Tips for a Cuttyhunk run

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GrecRI

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If we get a good forecast for the week of 8/15, we are hoping to make the run from Narragansett Bay to Cuttyhunk and possibly Menemsha or other points on the Vineyard.

We've had this plan in place for the last 3 years in a row, but had to cancel each due to weather, engine problems and a change in work schedule. We are hoping that all the stars aligne properly this year. ;)

Other than traveling on the early morning calm, I'm curious if there are any general 'rules of thumb' for Buzzards Bay in terms of timing the tides, currents, etc for a smoother/safer ride.

Any input from those who make this run regularly would be appreciated.
 
The run from the bay to Cutty is pretty straightforward..
Don't cut corners when making the turn east at Brenton Pt and give Sakonnet Pt a wide berth as well. Ran into some fish traps/long lines thru the years..

You do need to watch the wind/tide combination a bit on Buzzards vs. Vineyard Sound. I've had Buzzards flat as glass where the sound had 1-2 ft chop and vice versa depending on the wind direction/tide.

If you plan to cut thru the islands, don't try using Canapitsit Channel. Go a little further east and use Quicks Hole. Current will run 2-3 knots, but it's parallel to the channel and it's a straight shot thru. Only real hazard is Lone Rock on the north entrance side. I wouldn't reccomend using any other cut without local knowledge.

John
 
We love Cuttyhunk. It's one of my families favorite destinations. Your profile says you have a 26 SeaRay. You can certainly do the the trip in that boat but conditions will be the key. I second what jrpar said. You may want to go down the sakonnet rather than out castle hill. It keeps you out of the sea swell a little longer. The run is easier than the run to Block Island because the swell is generally just off the beam. So it's easier to ride. Give sakonnet point a fairly wide berth to avoid the fish trap areas. I usually head out to the RW Whistle at the sakonnet entrance then turn to about 105degrees to the RG middle ground mark entering cutty. I like to leave it to stareboard.

Fog is the worst part. Strongly recommend inputing waypoints into a chart plotter to follow. My first trip out of Narra Bay was to Cutty and it was pea soup. Navigating into Cutty is a little tricky when you can't see anything. On a clear day it's easy.
 
We went to Cuttyhunk 2 years ago and enjoyed it. One thing to note is that if you want to get a mooring don't arrive too late. We planned things to arrive at Cuttyhunk on a Monday figuring that would be a quiet day and easy to get a mooring. I called in the morning, harbormaster said plenty of moorings and we took our time leaving Montauk. I forget exactly what time we arrived, somewhere around 2-3 in the afternoon, and while we got a mooring it was one of the last ones. Boats that arrived not long after we did were too late and had to anchor (and not a whole lot of anchoring room there) or take one of the outside moorings. I wasn't expecting that on a Monday, during a non-holiday week. I don't think the docks ever filled up though.

John
 
I love cutty, it s one if my favorites in the area and usually our charter guests favorite stop as well. Much nicer than overrated Block in my opinion

It s all well marked but you need to watch for pots in the area, coming from the west you won't get into the sound but cross the mouth of the bay, easy in

The channel in the harbor is easy although a little narrow

Dockage is the cheapest in the aera, $2 or $2.50 a ft. They have pilings inside the harbor for moorings

Will be there next week, Thursday night i think
 
Thanks for all the tips. I used to make this run regularly with my father when I was a kid, and even though he had a significatnly bigger boat, we ran into some scary weather situations a couple of times.

Weather predictions are also what caused a couple of our cancellations in recent years.

I picked up a tide chart/current table for the area. In general, and when given the option, I assume I should look for slack tide with the wind and current in the same direction, correct?
 
Cuttyhunk is, as others have stated, a favorite stop for the whole crew. My daughter still wonders why as there is little to do but in fact, that's part of the attraction.

-- wind and current in the same direction, IMHO, if you have fair weather conditions with seas predicted in the 2-3 or 2-4 (typical) for RI sound at say 8+ sec apart it doesn't really matter what the tide is and the wind won't be an issue with flat seas like that. I normally get a real time read from the Tower to see if precition and reality are in sync. If the conditions are tighter together this can be a sloppy ride and turn dangerous quickly. If I was to pick a tide to make the run out to Cutty (from the SAK entrance) it would be the ebb tied across RI sound but it really doesn't matter much with a good weather pattern.

Coincidentally, we are also targeting Cutty on 8/13 as well, maybe we'll see you out there. We always go north in east passage and then down the SAK to head out to cutty, a nicer trip all the way around.

Safe travel
 
Beware of anchoring in Cuttyhunk. There are clumps of sea grass which provides poor holding for a danforth anchor. Ask me how I know.
 
Looking into a stop over the night before the trip to get an early start for Cuttyhunk the next AM. I'm going to check into transient slips at Sakonett Point Marina.

If that doesn't work out, what is the water/anchorage off third beach usually like?. Is it feasible to anchor in that area overnight?

Any input would be welcome.
 
