By Rich

On July 4th we had a lovely close-hauled sail in 8 knots or so from Cuttyhunk to Woods Hole. We decided to indulge in a novelty: making our way through the tiny draw bridge to pick up a mooring in Eel Pond. Ferry traffic and currents made the approach to the bridge exciting, as did the extraordinarily narrow bridge passage (which drew numerous gawkers – some of whom may have been expecting [hoping?] to witness an incident as we crammed our 12’6″ beam through). Soon after, however, we were safe and sound on our mooring. It suddenly occurred to me that the 19,000 lb, 42 foot long  sailboat I’d been working on so hard for the better part of the year was now … in a pond. An eel pond. Possibly being tickled inappropriately from below. By eels. How odd but perfectly wonderful.

We went inshore and enjoyed lunch and beers at a great little bar while enjoying the town and the spirited group of tourists that had come down to enjoy the 4th.

Later we took a long walk to watch the fireworks from the shore just off of Nobska Lighthouse and enjoyed great scenery while getting our exercise.

We enjoyed fully three sets of fireworks from across the Sound while sipping wine on the rocks. Upon returning to Seb the four of us excitedly hung flashlights and glow sticks over the side trying to attract eels. All we could muster was a single curious minnow and a stringy little organism that, if an eel at all, would need a magnifying glass to be identified for certain. Alas. We went to bed wondering how the little pond got its name while listening intently to see if any of the slimy little beasts had taken up residence in our centerboard trunk.

Crafty little buggers, apparently. We heard not slighter all night.