July 25 - Nantucket

It rained last night as we slept. Actually, the rain awakened me in the very early morning to to a quick check of the hatches and ports. Counting raindrops on the deck made the transition back to sleep fairly quick.

We're up a bit late, looking at the overcast sky which, from time to time sprinkles a bit of drizzle out, something like those new gadgets the supermarkets have to keep the vegetables fresh. I hope it is doing the same on our lawn at home, where the midsummer heat usually takes a terrible toll while we cruise. The forecast calls for more of the same, and occasional breezes to kick up the seas outside the harbor. We're just as happy we chose to come a day early, and will spend the morning reading and relaxing, then into town, likely for some indoor activities. High on the list are a visit to the whaling museum, and of course, shopping.

Nantucket, once an important whaling port has many reminders of that time, mostly architectural. As there has been no whaling industry in over a century, and the local economy has shifted entirely away from this, and from fishing as well The seafaring nature of the town shows less than in other areas of New England, but is still there to be seen. Apart from the museum, the local shops do their part to keep the memory of whaling alive with the art and craft products of an earlier time still thriving for the tourist trade.

The engine seems to be acting up again. When at anchor, we run the engine in the morning and evening to keep the refrigerator cold and the water hot. The cold plate runs off a compressor which is driven from the engine, and the engine cooling process heats water in a hot water tank. When we're on the move, we just motor a bit as a part of the routine, but it seems odd to have to do this while sitting still. Of course, this process also keeps the batteries charged. About a half hour into the morning run, the engine just faded out, as it did in Block Island. It restarted and ran just fine after that. Stand by, I'm sure there will be more news on this front.

As we head for town, the Harbor Launch's sister passes. There isn't any rain at the moment, but the wind is strong and kicking up a lot of spray in the harbor. Actually, it is brightening up a bit, although there is still a solid overcast.

We do our best to see the town. Nantucket may have only a few streets, but if you measure the linear street distance as entering each of the shops, and wandering through the displays, I think it may have a hundred miles or more to see. Among the finds is a display room for a local furniture company making traditional furniture with many interesting contemporary design twists. Perhaps we're getting closer to finding the dining room table which has been so elusive.

The streets of the town are all paved with, well, paving stones. These are the ballast stones used to fill the holds of ships brought to the new world and unloaded, to be replaced with trade goods. They are nice to look at, but hard to walk on. The sidewalks are brick, and maintained to be flat and even. This is one of the few places where people get the better of cars. This is also one of the few places on earth where automobile drivers actually yield to pedestrians. Outside of town it's another story, however.

I might have been overly harsh on Nantucket in yesterday's piece. It is a bit manufactured for the summer trade, and it is unabashedly commercial It is, however, full of genuine history, and full of a kind of summer living that you won't see anywhere else, both on and off the water. I won't change my comment that it is awfully expensive. New York hamburgers are expensive enough, but Nantucket brings this measure of expense to new levels.

We were too late for the lecture at the whaling museum today, to that's on the schedule for tomorrow. The launch ride back to the boat was in light rain, but calm seas; the wind has diminished significantly. We were spared the rain through the entire afternoon, so all in all, we call it a good day.

We've run the engine again to charge the batteries and icebox with no incident this time, and are getting ready to slip into the berth to recharge ourselves for another day.