Hurricanes, Halifax and More Blue Bags

All is well here in Mahone Bay, on a beautiful sunny Monday, but very windy day, post Irene. We holed up last night in a well protected anchorage, and thankfully, for this part of Canada the hurricane was a non- event-- very reminiscent of our experience a year ago with hurricane Earl. The following post was actually ready to go last Thursday, but for many reasons, technical (no internet!) and otherwise (just busy!) it was delayed. So here it is.

Rainbow over Chester

It would be so much easier if I blogged more often. Now I have too many photos to share, too many places to describe and without my calendar/ log, I wouldn’t even be able to tell you where we’ve been. Once past Lunenburg, distances between destinations are short and we’ve come and gone from some favorite spots several times. 

We’re in Halifax now, which we’ve rediscovered after our visit here three years ago and find we’re really enjoying the town, the vibrant waterfront and just being here. The difference in our attitudes is certainly in large part due to being in the center of things; this year Carry On is docked in a new, attractive area of the waterfront rather than sitting in the northwest arm of Halifax Harbour at the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Club.The yacht club is two connecting buses away from the city, or a rental car is essential --and the slip prices are unreasonably high. The wake from passing ships, tugs, pilot boats and pleasure boats can be a little rough here, the dock power is less than what we require, but we’re making do and as they say, location is everything.

We’re relaxing between guests and happy that Hurricane Irene has not prevented our friends from coming this afternoon as planned. We’ve done some revision of our original plan, as we’ll need to hole up for a couple days and likely will do the trip back to Salem in two hops rather than one long 40 hour trip. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

At my last post we were in the Gold River on a Saturday night, a pretty spot for an evening, but without internet or a place to go ashore, we were underway early Sunday for Chester. We had a lovely day walking around this pretty small community, a summer place for generations of Americans, many from Connecticut and Philadelphia. Alas by sunset, the internet was iffy and the sky was clouding up. We woke to a gray morning and Paul had coffee while I walked. We looked for a solution to our internet problems and were directed to the Lido Pool, where the wifi service for the harbor is housed. After much discussion of potential problems, but no with solution, we dinghied back to the boat as the rain began to fall in earnest. Finally, late in the day the sun came out and we were treated to a spectacular rainbow.

Main Street, Mahone Bay

Trio of Church Spires, Mahone Bay

Waking up to what looked like more rain (no internet, therefore no weather forecast!) we decided to head back to Mahone Bay where our wifi reception was at least passable. What we thought might be one night there turned into three, as the wind howled and waves rolled up the harbor while thunder boomed and lightning crackled. We consoled ourselves with  pasta and chocolate over what seems to be the prevalent weather pattern this summer. It can make a person begin to feel crazy.

En route to Hubbards Cove we passed a long, low ledge sitting just barely out of the water. I commented to Paul how easy it would be to miss it in fog before modern navigation aids and asked its name. Since its name is Seal Ledge and I needed something to amuse myself, I got out the binoculars to have a look. Sure enough, there were 50 or 60 seals sunning themselves on Seal Ledge-- very aptly named!  Too far away for a photo, sadly.

We had long planned to visit the Hubbards Cove Farmers Market on Saturday morning and had made plans with Canadian friends from three years ago to meet for Friday night dinner there. We were slightly disappointed in the market, although we’re not quite sure why. We remembered two wonderful blue grass bands at our last visit and this Saturday featured a lone singer with a wimpy mandolin. And where was the young woman who sold the organic catnip toys that Bubba loved so much?

Rogue's Roost

We were anxious to get to Halifax on Sunday to be ready for our guest from Tokyo, so we left Hubbards Saturday morning after the market and splitting the trip in half, visited another new anchorage. We’d heard about Rogue’s Roost before and been warned not to go there on weekends to avoid the boom box crowd. We decided to go for it anyway, despite it being Saturday night. I have to say that Rogue’s Roost is one of the most spectacular anchorages we’ve ever seen. The rock formations all around us were magnificent and the terrain up the grass covered slopes was strewn with huge boulders, remnants of the glaciers that receded thousands of years ago. It was a beautiful evening with an almost full orange moon, a starry sky unmasked by city lights, and as we left early the next morning, the sunrise was reflected in the perfectly still water. 

