After Friday’s big gunkhole with about 35 of our closest friends from the Bay Club rafting at Lake Tashmoo, Mrs. Horne and I needed a quiet day on Vigilant to just chill.
With little deliberation, we concluded Steamers at The Chartroom and a few hours on the hook inside Basset’s was just what the doctor ordered!
Wanting to avoid having to go to a mooring at Kingman’s, we departed around 11:00 with a plan to hit the window bar at The Chartroom before noon.
Mrs. Horne and I enjoyed a quick ride across Buzzards Bay as we recapped “Hits and Misses” from the Ocean Bay Club 2018 event…
Kingman assigned us to the first slip inside the fuel dock and I made a “note to self” to always tell them Vigilant is 47′ long – not 41′, as we ended up with the anchor hanging over the dock and 4′ of stern sticking out behind the dock.
Where is everybody?
When got to the Chartroom, the place looked almost abandoned – where were all the people on this perfect day?
“I guess they’re all gunkholing behind Basset’s” I said to myself…
No sooner did I conclude there was no one at The Chartroom, I heard “are you Dave Horne?” Of course I am and I looked up to see long time Pease’s Point resident Brit Woodason…
Buzzards Bay is indeed a small world!
The Best Steamers on Buzzards Bay
True to plan, Mrs. Horne and I shared an order of Steamers at The Chartroom. Having enjoyed steamers at every opportunity on Buzzards Bay, I can safely say these are the best.
Let’s face it, clams are clams. They’re either alive and tasty or dead. Anyone who’s ever prepped steamers knows dead clams float – so everyone serves them fresh.
Clams are also an expensive commodity. I seldom see them for less than $4.00/pound.
This is part of what makes The Chartroom steamers the best; they serve the largest portion anywhere on Buzzards Bay – my guess would be at least 2 pounds, probably more.
They are cooked perfectly – which means they pop out of the skin, but remain whole.
Finally, they are “sand free”, which means they were probably triple rinsed before cooking. Saturday they served us a bonus in the form of a basket of their fresh and hot sour dough rolls!
Lazy Saturday Afternoon Gunkholing
As I predicted, the deep end of Basset’s Island was packed as we dropped anchor. This seemed like the perfect time to sample the can of Wally IPA that Ned LaFortune (Owner Wachusetts Brewery) gave me in Menemsha...
I can report that it’s an excellent IPA and one that will be stocked on Vigilant in the near future!
The Mattapoisett Boat Yard Crew
As Mrs. Horne and I lazed listening to the Sergio Menendes and Brazil 66, I spotted Dave Kaiser’s Bertram Ripple over near the shore.
The next thing we knew we saw Jen Kaiser and Mary Beth Morse paddling over in tubes with beverages carefully balanced in their laps. They hung on to Vigilant’s swim platform for a while and then invited us to join their “raft” before swimming off.
Once they we safely back to their raft, we pulled up anchor and went over to join the fun. Not only was the raft well represented by MBY leadership, but our landscaper Andrew Langlois’s boat was also tied up (although Andrew wasn’t there – just his mother).
Dave Kaiser Risks Phone for Photo!
We were now 6 across and Jen Kaiser told Dave to take a float out to take a photo for My Buzzard’s Bay which Dave dutifully did…
Jen sent me a bunch of photos, but I think this is the best one (note: I tricked it up for my Instagram post).
Notice Dave’s toes front and center.
Duty Calls
No sooner did Dave get back to the raft did Ned’s phone ring. The Mattapoisett Boat Yard was hosting the 2-day Ensign Nationals Sailboat Race. The forecast for Sunday had turned sour and the race commodore had decided to cancel Day 2. This meant hauling a bunch of sailboats so Ned and Dave untied Ripple and headed back to work.
Shout Out to Seth
Mrs. Horne and I had to be at the Pease’s Point Annual Cocktail Party at 6:00, so we headed home around 4:30. Once we buttoned up Vigilant, we hailed the MBY Launch and got a slightly rough ride home from Seth who had to sit out the Gunkhole Raft to shuttle the rest of us back and forth to our boats.
My Buzzards Bay 
Dave … We have a BC30, moor at West Island and are also members of the Bay Club. Looking forward to meeting you.
LikeLike