Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard 41°23.17’N, 070°29.69’W

Strangely, I woke up this morning at 5am. After 15 years of getting up early I promised myself that I would never EVER get up that early again. A beautiful day, so I single handed Bandit over to Edgartown, on the eastern side of Martha's Vineyard. Really fun sail, working to windward all day, and slowly carving higher and higher into the breeze before short tacking up the channel. Good fun, and my first proper day sailing alone on the boat.

The interesting thing about single handing is that interesting things happen that I suspect wouldn't occur if you were with others. A few miles out I spotted a huge, really fast looking racer with a massive sharply raked mast. It turned out to be Mass Transit, and I had a good chat with the owner, a New Yorker called Nick. Nick used to charter a schooner out of New York City. He moved to the Vineyard 12 years ago to work on the boat. He's still working on it, and hasn't been for a sail yet. You have to realise that I get cranky and frustrated when I have to work on something for ten minutes before going sailing, so this is a true labour of love. As my friend Tom Anglin pointed out 'Did you tell him he should just buy a big ol’ swan and he’ll be ready to go right away…?' Precisely. Although, deep down I suspect that's not the point.

In any case, a very good sailor, and a real enthusiast. I found the experience a bit troublesome, as I've been finding Bandit's 20,000 lbs and 43' a handful, and every safe trip feels like an epic adventure. She looked like a bath toy anchored next to his boat. When this ship is finally finished, it's going to go like a rocket. Nick invited me for dinner with his family, and we had a great time, talking sailing and boats, and hearing about Martha's Vineyard, and their attempts to prevent people building their 105' boats in the harbor! Here's a photo of Mass Transit. This doesn't do it justice, but the mast - which he built himself (built his own mast!) - is 150' above the water.

I just came rushing in the pitch black, zooming out of the harbor on my inflatable at full throttle, aiming for the anchor light, left burning at the top of the mast. The boat bounces and twists and splashes and flys into the night. Fun and exhilarating, with just a hint of madness!