Tucked In, Rogue's Roost

Our jet lagged guest arrived on schedule in Halifax Tuesday and promptly went to sleep after lunch. We had a full day Wednesday and visited the Citadel, had lunch and sampled the wares at a pub known for its Nova Scotian beers. Amazingly we were still alert enough to visit one of the more incredible used book stores we’ve ever seen.

Paul and I’d been to the Citadel three years ago, but somehow this year we accidentally arrived for the firing of guns and the noon bagpipe ceremony, the largest displays of the day. I was captivated by the hat of the guard in the entryway and asked him about his very tall and showy hat. I wasn’t sure whether it was fur or feathers, but he explained that the lower black part was ostrich feathers and the upper white part was feathers from an African Vulture. I’d hate to think he was fooling with me, so I took that at face value. It was a hot day and he assured me the hat was actually quite cool, only a little itchy sometimes. I can only imagine.

Fine Feathered Hat

We wanted to show our guest the anchorage at Rogue’s Roost, so we stopped there Thursday night and Friday made the trip back to Lunenburg, so he could experience this United Nations World Heritage Site and its unique waterfront. On Sunday we were back in Chester, this time to much nicer weather. We took a very long walk, spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out, reading the Times online and had dinner at a lovely inn in town.

As we still had things we wanted to see and do in Halifax, we left Chester early Monday morning, but the pitching and rolling, even with our stabilizers deployed, was severe. After four hours, we had all had ENOUGH and ducked back into Rogue’s Roost for shelter from the waves, wind and rain. Luckily the next morning was much calmer-- we left early and had an uneventful journey back to Halifax. Our voyages have often been interesting and beautiful at times, but sometimes uneventful is just the right note!

Just a few footnotes on the “blue bags”-- I got enough free samples at a Halifax waterfront event to carry me and my garbage all the way back to Massachusetts and more importantly, learned that their real benefit is that they are clear. I have been adhering to my own policy of recycle in one bag and combining the garbage and compost in another. As we were stuffing our garbage/ compost blue bag into a receptacle along the way, our guest, who is from the Netherlands, blithely informed me that if you mix the wrong things in Holland, your garbage is searched for your name and address and the offending items are mailed back to you along with a fine. Yikes. I will be dreading the next forwarded mail from Green Cove Springs!

Trawler Trash Trauma

Brooklyn Fishing Fleet

We had a lovely evening on anchor at Carter’s Beach, but woke up to a windy and rainy Saturday morning, exactly as forecast. With more dire weather warnings as the day developed, the Navigator strongly suggested that we seek shelter for the rest of the day and night in Brooklyn, a very small town near the small town of Liverpool, with its very own paper mill and tiny yacht club/ hot dog stand. The trip was not too rough, and just a bit wet hauling anchor and getting underway. 


We radioed ahead on VHF to see if there were moorings or dockage available for a boat our size and got not the expected answer back on VHF, but did see two men standing on the slightly rickety looking dock waving us in. What the heck, we thought and rigged the dock lines and started in as the rain began falling harder. The dock volunteers caught our lines and were exceedingly accommodating-- they directed us in to the little clubhouse, gave us maps of the area and instructions on how to sort our garbage. 

Blogger at Work

Seriously, Nova Scotia takes garbage seriously-- or I should say, recycling, which seems to be a two part thing, composting and garbage (the leftovers of the previous two (or three) things. It’s defined down to potato chip bags (garbage) fish bones, meat skin and fat and fruit peelings, etc (compostable) and milk containers, glass and plastic bottles (recyclables-- there is something called “blue bag” which I can’t seem to figure out). Those of you who know me well know that I’m very committed to recycling. My husband calls me the Recycling Queen-- but I am intimidated. I have always managed a separate bag for the wine bottles, empty cans and plastics under my sink in addition to the big normal garbage bin, but compost too? I can’t disagree with the wisdom of the plan, but complying on a boat, even a 56 ft trawler, feels a bit more than I can manage. And now I’m nervous every time I need to dispose of trash-- what if they catch me putting compost in the garbage?

