I've been checking out the geography on Google Earth. I'll be traveling from Boston next season through Woods Hole. Can anyone tell me which way the current flows through Woods Hole? West to East or East to West on an outgoing tide? Are there any opposing currents or trouble spots? Do the cans get submerged in the current? Is that Middle Ledge well marked? What time of the tide is the most difficult/dangerous? Is the 5 mile ride to Vineyard Haven in August ever a scary ride?
Wood's Hole
- Thread starter JV II
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Sea Gull
Well-Known Member
Mike,
Go the the store and get a copy of Eldridge for 2008. You will find all of the information you need in that small book. No East coat boater should be without it. You can also buy more detailed and larger scale current charts, but Eldridge will work fine for your purposes.
Go the the store and get a copy of Eldridge for 2008. You will find all of the information you need in that small book. No East coat boater should be without it. You can also buy more detailed and larger scale current charts, but Eldridge will work fine for your purposes.
Sea Gull
Well-Known Member
Out and in are really irrelevant for your purposes. At any given spot you might say the the tide is coming in until the time of high tide and the the tide is going out until low tide. Ebb and Flood are more correct ways to describe the water movement, but you have to know which way the water is moving for each. In this part of the world there are two high tides per day. In Boston you have a pretty good change in tide height between high and low, (at around 8-10 feet) but in other places the change is much less (Falmouth, for example is only 1-2 feet).
In Woods Hole, Flood current is a Southeasterly flow and Ebb current is in a Northwest direction.
In Woods Hole, Flood current is a Southeasterly flow and Ebb current is in a Northwest direction.
Thank you for the info. I will definitely add Eldridge to my Christmas list and winter reading. Got to picture on the eb and flood through Woods Hole. I don't want to fight the current through the canal and burn a half tank of gas, so I'll idle through on the eb tide. I should time it so I'm at slack tide or flood tide by the time I reach Wood's Hole. I'll do the reverse on the way home.
Now what about those channel markers? I've seen them go under in other inlets and it is pretty scary if you don't know where they are. And that Middle Ledge? The ride across the sound?
Now what about those channel markers? I've seen them go under in other inlets and it is pretty scary if you don't know where they are. And that Middle Ledge? The ride across the sound?
Amberjack01
Member
to be honest, I would be more concerned about the tide in the canal than through Woods Hole. The cans don't go under in the Hole and even though the >< configuration of the Hole can be a little confusing to a new-comer, assuming you have a decent chart plotter and a good paper chart you'll do fine. Oppose the tide in the canal and your in for a long, fuel burning ride. Oppose it through the Hole and you'll still be through in 3-4 minutes. The worst "seas" I've ever seen in the Hole are the wakes from some of the boats that go through it (like the fast ferry from New Bedford!). Re:Falmouth to Vineyard Haven: unless it is really roaring that usually isn't too bad a ride even in the afternoon. Plus, you'll now what it's like within 3 or 4 minutes east of Woods Hole and can always peel off and head into Falmouth
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Mike,
The above posts are on 100% with the tide info and I too have never seen any of the channel markers under water. However, I would not take it lightly! Study the charts before you just run through threre with your chart plotter. I have seen more than one boat cut the wrong side of a marker and hit the rocks. At least one of the markers is placed right on top of the rocks. So study, have a plan, and dont deviate from it.
Phil
The above posts are on 100% with the tide info and I too have never seen any of the channel markers under water. However, I would not take it lightly! Study the charts before you just run through threre with your chart plotter. I have seen more than one boat cut the wrong side of a marker and hit the rocks. At least one of the markers is placed right on top of the rocks. So study, have a plan, and dont deviate from it.
Phil
charlieft
Member
The Wood's Hole channel can be a very confusing passage. The first time I went through I started to pass on the wrong side of the channel markers. The markers seem to be backwards because you are passing from a "bay" to a "sound". Since you are leaving the bay you keep the red marker to your left ... this seems wrong since you are going from Buzzard's Bay into the Wood's Hole channel. There can also be a 3 to 4 knot current ... to me this is much worse than the cape cod canal. There can be a strong current in the canal, but it's a straight shot so it's much easier to keep it between the lines. The Wood's Hole channel has the current, backwards buoys, more rocks, and a few dog's legs to follow. The canal is patrolled also, so most people keep their wake's down ... like someone else said, there are usually hotshots blasting through the Wood's Hole channel throwing up big wakes.
The ride over to the Vineyard can be uncomfortable too. The waves always seem to be confused ... coming from all directions so it's tough to have a smooth ride.
(That said ... I'm sure we'll be going back sometime this year)
-Charlie
The ride over to the Vineyard can be uncomfortable too. The waves always seem to be confused ... coming from all directions so it's tough to have a smooth ride.
(That said ... I'm sure we'll be going back sometime this year)
-Charlie
steve mac
New Member
I agree with charlieft.
It is confusing going through Woods Hole. Much more so than the CC Canal. I keep my boat in Buzzards Bay in Falmouth, so I run over to the Vineyard or Nantucket every other weekend during the summer and need to go through Woods Hole everytime to get to either.
From Boston, it should take you about 5 - 7 hours to get to Nantucket - IF you don't need to stop (for fuel or anything). A friend of mine keeps his 30 ft Cruisers in Boston Harbor and I have done the trip from Boston to Nantucket several times on his boat and I have had him travel down to Falmouth and then he follows me over to Nantucket. Possibly the best stop for fuel (gas or deisel) is at the West end of the CC Canal - a place called Pt Independance Yacht Club in Wareham. It will be to starboard just after you pass the Mass Maritime Academy. The prices are the cheapest around the area. Certainly much, much less than Nantucket prices.
It is a really great trip and I'm sure you'll have a blast in Nantucket. With that said, Buzzards Bay can get pretty rough if there is a SW wind, so you should plan to get through Buzzards Bay and Woods Hole early in the day (before the wind picks up).
It is confusing going through Woods Hole. Much more so than the CC Canal. I keep my boat in Buzzards Bay in Falmouth, so I run over to the Vineyard or Nantucket every other weekend during the summer and need to go through Woods Hole everytime to get to either.
From Boston, it should take you about 5 - 7 hours to get to Nantucket - IF you don't need to stop (for fuel or anything). A friend of mine keeps his 30 ft Cruisers in Boston Harbor and I have done the trip from Boston to Nantucket several times on his boat and I have had him travel down to Falmouth and then he follows me over to Nantucket. Possibly the best stop for fuel (gas or deisel) is at the West end of the CC Canal - a place called Pt Independance Yacht Club in Wareham. It will be to starboard just after you pass the Mass Maritime Academy. The prices are the cheapest around the area. Certainly much, much less than Nantucket prices.
It is a really great trip and I'm sure you'll have a blast in Nantucket. With that said, Buzzards Bay can get pretty rough if there is a SW wind, so you should plan to get through Buzzards Bay and Woods Hole early in the day (before the wind picks up).
I bought my Embassy Guide and Richardsons charts at the boat show today at a nice discount. Together, I am cracking the code to getting from Boston to Nantucket. I was surprised about all the shoals way offshore and that you have to keep so far away from the island in the Main Channel to avoid the shoals of Hawes, Long, Shovelful, and Tuckernuck. I guess the currents can get the water standing up in those shallows. Makes more sense to stay in close to avoid heavier seas until you see the charts.