One of our desires for the boat was to anchor up at Fiesta to watch the Greasy Pole.
I mean, right???
Our good friend Mac Bell told us we could tie Tri-oomph up at his dock in the harbor for a week, so we planned to sail over on the last day of the Greasy Pole and leave her there until the 4th of July for optimal firework viewing.
We made a concerted effort to take all of our friends out on the boat at some point over the summer, and due to the fact that we can only comfortably seat 4-5 under sail we had to do it in very small chunks. Cody called up his friend and erstwhile tree climbing boss Doug to accompany us on our trip around the island that morning. Doug was game, it looked like a beautiful day, so we loaded up and headed out.
We had some decent wind heading up towards Rockport, but as we came around the corner the wind died down and the waves started rolling in. Rolling. Rolling. Up. Down. Up. Down. Umm, I may have been mildly hungover. It's possible. Whether due to that in combination with the waves or the motion of the boat itself, I got seasick. So very seasick. Couple that with nearly nonexistent wind and I spent about 3 hours puking off the bow of the ship. I was so happy that Doug had come along, because he was able to chat with Cody and help him with the boat. I was completely incapacitated. We ended up having to motor the last hour or so because we weren't moving. As we pulled into the harbor I tried to right myself and help us get to the dock space, which was so tight that we had to fold up our outside outrigger to fit into it.
Once off the boat I implored Cody to call a taxi, but instead he called our friend Josh who came to get us right away. I sat on the street corner racked with dry heaves and wishing I'd never heard of Gloucester for a half hour while Josh got stuck up in Fiesta related traffic at the rotary. The salvation I'd thought would come as soon as I got off the boat was nowhere to be found. Ugh. Finally we made it home, and on Doug's advice I drank some Alka Seltzer. Oh my god, you guys, Alka Seltzer is the shit. In the space of 20 minutes I went from nearly catatonic to ready to head back out to watch some Greasy Pole! Seasickness is no joke.
Cody and I had told our friends to meet us at the dock if they wanted to head out to watch the Pole, and when we arrived we had a party crew waiting for us. I think we might have had 10 people on board? It was crowded, but we found a good vantage point to watch, and my friend Kurt, a Gloucester native, hollered at anyone who tried to anchor in front of us with enough drunken belligerence that they moved on. After the greasy pole we tied up to Andrew and Jenny's boat and grilled some dinner. This is what boating life is all about.
Gloucester from the water.
Epic tie up.
Unloading wet cushions and empty beer cans.
I felt anxious leaving Tri-oomph anchored downtown, but I had to come back out the next morning to clean up from the party so I'd be able to check on her. It was really cool hanging out, cleaning my boat while people were tearing down the Fiesta decorations on that foggy Monday morning, and while fishing boats unloaded on nearby docks. It made me feel like I'd gotten my Gloucester members card, finally. Between the guests, the booze, and the sail over we'd managed to get beer and salt water all over the floor and upholstery in the cabin, so getting her spotless again took some time.
She sat on the dock for the next couple days with no problem, except for an incredibly gross brown stain that formed all along at the waterline. Harbor water. Don't swim in it. On the evening of the 4th of July we motored Tri-oomph about as close to the fireworks as the Coast Guard would let us, ate some dinner, and watched from the best seat in the house. We decided to just anchor in the harbor for the night, which makes for a rough night and morning getting bounced around by all the wake. But there is no where better to wake up then on our boat, so we arose in good spirits and enjoyed our morning in the harbor.
We decided to bring her home that day, and debated between trying to motor through the cut bridge or sail around. The wind seemed good and we had just missed the tide for going through the cut, so we opted to sail. I'm not quite sure what wind we were feeling in the harbor, but once we got outside there wasn't much to speak of. And, we didn't have a full tank of fuel. And, it was really hot out, and we didn't have much food or water. Baking in the sun with no wind made me think longingly of that terrifying wind from several weeks prior. It took us over 6 hours to weakly sail, and sparingly motor, around to Crane's Beach. We knew Tucker and a whole armada of people were there and we'd be able to get some fuel from Tuck to finish our motor home. Then we missed the tide and had to leave Tri-oomph at Conomo Point. C'est la vie. The lesson here is that it is incredibly difficult to estimate time en route on a sailboat. Too many variables.
But! We'd made it around the island and home, we'd partied at Fiesta, and we'd watched the 4th of July fireworks from our boat. The hiccups are just part of the ride.
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