What a Sail to Pickeriing Island!

The morning was calm but the sun was bright. Some fog lingered for awhile but the sun quickly drove it away. Richard and I took Hoolie ashore as Ann prepared breakfast. I snapped a photo of the boats in the anchorage faced in all directions from the tidal currents. That’s one of the problems in Maine, the wind usually dies at night so a boat can swing in a circle around its anchor so if you’re within two anchor rode lengths of your neighbor, you’ll probably meet during the night. Cruisers used to a pointing wind at night like on Long Island Sound usually run into trouble in Maine. Unfortunately, the only cure for anchoring too close is experience. As we sit in Pickering Island anchorage, there’s a boat that’s too close off our port side. As he was anchoring, he wouldn’t look our way as I stood on the bow glaring. He’s aware that he’s too close but he anchored anyway. It’s the second time he anchored tonight, the first time we knew he was too close to shore and eventually he found that out too.

Back to the morning, the wind started to build in by 9:00 and we set out and shortly set the sails. The wind was just enough for an enjoyable sail, about 8 to 10 kts and we sailed the entire distance to Pickering Island, about 20 miles. It was just a perfect sail with the full sun, warm temperatures, no storms and flat water. The scenery was fantastic as usual with Mt Desert in the distance and the greens of the surrounding islands. The sailboats were out in force at last and made a pretty sight against the hills of Penobscot Bay.
We grilled pork ribs on the back of the boat as we wined and admired the sunset, what a life! Saturday we’re headed back to Rockland for Richard’s return trip. We’ll be by ourselves until the Bunches arrive on Friday. I think we’ll just sail.

Opechee Island - No Wind but Warm

On/Off works wonders for getting the “moustache” off the bow of the boat but it is wicked stuff. I wear rubber gloves and try to avoid breathing when near the stuff. You can see the fumes come off when it’s poured into a bucket. I put a microfiber cloth over the boat brush, dip it in the bucket with On/Off and spread it over the stains. It works instantly, stains are gone. Great stuff.

After the morning chores of cleaning the boat and windows, we set out in the midst fog rolling in. We expected to be in fog the rest of the way but it lifted as soon as we cleared Northeast Harbor, much to our surprise. We hoped for wind but our hopes were not fulfilled, more motoring. However, the Opechee Island anchorage is remote and beautiful. We explored the nearby, uninhabited islands which is always a lot of fun at Opechee. Hoolie especially loves the exploring.

We grilled three steaks off the back of the boat; Ann made a salad and baked a blueberry pie. We had wine from the south of France to compliment the steaks as we watched the sunset. What a great evening!

Northeast Harbor - Trolley to Bar Harbor

Northeast harbor is smaller than Southwest but it’s much better protected and the town is within walking distance. As an added bonus, the library has free WiFi, only a 10 minute walk from the dock.

Acadia National Park, where Northeast Harbor is located, has a free bus service sponsored by L.L. Bean to all parts of the park. We took a bus to Bar Harbor to have lunch. Boy was it crowded! Where Northeast is laid back, small and filled with yachtsmen, Bar Harbor was filled with tourists and hundreds of small shops. However, they had a grand old hotel, the Bar Harbor Inn with a great view of the harbor. We had a gift certificate from Carrie (our daughter) for a dinner at the inn so we ate out front to take full advantage of the view. I would hope that the sunny weather is here to stay at last, one can hope.

This will be as far east as we go with Richard. Westward we will go Thursday but the anchorage will depend upon the wind we find in the morning. Wish us luck.

Southwest Harbor in Acadia National Park

Well, there was no fog but there was also no wind. We took Hoolie ashore and he managed to find some real Maine mud, the kind that mussels flourish in. Of course he thought it was great fun splashing around. Back at the boat, we hosed him down and then went over him with a towel. His coat sheds water very well, it’s part of the breed as a bird dog so the mud didn’t sink in but it got all over us and the dink. Oh well. Hoolie is intensely interesting in anything and everything. If I leave the cockpit, he’s right there to see where I’m going. If I open a cockpit locker, he’ll poke his head in to see what’s going on. Such and interested dog!

Leaving Seal Bay we had to motor and stopped at Billings Marine again for water, diesel, gas and ice. Diesel is down to $2.50/gal up here. Last year it was over $4/gal. Since there was no wind we decided to motor on to Southwest harbor. We picked up a mooring at Hinckley’s and dinked in for Hoolie relief. The place was empty compared to last year. I took a photo showing no boats at the docks which never happened last year. The docks are usually used for refurbishing older Hinckley boats and routine maintenance. Even the dink dock was reduced in size from two docks wide to one. The high fuel prices didn’t seem to affect Hinckley last year but the drop in the stock market must have had an effect upon their clientele!

The primary reason we came to Southwest Harbor was for Beal’s Lobster Pound. Ann and I just had the 1.5 lb lobsters but Richard ordered the 3.4 lb hard shell lobster. It was enormous! We can’t find lobsters of that size anywhere else. We plan on moving over to Northeast Harbor Wednesday where I can finally get an internet connection again. Wonder what’s happening in the world?

Seal Bay and Just a Great Day of Sailing!!

