Uncategorized | Voyages of the Eleanor Q

Aug

From Maine to Mass – Our Last Days in Maine

This post is being written (started) from Gloucester, Massachussets, but Gloucester is a story to be saved for next post! This post will cover our final days in Maine.

After our somewhat back and forth relationship with Maine this month, we ended our trip on a very high note which was greatly influenced by the fact that we didn’t see fog for the last seven days and the weather was quite beautiful, which makes the scenery even more beautiful and everybody happy!

We left Northeast Harbor (Acadia area) and headed to a really interesting island: Frenchboro. It is quite remote and isolated and is pretty much all about the lobstering. There are two primary family names that have kept the island going for many years. There is a school that has an enrollment of around a dozen plus or minus a few in different years. Once again we saw the dramatic difference in tidal swings. We enjoyed some good lobster rolls and a beautiful walk on some of the trails around the island. Noteworthy event there: anchoring wasn’t really recommended and we secured one of the last public mooring balls. For the rest of the afternoon, we watched boats stream in looking for a place to secure themselves for the night . . . some had no luck. Then we saw a boat come in with a hailing port of Annapolis: NEIGHBORS! Sunset wasn’t far away and they needed a place to stay, so we hailed them on the radio and asked if they wanted to “raft up” with us on our mooring ball which means we tie our boats together side by side. They happily took us up on the offer and we had very pleasant neighbors for the evening. We enjoyed sitting in our mutual cockpits the next morning having coffee and visiting with each other. . . a nice way to meet.

Our first stop in Lunt Harbor on Frenchboro Island

Watching the lobster being offloaded in Lunt Harbor – now that’s fresh!

Low tide!

Frenchboro has a funky little vibe . . . this shed is a good illustration!

Frank looking out over the harbor

Next morning we headed to Seal Bay. What an exceptionally gorgeous place! We were so enamored with the place and there were so many exciting looking nooks and crannies to explore with the dinghy, we abandoned our plans to leave the next day and decided to treat ourselves to a lay day to relax and enjoy. That’s what we’re supposed to be doing on this cruising thing, right? There were a few other boats anchored up, but there was so much space for all of us, it still felt like we had a whole lot of the place to ourselves. At low tide we went out and harvested mussels which made for an excellent dinner that night! And, of course, we were in search of Seals. The place is called Seal Bay, right?

Coming in to Seal Bay

Harvesting mussels

Ems proud of her muddy feet at low tide.

Seal Bay is way up the list as one of our favorite stops.

Mussels and Linguine . . . it’s what’s for dinner!

After a great sleeping night, we woke up to a spectacularly sunny and warm day. Enjoyed the morning doing boat chores and making/eating blueberry coffee cake! Then we saw boats start to pour into the area! Came to realize that there was a flotilla coming in from the New York Yacht Club (one of the most exclusive yacht clubs you’re likely to find)! We’re talking maybe 50 boats of all sizes and shapes! We quickly became one of the smallest (and least expensive) boats in the place! The quiet little bay wasn’t deserted any more. I said to Frank, “One thing we don’t have to worry about with this group – no one is going to come in blasting rap music.” He responded, “No – but they might come in blaring Beethoven!” It did make for some fun boat eye candy – Frank’s favorite past time is ogling boats, so he was supplied with great fodder for that. By the way, we saw a grand total of one seal in Seal Bay. Do we smell that bad?

No, I am NOT eating the coffee cake right out of the pan! Okay, maybe a little bit . . .

The yacht club joined us in Seal Bay . . .

Left the next morning for Tenants Harbor. This stop was very good location-wise for our travels . . . but I can’t say there is any other reason we would stop there again, so I’ll move on . . .

Next we headed to Boothbay Harbor. We had visited that area on the way up, but this time anchored in the harbor by town itself instead of in the cove around the corner. We took advantage and walked to a real grocery store and enjoyed town in much better weather than when we saw it the first time. Although Boothbay is a popular summer destination, it doesn’t have that overcrowded tourist town feeling. It is a lovely place with lots to see and do.

Next on our speedy tour back down the state of Maine, Jewel Island. This anchorage was really just a little cove that you can duck in to for some protection overnight. There is nothing there but beauty and woods. Its beauty makes it quite a popular spot, but there is only room for about a dozen boats. There were people camping on the island and two families on their boats traveling with their children having the time of their lives kayaking and swimming (in 58 degree water, no thank you). The place had a very congenial feeling. We enjoyed a quiet evening there before taking off again the next day. No rest for the weary!

Jewel Island lives up to its name.

Jewel at Dusk

The most pleasant surprise of our last days in Maine was our stop in Biddeford Pool. It is about 5 miles south of Kennebunkport which is a town name more people recognize. We thought of it as “the alternative location so we don’t have to go to Portland again.” BEAUTIFUL! We anchored up with the plan to stay for two nights because of a strong wind forecast for the second day, and not in the direction we needed. Our walk around town and to the point was positively civilized. What do I mean by that? It was idyllic in a way. It was the portrait of niceties in a town that appears to have a little money in it. We walked by a group playing croquet . . . we happened onto a nature trail that ran between the cliffs and a nine hole links golf course where they were having a mixed couples, “Wine, Nine and Dine” outing. The ice cream truck was rolling around the neighborhood. The truck that used to come around the neighborhood in Harrisburg used to play something obnoxious that I couldn’t get out of my head for hours . . . something like “Pop Goes the Weasel.” I wanted to take a range rifle to it regularly. This ice cream truck was playing, “Sailing, Sailing, Over the Deep Blue Sea . . . ” You can’t get mad at that! And it was just one nice view after another. We met couples from two other boats in the anchorage and have exchanged messages with both with promises to meet up in the future since we are all heading south! The one-liner of the night came from the one gentleman who said, (in an Australian accent just to give you the full effect), “The coldest winter I ever spent was this summer in Maine.” Just cracked us up! The other couple came over for cocktails bearing a bag of paperbacks that they were finished with and lots of good advice for cruising the Bahamas. We chatted comfortably with them for quite some time.

The view from the nature conservancy at Biddeford Pool

A beautiful view across someone’s back yard

Ems trying not to fall off the rocks while while posing for a picture.

If you can’t find an ice cream stand, just take your own spoon and go to the store! Appropriate that he’s eating Moose Tracks in Maine.

