Marion.....Just As You Imagine a Cape Cod Town
Zarafina
Melvyn Brown
Wed 29 Sep 2010 20:58
We left Sandwich at noon yesterday (28th). The journey consisted 10 miles of Cape Cod Canal (about as wide as the Thames in London) and 4 miles of open sea which threatened to be "choppy". Melv felt an hour of sea-sickness ought to be do-able (there speaks someone who has NEVER experienced it), and couldn't understand my apprehension. The weather forecast also included rain and thunderstorms (oh joy!) and so we went to the Marine Store to purchase wet-weather gear for me. I now have a natty pair of trousers (black) and anorak (red) - my suggestion they really ought to be co-ordinated was treated with scorn by both Melv and the shop assistant. I'm not sure I'll ever get used to the feel of rubber next to my skin.....!
There are three bridges, two road and one railway. The two road bridges are high enough to permit the tallest of masts through but the rail bridge has to be lifted! There are towers either side and some sort of mechanism inside which lifts the railway up out of the way. See photograph of one of the towers. The railway bridge marked the end of the Cape Cod Canal and the real sea, with real waves (sailors note: 4/5 with nasty shore choppy seas). However I was better prepared this time. In the morning I had been to the pharmacy and asked them to recommend some potent sea-sickness pills, but ones which wouldn't make me too drowsy and unable to fulfil my duties as Crew. I took the maximum dose an hour before we left and I have to say they worked! Well the bit about stopping sea sickness, however the drowsiness overcame me even while we were sailing and I slept for nearly 12hrs last night. We couldn't get a place in the marina at Marion and so we are out in the harbour on a mooring. The boat yard is busy bringing luxury yachts in off their moorings and lifting them out of the water for the winter. If we want to get on shore we can radio for a launch to come and pick us up, but only up until 16.15hrs. This afternoon we rowed ashore in the dinghy. The choice was to sit precariously on the front and be rowed, or rapidly learn to row and get to sit on the only seat. Coming back I opted for the later (as being marginally less precarious) but suggested we paddled - rather than rowed - and I think that was a much more sensible way of doing things. We bought one or two things from Marion General Store - a wooden clad building which was just as out-of-date inside as outside with the most ecclectic range of goods. Melv said it reminded him of Lytchett PostOffice - there was even an Effie look-a-like slicing ham!
Bad winds (30-40) are forecast for late tomorrow morning and as the next leg is an all-day trip we are stuck here until Friday - possibly even Saturday. Next stop is Conanicut.
Anne (Crew)