Boating in New England consists of three distinct seasons. There’s the spring which ends on the 4th of July, of course the traditional summer; and the fall boating season that begins after Labor Day and ends a few days before we fly to the desert for the winter.
Plymouth has been one of our favorite autumn destinations for years. Like Newport and Edgartown, the downtown doesn’t die after Labor Day. I also love that many of the seaside eateries have live music on weekend afternoons.
But before I get into the report on our recent cruise, I have another good story to share…
Salvage Operation in Mattapoisett
We were sitting in Edgartown when we got this strange notice from the Harbormaster…
I was “on the lookout” for a submerged wreck when we returned to Mattapoisett on Labor Day, but I have to admit that it had completely slipped my mind running in and out of the harbor on Tuesday.
I was exchanging texts with Mattapoisett Boat Yard Boss Ned Kaiser on Friday night when he told me he’d spent the entire day on a salvage operation. It was the boat that sank on September 4th.
Here’s a few photos of the salvage operation…
Turns out it was a 35’ Magnum…
I spoke with the owner and he said they were on their way home, about a mile off Nye’s Ledge, when they suddenly lost power. He opened the engine room hatch and it was completely flooded. He immediately ordered everyone in life jackets and shouted the words no Captain ever wants to say ABANDON SHIP!
The boat looked pretty good for having spent a week under the ocean. It’s probably 20-30 years old and based on the bottom paint, it may have been a little short on preventative maintenance.
Turns out one of the stern drives “just fell off,” he never hit anything and he was in 30’ of water…
The “big hole in the hull” was always the fear when stern drives came on the seen in 1959. I did some research and can’t find any recommendations on when to replace the mounting bolts. I did find a suggestion to check them every year or 100 hours…
I’m not a metallurgist, but I can’t imagine bolts with that level stress holding up for more than 5-10 years. Oh well…
Plymouth Bound
We originally scheduled a four day weekend (Friday- Monday), but with Hurricane Larry making the run from Bermuda to Nova Scotia, there was a forecast for large waves in Massachusetts Bay on Friday, so we cut it to Saturday to Monday.
Our guests were our original crew – Mrs. Horne’s sister Gail and her husband Rudy…
There was virtually no wind or waves for our 43 mile run up the canal and Cape Cod Bay to Plymouth…
After a smooth docking and quick wash-down, we grabbed lunch at one of my favorite spots – The Surfside Smokehouse…
I love the Surfside for their Burnt Ends, but it’s also got a great harbor view, open air sea breezes, and a full seafood restaurant menu as well.
The Sprouts and Bruschetta were incredible, but the Poke Bowl drew mixed reviews. The problem is that it’s not really a traditional Poke Recipe which features tuna marinated in a Sesame Oil, Soy Sauce, and Brown Sugar base (I also add garlic and wasabi to give it a kick.)
The only wet ingredient in their Poke is a White Ponzu sauce – basically Citrus and Vinegar without the Soy. Not sure what the chef was trying to accomplish, but if you’re expecting a Poke Bowl, you’d likely be disappointed.
Desert Friends Reunion
Most the folks our age in Massachusetts buy a winter home in Florida. There’s dozens of nonstop flights and it’s in the same time zone.
Due to my career in Silicon Valley, we’ve owned a home in California for over thirty years. Not only did I work there for the last half of my career, but our daughter is a 100% California Girl. We did move from the Bay Area to the desert 15 years ago and since then we’ve developed dozens of close friendships there.
We do have a handful of friends in the desert who summer in Massachusetts. They all live near Plymouth and thus our autumn visit always includes a mini reunion.
This year we had a bigger group – 12, so I booked a private room at Martini’s…
The room was quite nice with floor to ceiling windows open to the sidewalk. I would say it’s a stretch to use it for 12. It’s better suited for 8-10.
We were all very impressed with Martini’s. Not only is the food excellent, but so are the prices…
Windy Sunday
If you were anywhere near Buzzards Bay on Sunday, you probably noticed how windy it was. I checked the NOAA buoys several times and consistently saw 30-35 mph winds. With the winds blowing from the Southwest, Safe Harbor Marina was relatively calm.
Mrs. Horne and I took our traditional bike ride south of downtown. There is a decent bike lane on 3A, but we stuck to South Street and cruised in and out of residential neighborhoods along the way…
As a general rule, if you’re looking to bike in towns like Plymouth – ones with no formal bike trails, your best bet is to go out early and explore side streets in residential neighborhoods.
Return to Live Music
After packing up the bikes, we headed into town in search of lunch and hopefully live music. The Speedwell Tavern was closed and with it being the first weekend for the NFL, it looked like a lot of venues were saving a few bucks by “showing the games” instead of hiring a local musician.
Everyone was getting hungry when we got to The Tavern on the Wharf…
We were just looking for a table to eat at, but the hostess thought we wanted to sit out back in a new area that looks like a Beer Garden. As she showed us to our table, I suddenly heard LIVE MUSIC and my dream had come true!
We sat in the shade, bathed in a gentle sea breeze, listened to Jeff Hilliard, and enjoyed a great leisurely lunch…
Jeff represented the first Live Music video published on My Buzzards Bay in the post Covid era…
We left the Tavern around 3:30 and headed back to Relentless to watch Mack Jones and the Patriots take on the Miami Dolphins.
On the way back to the boat we ran into Rick and Jennifer…
They own Freyedays Off – a nice Ocean Yachts Sportfisherman and Plymouth is their home port. Like many friends of My Buzzards Bay, we first met them in Nantucket over Father’s Day weekend.
Watching the game worked out quite well in that you could see the game on the salon TV while sitting out back on the aft deck.
Sadly, the Pats came up short, but our evening did not. Last year I discovered a great Asian restaurant that delivers to the Marina. It’s call Tasty Asian and the food is very good, reasonably priced, and super convenient.
The delivery girl called me when she got to the gate and Mrs. Horne and Gail ran up to pick up the food and tip her (I declined putting a tip on the order, but told them we’d give a large cash when it was delivered.)
Despite morning rain on Monday, the two hour run home was perfectly calm and sunny…
Next trip – Provincetown and Oak Bluff.
My Buzzards Bay 
Great info Dave. Plymouth is the northern home port for DEPLORABLE whose Owner is a friend from Clearwater, Fl. He left to come home last week and only made it to New York before having trouble Again with his transmission and Zeus pods. You may want to have your mechanic check them during your off season. Don has had issues twice with them. Fortunately both times under Sabre’s warranty. Enjoy your winter, and we’ll look forward to next season’s comments.
Best regards,
Dick Nordman
Heatseeker, 37’ Formula PC
Clearwater, Florida
LikeLike