Another example of the dramatic tide swings!

Our new friends leaving at dawn . . . we were about 15 minutes behind them . . .

Sun rising as we left! Forgot to put on the improved sunrise playlist.

It was finally time to say goodbye to Maine. We knew we had about a ten hour trip ahead of us to get to Gloucester so we left at sunrise. Along the way we saw a seal pop his head up and check us out for a while! Finally! We may have seen a grand total of 8 seals the whole time we were in Maine! And – at long last – we spotted two whales that day!! We think they were Minke Whales . . . not too big and could be mistaken for a dolphin swimming at the surface of the water until you realize it is much too large to be a dolphin!! The sightings were brief, but exciting. We took two hour shifts, it was warm, and we were going downwind, so it was a comfortable ride other than the flies that wanted to make the trip with us. Ten hours flew by, and then we were pulling into the harbor in Gloucester, another town with LOTS of Frank’s family to visit . . . but we’ll save that for the next post.

And so we say goodbye to Maine. It’s so hard to believe the first leg of this journey is over already. Leaving, we feel more experienced using our radar in the fog, more adept at dodging lobster pots, and realize that there is no place like Maine. As I’ve said before, the cool factor in Maine is high . . . but you gotta work for it! Will we be back next year? If you’d asked us the first week of August, we might have said no. . . but now, I don’t think we could pass it up. So Maine – we’ll be seeing you!

Aug

A Reach to Our Ultimate Maine Destination: Acadia

Before we get into our latest escapades, first things first:

We want express appreciation for the nice comments and feedback we’ve received from many of you about this blog. We had two initial reasons for doing this blog: 1) So friends and family could keep tuned in to our whereabouts, and 2) So as we get old, feeble and forgetful we’ll have a record of this time to look back on for ourselves. (We are one of those three things now, but I can’t remember which one.) So we’re surprised at the number of people who have taken an interest in our adventure and read along. Thanks for your time, support, thoughts and comments! It’s nice to know you’re out there.

Moving on – our “ultimate” destination in Maine has always been to get to Acadia National Park on Mt. Desert Island. We had one more stop after leaving Pulpit Harbor and that stop was Center Harbor. The route that we chose to get there was through the Eggemoggin Reach. (I love the names you come across in Maine.) The reach is a 10 mile long body of water running between Deer Isle and the mainland and it averages about a mile in width with spectacular views on both sides. At one point there is a suspension bridge that runs across (plenty high enough for us to pass under).

The suspension bridge across Eggemoggin Reach. Made us think about the Bay Bridge in Annapolis a little bit!

The head sail up for an easy cruise down Eggemoggin Reach

It is called a “reach” because the way it is positioned and the direction of the predominant winds, a sailboat is almost always on a “reach” (meaning with the wind hitting the boat broadside) which is the most desirable point of sail. The weather was gorgeous and, best of all, the lobster pots subsided for a while!! My friends, we did something shocking. We put up the sails and turned off the engine – a rare experience in these parts for us! Sun, warmth, wind, no pots – that makes Frank very happy. Here’s how happy it made him:

Here' what's really happening in this picture: Frank is so happy, he turned on some Motown music and started singing and dancing, that's how happy he was!

Here’s what’s really happening in this picture: Frank is so happy, he turned on Motown music and started singing and dancing, that’s how happy he was!

After thoroughly enjoying our sail for a portion of the Reach, we started nosing around to decide which harbor we would spend the night in . . . and ended up in Center Harbor – a perfectly delightful place. We took what appeared to be the last mooring ball for rent. Not two minutes after we got settled, a boat came towards us looking like he had something on his mind. This kind soul told us that we weren’t going to be very happy with the mooring at low tide . . . it was dangerously close to a rocky ledge . . . and he suggested that we take a nearby private mooring that belonged to someone who would be out of town for several days. Not only was it a better spot, it was FREE! Good samaritans everywhere.

The good weather was holding out for us again and we took the dinghy to shore and hoofed it for about a mile to “town.” We were mostly looking for a nice walk and to find some dinner, maybe check out the market – ’cause that’s what we do. We hadn’t showered or changed clothes and expected to come across the usual casual eatery. There was only one game in town for dinner and that was the Brooklin Inn. Yes, we were in Brooklin. (Not THAT Brooklyn.) We walked in right at 5:00pm (our eating hours are highly unpredicatable) – and then we saw the white table clothes and thought “uh oh.” But we were really hungry and weary and looking for a good meal, and they welcomed us in spite of our appearance (and ripeness). What a GREAT meal. Good food makes me very happy.

Dinner at the Brooklin Inn

The Brooklin Inn – a charming place.

A well fed Ems is a happy Ems!

The chair had babies. This was too cute not to take a picture.

It was warm enough to enjoy some time in the cockpit and a beautiful sunset when we got back. (Usually by sunset we’re freezing our you-know-whats off and have retreated to down below, only sticking our heads back up to watch the last sliver of sun drop down behind the horizon. Then we shiver and run back down below. Yeah, we’re weenies.

Sunset in Central Harbor

Sunset – Moonrise

Next day, off to Mount Desert Island. By the way, I am well read on the subject of how you pronounce the name of the island. It looks like it should be “DEH-sert” like the Sahara, and many people DO say it that way and that would technically be correct; HOWEVER, the locals pronounce it “da-SERT” like ice cream after a meal. I just wondered aloud about the pronunciation as we motoring, happened to have good enough internet to Google it, and proceeded to read my findings to Frank. I do believe that was one of those, “I’m going to blow my brains out” moments for him. There was a point where I kept going just to torture him. I thought it was interesting. I won’t bore you, too, but the short answer is that the Frenchman who discovered it thought it looked like an island with a deserted mountain and thus named it “Ils de Monts Deserts.” The French pronunciation for “deserts” sounds much more like the ice cream. So blame the French but don’t shoot me, I’m just the messenger.

Although a grueling, pot-filled trip, It was spectacular arriving at Mount Desert Island. This is Acadia National Park! This was our ultimate northeastern point of our trip! We had made it clear to here from Annapolis!

Arriving at Mount Desert Island

Ems up on the bow as we come into Northeast Harbor with Mt. Desert Island in the background. A big moment!!

