Downeast

We’ve been hanging out Downeast style on a town mooring in Southwest Harbor for a little over two weeks now -- and will be hanging out here a few more days waiting for a slot in the marine forecast that will allow us to make a safe and comfortable passage up to Shelburne, Nova Scotia. It’s about a 28 hour trip and the current (pun intended) plan is to leave about 1 pm Sunday. We should have reasonable seas then in the Gulf of Maine, through Lurcher Ledge off NS and be in position to take advantage of the strong currents around Cape Sable, or at least not to be hit too hard by adverse currents.

Sunny Morning, Mount Desert

We’ve finally had time to catch up on our lists-- somehow we had planned to do so many things during our month in Salem, but were waylaid by two weeks of rain followed by bad colds. In fact, cleaning the flybridge cushions, covers and then waterproofing them has been on my list since we were in Florida and I’m delighted to say that everything is shipshape above. It seemed only fitting to tackle the table next and scrub and scrub and scrub to remove the dirt accumulated over the last three years. Then a couple of coats of teak oil, more rubbing and voila-- beautiful like new table! I can hardly stop admiring it-- and the muscles in my right arm which seem to have grown.

The 12 KW generator is running like a top and Paul’s rewiring job seems to be robust. The oil has been changed on both generators and cleaning the air filters is on my list for tomorrow. Lots of other scrubby projects complete on my part and lots of other below the decks projects completed by the skipper. I’m looking forward to a little vacation time in Canada with guests and to having fingernails again.

Rocky Shore, Acadia National Park

We’ve also had a good time. We’ve had a string of lovely days, warm but no where near the heat the rest of the country is experiencing. Most mornings we look at each other and say ”Just another beautiful day in Maine”,  a phrase coined by a friend from our sailboat days-- as if that explains it all. 


My usual morning walks take me past spectacular perennial gardens in town, shopping or post office errands if required or rocky shored beaches if I head away from town. Last week I took an easy hike with old friends to the Jordan Pond House for lunch, where Paul met us in their car. Jordan Pond is famous for its popovers and is a must for any visitor to Acadia National Park. We’ve had dinners out, done some entertaining, been entertained and enjoyed being here for Flamingo Days last weekend. 

Popovers Ahead

Bright pink plastic birds popped up all over town with many activities scheduled, all to benefit the community house and children’s center here. We arrived early at the library sponsored paperback book sale (we bought 7 books for $7) last Saturday morning and in the afternoon went to the Coast Guard Open House. We toured all the boats, including one brought in for the day from Portland, from nav (navigation) stations to engine rooms, Paul’s favorite. 

But the highlight was the steel band concert Monday night. We’ve long been fans of the Flash in the Pans Steel Band, a community band based out of Blue Hill and we were delighted to see them again. 

The 30 or so musicians are all amateurs (one told me they all learned to play in Adult Ed) but are pretty amazingly musical and extremely high energy. Before too long, the young people were up and dancing, next the toddlers with mom or dad and by intermission, even the old people were out. Lots of fun!

Showing off my Table

I promised a shorter post this time, but just a little aside on boat names. If we were in South Florida, this could easily become a rant. I am so incredulous that people would name a boat Wet Dreams, Pole Dancer, Liquid Assets, Capital Gains, etc, etc. Not to mention Momma’s Mink or another name I can’t bring myself to write here. I actually think this one is a great name-- or at least I smile every time we go by this handsome lobster boat. Its name-- use your best Maine accent here-- is “Flo-Rida”. Cute, huh.

Well, enough for now. The latest marine forecast is looking good and looks like Sunday will be a good day. You can watch our progress from Southwest Harbor to Shelburne, NS on the “SPOT” link (upper right hand side of every post) hopefully starting early afternoon this Sunday. Next post from Canada!