32 
FOREST AND STREAM, 
. NOBSKA 
, Photo by J 
At 3:13 we had Nobska Light abeam (N. Y-z W.), dis- 
tant about two miles. The wind was then so light that 
we were barely holding our own against the tide. A 
bunch of eight steam yachts passed us at this point. 
Astern of us we could see fog rolling in, and there was- a 
good deal of it in Buzzard's Bay back of Naushon Island. 
We decided that if we could reach Tarpaulin Cove we 
would call it a day, so gybed our boom over to port and 
stood across the Sound. 
At 5 :30 P. M. we were quite close to the Naushon 
shore, and just west of Lackey's Bay. Here the wind 
grew very faint and the tide began to sweep us back, 
but by dint of perseverance we worked right in to the 
beach and caught the back current. With the aid of this 
we went ahead, though slowly. Tarpaulin Cove began to 
look so far away that we had supper while working past 
the Forbes' houses on Naushon, and just before a light 
S. W. wind brought in a thick fog at 7 :30 P. M. 
We now heard a great amount of whistling in addition 
to the fog bell at Tarpaulin Cove. One steamer in particu- 
lar seemed to be getting in very close. Suddenly her 
lights loomed up through the fog and we thought she 
would pile itp on top of us until we saw that she was 
at a standstill. We could not imagine what she was until 
we saw that she had a big sloop in to.w. Then we heard 
a voice from the steamer call to someone on the sloop, 
"Capt. Rhodes !" That, of course, identified the two as 
the Constitution and her steam tender the Satellite. We 
stood right inshore to pass ahead of them, and finally 
anchored in three fathoms of water at 8:35. 
There was a prodigious amount of bell ringing going 
on, showing that several other yachts were anchored. near I 
us, and before long some more drifted in arid anchored. 
I was amused by a conversation on one fairly large cut- ' 
ter that 'ranged in not far outside of us. As she shot up 
into the wind someone aft called out,' "Let go the anchor." 
A voice forward replied, "What, now?" 
"Yes, now!" from aft brought the ready response, "All 
right, in a minute !" 
How is that for yacht discipline a la the N. Y. Y. C. ? 
Wednesday, July 22. In the early morning there was a 
flat calm and thick haze. Anchored near us were the 
; cutters, Senta and Isolde, the sloop Volunteer, and the 
i8ft. knockabout Broncho. The owner of the latter kindly 
loaned me his tender in which to go ashore.. There is but 
one house at Tarpaulin-Cove, but one can buy almost 
anything there except fresh meat and vegetables. There 
is a well of excellent water behind the house, so I filled 
our water jugs, which was. my principal errand. 
'At 8 :22 we got under way. The wind at that time was 
light S. S. E., observation five milfes. As soon as we 
started the wind fell fiat, but a favoring eddy swept us 
out into the Sound, where we caught the first of the west- 
going tide. 
Shortly before nine o'clock the wind came in from the 
S. S. W. For an hour it was light and baffling. We 
passed the entrance to Robinson's Hole at 9 :45, and con- 
tinued along the shore of Pasque Island. 
We decided to go through Quick's Hole, both because 
• that route is the shorter one, and because we hoped to 
-find more wind in the lee of the islands. We entered the 
Hole at 10:15 and passed close aboard of the yawl Petrel, 
which was anchored just south of the red nun buoy. 
Quick's Hole is a wide passage with no obstructions. It, 
was the favorite approach of the whaling fleet to New 
Bedford. The only difiiculty is the tide, which, while not 
so strong as in Woods and Robinson's Holes, runs with 
strength — rather more swiftly than Hull Gut, for instance. 
We had a fair tide. I may be wrong, but it is my impres- 
sion that that very useful work, "Eldredge's Tide Book," 
is not right about the Quicks Hole current. I think it 
turns three hours before the current does oiT Gay Head. 
While passing through the Hole I smashed my smoked 
glasses, much to my sgfrow. They are a great saving on 
the eyes, especially during calm weather, when the water 
reflects the sun's. rays to. such an extent that one's eyeballs, 
are apt to become bloodshot unless protected. • 
We found a fine, south wind in the lee of Nashawena . . 
■Island, as we had expected, and the Ayaya began to step- 
along at a -four knot clipv . We kejpt close in to the beach, . - 
and obtained a- fine look 'at Nashawena harbor wTien we-' • 
passed it. Our- course (W. ^ ^K.'X'was between. ; Cuttvr 
hunk and Penikese Islands, thus . crossing/ the .edge of : • 
Cuttyhunk Roads (a fine place in which to. He in . axiy kind ; 
. of a southerly blow) v j The passage i?,^ , 
•plainly markeil .by; four spar", buoys,' ^ 
., of seventeen . feet. : .Going, thr9U^:|h:d^ met 
with a head tide, Grj; rnf)re'gro^^ lii' 
the Sound and the Bay the tidft was setting' id*f He west" 
LIGHT. 