That was a big moment for us. We pulled into Northeast Harbor and made that our home base for the next four days. We had a new experience in the harbor: floats. We called in to the harbormaster to see about getting a mooring ball . . . they were all taken, but they had a float available. A float is like a little, tiny floating dock just about the length of a boat. It is, like a mooring ball, anchored to the floor of the body of water, but it is a mini-dock. You get one side of it and another boat gets the other, so you have one very close neighbor. One thing we have discovered: the “knucklehead factor” up here is pretty low, so you’re not worried about having “Fuggedaboutit” pull up beside you blaring Pit Bull (no offense, Pit Bull fans). We found it very comfortable, quiet and good sleeping. Our first night there, a dinghy came riding over with two familiar faces: a couple we had met at the gam! They invited us to come for “sundowners” on their boat. It was a great way to wind up the day, and they had lots of helpful information about getting around the area.

Northeast Harbor

Eleanor Q on her float

Frank with the harbor behind him

Day One: Couldn’t wait to get to Acadia. Northeast Harbor is a great location for exploring the area. There are bike rentals right in downtown, which is just a few blocks away, and there are free buses that go all over Acadia subsidized primarily by L.L. Bean. What a great service! We chose biking for this day. In addition to a whole lot of hiking trails, Acadia has more than 50 miles of carriage trails that are for pedestrians, horse drawn carriages or bikes. That’s it. They are hard packed gravel and they are wonderful. We did not bike all 50 miles, I promise you. We figured we did about 8 – 10. That was plenty! It was a great way to see the park . . . both the heavily, inland wooded sections to some of the vistas looking down over the water. We didn’t see as much wildlife as hoped . . . just a few deer.

We rode to Jordan Pond, a HUGE tourist destination (which we did not know). After coming off of the sparsely traveled carriage trail to the mass of humanity waiting to get into the hotel restaurant for a famous popover, we did a quick walk around, bought a couple of t-shirts and made a hasty exit. We wanted to avoid the crowds! (Our goal was to stay far away from Bar Harbor for that reason). We completed our tour with tired legs and happy hearts.

Ems conquers Mt. Everest! Well, no. But we did bike around Acadia State Park

Frank on the Carriage Trail

Beautiful Views

Asked a passerby to take our picture. Her son jumped in the picture with us!! Priceless. Noticed her shirt: it was an autism group. Yes, he was autistic. Had a great chat with both of them . . . and he had a Hershey shirt on!

After a walk through town (to the market!), we paused at the boat for lunch and then . . . went for a walk? Straight up a hill? I don’t know what we were thinking. But it was a gorgeous day and we wanted to see the Asticou Gardens. It was definitely worth the effort.

The view from the hillside path to the gardens

On the way to Asticou . . . pausing at a pavillion

Asticou Gardens

Impressive Lilies

Day Two: A foggy, drizzly day. Good for doing chores, one being the dreaded laundry. We piled our stuff into the dinghy and hiked into town to find the laundromat. Here’s the thing about a place like this on a yucky day: everybody is just a little more miserable. When I got to the laundromat, two woman who looked less happy to be there than I did had commandeered the entire place and were not looking to share any of the machines any time soon. We walked down the street and treated ourselves to a luxury: same day laundry service. Yes, I paid three times as much and left the laundry there for the day to come back and retrieve it at 5:00pm that evening. I am not embarrassed to tell you that it was a well spent $40. Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. We hit the hardware store and the market again. Aaron, the owner, and I were on a first name basis by the time we left town. We puttered around the rest of the day and made a nice dinner on the boat.

Foggy day in Northeast Harbor

Day Three: Woke up to sun which was quickly hidden by the fog. It was not predicted to stick around all day, so we headed off to the park again, this time picking up one of the buses by the harbormaster’s office. There are multiple routes going through the park to multiple destinations. We tried very hard to figure out the routes and schedules. We made sure we knew how to avoid the buses that went to Bar Harbor. We hopped off and started walking through a different part of the carriage trails for about 45 minutes. Although there are designated stops for the buses, the instructions are clear that if you flag the bus down at any point in the park, unless they deem it unsafe, they will pull over and pick you up. We wanted the bus to Southwest Harbor and waited for what felt like a very long time. Finally we saw it coming and flagged the bus down. Apparently he deemed it “unsafe” despite the fact that we were standing right across from a sign that said “bus stop.” Don’t get me started. The next bus wasn’t coming for another hour. There was no way we were going to make it to Southwest Harbor. We agreed that we should jump on the next bus that came along – and we did. It went to Bar Harbor. The good news about that was that the Bar Harbor stop was the central clearing house for the buses, so we were able to get off of one bus, take one look at the mass of humanity and get back on our return bus without ever leaving the town square. I want to say a big thank you to L.L. Bean for the free buses. We made a donation towards their continuation . . . but could you throw in some customer service training for the bus drivers, please? I’ll even barter goods for services with you . . . I’m sure we can work out a deal. Call me. In spite of our extensive experience with public transportation that day, we loved being back in the park, so it was all good. Hopped off the bus on main street and went to say goodbye to Aaron. Stopped for a delicious seafood fest in a funky little joint on our way back to the boat. And they had ice cream.

A little fog didn’t deter us from walking through Acadia

Misty Trails

Ice Cream!

We had done Acadia – many miles of it. We were satisfied and pleased with ourselves. And sore and tired. It was a good tired. And we slept like babies with visions of carriage trails dancing in our heads.

Aug

Anchors Aweigh . . . or Not: Midcoast Maine

It’s rarely dull out here. This week has been no exception. We have been fortunate not to have any severe “near miss” experiences. We have little “near misses” or we’re around other people who have had issues . . . they are all reminders that it is important to keep on your toes when you’re living on the water!

We left Rockport in the sun and headed to Gilkey Harbor next to Islesboro, Maine. Fifteen minutes after our departure, we were back in thick fog. We slowed down, used our radar and watched closely for the dreaded lobster pots and other vessels! That’s Maine.

A schooner in the fog. This fog bank moved in and out all day!

