SAILING LIFE in NANTUCKET on our Seawind 1600 Catamaran - The good + The Bad | Harbors Unknown Ep 36
We left the mooring in Jamestown planning to sail our Seawind 1600 catamaran 60 nautical miles to Nantucket. Little did we know Newport wasn’t quite ready to see us go. The fog blanketed the bay so densely we could barely see in front of the boat. So we turned around and gave it a go the next day. Our patience paid off, and we had a beautiful sail to the picture perfect island off the Massachusetts coast. That's the epitome of sailing life. It can be the best of times but also the worst of times. Life at sea isn't always a dream but in the end it's worth it.
Just 14 miles long and 3 and a half miles wide, Nantucket is known for a charming historic downtown, picturesque beaches, grey cedar shingle buildings flanked by spectacular hydrangeas and of course its reputation as a former whaling port. We sailed through Vineyard Sound, the stretch of the Atlantic Ocean which separates the Elizabeth Islands and the southwestern part of Cape Cod from Martha's Vineyard. As we moved further east and south the body of water turned into Nantucket Sound, a triangular area roughly 30 miles long and 25 miles wide. The Sound is located at a confluence of the cold Labrador Currents and the warm Gulf Stream. This creates a unique coastal habitat representing the southern range for Northern Atlantic species and the northern range for Mid-Atlantic species.
Before we knew it, we were approaching the Nantucket Harbor channel, which is surprisingly narrow. Grey cedar shingle homes lined the shore and the cutest lighthouse I had ever seen welcomed us to this New England oasis. In Nantucket Harbor you’ll find the Nantucket Boat Basin marina running the dock slips, and Nantucket Moorings renting 125 mooring balls. We’ve heard both need to be reserved in March for the summer months. We anchored right outside the mooring field and held just fine for about 5 days after which we dragged about 50 feet, but we think a boat that came in for the day pulled our anchor a bit causing us to move.
There is so much to do on Nantucket but we wanted to take it easy and opted to stroll around the historic downtown admiring the shops, architecture and landscaping. Other activities people enjoy are renting bikes to explore the island, soaking up sun on one of the many beaches, heading out to Sconset and meandering down the bluff walk, grabbing a beer and enjoying live music at Cisco brewery, perusing the whimsical art galleries, buying island grown fresh fruit and veggies at Bartlett’s Farm and visiting the whaling museum. We partook in a few of these activities which we’ll share in upcoming episodes. Thanks for checking out this episode! If you enjoyed it be sure to head over to YouTube, give it a thumbs up and let us know what your favorite thing to do in Nantucket is in the comments.