M. B., Jr. ' 
ward, but it ran east between Cuttyhunk and Penikese 
Islands, as well as setting south up the Roads and out 
through Cantapitsit Channel, between Cuttyhunk and 
Nashawena. This back current was quite strong, al- 
though the moon was then only half way to the full. 
We passed the last of the four spar buoys at 11 123 and 
made our course W. by N. for Schuyler's Ledge buoy. 
Inside of us the weather was quite clear, and we could 
see Meershaum and Barney's Joy Points distinctly, al- 
though they were five and ' a ' half miles away from us. 
Outside' of us, however, it was quite thick, and the fog 
signal at Cuttyhunk Light was blowing strenuously. 
Some distance to the north and east of the lighthouse we 
could see another tower of about the 'same size. It looked 
like an abandoned lighthouse, but I knew that there was 
nothing of the kind on the island, and I was the more 
puzzled by it from the fact that it was not there when I 
last passed that side of Cuttyhunk in 1901. I learned sub- 
sequently that it is a monument erected in memory of 
Bartholomew Gosnold, who discovered the island in 1602, 
and who named the group of islands for Queen Elizabeth. 
The monument stands upon a little island in a pond and 
marks the spot where Gosnold erected a small fort or 
block-house. 
Over a smootlvsea we ran before the moderate S. S. E. 
breeze. At times we slipped along fast enough to make' 
the rope sling, which was holding up the centerboard, 
sing dismally, like an jEolian haiTa, -and at other moments, 
.when the breeze lightened, we would slow. -dowii to a 
three knot gait. Our course took us inside of the spar 
buoy on Ribbon Reef and outside of the :Hen anid 
Chickens Lightship. The haze gradually faded away and 
we began to see the New York Y. C. fleet far outside of 
us as it ran for the Brenton's Reef Lightship. We made 
out two of the 90~footers, but did not place the third for 
some time, until, we saw a boat that looked to be large 
enough, but whose topmast was either housed or carried 
away— presumably the latter. 
, . - The. Petre%,:which we had seen in Quicks Hole, over- 
hauled, a'nd passed to .leeward of us at 12 143 P. M. We 
"met a Buzzard's Bay 30-iooter and one or two smaller 
craft on our run across to West Island. The sun came 
out quite bright. 
We had the El isha Ledge can abeam at 2 P. M., passed 
Schuyler's Ledge twenty-six. minutes later, and . had 
Sakonnet Light abeam , at 2:29. The wind now . let up 
considerably, so that for a while we feared a flat calm* 
The speedy steam yacht Velthra (Mr. Bremer, of Man- 
chester, Mass., owiier), passed close under our lee at 3:15, 
and I could see a fellow on board of her pointing out the 
three red keys on our mainsail (emblematic of the 
Ayaya's first owners, the Keyes brothers) to a companion. 
I imagined he recognized the boat. This little episode 
seemed to bring us luck, for it was soon followed by re- 
newed vigor to the breeze and our iEolian harp resumed 
its discordant dirge. 
Passing inside of the Seal Rock buoy, we had the one 
on Brenton's Reef abeam at 3:58, and gybing over soon 
after that made for the bell on Butter Ball Rock (off 
Castle Hill). We passed this at 4:41, and; running in by 
the Dumplings continued on our way up the bay, despite 
the great temptation to run into Newport for a look at 
the fleet. . 
' The S. S. E. breeze had considerable weight to it by 
this time, and with the aid of a fair tide we were up with 
Bishop Rock bell buoy at 4:52 P. M. Nineteen minutes 
later the wind had become too much for whole sail, so we 
slacked away the mainsail and tied in two reefs as we ran 
along. This was none too much, and when the flaws 
struck us I was glad, for once, to have a weather runner. 
A black squall begati to make up in the west, back of 
Prudence Island, and the rest of the way to Bristol was 
a race to get in before the squall broke. We left Dyer 
Island to starboard and made a bee-line for Siren Light 
(off Hog Island), which we left to port at four minutes 
past six o'clock. The home stretch into Bristol was so 
nearly dead before the wind that we had to watch her 
sharply to prevent an unexpected gybe, but drove her for 
all we were worth. I finally went forward and dowsed 
the jib preparatory to getting the anchor ready. We car- 
ried the latter on the bow with one arm curved around 
the bitts to which -the anchor was secured by a lashing 
around the crown. Another strop from the ring to the 
stem head held the other end. The warp, which was 
always bent on, ready for use, was coiled just aft of the 
mast. A strop through the coil and around the mast pre- 
vented the former from sliding overboard. It was not a 
•Photfo -by' Willard B, Jackson^ Marblishjead. ■ . 
