouth, but I wanted to call in to see Ahmet and Daniel and give Kay
an opportunity to meet them, and it was also a good way for Kay to take a look
at Boston and meet up with her cousin Susan again. It also proved to be a safe
place to spend a stormy night.
The passage was short and uneventful. We
left Salem early heading out through the Marblehead Channel to the West of
Children's Island, but could see no evidence of an abandoned Parachute. The
wind was too light to sail, so the engine took us all the way. We were moored up
to the WYC buoy by midday, giving plenty of time for lunch and making plans
for the following day. We planned to take the ferry which runs from Winthrop
into downtown Boston, see the sights and then take the T (metro) up to Cambridge
for dinner with Susan. The forecast for Tuesday was not great,
deteriorating through the day to wet and windy by the evening, so we opted to
take Moorglade alongside their face dock at 16:00 when we joined Ahmet and
Daniel for drinks aboard their spacious 44 footer. We joined them again later
for a very pleasant dinner in the yacht club.
 Peachs Point, Marblehead
Channel
Passing a tow in the Boston north channel
 Deer Island Light in President Roads (turn right
here for
Winthrop)
Moorglade alongside at WYC dock.
Ideas of catching the 08:00 ferry were abandoned at
about 07:00 when the alarm went off. It was sensibly agreed that the next one at
11:30 would give adequate time for sightseeing and a pleasant lie in.
The 20 minute ferry ride was rather fun, nice for somebody else to worry about
which buoys to go round, if a little chilly on the top deck. Once in Boston we
did the freedom trail, a red brick line that takes you all round the old part of
town past all the buildings and monuments of interest
 The Old state house is dwarfed by the modern office
blocks.
 All the revolutionary figures get a statue I don't
think Sam Adams got a mention in Kirsty's blog which is a pity because not only
was he a key player in the lead up to the Revolutionary War but he also found
time to start a brewery. The obelisk commemorates the battle of
Bunkers Hill, which the Americans lost but as they put up a pretty good show
they felt quite pleased, and put up a monument. It proved to be a wise move as
it is now quite a tourist attraction for the slimmer
American.
 Bit of a climb up but the views are good from the
top. Pity the weather was so dull and the windows were rather scratched
Plexiglas which did not help the photos. This is a view over the
USS Constitution and Boston harbour.
By the time we left Bunkers Hill it was starting to
rain so we took the metro back into town and
caught a connection out to Cambridge. We chose the Harvard Yard Station so we
could have a look round. We popped into the University bookshop "The Coop" to
buy a book and as the cafe looked good we stopped for tea and cake. It seemed to
be a popular place for students to work.
Harvard Yard, the university campus, was a
very pleasant place to wander round. Unfortunately it was threatening rain and
when it really started we curtailed our stroll and headed for cover. One
of the museums was our first thought but as it was already 4:50 and they close
at 5:00 it seemed a better plan to head for the bar where we were meeting Susan
and have an early drink.
 There was plenty of ivy on some of the other
buildings
 The inscription says John Harvard founder of
the university in 1638 but it is know as the statue of the three lies as, he did
not found the university, the figure was not modelled on Harvard as there is no
record of what he looked like and the university was founded in 1636. The route
to the bar took us through a little park where we came across this tree,
under which Washington first took control of the American army. It did not seem
much of a tree to have been around for 287 years.
We made it to the restaurant without getting too
wet and we only had time for one drink before Susan arrived from work. The
excellent food and Susan's company made the evening a particularly pleasant one.
Susan drove us back to Winthrop and when we arrived the wind was starting to
blow and the waves were building so we were pleased not to have a dinghy
ride.
Moorglade was snatching at her warps and as the
yacht in front of us had left during the day I could now set up a very long bow
warp which helped a lot. As usual on a bad night people came and went in
waterproofs attending to their warps and fenders. Not long after we were
aboard it rained hard and blew up to a gale. The wind was on our bow but
unfortunately that direction gives a four mile fetch across the harbour so the
waves were big and steep giving us and the rest of the marina a rough ride,
making sleep difficult until it started to calm down in the early hours of the
morning.
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