First things first, we had to do laundry and buy groceries and that used up the morning. Rockland is great for both but you need a car to reach either one. However, the wind kept building and when we left around 11:00 the wind was 10 to 15 kts out of the southwest, perfect for a sail through the Fox Island Thorofare and on to Seal Bay. With a southwest wind you can usually make it all the way through the thorofare under sail although at times you may be drifting a little due to wind shadows from the surrounding hills. Still, today we made it all the way. The sail is always fun due to the varying sailing conditions, the avoidance required to miss all the lobster traps (ha), the views of all the other boats moored on either side and usually a windjammer or two. Today was full sun and warm and just perfect.

On the way in we saw a large lobster boat towing what appeared to be a dock. He wasn’t making much headway, we passed him while under sail at 4 kts. I guess it makes sense, it’s how they transport docks in Maine but it sure wasn’t very efficient. We’re headed east tomorrow and want to wind up in Southwest harbor by Mt Desert by Wednesday if possible. The weather rules in Maine.

Rockland - Mehaffeys Leave, Richard Arrives

It was another sunny, warm day and we had ham and eggs in the cockpit courtesy of Ann, a nice send off. I ferried them in and said our goodbyes. It was sad to see them go, we had a good time! We had tried to get a dock at Journey's End but they were full due to the boat show so we had to get a mooring. On the advice of another sailor we met on the way north, we gave Beggar's Wharf a try. They don't monitor VHF, to reach them you have to call via telephone. There are two numbers to call. The first one rings in Florida! He then calls his brother who's at the marina and forwards requests for moorings. The second number calls the marina directly. The word "marina" is used loosely. The total number of employees is one (the brother) who is occasionally supplemented by his mother who we met tonight. However, the mooring fee is a very reasonable $25/night.

As described by the brother running the marina, "It's a work in progress". To keep costs low, they have no one to receive mooring fees (the brother is seldom there, he's a diver and he's often out on calls), you just leave a note with the money tucked under the computer keyboard in the "office". Nevertheless, they have nice bathrooms and showers. The marina office is an open area containing a pool table, a poker table complete with cards, a bar (bring your own drinks), a dart board, table hockey and two terminals providing free internet access! They have no washing machines but you can leave your laundry in a bag with a note and have it washed and folded for $10 plus $1.25/lb. It's close to town, much closer than Knight's Marina where we stayed previously, besides, they charged $35/night. If you have a car you can park it for $5/day when you're not renting a mooring (it's free with a mooring). It's a unique place!

When Richard arrived (Ann cousin) we headed for Camden in search of lobster. We found a waterfront restaurant with the work "lobster" in its name so we thought we were okay. Upon sitting down we found that the biggest lobster they had was 1 1/4, some lobster place! We wound up ordering something else.

Walking along the wharf we saw all the windjammers loading passengers for their weekly cruise. They all load on Sunday night and it makes quite a sight with all the tall masks. Tomorrow we're headed east, depending upon the weather.

Rockland - Best Sail in Maine

Leathem started the day by taking a trip to the local bakery for goodies for breakfast, a great selection of pastries. Looking out, the day was bright and sunny and we had wind! The northwest wind we had yesterday continued into the morning. We were hurried on our way by the announcement that our slip was due to be occupied at 9:00 am by a large windjammer. Normally you're not expected to leave a dock until at least 11:00, sometimes later but we agreed to depart since we wanted to sail to Rockland anyway and see the boat show.

Off we set and I started to furl the mainsail but couldn't get it out! Inspecting the problem I found that the outhaul had jammed into the furling mechanism. The cause was that during the high winds yesterday, the loop of rope from the genoa line was thrown over the top of the furling line, pressing down on the furling line and causing it to slip off the furling drum. About 10 minutes with a screwdriver pounding on the line got it forced back into the proper slot and the sail worked fine since then.

After hoisting all the sails, we set forth south towards Rockland. The wind was 10 to 15 kts and we varied from a broad reach to wing on wing. A larger sailboat also set out about the same time and motored ahead of us. Once they set their sails, it was a race! They had an enclosed cockpit and could qualify as a motor-sailer but they had mylar sails and looked very efficient. However, we steadily gained on them and then passed them by. Bit by bit we left them behind on our 20 mile sail. At the end they were 1/2 mile behind.

The the boat show in full tilt, we couldn't get a dock and had to settle for a mooring at Beggar's Wharf run by a real character. Their "clubhouse" is all homemade. You pay for everything by leaving cash under the cash register with a note as to who it's from. The guy that runs the place is seldom there - it's a one man show. His brother will sometimes answer the phone but then he's in Florida. Oh well, it's conveniently located for downtown Rockland.

The boat show is typical Maine with lots of woodworking exhibits, lots of wooden boats and modern custom boats by Hinckley, Morris and others. You won't find any production boats at one of these shows. The insides of these boats are finished better than any furniture you would have in your house. The Hinckley Picnic Boat, for example, was finished with 16 coats of varnish, hand rubbed between coats. The interior was all custom made, nothing was bought and installed. The Morris boats were about the same, all gorgeous. We hoo'ed and aw'ed and just admired them all. They were way out of our price range. The Mehaffeys are pictured standing beside another great boat, a 52 foot Morris sailboat. Note the absence of side rails. The owner didn't think they looked good and spoiled the lines of the boat!

Back on the boat we uncorked the last bottle of the wine we bought in France and enjoyed the last night we had with the Mehaffeys as the sun set and the moon rose over the harbor. Just a lovely evening.