Maybe we should just stop making plans! Even when things seem simple and straightforward, something changes outside of our control.

We had planned to be spending a couple weeks in Maine, but while we were in Gloucester we were contacted by friends and fellow Amel owners who had a change in plans and needed help getting their boat (based in New Hampshire) south to Annapolis. The chance to help friends and add to the cruising kitty at the same time made our choice easy. So we are going to take Harmonie to Annapolis, ASAP, then fly up to New Hampshire, and then drive someone else’s boat right back down to Annapolis. We made the short jump the other day back to Provincetown, and anchored there while we waited for the weather to cooperate. Tomorrow morning we weigh anchor and head south with what looks to be a very good weather window.

Here is a chance to catch up on some of the things we have done and seen. While out fishing on Stellwagen Bank, just north of Cape Cod, we didn’t have any luck with our primary target, bluefin tuna, but we were treated to a constant parade of whales.

How do you figure out where to look for whales? It’s actually pretty simple: You follow the birds. They have magic powers. A tightly bundled group of birds know that a whale is chasing food up from the deep to the surface where they can help themselves the their share.

One the way south from Gloucester to Provincetown we dragged lures behind the boat to see if we could get a tuna. No luck (again!) for the tuna, but we did hook a porbeagle, also known as a mackerel shark. They are supposed to be one of the best eating of all the sharks, and are highly valued commercially in places where they are allowed to be caught. Local regulations here have a minimum size of 57″, and the one we brought to the side of the boat was less than forty. We released him to grow some more and make more little sharks before we could get a photo.

Sometimes we do not have to go looking for the local wildlife, it comes to us. We were sitting at anchor in Provencetown harbor. Karen was siting on the back of the boat chatting on the phone, suddenly, she says, “I’ll call you right back!”, and yells down to me to get up on deck right away.

There is an Ocean sunfish (scientific name: Mola mola) right behind the boat, swimming lazily at the surface on its side as they sometimes do. It seems to be giving us a careful once over.

This is a large fish by most measures, about 4 feet across, and probably weighing a couple hundred pounds, but it is small as these creatures go. They are the largest bony fish in the ocean and can weigh over a ton. Comically shaped, they have been described as a fish designed by Salvador Dali on acid. Imagine a huge fish head with no body, and no tail and you’ll have a good idea.