Planning a trip: Boston to Cape Cod Bay

[charlg]

My wife and I are going to take a 3 or 4 day trip to the Bay side of Cape Cod. We have never vacationed on the boat before and are looking for some marinas that have nice facilities, restaurants, and coffee. It's going to be strange not to have a car, and I suspect that the boat will get small real fast after a couple of days, especially with our 2 year old. My thought was to go Sesuit Harbor, then Wellfleet, and P-Town. Any thoughts and suggestions?

 

[CSR_Admin]

I cruise the cape and islands every year. Never made it to the Bay Side though. I'm based out of Cotuit on the Vineyard side. I hope you have a good trip. It sure is fun around there with all the Sandy beaches and quaint little towns.

 

[Sea Gull]

Of the harbors you mention (I assume you mean Scituate not "sesuit") I have only been to Provincetown. There is really only one marina in P-town but you can also get a mooring or anchor out along the beach. Your 2 year old is too young to notice the overt adult sexual atmosphere, but I would hesitate to bring 4-14 year olds unless you are prepared to explain why those two men were holding hands and why one of them had pierced nipples. Other than that it is a great town with friendly people, lots of shops and restaurants and some of the best beaches in the world.

Another harbor you might consider is Plymouth. Here, your 2 year old is too young to enjoy the history of the place, but it's a nice town with stuff to do.

Cape Cod Bay can be challenging at times. You may encounter fog, heavy seas and an occasional whale. Keep an eye on the weather on the days you will be crossing the bay.

 

[ChuckW]

It's a great cruise. You'll enjoy. Sesuit is very quaint (Scituate is, too) but they are miles apart.

Based upon those ports (which are great), I assume you are planing a coastal route and not crossing the bay. You'll be fine, plenty of places to run for cover if the weather kicks up. Just put a few extra waypoints on your plotter in case. Barnstable Harbor, Plymouth Harbor, etc.

The Brewster flats is a great beach area, too. Steer clear of the Billings Gate Shoals around Wellfleet.

Marinas.com will provide excellent aerial photos of your destinations. I also use marinalife.com and the atlanticcruisingclub.com for reviews and other details on the marinas.

 

[bport]

I can only comment on P-town, but we make the trip from Gloucester down there regularly. Great restaurants and the entertainment is free (people watching, as long as you are open minded). It is tough to get a slip but the mooring field is large and usually has availability. There is a launch that runs until about midnight if you don't have a dinghy. I have had some bumpy nights on the mooring...if you are sensitive to it, you may want to check the forecast. Winds from the Southwest create the swells as I recall.

 

[charlg]

All great advise. I keep hearing a lot about Plymouth. What are the marinas like? Is there one that is better than the rest?

 

[Sea Gull]

I learned something today. I used to live in the Boston area and have been cruising Cape Cod Bay for decades, but I never knew there was a Sesuit, MA much less a small harbor there.

In Plymouth, we like to stay at Brewers.

 

[charlg]

I learned something today. I used to live in the Boston area and have been cruising Cape Cod Bay for decades, but I never knew there was a Sesuit, MA much less a small harbor there.

In Plymouth, we like to stay at Brewers.

Actually, it's Sesuit harbor in E. Dennis. I'll see if Brewers has a web site.

 

[Sea Gull]

byy.com

 

[JV II]

Make sure you have charts and GPS. There are rocks and shoals close to shore most of the ride down the coast from Boston. This is especially true around Cohasset, Scituate and Plymouth. Call ahead and book all of your slips at marinas. It is worth the extra expense over a mooring to be able to step right off and use their showers and shore power. From Boston Harbor go to Scituate, then Plymouth. Scituate breaks up that trip nicely and offers a lot to do onshore. The Scituate Harbor Marina is okay. A bit of a walk to town. You may be able to catch a fair in town. Then go onto Plymouth and stay at Brewers. If it is a nice day you can first stop in the North River and beach it on the spit. Brewers Plymouth Marine and Plymouth Harbor are my favorite destination. Lots to do in town. Large cement docks. Friendly staff and dock neighbors. Nice restaurant at the marina. Nice facilities. Right in town. You may want to stay there 2 nights. Plymouth is an easy and quick shot to P-town. Much shorter than Boston.

 

[charlieft]

Make sure you have charts and GPS. There are rocks and shoals close to shore most of the ride down the coast from Boston. This is especially true around Cohasset, Scituate and Plymouth. Call ahead and book all of your slips at marinas. It is worth the extra expense over a mooring to be able to step right off and use their showers and shore power. From Boston Harbor go to Scituate, then Plymouth. Scituate breaks up that trip nicely and offers a lot to do onshore. The Scituate Harbor Marina is okay. A bit of a walk to town. You may be able to catch a fair in town. Then go onto Plymouth and stay at Brewers. If it is a nice day you can first stop in the North River and beach it on the spit. Brewers Plymoouth Marine and Plymouth Harbor are my favorite destination. Lots to do in town. Large cement docks. Friendly staff and dock neighbors. Nice restaurant at the marina. Nice facilities. Right in town. You may want to stay there 2 nights. Plymouth is an easy and quick shot to P-town. Much shorter than Boston.

ditto ... I agree 100% with JV's comments.

 

[charlg]

Well we made the trip, our first big trip. It was interesting. The ride down took only 3 1/2 hours and the seas were calm. Once there, we decided to find a beach. However, the wind, current, and sand, were not cooperating. I couldn't get the anchor to hol and we almost blew into other boats. After a few tries, I gave up and left. So we got to the marina, Sanwich Marina in the Canal, got something to eat and decided to turn in early. We didn't get much rest though, the dock neighbor's kids were playing and singing on the dock outside of my boat until midnight.

The next day we woke to black threatening skies, but headed out to find a nice harbor to spend the day. We ended up at Barnstable Harbor, but could not relax. The skies were getting worse. Finally, we decided to head back and as soon as we hit the big water, it started to downpour. I did my best to try to outrun it (@ 38 mph), but no luck. So, we spent the rest of the day and night listening to the rain....no kids though.

In the morning the skies still looked bad, so we decided to go home. We hit 4'++ seas the whole way back! The boat handled it very well though. Kind of a bummer for our first trip.

Oh, did I mention that the toilet got clogged on the last night and I decided to wait until we got back to fix it. Well, 4' seas and a clogged toilet.....you get the picture. Yuck!

We'll be trying it again in a couple of weeks.

 

[ChuckW]

As long as everyone got back safe and sound, it was a great success. Besides, just think how much you'll enjoy that trip one day where the weather and seas are perfect the whole time?

Cheers,

 

[out-n-aboat]

What beach did you go to first? It sounds like Sandy Neck Beach in Barnstable. I use two anchors there. One of the bow, one of the stearn. Keeps the boat from swinging. I also take the anchor off the bow and dig it into the beach manuauly.

 

[charlg]

What beach did you go to first? It sounds like Sandy Neck Beach in Barnstable. I use two anchors there. One of the bow, one of the stearn. Keeps the boat from swinging. I also take the anchor off the bow and dig it into the beach manuauly.

Yes. It was Sandy Neck. I tried to drop anchor off the bow and back in.

Do you go in bow first?