June 8                                    Sandwich, Massachusetts

As predicted, the weather was sunny and the winds were light as we began our voyage after a warm farewell from the shipyard personnel who had worked on our boat.  We promised to return and once again leave The Bottom Line in their care.

We were delighted to hear the quiet, steady hum of the powerful Detroit engines which power our boat.  All other systems were performing well and we happily exited Narragansett Bay and entered Buzzard’s Bay.  This was familiar territory to us as it leads through the canal up to Boston and Maine, a journey we had made many times in the past eight years.

After several hours of uneventful cruising, we passed the Massachusetts Maritime Institute and entered the Cape Cod Canal.  Opened in 1914, the fourteen-mile canal provides direct passage from the Atlantic Ocean to the inland bays that lead to New York.  It saves hundreds of miles in open ocean travel for many commercial and recreational vessels.  During WWII, it was important as a means of avoiding German U-Boats lurking in New England waters seeking to destroy American ships with supplies for European countries.  Today, the canal is carefully maintained by the U. S.  Army Corps of Engineers and is free to the many ships and boats that go through daily.

Sandwich Marina is a small facility located at the eastern end of the canal and provides a strategic stop before entering the ocean and going northward.  It also serves as a base for the Coast Guard.  We would have preferred to continue for several more hours but we had few options for marinas before Boston.  The 58’ length of our boat is too much for the marinas in the picturesque towns of Plymouth, Quincy, and Scituate.  Boston Harbor is a wonderful destination but the marinas are located a good distance from the ocean.  We would make a long trip to Portsmouth on Friday.

We listened to revised weather reports which predicted Friday would be rainy and windy.  We were disappointed as we were eager to continue and did not wish to spend a day in port.  The sunset was lingering and beautiful as we dined on the aft deck.