If you can't find anything at Sakonnet Point you could try Pirate Cove Marina in Portsmouth - they'll likley have a transient slip or mooring for you if you need it. Or you could try Standish Boat Yard in Tiverton, right across the river, but all they have is moorings. It's about 11 miles from there to the mouth of the Sakonnet River.

- Ed
 
Tripp's in Westport is very handy to Cuttyhunk. They have docks and moorings, walking distance to good restaurant, fuel, etc. Nicer set up than Sakonnet IMO, just call and get advice on navigating the inlet (avoid ebb tide!) 508 636 4058. We used to live on a mooring in Westport Harbor during the summer. Great spot for taking off to the islands.

George
Hatteras 56 MY
Boston Whaler 130 Sport
 
With due respect to George, if you can make Westport, you can make Cutty. And the Westport approach is known for being a bit tricky so I don't think you gain anything there. Sakonnet point and Pirates Cove are both slip options. Third beach is a good anchoring option with a nice 1hr run to Cutty the next day. Have done it several times. Thats also a good option rather than arriving cutty later in the day and not being able to find a mooring. Better shot in AM than PM.

Third beach is open to the North and East so in prevailing SE it is fine. But watch your wind direction. If wind is N or E, another option is Fogland Point. Third beach also has town moorings available through Portsmouth. And half the time the harbormaster doesn't even come by to charge. But that's a good option too.Anchoring is good with mostly a sandy bottom.
 
If your going to dock at Cuttyhunk, you will need fender boards. Pilings are on the outside of a stationary pier. Six foot or better rise and fall of tide. You can make them yourself out of 2x6 and a couple of holes.

Billy K.
 
Tides at Cutty are 4', not 6'!!

I ve tied up there a few times, no need for fender boards at all, just set long springs and cross you stern lines. It s so protected that with most boats you don't need to worry about fenders, if you do then an horizontal fender works just fine

It s about 10nm from the Sakonet to cutty so with most planning boats it's barely an extra Half hour, if the weather is fine then you may as well skip the stop and if there are no moorings you may as well anchor in the outer harbor If RI Sound is too rough then you re better off waiting in fishers or pt Judith (which as pretty good fuel prices btw)
 
Agreed with Pascal on the tides and tie-up. But the distance stuff is spoken like a guy on a big boat. As someone who's done this trip several times on a much smaller boat your plan is not terrible. The trip is generally much smoother in the AM. If you get a late start then stoping in 3rd beach is a good option. It's more like 14nm from sakonett point to Cutty as the crow flies. But the sea swell hits well before that in the river. Once you allow for that then the potential for a bumpy ride is closer to an hour. You can certainly do the run as a straight shot, done it plenty of times. But nothing wrong with your idea either. Based on your location, certainly wouldn't lay over in Pt Judith.
 
well, you try the run in a big unstabilized boat with the swells on the beam, and you will probably wish you were in your Tiara!

yesterday even though the winds were light and had shifted to the north the day before, the swell made it pretty rolly, too rolly to run off plane.
 
Lol.. I am much more likely to take my chances on the Tiara... I was thinking more of the times I did it in my old 28ft Monterey. My kids hated the swell. Once you made the turn toward cutty it wasn't too bad but it was the run south out the Sakonnet before turning to east that could be the roller coaster ride. And if there was a chop on top of than it was a mess. But still not as bad as the run from Beavertail to Block Island!
 
How is Sakonnet in any way a better option than Westport? I'm missing something here. There are few if any transient slips there. the new club is nice, but that's it. We have summered one way or the other in Little Compton for 35 years. Westport is just a nicer cruising destination, I agree that with a high speed boat you'd only do a stay over as an embellishment to the cruise as opposed to going straight to Cutty. Getting in there is easy if you follow local knowledge. Tripp's will let you stay at the fuel dock after hours if another slip is not available, or you can call the Back Eddy restaurant and see if they will let you stay the night. Excellent food, a little pricey. We've always taken a mooring at Cutty, so can't help on the slip tie up issue.
 
Not making the run in one shot had more to do with schedule, odds of catching a calm sea, and being able to get a mooring/dock at Cuttyhunk than with thinking the trip was too long for one run.

We'll be leaving the afternoon of the 15th. Given that Cuttyhunk moorings could all be taken, and the odds that the sea will likely be rougher than in the AM, it seemed to make more sense to overnight on the mainland side and hit the open water early the next morning.

We really didn't consider Pt. Jude because it is quite a bit out of our way. The choice would really be between Newport and somewhere on the Sakonett. We are meeting up with another boat that is coming from Mystic however, so they may choose to stay at Pt. Jude depending on timing/weather the night of the 15th.

One of the scariest memories I have from boating as a child was hearing the port prop come out of the water on my father's 36' Pacemaker as we made the turn to duck into Westport to escape bad weather. I'm sure lots of guys navigate that inlet regularly, but I've been leery of it ever since.

I've heard others speak of anchoring in the 'outer harbor' if the moorings are all taken. How bad can that area get if the wind picks up during the night? Does the outer harbor have the same anchoring problem with a 'weedy' bottom as the inner harbor?
 
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