We were on our way to attend our second Seven Seas Cruising Association Gam. As we talked about the upcoming event with family, someone finally said, “Hey. What’s a gam?” Gam is not a household word. Before last year, the only time I had heard the word “gam” used was when watching a movie from the 50s or earlier and a women with attractive legs would walk by and the guy would say, “Hey, nice gams!” Definition: Gam – a friendly gathering of seafaring people. The term originated from whaling days when two passing whalers out at sea would pull their boats up beside each other and exchange news and information (since they had been away from home for a while and didn’t have internet . . .) This particular gathering was attended by just shy of 60 boats. We were most interested to make some new connections in the cruising community because it sure is nice to run in to some familiar faces in different harbors along the way.

The first night included a first for us . . . a cocktail party via dinghy raftup. The picture kind of says it all. A pack of dinghies tie up together anchored by one main boat. Everyone brings their own beverages and snacks to share. I have to say, 50 plates of hors d’oeuvres being passed frenetically across a pack of floating dinghies whilst trying to hold an intelligent conversation with people you’ve just met is challenging at best! But new acquaintances were made.

A herd of dinghies rafted up together for cocktails and meet and greet.

At sunset the first evening of the gam, this man rode around the harbor playing his bagpipes!!

A look out at Gilkey Harbor

The weather was very changeable. The good news is that it made for a beautiful rainbow over one of our neighbors!

The next day was a gathering at the cottage of one of the members who has now hosted this shindig for 23 years! The weather turned beautiful for exactly the portion of the day that we were gathered for a covered dish lunch and a program in the afternoon. The speakers shared information about Maine, its economy, and the state of the islands themselves. (Fun fact: there are 3,166 islands in the Maine registry! I know! Who knew?) We met great people and got lots of helpful information from those who have been sailing our same route for many years, some for more than a decade. I especially laughed at a comment one couple made that we were talking to. They said, “Yeah, we can tell you haven’t been cruising that long – you look too clean . . . after ten years you’ll look like us!!” I didn’t think they looked all that bad, but he did have a rather long and curly mustache bordering on handlebar. Wonder if Frank will give up shaving somewhere along the way. Doubt it. Many people were especially helpful in prepping us for traveling through the Bahamas this winter. All in all, a good gathering.

The Down East Gam in Islesboro, Maine at our wonderful hosts’ house.

Sunday morning we were set to leave Islesboro to head to Camden to pick up my sister, Triana. Just because you are set to leave somewhere does not mean you are ACTUALLY leaving. So we went to pull up the anchor, Ems at the wheel and Frank on the bow pulling the anchor up. Frank gives hand signals for “forward” or “reverse” or “we’re free . . . pull her out,” at which point I start driving. But after a minute or two, I could tell Frank was really finagling and that something was not quite right. Hmmmm. Our anchor was stuck. Really stuck. We tried all the usual tricks to get it up . . . go forward over it, reverse behind it, spin off to the side at a different angle . . . nothing was working. The good news is we had just been at a gathering of very experienced boaters and 40% of them hadn’t left yet. We had lots of good help. Jim from s/v (sailing vessel) Heather came over to assist first. Then Evans from Hawk (he and his wife have written articles and done seminars about cruising) came to help. The harbormaster was called and came to check out the situation. We had two choices: 1) cut the rode (chain) and leave our anchor behind (gasp! – a brand new, not inexpensive piece of equipment), or 2) have someone dive and take a look to see what the real problem was. The harbormaster offered to come back and dredge the anchor up if we had to cut it and leave it . . . we could swing by later in the week to retrieve it, which was a wonderful offer (and yes, we have a backup anchor, but not one that makes us nearly as comfortable). No local divers were available on that day. Evans had the gear, and as importantly, the full wetsuit to dive and take a look. (Mind you, the water temps up here are in the 50s.) It didn’t take him long at all to drop about 20 feet and spot the problem: the claw of our anchor had perfectly gone through an old, embedded piece of chain buried in the harbor. Not under it, mind you. It went right through one of the links! The chances of us catching it that perfectly are slim and none. With a visual of the angle and the problem, it was then easy to know how to wriggle it out. Soon afterwards, we were free and on our way to Camden, only two hours later than expected. Thank you, thank you to Evans from Hawk and Jim and Joanne from Heather!! Close call solved.

Evans coming over in his wet suit and dive gear.

Off we went to Camden. Ems’ sister, Triana, had driven up from NJ to meet us. First, it is always exciting to see a family member live and in person, so let me start with that. Second, do you know how exciting it is to have someone with a car come to visit you??? sunny, fog-free mornings we had seen in quite some timeGROCERY SHOPPING! Load up the car with anything you want! No thinking about, “Can I walk a mile with this much stuff?” But WAY more than that, it was great to see another sister on board! After spending the evening walking around we took off Monday morning and headed for Castine – a lovely, lovely harbor where we stayed for the next couple of days. The weather in Maine had been suspect before Triana’s arrival, but she brought exceptional weather with her!! Those were the first clear, sunny, fog-free mornings we had seen in a long time!

Looking out over Camden

Castine – A great harbor.

We secured a mooring ball in the harbor next to town. It was a very comfortable spot close enough to shore for easy accessibility, but quiet enough for nice time in the cockpit and good sleeping. We were nose to nose with the ship “State of Maine” – a training vessel for the Maine Maritime Academy which is based in Castine. We went into town and enjoyed the sights and some oysters and beer on the deck of the seafood restaurant overlooking the harbor.

Dinner overlooking the harbor at Castine.

The next day, Triana and I took a historic walk around town. Castine is one of the oldest towns in New England. When you think about how far east Maine is, it was one of the first things some sea captains came upon when they were heading over from Europe.

Seems that a lot of different countries were interested in this portion of land and it flew under 4 different flags during different periods of time: Dutch, British, French and, of course, American.

Historic Castine

Loved this planter. Beautiful gardens al over town.

Loved this planter. Beautiful gardens all over town.

A local church steeple

More sights from our walk.

Triana by the Maine Maritime Academy vessel State of Maine

The three of us met back up for lunch and then toured the vessel State of Maine.

Here’s the view looking down at Eleanor Q from the bridge of the State of Maine

And a very big engine room!

