Tuesday, 29 July
Built in 1834 in the Greek Revival style, the Town Hall today is dressed to celebrate the town’s 375th anniversary.
An early morning fog erased the hull of this ketch which may be why she had a tough time battling the current.
One of many special stops on the 2012 trip was Sandwich, MA, at the east end of the Cape Cod Canal. Not very big—neither the town nor the town marina—Sandwich has the ambiance Kate usually enjoys. Reasons enough to motor—with the current, of course—the eight miles back through the canal and slip into Sandwich Town Marina.
Oh, and one more reason: to wash off three week’s worth of salt from the hull and decks. The transient rate at Sandwich is $2.25 a foot, a bargain for this part of the world. Heck, there are harbors that get that much to hang on a mooring. It was worth every penny to get Steadfast clean again, albeit perhaps not for long.
Details like the second floor corner windows make this house a gem.
An early arrival Sunday allowed time to bathe Steadfast, then to clock off a few miles (some of us fewer than others) of the Canal Walk, a paved path that flanks the roughly seven miles of the canal proper, the man-made portion.
The Army Corps of Engineers took over the canal from the original developers in 1928 and has kept it since. And doing it well, from all appearances. While winds blew and thunderstorms threatened, there was time to tour the Corps’ Canal Visitor Center. Great fun watching the same radar, closed circuit TV and digital tracking displays that that are monitored in the Marine Traffic Control Center. Just a suggestion: be careful what you do when transiting the Cape Cod Canal. I’m just sayin’.
Thomas Dexter started grinding corn at this mill in 1654. Yes THIS mill!
Sandwich itself was the first settlement on Cape Cod, dating to 1637. As is the case with so many New England cities and towns, its history remains visible today down every street, it seems, in its homes, churches and public buildings. Town Hall Square is only about a mile away from the marina and well worth the walk.
So is the Poppy Bagel McNagle at the Marshland Diner. The Marshland is a throw back to the 50s with booths around the walls surrounding low counter. While the lunch there has not been sampled, breakfast Monday was a return visit from two years ago and servings remain as they were, ample and delicious.
The Mass Maritime tugs Hercules and Alert squeezed into the marina to ready for the big parade.
While waiting for the current to turn once again, this time westward, Steadfast was joined on the pier by two, then three, tugs from Mass Maritime Academy. July 29 is the anniversary of the canal’s opening and the Corps’ celebration includes a Tug Boat Parade and much-talked-about fireworks display off a barge at Onset.
That being the case, Steadfast today came west on the canal and turned hard a-starboard at Green 1 to sit once again in Onset Bay, positioned to enjoy the evening’s entertainment. Only eight nautical miles today but tons of fun.
Steadfast out.
Tugs and tall ships all dressed for the centennial parade.
At Sea with Steadfast 
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