Lunenburg Approach

We had a nice rainy day on board in Brooklyn with eggs, sausages and toast for lunch and about 4 pm the sun came out, just enough time before showers and dinner for a nice long walk. On to Lunenburg the next morning in dazzling sunshine and fairly comfortable seas. We’ve been to Lunenburg before, but had a good time rediscovering old things with our guests and finding a few interesting changes on the waterfront. Lunenburg’s town center runs along the shore and up a steep hill, with buildings neatly painted in dark reds, shades of blue, a few grays and an occasional green or yellow-- it’s quite a sight coming in from the water. I perched on the deck and took about a dozen pictures, but I really don’t think I captured the affect.

Dory Shop, Lunenburg

Our guests left mid week on a very rainy morning, baggage neatly wrapped in garbage bags of different sizes and hues; all of us in foul weather gear survived the wet trip in the dinghy, actually two trips for the guys and the luggage. Breakfast out, reward for enduring.

The weather really didn’t want to clear up, despite a ray of sunshine here or there. The wet drizzle, grayness and fog persisted until on Friday we decided we needed a change of scene badly. The short trip up to Mahone Bay was easy, we anchored and went exploring. Mahone Bay has a certain tourist charm, but little seemed changed since our last visit except, happily, the major upgrade of the local grocery store. I had looked forward to revisiting this port and couldn’t quite figure out why I felt a little funky that night. I mentioned it at dinner and Paul concurred, suggesting that maybe we needed new horizons. 

At Anchor, Lunenburg Harbour

That sounded good to me, so after a few errands in the morning, we took Carry On exploring. We poked around Oak Island, Indian Point, many other islands and coves and anchored near the mouth of Gold River. The change of scene felt good, along with the first really sunny day we’d had in about a week. Today we headed to Chester, a half hour run, we will take care of some business there tomorrow morning, then take the ferry over to Tancook Island just for fun.

Using the “SPOT” isn’t rocket science, but if any of you noticed, our large blob of an arrival at Lunenburg seemed to have been by air. In our excitement at reaching Lunenburg and sunshine, we forgot to turn it off. And as we discovered on the trip over the Gulf of Maine, there is a finite number of tracking points. Maybe we need to buy stock in a lithium battery company!

Plan B

There were a few of you observant friends who noticed that the “SPOT” didn’t turn up in exactly the location advertised in my last post. Indeed, I published the last blog I had written, knowing that our departure was not going to occur as planned and that we had big problems to deal with before leaving. Somehow I just couldn’t bring myself to throw away, or even alter, the feelings of well-being and happiness that I felt I’d captured-- so I decided just to post anyway.

We had noticed a week earlier that we were having troubles keeping our battery banks charged up to snuff, despite running generators considerably longer than usual. The situation deteriorated further a week ago Friday until it became clear that we needed to plug in to shore power, to preserve what battery life was left and also to perform a procedure suggested by the battery company tech to see if we could rehab our batteries to a workable level. We made way to Northeast Harbor in the heat of late afernoon on Friday, the hottest day we’ve had all summer. Despite Paul’s attention to battery temps every hour well into the night, there seemed to be little change in charge levels. On to Plan B.

Scene in Passing to the Gulf of Maine

Early Saturday morning, we moved down to Belfast, where Paul had already talked with the boat yard about ordering new batteries if necessary and having them installed. We got in late Saturday afternoon, feeling pretty stressed out and fairly discouraged about once again delaying our carefully planned trip across the Gulf of Maine to Shelburne.

The one bright spot was meeting our new friends once again for another wonderful Sunday morning breakfast at Chase Daily in downtown Belfast -- great food and great talk.

The boat yard mechanic visited Carry On early Monday morning and did not have a definitive diagnosis, only that replacing batteries would be in our future-- exactly when was an open question. We could continue our travels, carefully watching our power usage, finding docks to plug in more frequently and using generators as necessary to keep our battery levels from sinking-- or we could stay in Belfast for the week, then wait for another weather window which looked at the earliest to be August 1. We decided to opt for the first and deal with the battery issue when back in Salem after Labor Day.