Our second night there, the wind kicked up and the current was strong. But they weren’t strong in the same direction, which makes for an interesting situation in a mooring field. Because the wind and the current were fighting as to which one would have dominance, boats were turned willy-nilly in all directions in the mooring field, some being more influenced by wind, some more by the water. Normally, all the boats face the same direction like well choreographed little vessels sitting at attention. Well, it seems that our mooring ball was a little close to the one beside us in a circumstance like this. There was a lobster boat who was the regular tenant on that mooring. When he came back from working, it was clear that we were going to be pretty tight. The owner of the marina came over and offered for us to move and spend the night at their dock for no extra charge, but we weren’t anxious for that spot – we liked the one we had. Frank felt sure that once the tide shifted, the boats would straighten out again. The lobster boat guy couldn’t have been nicer, and much of that was due to Frank riding the dinghy over to him as soon as he pulled in for the evening to ask him if he wanted us to move. They agreed it wouldn’t be necessary and Frank used the dinghy to help straighten his boat out. Then the guy used all of his horsepower in his boat and managed to drag his own mooring ball backwards by several yards (no small feat!) All seemed well and the lobsterman left the boat and headed home. But alas, about a half hour later, boats went to swinging every which way again! Here is how close we came . . . we were literally taking turns pushing the lobster boat off of us with the boat hook. We wanted to provide Triana with a little nautical entertainment, you know. Frank assured us that, as soon as the current turned and agreed with the wind, all the boats would shore up and get in line as they were supposed to . . . and sure enough, they did, and we didn’t have to worry about colliding with the boat again. Flukey little things like that will happen! (Can I call it “flukey” if it was a lobster boat?)

Dear Miss Abbey . . .

Miss Abbey getting a little close for comfort.

We enjoyed a couple of dinners on board. Watch out . . . Ems is in the galley!

Next morning we headed back to Camden.

Ems dodging lobster pots.

While underway, we heard a distress call on the VHF radio . . . a boat named Archangel was talking with the Coast Guard. We could only hear the Coast Guard’s side of the conversation, but it sounded like they had hit something and disabled the boat. Everyone on board was safe and help was being sent to assist the boat. We could tell it had happened fairly close to our location. When we got back to Camden and picked up our mooring ball back at Wayfarer Marina, the staff was all abuzz about the boat the had run aground. It was the boat we had heard on the radio, and it was coming in to the marina. They said it had been demasted, which is exactly what it sounds like – the mast snapped off in the impact. That is a heck of an impact! The next morning when we were taking Triana to shore, we saw Archangel parked at the dock. Oh my goodness. She’s a 70 foot Hylas (meaning big and beautiful) and sure enough, the mast was snapped right off. Just made your stomach turn. They had been under full sail and hit a big rock. Amazing no one was hurt. It was another reminder that you can’t lose your attention when you’re out on the water! Amazingly, the boat was able to be uprighted and come back in under its own power.

Archangel on her side . . . the boat had been chartered. This photo was taken by another cruiser who was in the area. We borrowed your photo, Moonraker!

We said a sad goodbye to Triana that morning. The day she left, she took the good weather with her, and the fog and rain returned. I recently saw the blog of another couple we met up with here. She had a post titled, “Marvelous Maine/Miserable Maine.” That is SO appropriate. Maine is somewhat of a love/hate relationship, although locals assure us this summer has been particularly persnickety.

Goodbye Triana! Thanks for hanging with us.

We left Camden on a less than ideal day because the next day was predicted to be stormy, and Camden’s harbor is not the most protected or comfortable place for that. We headed directly across the bay about 8 miles to Pulpit Harbor on the island of Vinylhaven. It is known to be a hiding hole from storms because it has a relatively small entrance and is surrounded by land. We anchored very comfortably there and settled in that afternoon after a mile walk to “town” and a little market to pick up a few things. (No hardware store – none needed.) We enjoyed a gorgeous evening there and hunkered down for the next day.

On the way to the market at Pulpit Harbor

This is what the typical market looks like that we find. My idea of a grocery store!!

Leaving Pulpit Harbor on a spectacular morning after a stormy day.

And the unsettled weather moved in as predicted. That morning was the first time we actually got up and unplugged anything that was plugged in and charging (phones, computers) for fear of a lightning strike. Then we rolled over and went back to sleep . Not much you can do at that point! All was well – no direct hits. We listened to it rain hard for the day and took advantage of the time to read/nap/catch up on bills and correspondence, etc. Sometimes a forced down day is a good thing. We actually didn’t mind. And it was a very scenic harbor!! After a day filled with rain, the skies cleared for the most beautiful night with the sky lit up with stars. Amazing what lack of lights will do for star gazing!

And so we head out, destined for our ultimate Maine destination: Mt. Desert Island and Acadia State Park! Hopefully with no close calls

Aug

Two Ports and Two Rocks

We’re hop, hop, hopping through Maine.

We try to have very few dates/destinations that we must be at because it puts pressure on our choices . . . and weather is always playing a big part in our decisions. But we did plan to attend a Seven Seas Cruising Association gathering or “gam” on August 2-3 in Islesboro, so we didn’t want to waste any time getting up that way with a day cushion in case weather delayed us along the way. So we made several quick hops and got ourselves up to Islesboro and Gilkey Harbor in plenty of time.

Our stops along the way were PORT CLYDE, ROCKLAND and ROCKPORT.

Port Clyde, Maine: You know pretty quickly when you pull into a harbor whether you feel comfortable there or not . . . sort of like when you walk into a hotel room. That first minute or two and you’re pretty clear if you can relax. Port Clyde was like a good hotel room . . . pretty, comfortable and peaceful. We took the dinghy in to the hub of all things happening in Port Clyde: the Port Clyde General Store. Restaurant on the back, market and breakfast counter on the front. Out back by the water was a lobster shack where some of the local guys offload their catch. We were able to procure six fine specimen for our enjoyment later.

Marshall Point Light coming in to Port Clyde, Maine.

A close up of Marshall Point Light

The hub of Port Clyde . . . the Port Clyde General Store. The harbor side has a restaurant that we enjoyed for lunch.

The hub of Port Clyde . . . the Port Clyde General Store. We lunched and provisioned a bit there. The next morning when we came in to town they had fire pits lit out back. It’s summer, right?

And the store front of the General Store. Very quaint place! And decent provisioning.

And here’s what lovely Port Clyde looked like when we arrived .

And here’s what it looked like the next morning. It was there when we went to bed, I swear!

A common sight in these parts . . . lobster boats!

And again, doing our part to help the economy. These became lobster rolls and lobster fra diavlo.

