Depending on the alignment of the sun and the moon it is possible to make it from Newport RI to Boston MA in a single day. And I’m not being silly, it really is just a matter of the tides. Specifically the tides going through the Cape Cod Canal. It is just about impossible to make it through the canal on a sailboat if you’re not going with the flow of the current. So it’s important to break out the Eldridge guide and check when the tides are moving.

For us we had two choices since the tide would only allow us through in the afternoon and there was crazy dense fog. We could #1 just go to a spot south of the canal and wait till the next day, or #2 take the shot and end up north of the canal much later than we wanted to be and then adjust our plan so we would get to Boston with the sunrise.

To put how serious the current is through the Cape Cod Canal is, we were trying to go as slow as possible and ended up moving speed over ground at 11 knots. Even so we exited the canal at 7pm as the sun was setting. There was no way to make it to Boston before dark and even making it to Plymouth Mass our other spot to anchor wasn’t really looking that great. SO our plan was to slow down to a crawl and move to Boston at about 2 knots.

We arrived at the entrance to Boston Harbor just as the sun was starting to come up, actually we got there about 4am so there was light but not really much in the way of the sun yet. Still it was the perfect time since it can take us a few hours to get in through the harbor then up the river to our final destination.. Constitution Marina which is our preferred place to stay when in the city.

I personally love Constitution for several reasons. There is the location which is central enough to everything, groceries, hardware stores, and cafes are usually what tops my list. But with this being Boston they are just a water taxi ride to the airport and just a short walk to the train station. And they have a pool which is great. But the biggest reason is that this seems to be the Liveaboard marina of Boston and the community is so very amazing. When I finally build up the courage (and add heat and insulation) my goal is to winter in Boston at Constitution Marina just for the challenge.

The entrance to the marina can be a bit tricky and the marina is difficult to navigate but it’s well worth the effort.