Bright sunshine greeted us after the morning serenade by the Coast Guard and it came with a breeze out of the northwest! The monster ahead of us had already left so we had a clear dock for departing. Still, we had a wind pushing us against the dock so I rigged a spring line from the dock cleat to the after cleat on the boat. By putting the boat in reverse, the bow is driven out away from the dock while the aft stays close for boarding. At least, that’s the way it’s supposed to work. Just as we had everything moving and all dock lines except the aft one loose, some clown picked that time to suddenly decide to leave a dock directly in our path. I grabbed a line and lassoed the middle cleat on the Fleetwing to prevent it from running into the other boat. Meanwhile, Fleetwing was inching further away from the dock. After the other boat cleared, I let go with me on the dock and Ann steering the boat (goodbye!) Ann was able to maneuver the boat forward to a clear section of the dock and I hopped aboard, whew!
After that bit of excitement, we rolled out the sails and took advantage of the 15 plus winds. For the next two hours we averaged 7 kts with one period of ½ hour where we averaged 8 kts! Our highest speed according to the GPS was 9.2 kts! For most of the way we had a broad reach. Since the wind was out of the northwest, it was off the land so there was no wave build up, just flat water, good wind, sunny skies, warm weather – just perfect for sailing. Of course there were the
ubiquitous lobster pots but then, that’s Maine. Even so, the lobster buoys were definitely less numerous than last year but still thick in places. We read in the local paper that the lobster season this year was the worse one in the last 20 years! The lobstermen are only getting $2.75/lb for their lobster, regardless of what you’re paying for them in the restaurant.
Arriving in Maple Juice Cove, Ann snapped a photo of her favorite house in Maine, the one made famous by the painting, “Christina’s World”. Meanwhile, I grilled boneless pork ribs on the back of the boat as we watched the sunset while reminiscing about a great day of sailing. Perhaps there are better things to do in life but I haven’t found them yet.
After that bit of excitement, we rolled out the sails and took advantage of the 15 plus winds. For the next two hours we averaged 7 kts with one period of ½ hour where we averaged 8 kts! Our highest speed according to the GPS was 9.2 kts! For most of the way we had a broad reach. Since the wind was out of the northwest, it was off the land so there was no wave build up, just flat water, good wind, sunny skies, warm weather – just perfect for sailing. Of course there were the
ubiquitous lobster pots but then, that’s Maine. Even so, the lobster buoys were definitely less numerous than last year but still thick in places. We read in the local paper that the lobster season this year was the worse one in the last 20 years! The lobstermen are only getting $2.75/lb for their lobster, regardless of what you’re paying for them in the restaurant.Arriving in Maple Juice Cove, Ann snapped a photo of her favorite house in Maine, the one made famous by the painting, “Christina’s World”. Meanwhile, I grilled boneless pork ribs on the back of the boat as we watched the sunset while reminiscing about a great day of sailing. Perhaps there are better things to do in life but I haven’t found them yet.
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