Couldn’t take it any more and fired up the stove – a very nice feature! Finally felt dry and warm for a while.

And we're underway to our next stop after a 24 visit to Port Clyde.

And we’re bundled up and underway to our next stop after a 24 hour visit to Port Clyde.

Next stop, Rockland, Maine.

Rockland is more of a city than many of our stops. Cruisers tend to like it because of accessibility to a major shopping center by foot for groceries, office supplies, etc., so it is a great place for provisioning. We made a productive stop in the RiteAid and then checked out the town. Frank was in search of a hardware store (shock) that had been mentioned in some of our guidebooks. Long story short, when he got to the address later that afternoon, he found a boarded up True Value. Argh! But not to despair – there was a Home Depot close by. The man has every tool (and two of some) on board with spare parts to nearly every major piece of equipment on the boat . . . and yet, there’s always something that comes up in a repair that we don’t have. Murphy’s Law, I suppose. I would say “Quigley’s Law” but I suspect he doesn’t have a corner on that particular situation. (Can I hear an “Amen?”) When we went into town, they were setting up a carnival for the start of the Rockland Lobster Festival. We did not help them test the portable ferris wheel. (Those of you in Grantville will understand that more than most.)

Quintessential Maine Scenery

Owl’s Head Light near Rockland . . . on approach to town.

A beautiful seiner (type of fishing vessel) going by Rockland Harbor Breakwater Light as we’re coming in to port.

The Coast Guard Station at Rockland. There are many ferries, workboats and lobster boats going in and out of the harbor non-stop. I have heard other cruisers refer to this as “Rocky-Land” based on the comfort level of the harbor! You do tend to rock and roll there a bit from all the wake.

We strolled around the Maine Lighthouse museum. Very nice.

Across the street is the Farnsworth Museum. Among other things, they have a fine display of Wyeth paintings. I don’t know a lot about art, but I do love Wyeth works . . . they do many pieces based on Pennsylvania countrysides (one of their homes) and many others focused on Maine landscapes. We did not go in that day . . . another time.

After one night, which we felt was plenty, we left – in GREAT weather – for Rockport.

En route to Rockport on a warm, clear day.

Indian Island Lighthouse was taken out of commission in the ’30s and is now a private residence. How cool would that be?

Rockport was lovely, wonderful, special. We LOVED Rockport. Like Port Clyde, we kind of knew when came into the harbor were going to like it here! It was a short trip from Rockland, so we had a good afternoon and evening to spend walking around town. And walk around town we did! We get a lot of exercise just hoofing it everywhere . . . and Rockport is HILLY! That made us feel justified when we got to dinner later, but I’ll get to that in a minute. Rockport is also somewhat of an artist colony and houses a fine music hall and chamber music program. There were no concerts the night we were there. Many lessons learned on this trip about timing . . .

We hadn’t had lunch and figured we’d find something to eat in our trek around town, but it was about 3pm. We had just missed lunch at some places and were too early for dinner at others. So we walked a far piece to where we thought there was a restaurant . . . turned out to be a roadside BBQ stand, and it wasn’t talking to us. Okay . . . hungry but happy, we kept walking. There was a market in town that we had read about . . . you know, the “let’s pick up a little food at a time so we don’t have to carry too much” theory. He’s hardware stores . . . I’m markets. We FINALLY got to this market (after walking another far piece) . . . and it had nothing we needed, pretty much. So walked back down to the harbor mostly empty-handed and wtih empty bellies. So even though we were getting tired and probably getting a little ripe at this point, we were standing outside of a very nice looking restaurant that was due to open shortly. We decided to treat ourselves . . . we were WAY too lazy to go back to the boat, shower, and then come back out for dinner. So we sat in the park and watched people swimming in the 64 degree water while we waited for 5:00pm. (It was 5:00 somewhere, but not in Rockport yet!) The place was called Shepherd’s Pie, and it was amazing. Great looking place right on the water with lots of dark wood like an irish pub, put with floor to ceiling windows looking out over the harbor. The kitchen was open to the dining room with a wood burning stove. We ordered a treasure trove of appetizers and turned it into a meal. EVERYTHING we ordered was outstanding! (And it wasn’t just because we were that hungry.) Beyond outstanding. Makes you want to do a happy dance kind of good. Neither one of us has had a meal that we drooled over that much in quite a while! I don’t know what came over me, but as we were walking out, I walked to the open kitchen and called out, “Are you the head chef?” The chef looked at me like, “Oh no, here it comes.” He forced a smile, walked over and said,”Yes.”. I put my hand on Frank’s shoulder, looked at the chef and said, “I know I’m too old for you, but I’d leave my husband for you – that’s how good that meal was.” Then I turned around and walked away before he could figure out how to respond. Happily, I heard two laughs from behind me and, luckily, one of them was Frank’s.

Here are some shots from our day.

Rockport Harbor

Rockport Marine – we tried to get a mooring ball from them!

Frank attempting to pay for a mooring ball

Earlier when we got in to harbor, we picked up a mooring ball that we thought belonged to the marina. It seemed to fit the description. Frank at the helm, I went to grab it on the bow. The rope felt kind fo slimy when I was pulling it up, which was very odd. I got hold of it and was just putting the loop on the cleat to secure it when I realized that the “slime” was moving! It was thousands of little tiny crabs and mussels and other living things. I try to “put my tomboy on,” but I am not a fan of crawling things – I admit it. Fortunately, I already had the line hooked on the boat when I realized this, therefore preventing me from dropping it in the water! I hope the yelp I let out was a little, private one. Frank came up to assist and survey the situation. Now we had little crabs trying to crawl onto the deck. Nothing that the wash down hose couldn’t fix, but more importantly, that told us the mooring ball hadn’t been used in a very long time, which struck us as odd. Come to find out, we had mistakenly pulled up to a privately owned mooring, which the nice young man at the marina informed us when we told him what number we were on. He didn’t care. He said, “You can stay on it – just be prepared to move if the owners show up.” Judging by the ecosystem on the ropes, we figured we didn’t have to worry about that! And so we saved $35 on our mooring ball that night.

Beautiful Rockport Harbor

Walking around Rockport

A Statue of Andre the Seal. A 9 year old girl adopted an orphaned seal and named him Andre. The story became a book which became a movie in 1994 . . . and here Ems is having her picture taken with a movie star.