Light at Port Mouton Head

We left Belfast Tuesday morning at 10:30 and arrived in Shelburne, NS around 6 pm local time (5 pm Eastern Daylight Savings). It was a long trip and exhausting. We were fighting ocean swells the entire way and traveling in fog much of the time. I didn’t feel well and couldn’t really stand my share of watch, so Paul had to take up the slack. Late in the afternoon the fog cleared and we saw whales blowing and diving all around us in the distance-- quite a majestic sight. We made it safely into Shelburne Harbour, tied up to the dock and had a quick dinner while waiting for customs officials to come aboard to clear us. Their visit went fairly smoothly and quickly; we had a dish of ice cream to celebrate our arrival and fell into bed.

We did a quick regrouping the next day, cleaned up the boat and ourselves and our Phippsburg friends joined us late in the afternoon. We had expected to meet them a week earlier, but luckily for us they were driving and sightseeing, and they and their schedule were flexible. I had been so afraid we would be so delayed we would miss them entirely. We had a lovely dinner out that night, another good night sleep and we were well on our way back to almost normal.

Rocks off Carter's Beach

The weather today is rainy and windy and we seem to be in a spell of foggy days. We ran yesterday in fog again until late afternoon when we rounded Port Mouton Head to anchor off Carter’s Beach. Carter’s is one of our very favorite anchorages, a beautiful white sandy beach with rocks around the shore and salt marshes that fill and clear with the tides. We picked up sand dollars, explored the small life in the standing water and had a long walk on the fine, warm sand.

The weather today is rainy and windy and we seem to be in a spell of foggy days. We ran yesterday in fog again until late afternoon when we rounded Port Mouton Head to anchor off Carter’s Beach. Carter’s is one of our very favorite anchorages, a beautiful white sandy beach with rocks around the shore and salt marshes that fill and clear with the tides. We picked up sand dollars, explored the small life in the standing water and had a long walk on the fine, warm sand.

Fog Creeping In

It’s hours later now, almost bedtime, the weather is greatly improved and we’ve had another lovely meal on board after a long walk around town. Plan B seems to be workly out nicely.

Oh, almost forgot. Again, for you SPOT watchers-- the SPOT seemed to drop the entire first half of our trip out of Belfast  to Shelburne. The track appears to start in the middle of the Gulf of Maine. We think we exceeded the number of available track points after the first 18 hours of our trip and the software deleted all the previous points. We haven't quite figured out a way around that other than turning the SPOT on and off periodically. Maybe we'll try that next time-- but then, maybe not.

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!

Fish Tales and Schooners

Our day back to Rockland stretched comfortably into a week. The repaired part was reinstalled in the 12KW generator, but as these things go, or at least this generator goes, another part was required-- and finally reinstalled on Friday. As far as I’m concerned, there’s never a problem staying amused in Rockland-- there are good places for long walks, interesting shops and a couple of bookstores to browse in, good restaurants, not to mention the Farnsworth Museum and its huge collection of Wyeths.

Rockland Breakwater Light

In describing Rockland to one of our guests the week before, I had used the word “gritty” and began rethinking my comment. Rockland is thriving-- a couple of restaurants have turned over, but Main Street has new galleries and jewelry stores since we were there last year. There are lots of tourists, from the coastal cruise ships that dock there twice a week this time of year, ferry passengers and visitors from the smaller towns farther down Rt 1. There is still a working waterfront, with a deep sea fishing fleet, several boatyards and a smelly plant producing carrageenen, a seaweed extract used as a gelling agent in food. Downwind of the plant on a warm or humid day is not a good place to be. I know-- we had a mooring there for a season some years ago.

4th of July in Castine

At the end of our week in Rockland, in preparation for our trip to Nova Scotia, we took on over 1000 gallons of fuel. Needless to say, Paul shopped for the best price, which was lower if we went to the dock to be fueled by truck, rather than serviced by the company’s boat. Approaching the far side of the harbor where the dock was located, we were happy to have GPS data on its location, as it was a 45 ft rickety dock with no one in sight other than a bare-chested young man with multiple tattoos and body piercings with a fishing pole and bucket and a crying toddler running around behind him. 

I asked if he could move his energy drink which was sitting on a strategic cleat and unwittingly started a flow of conversation. Docking requires our full attention, particularly when it’s just the two of us, but the one-sided nature of the conversation didn’t seem to hinder him. When we were safely docked, he offered us mackerel, which he declared he didn’t eat, but often gave to his friends, cleaned and gutted. We declined. 

