Few people know Buzzards Bay like Captain Dave Horne. He learned to sail there in the 1960s, has cruised nearly 75 ports up and down the coast, and has spent nine years sharing his hard-won local knowledge at MyBuzzardsBay.com. Now he’s summarized it all in a book, The Buzzards Bay I Know. We’re thrilled to bring you more of his stories, tips, and tricks for navigating the Northeast in our new monthly Dockwa column, Every Harbor Has A Story.
By Captain David James Horne
Buzzards Bay can be heaven or hell. Some mornings, the water looks tropical, the ride is easy, and your biggest decision is where to stop for lunch. By afternoon, a southwest wind can turn the trip home into something nobody aboard wants to repeat.
I’ve spent more than sixty years learning to enjoy the first version and avoid the second.
My father came from a long line of Nova Scotia sea captains. When I was six, a family vacation introduced us to Buzzards Bay. I learned to sail here in the 1960s, and although our cruising has taken us well beyond the Bay, this is still home.
What makes Buzzards Bay special is how much you can do in a relatively small area. There are sandy beaches, warm swimming spots, quiet anchorages, and harbors with very different personalities. You can tie up for lunch, find live music on the waterfront, or spend an afternoon doing very little in a beautiful place.
You don’t need a big boat or a week’s vacation to enjoy it. Some of the best adventures are a short ride from your home port—provided you choose the right trip for your boat and the conditions.
That last part matters.
The afternoon southwester that makes a sailor smile can make a small-powerboat owner wish he’d left lunch an hour earlier. A destination that looks close on the chart may leave you with an uncomfortable ride home. Knowing where to go is only part of the equation. Knowing when to go, and when to change your plans, makes a tremendous difference.
I learned some of those lessons the hard way. In 2000 we bought our first powerboat, a 26’ Boston Whaler. We had out-of-town guests and everyone wanted to head to Oak Bluffs for lunch.
The ride over was a nautical dream. We breezed through Woods Hole with a favorable current, had a great lunch at Giordano’s, shopped at The Black Dog, and headed home around 2:30.
As we cleared East Chop, everything changed. The current and the afternoon blow were now conspiring to turn Vineyard Sound into bloody hell.
The waves suddenly got steeper and began crashing over the open bow seats. I slowed to 15 MPH as the waves began crashing over the T-top and temporarily filling the cockpit with seawater. All I remember was everyone screaming and being grateful to see three bilge pumps all running properly.
That afternoon changed how I planned our trips. I started studying the weather, finding more places to dock and dine within Buzzards Bay, and listening to the old salts who generously shared what they knew. Their lessons stayed with me. Years later, My Buzzards Bay became my way of paying that generosity forward.
Nine years ago, I started MyBuzzardsBay.com. My early focus was dock & dine, particularly places people could visit in smaller boats. I wanted to help someone plan a good day on the water, find a great meal, and get everyone home wanting to do it again.
The blog grew into an account of our cruising life: the places Mrs. Horne and I visit, the people we meet, the restaurants we return to, and the decisions that shape each trip. Weather is part of those stories because it’s part of boating. So are the unexpected afternoons that become favorite memories.
Passing that knowledge along is still the point. I’m grateful to the people who taught me, and I’d like the next generation of boaters to benefit from what they shared and what I’ve learned since.
The blog is my passion and my gift to the next generation of New England boaters. It’s ad-free, subscriptions are free, and I never sell your personal information.
In September I published The Buzzards Bay I Know: A Captain’s Guide to Cruising the Bay. In it, I summarized everything I've learned about boating Buzzards Bay, from Dock & Dine, to weather, navigating Woods Hole, and my favorite Gunkholes.
We created a large-format, full-color paperback with 162 pages of photographs, personal stories, and practical cruising advice. It’s a book for your coffee table as well as your boat—something to enjoy on a winter afternoon and reach for when planning your next adventure.
One of the most gratifying responses has come from readers who have been boating on Buzzards Bay for decades. Several have told me they discovered things they didn’t know. That’s exactly what I hoped would happen. Even when you know these waters well, there can be a restaurant, an anchorage, or a useful local tip you’ve somehow missed.
For someone planning a first visit, I wanted to help them find the heaven Buzzards Bay can offer and steer clear of the hell.
I share the places I enjoy and the habits that help me make better decisions, including letting the weather pick the destination and paying attention to what I call the 11-to-4 Rule.
Over the years, we’ve visited nearly 75 ports, from Camden, Maine, to Jersey City, New Jersey. This book is the beginning of a larger collection of stories from those travels. Each harbor has its own character. The practical details help us plan a visit, but the people and experiences are what we remember afterward.
After reading the book, Dockwa’s Lauren Topchik invited me to share those stories in this monthly column, Every Harbor Has A Story. We’ll visit individual harbors, talk about getting there and staying there, and explore what makes each one worth the trip.
As we head into the holidays, I have three invitations for you:
1. A Christmas or Hanukkah gift from me. Get Seven Rules for Cruising Buzzards Bay free, including my entire chapter on safely navigating Woods Hole and a preview of docking and dining in Padanaram. It’s my way of passing along what others helped me learn. Get your free gift here.
2. Come along on our next adventure. Subscribe to MyBuzzardsBay.com for free and get new stories, waterfront discoveries, and firsthand cruising advice delivered to your inbox.
3. Give someone a summer on Buzzards Bay. The Buzzards Bay I Know is available on Amazon. With its photographs, stories, and local knowledge, it makes a thoughtful Christmas or Hanukkah gift for anyone planning to visit next season—including yourself.
Every harbor has a story. I look forward to sharing mine with you.
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