Frank felt compelled to put Andre in a head lock. I suspect he gave him a nuggie and called him a knucklehead, too.

These are old lime kilns, one of the big industries in Maine in the past.

There are some stunning boats in these parts! Frank admiring one example. That’s a serious varnish job there.

And we’re back to the boat after a full afternoon of walking, sitting in the park and eating!

The end of a gorgeous day . . .

And then we wake up to this . . .

So the fog clears, but looms close by. We got excited and made a run for it in sunshine . . .

. . . and 15 minutes after we’re under way, we’re back in the fog. Radar is a beautiful piece of technology! On our way to Islesboro. As they say . . . if you don’t like the weather in Maine, just wait 5 minutes.

Off to our next port . . . and hope that we don’t rock.

Next post, our adventures in Gilkey Harbor at Islesboro . . . and the day we almost had to leave our anchor behind.

Aug

Boothbay Harbor: Lobsters and the Pots They Come In

We left Portland on a beautiful day with some nice wind in our sails. We set off that morning thinking we were headed to a place called “The Basin.” That was until we realized that a) we were doing about 7 knots (that’s good), and b) we were actually sailing instead of having to motor sail or motor, something we haven’t gotten to do much of lately and we like it! So we decided to take advantage of the good conditions and keep on going to Boothbay Harbor area. And so we did. The great sailing didn’t last the whole day, but it lasted for more than half the trip which turned out to be about a 6 hour trip.

By early afternoon the wind wasn’t as favorable, so we turned the engine back on. And we became even more acquainted with our friends, the lobster pots. And we were reminded that when you’re traveling over 57 degree water, it’s rarely going to be really, really warm.

Don’t know if you can really tell from this picture, but pots are just littered throughout the bay. We are finding this to be the norm most everywhere up here. We have still successfully dodged them – so far. It is unlikely that I will ever complain about crab pots in the Chesapeake ever again. It is becoming more natural to us, but you can never let your guard down!

Because Boothbay can be very crowded in the summer, we opted for anchoring in a cove around the bend known to be a quiet anchorage. After the rocking and rolling in Portland, we were ready for a quiet anchorage! We found a beautiful spot in LInekin Bay. We had read about a park at the head of the bay where you could land your dinghy and then walk into Boothbay Harbor. Another thing that we had read about was the 10 foot difference between low tide and high tide . . . a swing that we are not so accustomed to. We considered that very carefully when we were anchoring, being sure to think about how much water we would be parked in six hours later. But when we took the dinghy to shore for a walk, we didn’t give it quite as much thought. The following pictures tell the rest of the story.

A beautiful shot of the park from where we tied up the dinghy.

A beautiful shot of the park where we tied up the dinghy.

And the dinghy is still looking good as we set off for Boothbay Harbor by foot.

And then we come back from our walk about three hours later . . . guess the tide was going out.

I swear there was water here when we left. It may not look like it from this picture, but we actually laughed really hard which did not make it easier to drag the dinghy through the rocks and mud to get it back to a floating position.

We enjoyed a nice walk into to town. Boothbay is a tourist destination, but a relatively laid back, civilized one. We found a place to have an incredibly cheap lobster dinner a little outside of town, and then walked back to the main harbor the next morning. (The next day we checked the tides and had a little better dinghy parking strategy!) It is hard not to feel for the lobstermen/women. There is a glut of lobster and they are getting less than 2.50/pound. We had a complete lobster dinner with two – that’s TWO – 1 1/2 pound lobsters for about $18 per person. We will do our best to support the industry while we’re here.

Lobster that is less expensive than beef!

Sunset in Linekin Bay

Ducks hanging out in the cove. No doubt laughing at us after we dragged the dinghy.

Classic Maine – a seagull atop lobster pots.

Downtown Boothbay

And, of course, no matter how chilly or damp, we gotta hit the ice cream shop for Frank!

As you can see, the weather turned and the layers of clothes and jackets became necessary again. A number of times before we started cruising, we told people we were going to “sail to 80.” That wasn’t referring to our ages . . . it was referring to fahrenheit . I commented to Frank today that I think we sailed right through 80 and straight to 70!

Our assessment of Maine so far . . . it’s a beautiful, cool place (in more ways than one) . . . but you gotta work for it!

Aug

Portland, Maine: New Friends, Reality Shows and Spin Cycles

Last post we had stopped over in Isle of Shoals, the little patch of islands about 8 miles off the coast of Portsmouth, NH. It was dipping our little toe into Maine since it was right on the state line. Well we have now thrown our entire bodies deeply into the state of Maine. First stop, Portland.

Entering Portland

Portland is a pretty good sized city and somewhat industrial. There are lots and lots of working boats, commercial fishing boats, transports, ferries, sport fishing boats and pleasure craft constantly going in and out. Busy place.The harbor itself is not the most picturesque, quaint place in Maine. It is an older city that is reinventing itself into a hip, industrial-turned-trendy type of town. (That’s our perception of it, anyway.)

So some posts are more about the pictures and scenery of places we’ve been. And some are more about the stories of events that occurred. This post is the latter. There are a few story lines that wove themselves into our three days in Portland. But we’ll come back to that in a minute.

Story Line #1 – A Close Call and New Friends

When we were about an hour outside of Portland, we heard a distress call on the radio. A boat had lost all steering and was contacting the coast guard for help. I was down below making lunch when I heard Frank yell, “Ems, turn up the radio. There’s a boat in trouble and I think they’re close to us.” We listened to their coordinates and determined that we were past them, but not by far, and were trying to decide if we needed to turn around and go assist (a boating code of ethics). The boat in trouble was Wind Runner, a 42′ Island Packet sailboat. But we soon heard another boat – “Grumpy” – coming to the scene to assist. (My first thought was that if I had to get help from another boat, I’m not sure I’d want it to be one named “Grumpy”). We heard Grumpy let the Coast Guard know that they were on the scene. We were glad to hear that Wind Runner was not going to be drifting onto the rocks and we went on our merry way.

Just another lighthouse on the way to Portland

Story Line #2 – A rocking marina.