Schooners' Morning

Speaking of fish, we had quite a surprise recently when Paul found an 8 inch fish, still alive and unscathed, in one of the strainers. (Strainers remove large particulate matter from the water taken in to cool generators, refrigeration, water maker, etc.) The strainer in question has often been clogged with handfuls of sea grass, also intact, and a small crab or two, but never anything so sizable as this fish.So yesterday Paul removed the strainer, packed it up and with the use of a friend’s car sent the it back to Maryland where it was rebuilt in October-- more on this fish tale later!

It’s raining here this morning in Southwest Harbor on Mt Desert, a beautiful spot even in the rain. I’m determined to finally finish this post which I started days ago.

We had such a good time in Belfast on our first visit this year that we decided to go back for a second overnight trip. Again we saw friends, had another breakfast at Chase, a wonderful vegetarian restaurant where you don’t even miss the bacon-- and thoroughly enjoyed the vibrant small town atmosphere with its proactive, environmentally friendly attitudes. We regret that this was our last visit to Belfast this year as we’ll be coming back down from Nova Scotia in one long haul straight to Salem. 

Perry Creek Boathouse

It seems that the last few weeks have involved a lot of backtracking, and indeed we decided to go back to Castine for the Fourth of July holiday. Castine, one of the oldest settlements in the country, is a lovely small town, with a long military history well back before the Revolutionary war. Despite the historical markers around town and a quick look at Wikipedia, I am at a loss to describe its complex history further! More relevant to us was the reputation for a wonderful small town celebration for the Fourth. We took the little boat in to town from the mooring loaned to us by friends, arriving just in time for the afternoon band concert. It was a wonderful scene with people of all ages spread out on the grass on the town common and a particularly funny and charming toddler who amused us all with her dancing and conducting. The band itself occasionally made us wince, but it’s hard to be too critical of an all volunteer band in a mostly summer community playing lively Sousa marches!

We opted out of staying in town for the fireworks display, as the sky was beginning to look threatening and also knowing that our mooring would make a fine vantage point. As we were approaching our mooring, we saw several schooners arriving in our cove to anchor for the night and we could begin to see the masts of many windjammers already at anchor. What a sight-- we counted 15 schooners-- something which we have never seen before in all our time in Maine! 

Schooners in a Row

As happens in Maine, a dense fog dropped down and within an hour visibility was reduced so much that we could see only our own lifelines. At the appointed time, we heard a few isolated pops of firecrackers, but saw nothing. Then silence-- and I’m sure the fireworks were rescheduled for another, clearer evening. We were very happy to be snug aboard Carry On and not facing a long trip back to our boat with no visibility.

Leaving the next morning, we took a photo op detour and I took many, many pictures in an attempt to capture the schooner scene. Without a wide angle, it was clear to me that I couldn’t really convey what my eyes could see, so I’ll ask you to use your imagination when looking at one mass of boats laying at all angles in the still morning air. Several were already beginning to haul their anchors and get underway, and we heard discussions on the radio of a race planned for later that morning.

Stonington Harbor

Our plan was to visit two of our favorite anchorages before heading to Southwest Harbor, with Perry Creek, just off the Fox Island Thoroughfare (the passage between the islands of Northaven and Vinalhaven), our first stopover. We arrived in just a couple of hours of leaving Castine, and amazingly, found room to anchor before any other boats arrived. We have always loved to take the dinghy in a high speed run across the thoroughfare to the small village of Northaven, which never seems to change much.

Next stopover was a group of rocky islands off the Stonington shore of Deer Isle, long a favorite of mine for the beautiful, smooth rocks sloping up to the pine trees which cover the interiors. Guess what we saw as we made our way past the harbor? Yes, the schooners en masse again, this time laying in a neat line. 

We had a mostly quiet afternoon and a lovely evening, once the lobstermen had buzzed by our anchorage and headed home, creating some ferocious wakes. Breakfast in the morning at a small cafe in Stonington, a long walk afterwards for me and then we hauled anchor for Southwest Harbor. 

The sun is shining here now-- it’s afternoon, and as much as I’d hoped to publish this post, now there’s marginal internet. Tomorrow then-- and a much less verbose post next time, I promise.

