we had to plan our day properly, so we could get to the canal at the proper tide, and it was going to take us 4 hours to get to the canal .. so we were off the hook at 5am, total darkness, and wove our way back out from Plymouth Rock, by following our track that we came in on …
what we didn't realize that there was total fog once we got outside of the "Rock", our AIS confirmed fishing boats and a freighter off to our side , radar showed more boats … and some times we saw them and some times not
coming up to the canal, and around lobster pots
entering the Cape Cod Canal, at 9 am … we are about 1/2 hour behind schedule, and it will slow us down at the other end with the incoming tide
Joe radioed ahead for clearance to enter … the green lights confirmed all was good , and we were told to expect dense fog at the first bridge
it is hard to see but this is a Port of Refuse, only for fishing boats and US Coast Guard at the east entrance
the first bridge Sagamore … so strange that the fog is on one side of the bridge and not the other, we turned on our radar and for sure there was other boats on the water
this tug suddenly appeared, we had him on AIS also
the next bridge is "Bourne", these are all high enough for us to pass under
then came the Railway Bridge, we passed with no problem, but then they lowered it for about 15 minutes
our track for the day was 6 hours … 25.6 km …. mostly in fog
the Cape Cod Canal opened in 1914. It was 15 ft deep and 100 ft wide, and accidents were frequent. During both World Wars, the canal was heavily used to avoid attack by German U-boats. In 1942, the steamship, Stephen R. Jones ran aground and sank in the shallow Canal, and traffic had to be rerouted around the dangerous waters off Cape Cod. As a result, the SS Alexander Macomb was torpedoed and sunk, with the loss of 10 lives. The wreck of the Stephen R. Jones was quickly removed with the help of 17 tons of dynamite. The canal now has a controlled depth of 32 ft and max width is 450 ft
The canal is 14 miles long and saves the 135 mile trip thru Nantucket Shoals and around Cape Cod to reach Boston and Maine.
about one hour after we anchored the fog cleared
a few boats away was our friends from I Wanda, that we met about a week ago near Boothbay
Joe and I took our garbage to shore, water jugs to fill and swim suits and had a great time at the beach
even the cold water showers felt good ...
later that night we had drinks with I Wanda, Mary and Christian … they showed us some more good places to visit on our way south … thanks guys !!
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