26.8 miles, 3 hours 20 minutes, 8.0 knots average speed (9.2mph), 65.8°F, calm seas with a 7 knot wind under a bright, sunny blue sky. Ideal cruising conditions for our journey from Gloucester, MA to our second port of call, Scituate, MA.

 

Sounds perfect, right? Well, it was but it wasn’t! Weather conditions were favorable. But those damn, ubiquitous lobster pots were still lurking everywhere just beneath the crest of the waves waiting to snag us! Now maybe there weren’t quite as many as those we encountered between Kennebunkport and Gloucester but there were still a lot of them! So despite the very pleasant cruising conditions, it would turn out to be another pretty intense day! Pots sure look a lot more picturesque hanging on the side of a building than they do bobbing in the water! But every now and then, reality would set in – no pots, no lobster dinner! What a conundrum!

When travelling by RV, over the years, we have utilized several methodologies to share our location with family and friends, one was a service provided by Green Alp which we stopped using on our blog site in 2021 because it was no longer free, and the other one being the location sharing feature of Google Maps. That works well but requires that someone have a Google account and not everyone does.

So when we purchased our new boat and had plans for more extensive cruising, we wondered how we could share our boat location.  Location sharing via Google Maps was still an option but that has limitations and doesn’t provide much detail. Little did we know that Jack (seller) would provide us with the perfect solution, a Nebo and a Nebolink. Nebo is a free boat logging app which is available on both Android and Apple. This app allows a boater to log his boating tracks, the weather, speed, duration, and to easily share boating memories and experiences with other boaters, friends and family (as shown in the image above taken from a three page Nebolink report).

To further enhance the features of Nebo, Jack had installed a device called a Nebolink which requires a Gold Membership. The Nebolink was included with the boat but is normally a one time cost of $149. The Nebo Gold membership is $149/year.  The Nebolink does everything the free Nebo app does but it provides more advanced features such as automated voyage logging, real time map location and battery monitoring. It also assists from a safety perspective so it has been recommended by the American Great Loop Cruiser’s Association (AGLCA) as outlined here and other marine organizations.

Unfortunately there were some technical and ownership transfer issues so the Nebolink wasn’t working for us during the first leg of our journey between Kennebunkport and Gloucester. However, Rob was able to work through the setup with assistance from both Jack and the vendor during our stay in Gloucester. As a matter of fact, when we left for this winter’s journey south in the RV, Rob, after talking with the vendor, moved the Nebolink to the coach so we can now log and share our RV journey with family and friends. The vendor is supposedly developing a version for the RV market.

Anyway, back to our next port. Scituate is a historic seaside community on Massachusetts’s South Shore located about 30 miles south of Boston, 30 miles north of Plymouth, and 40 miles north of the Bourne Bridge and Cape Cod.  In 1636, the town was originally settled by colonists from Plymouth and new immigrants from the County of Kent England. It’s name is derived from Satuit, the Wampanoag term for cold brook, which refers to a brook that runs to the inner harbor at Cole Parkway and the bottom of Front Street in Scituate Harbor Village.

Having grown up in the South Shore area of Massachusetts, I was very familiar with the town of Scituate. In fact, my parents met in Scituate when my Dad was stationed there in the Coast Guard. One of my mother’s favorite restaurants was the Mill Wharf Restaurant where Rob and I would join them for dinner frequently. But again, seeing Scituate from the water would be a new experience for us!

Speaking of the derivation of the name and Cole Parkway, we had submitted a Dockwa reservation request to Scituate Harbor Cole Parkway Marina but our request was declined because our boat was “too big” for their moorings. As part of their response, they suggested several other marinas that might accommodate us, Satuit Boat Club being one of them. Since SBC wasn’t on Dockwa, Rob sent an email to the Dockmaster who responded immediately stating they could accommodate us for a two night stay. Fee for a mooring was $60 per night which includes free launch service and use of their facilities (wi-fi, showers, kitchen, widescreen tv, grills, etc.). Payment for the mooring could be made ahead of time via their website or by paying upon arrival at the mooring. We paid on-line.

When we arrived we did as instructed by the Dockmaster and hailed Boat Club on Channel 9 so we could be escorted to our mooring. Funny the person answering on the radio replied “oh are you the two story boat that is just coming in”? Hmmm, two stories? Does that make us a double decker?

R & R was on the agenda for our first night. Nothing like a gorgeous sunset on the water!

The next morning we hailed the launch for a ride. The launch will take visitors to the Boat Club, Mill Wharf or to the town dock. We opted for the town dock since we wanted to have breakfast and walk around town.

At the launch driver’s recommendation, we went to Sam’s On The Harbor Restaurant. Cute place with an average breakfast.

The photo below was taken on the Harborwalk which offers this history of the area: “The period of time between the mid 1600’s through the mid 1800s defined Scituate as one of the most prosperous harbors between Boston and New Bedford. As maritime based industries grew along the waterfront, the wharf area became the center of activity for the Town. Numerous men listed their occupation as shipwrights, chandlers, coopers, blacksmiths, carpenters and sail makers. Serving trade and travel, a ship yard, tide mill, lumber mill and livery covered the area where (the Mill Wharf Marina and restaurant) now stand. … Schooners, barks, brigantines and whaling ships were built and sailed from Scituate to destinations around the world.” Read more about the town’s history here.

After breakfast, we walked down Front Street. It was just as I remembered it, very cute town!

Rob was looking to replace one of the bilge pumps so we visited one of the marine stores but no luck.

After walking around for awhile, we headed back to the Harbormaster’s building where we radioed the launch to pick us up. That night we had planned on dining at the Mill Wharf Restaurant, but once we settled in again we lost our ambition so we dined at Linda’s Floating Waterfront Bistro instead!

The next morning it would be time to hit the road, er, high seas again! The next leg of our journey would be a little more challenging!

More photos of our stay are available here.