Maine Bound

Underway again! Thursday, June 16, we cut the umbilical cord to our comfortable dock in Salem and made way for Maine! 

Star Island, Isles of Shoals, NH

We made a short first day out to Isles of Shoals, a group of islands off Portsmouth, NH, on the first really hot day of the season. The day was beautiful, but the seas were in a long, slow swell that didn’t agree with our crew member most susceptible to mal de mer, poor old Bubba, and made doing much other than sitting difficult for the rest of the crew. We picked up a mooring in Gosport Harbor off Star Island, a lovely place which we have never managed to experience on such a beautiful and eventually quiet evening. I found myself wondering about why that harbor and neighboring islands can seem almost eerie, the rambling but modest old white hotel, the out buildings and high stone rip rap around the harbor, the lack of life other than sea birds? Maybe it’s remembering the ax murders that occurred there back in 1873, which Anita Shreve wove into her 1996 novel The Weight of Water. Whatever, we shook that feeling, grilled burgers, watched the sunset begin and went to bed early! 

Lobsterman's Shed, Phippsburg, ME

After turning out of the harbor at 4:30 am the next morning, we set a 58 mile course for the mouth of the Kennebec River, near Seguin Island light and our cruise up river to Bath, Maine to visit my college roommate and her husband who live nearby in Phippsburg. For ten hours underway, we saw no land, only two fishing boats in the distance and birds, notably a large flock of Guillemots, which seemed surprisingly far south. (Guillemots are small, very cute, completely black birds except for one white spot on their back and wonderful red feet-- members of the same Alcid family as puffins.) 

On a calm day a 58 mile course is a gift of time for doing projects, reading, baking or snoozing, but the seas were again rolling enough to keep us alternating watch with napping in our favorite chair. I spent some time thinking about why I felt so excited to be heading north again, as I really enjoyed our time in port in Florida and Salem. It seems to me it’s the difference in living on a boat much like we would in a house and going cruising-- and going cruising is what we’ve always loved about our summers in Maine and Nova Scotia. We move from place to place, mostly anchored at night or occasionally picking up a mooring, making runs to shore in the dinghy, meeting friends here and there and enjoying small town life along the Atlantic coast. 

We can go north or south or east or west, which sounds like a ridiculous thing to get excited about, but when we’re traveling up and down the coast, it’s pretty much north or pretty much south. Actually, those days in the ICW that we wiggle around going more east or west are kind of frustrating, because the whole idea is going north or south! Although we have enjoyable and certainly interesting days on the ICW, cruising in Maine is really about enjoying the whole process-- not so much about getting anywhere very fast!

Lupines at Parker Head, Phippsburg, ME

After a great weekend in Bath and Phippsburg with our friends, we made way for Rockland to have our genset worked on, or at least put back together from the unfinished work done in Salem. It was “just another beautiful day in Maine” --as we often say to each other-- as we headed toward Rockland, treated to a parade of five windjammers heading south with all sails set. It was a quick stopover in Rockland; but while the mechanic removed a part for repair, I gave Carry On a badly needed bath.

Schooners in Penobscot Bay

With Carry On clean and ready for guests, we arrived at the Belfast town docks to meet friends from Marblehead. We spent one of our evenings on an anchor in Smith Cove and took our little boat over to Castine for the afternoon. Then back to Belfast for an excursion arranged by our friends to visit True North Farms, an organic vegetable farm started and worked by old friends of theirs who relocated to the Belfast area a few years ago. It was a special afternoon in a beautiful setting with the Camden hills in the background. We had a tour including all the farm equipment used in sequence to prepare the soil, make mounded beds and plant seed, as well as the fields, all neatly labelled. I was impressed by the incredible amount of planning required and the constancy of work to be done, and the dedication of two people who are only slightly younger than Paul. 

True North Farms, Montville, ME

We’re still hanging out here in Belfast, although our guests are gone. The weather has been gray and rainy, we have tasks that need attending, as well as feeling the need for a bit of down time. We need to go back to Rockland to have our repaired  genset part reinstalled, but after Rockland we’re still up in the air-- Castine for a few days, then up to Southwest Harbor? Back here to Belfast? So-- no schedule for the near term and it feels kind of good! 

