Day 9, July 6, Plymouth Harbor

Unbelievable tidal rip as we leave Humarock at HIGH speed.

Our ground transportation around the town of Plymouth, Massachusetts. Folding bicycles

Early suffragette warrior during the American revolution

the old grist Mill in Plymouth, Massachusetts

Bi-weekly removal of the grinding stone for inspection at the gristmill

A storm approaches

Corn being ground at the gristmill, empties into this slot to a bucket downstairs

Preparing to remove the top stone at the gristmill for inspection

Quite a wild ride today. We started early before the tidal current gets quite as strong as it was yesterday, and indeed at every low tide flow. But 'twas still very fast and we hit 7 knots. Some of the marker buoys were nearly pulled under by the flow.

But once out on the open sea, the current was negligible. But the wind made up for it! We started with a reefed mainsail, within an hour reefed the jib too, and soon put a second reef in the main. Reefing reduces the total area of the sail, and is prudent in these conditions. As such we were making 4-5 knots and had our hands full.

Plymouth Harbor has a long and sinuous channel, with extensive and shifting sand bars to pay attention to. Nonetheless, we managed to sail upwind all the way to the edge of the mooring field near town. There's thunderstorms predicted, so despite the high price, we paid for a mooring ball, and the services of the yacht club launch to shuttle us to and from.

After a quick lunch, we called for the launch to bring us to shore with our folding bicycles. Surprisingly, the dock jocks were unfamiliar with our choice of ground transport. Off we went, through town, stopping at the visitors center, then the Plymouth Historical Museum.

We get such a mix of myth, fact and cultural embellishment through the media, school, and society, that it's often very good to find the real story in the place where it happened. What really set this group of settlers apart, was how they treated each other and other peoples. On board the Mayflower were passengers who were not Puritans. Before they settled, they all agreed (the Mayflower Compact) to help and support one another regardless and to vote democratically. Then when the first Wampanoag came to visit, they treated him with respect, likewise all the other natives they met.

But eventually the original leaders passed away (both native and immigrant) and their descendants were less than civil to each other, which began 'King Phillips War', resulting in the demise of the native peoples, and ascendency of the Puritans throughout what is now Massachusetts. King Phillips was the leader of the Wampanoag.

Onward by bicycle to the Jenny Grist Mill; a reconstructed, water powered, stone mill for corn. Here we chatted with the docents and head miller. Our questions and interest were beyond what most tourists pose, and they told us stories and factoids of their own. At one point the head miller went off to fetch a book for me about different kinds of milling stones, grains and other products, and types of mills. Indeed I had seen some of them at work in Mexico and India, but not for tourists-for real work!

After ice cream and back on board, the thunderstorms arrived. Our 30mph winds from the west became 40mph from the north with intermittent rain. Very glad we're on a mooring ball.