Provincetown, MA 42°02.5N, 70°10.8W

Oh heavens what a day! We left our anchorage on the mighty Piscataqua River (the second swiftest river in the country) where we anchored in darkness last night, on the Maine side for it is the border between New Hampshire and Maine (oh just one last night), and then roared out under full mainsail and genoa into a sparkling, sunny, clear day, with a 15 knot NE breeze, perfect for a fast reaching passage. We were rippin'! So fast we flew past our destination - Gloucester, Massachusetts - before lunch, and set course for that beautiful piece of geography, that lovely curve where Cape Cod rolls back on itself.

["you blog I'll dance" Max just said.... you'll have to imagine this one for yourself...]

So we adjusted our heading to 180 magnetic - due South - and surfed out of site of land and into the Stellwegen Bank. This is an amazing piece of water, and one full of expectation: it's a preserve, in fact, its the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, or as the chart has it labeled 'Northern Right Whale Critical Habitat'. Consulting our on-site marine biologist Jacques Max Cousteau, we altered course to sail along the Stellwagen ridge, where the water wells up from nearly 300' to 70'. As we approached we could see the sea boiling up around us, the bow carving through the whirlpools, and then we saw a huge Right Whale launch out of the water, breaching into the air and crashing down in a pile of spray. Soon, the whale was so close we dropped our sails (for two reasons: firstly, I just read Moby Dick, and secondly, I was concerned Max would dive in). The whale was playing, rolling on its back, spouting, and leaping into the air exploding the water as it crashed back in. And we were close! I don't think these photos do it justice.

*in light of what happened next....Coast Guard: we are well aware of our legal requirement to keep 500 yards from the endangered Right Whale. However, he closed on us, and we couldn't shake him! We attribute it to our sexy-black-slippery undersides, and the astonishing aural similarity - if you are a whale that is - between a Right Whale double-pike-fin-dive and the Saga 43's famous transom slap.

Ultimately, Moby sounded, seeking some plankton and small fishes ("Max you didn't happen to bring in the fishing line did you?"), so in time we set sail and moved on, sailing down the Bank. We saw several more whales, some close, some breeching in the distance. Magic!

By now it was getting on, and the sun was setting; Max started working on his super dinner (more on this later), but noted the key navigation stars becoming visible in the twilight: Polaris - the north star, Altair - in the center of the Eagle, Cygnus and Vega. We were still surfing along in the high 7's, but needed to bisect the Boston traffic separation scheme; a designated inbound-outbound course for commercial ships. Suddenly our marine VHF picked up a call to the white sailboat at position...we answered...

"this is United States Coast Guard cutter Northland following the Boston Traffic Separation Scheme 4 miles off your starboard side, do you intend to cross our bow?"

How polite, the Northland is a 270' cutter and it had a big gun. Looked bad-ass to us.

"uh, Coast Guard cutter, this is sailing vessel Whitehawk on your port bow; negative sir, we'll bear away and take your stern"

But we passed as close as we could.

Shortly after, as the cutter steamed into the night, Max produced his dumprings (see photo): a sensational meal of fried rice and spicy pork dumplings. Rumour has it they were laced with sashimi Right Whale but we strenuously deny this allegation.

But the highlight was in the end, surfing in a pitch black night round the tip of Cape Cod and down the foreshore, the lighthouses momentarily illuminating our sails, and a plume of phosphorescence trailing behind the rudder and keel for several meters as we skimmed over the ocean. In the end 82.1 nm at an average speed of 7 knts. Simply magic!

[the funny lower photo if of Max making his dumplings - hilarious!]