The Last Leg

It’s been a month since my last blog and just three days shy of a month since we left the boatyard in Oxford, MD. We’ve been a bit lax, enjoying port life in the center of Salem, MA, seeing friends, working on projects and for the first two weeks here, trying to stay warm.

I always feel the trip between the Chesapeake and Massachusetts is the hardest part of the long distance we cover back and forth to Florida. There are stretches with little protection, as along the New Jersey coastline, and no option but to travel outside, and other stretches with few good places to stop, necessitating long days or days shorter than one might like. Getting underway at 6 am as we did every day for a week and going until sunset several days, it can feel like a slog.

Traffic in the C & D Canal

Our rough itinerary goes as follows and usually doesn’t vary much trip to trip. We left Oxford on April 29 late morning and arrived at Still Pond, a pleasant anchorage up the Eastern Shore of Maryland. We intended a short trip the next day, but the seas were so much calmer than predicted and the current seemed to stay with us, so we travelled through the C & D canal (Chesapeake and Delaware), crossed Delaware Bay and took the back door into Cape May via a short canal. We arrived in Atlantic City the next day, May 1, earlier than planned, but felt we needed to have our battery charging systems and alternators looked at-- there’s a whole other story here which I won’t go into-- as well as having some time to catch our breath. 

Atlantic City at First Light

We stayed in Atlantic City three nights, we got the batteries charged up, hoping all else was well in the engine room, and my college roommate joined us on the third day to make the trip through NY harbor with us. As was true for most of out trip up from Oxford, the weather and marine forecasts were not encouraging-- rain, high winds and our least favorite thing, high seas. So we left Atlantic City for the long trip up the Jersey coast, stopping just outside the harbor to put down our paravane stabilizers, the first time we've dropped the "fish" in almost a year. We travelled in rain with a slight roll all day until just as we approached NY harbor the late afternoon sun began to peek out.

Lights of Lower Manhattan

Reception Hall at Ellis Island

If there’s little else to get excited about on this leg, the trip through New York City via the East River makes up for it all. And unlike our last trips, instead of anchoring further south in Sandy Hook, NJ, Paul found a wonderful spot between Ellis Island and Liberty Island. Never mind that it was one of the roughest anchorages we’ve ever experienced, the views were spectacular.

None of us, even Bubba, minded the evening we spent there, literally on a roll. We ate a late dinner with the lighted Statue of Liberty off to the port and the Reception Hall at Ellis Island and the night skyline of lower Manhattan off to starboard. It’s hard to describe the elation we felt!

The next morning was the actual trip up the East River through the NYC bridges, looking at all the landmark buildings, the Chrysler, the Empire State, the new building going up where the twin towers of the World Trade Center stood, and the prison of Law and Order fame at Riker’s Island. We travelled up Long Island sound and arrived by early afternoon at Port Jefferson-- an uneventful passage other than watching a submarine out of Groton, CT heading up the sound and out to sea.

The next bright spot on our journey homewards was Newport, where we landed late Friday afternoon. Paul’s old college friends who lived in Jamestown whisked us and our guest off to their yacht club for dinner. After a lovely breakfast at their home Saturday morning, my friend left us and Paul and I made plans with our Jamestown friends who would be joining us for the last leg up to Salem.

We planned a civilized Sunday, picking them up at the Jamestown town dock around 10 am and anchoring in the Mattapoisett/ New Bedford, MA area in the early afternoon. Luckily Paul checked weather conditions again and found the window of opportunity was closing to get to Salem without experiencing seas of 5-9 feet-- way more than we want to purposely find ourselves in. With guests onboard, we made a quick decision to go overnight, stopping for a few hours east of the Cape Cod Canal for favorable currents. Our friends are well-seasoned sailors and cruisers and more than willing to stand night watches, so we docked in Salem at 5:30 am Monday morning, May 9.

Brooklyn Bridge

The sun is shining again today, the second full day of sun in the almost three weeks we’ve been here. I do keep reminding myself, that although it’s been chilly and damp here, we really have nothing to complain about as every evening we see new reports of unbelievably destructive tornados ripping through the south and midwest. 

We have two more weeks here, which will go quickly. We’re looking forward to the month we’ll spend in Maine and the rest of the summer cruising along the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, visiting some favorite spots and discovering new places along the way.