Our mission in Portland was to get in a marina for two nights so we would have a full day to give Eleanor Q a much needed bath and to do some basic maintenance. Plus we needed to do the ever precious laundry. We got to the marina, fueled up and then were shown to our parking spot for the next couple of nights. It was not in a slip. It was attached to a long floating dock where boats are parked end to end like parallel parking on a city block. The dock was an outer dock and it was pretty exposed to northerly winds, to swells from the bay and to wakes from all the large vessels going in and out of the port. We don’t mind some rocking, so didn’t think too much about it . . . until we saw how violently the wakes were slamming Eleanor Q into the side of the dock. We put out all the bumpers plus some more that the marina loaned to us and hoped for the best. Now the inside of a boat has lots of handholds, so if you’re underway and you’re trying to walk around the boat, you have something to grab onto. You’re NOT supposed to need to use them sitting parked at a marina! So for three days it felt like we were in a washing machine on the heavy duty cycle . . . when all the towels get stuck on one side.

Speaking of washing machines, we took a walk to check out the laundry facilities and to go to dinner.

On our walk to dinner . . . graffiti in Maine is different than what we’re used to.

The view from the restaurant: sitting in South Portland looking across to Portland

When we came back from our walk, to our amazement, we saw Wind Runner in a slip right across from us!! We walked over and introduced ourselves, explaining that we had heard their distress call and the resulting assist from Grumpy – and wanted to know if they were O.K. They were just fine aside from the fact that they had snagged a lobster pot and got it wrapped snug around their prop, thus having no steering. After throwing the boat into reverse several times, they got enough of the line unwrapped to limp the boat into the marina with the watchful eye of Grumpy escorting them. They mentioned that Grumpy was a rather large boat. Once they had made it to the marina, Grumpy disappeared into the mist (so to speak). We learned all of this when we invited them over for cocktails and some empathy for the day they had just had. And that’s how we met Jim and Vanessa. They were having the boat hauled the next day to take a look and see what damage had been done . . . oh, and they were going to do laundry. Again with the laundry. We enjoyed our visit and went our separate ways.

Next day, the boat cleaning began and I went to do laundry. Who do I meet in there? Vanessa.

Jim and Vanessa on Wind Runner

Story Line #3 – Reality TV Stars

When Frank and I came back from our walk the night before, he spotted a boat and kind of stopped in his tracks. He said, “I think I know that boat!” You’d be amazed the number of times he has said that on this trip. He said, “I think that’s from the show ‘Wicked Tuna.'” I believe I referenced that show in an earlier post. It is a Discovery Channel reality show about tuna fishermen . . . another one of the shows that has come out since “Deadliest Catch” became so popular. He said, “I think that’s the kid who’s on Wicked Tuna!” and I’m like, “Yeah, yeah, yeah . . . ” So he walked back and checked out the back of the boat . . . and sure enough, it’s “Pin Wheel” from Rye, NH – one of the regular boats on the show. The young man who captains was there with a young lady. I dared Frank to go talk to him – and he thought about it – but then said, “If he’s still there tomorrow, I’ll go say something.”

So the entire second day was dedicated to boat scrubbing, laundry, and more boat scrubbing. Plus we were attacking some mildew that was starting to show up on our clothes and in our hanging locker. Now mind you, we were trying to do these chores while being constantly thrashed up against the dock every time a big boat came through and holding on for dear life. Not pleasant. Doesn’t make for very good sleeping either. I was becoming Grumpy.

That evening we treated ourselves to a cab ride to Old Port for a stroll and dinner. Very cool looking city. We were walking around the waterfront and eyeing up the various boats of all sizes when we spotted a beautiful 100 foot power vessel all gleaming. We both were commenting on it when we spotted the name: GRUMPY! We had found Grumpy! Holy mackerel, guess I wouldn’t mind having Grumpy come to our rescue after all – that was one beautiful vessel! And clearly run by a professional crew. Somehow the name and the boat just didn’t seem to match.

Dinner and a stroll in “Old Port”

When the cab driver brought us back to the marina (after a stop at Home Depot, of course), he and Frank had struck up a conversation about “Wicked Tuna” which the driver watched faithfully. Frank told him about “Pin Wheel” being in the marina. When we got out of the car, we looked to see Pinwheel was still there. The boat and all the power cords were gone. Bummer. Frank was a little disappointed; he really wanted to chat with the young captain. And then as we got closer to our boat, we saw big deck lights shining right off our stern where there was no boat parked before we left for dinner. Unbelievably, it was PIN WHEEL! They were parked right behind us!! Frank approached the boat and the gang on the boat said, “Oh we’re sorry . . . do you want us to turn off our lights?” They thought he was walking over because he was ticked that their lights were shining on our boat! Frank put them at ease and struck up a conversation with Captain Tyler who couldn’t have been nicer. The next day gave Frank the chance to chat it up with Tyler a couple more times. We got the biggest kick out of it! They were getting ready to leave the next day to start filming the new season. A Discovery Channel cameraman was there running wires and getting set up. It was very fun to watch.

Pin Wheel and Eleanor Q

The next day was a washout with rain and heavy winds. It was no day to try to leave, so we sat there thrashing about on the dock for yet another day. In the mean time we had discovered more clothes with mildew on them. Boats. So guess where I headed? Yup, back to the laundry room. On my last batch of clothes in the dryer, guess who walked in? Yup, Vanessa. We just looked at each other and laughed – hard. How much laundry can two women do in two days’ time? I was able to catch up on the fact that they had discovered the remains of twisted lobster pot line wrapped around their prop which they were able to get off in short order when they hauled the boat. No permanent damage and all was well. They could continue their interrupted journey to Boothbay Harbor the next day. We ultimately decided to have a “combined resources” dinner together on their boat that night: they made the steaks and we made the sides and brought the wine. It was a most enjoyable way to end a labor intensive day with fun new boating cohorts.

Later that night we saw Pin Wheel in a flurry of activity. It was time for them to make a hasty exit to head out to Georges Bank and the fuel dock was about to close. Frank walked over to offer assistance in getting the boat off the dock and we wished Capt. Tyler luck in the new season as Pin Wheel took off. It was a little excitement in our chore-filled stay.

Frank offering dock assistance to Pin Wheel and Captain Tyler

Pin Wheel pushing off the dock

Pin Wheel off to start a new season . . . trying to defend this season’s first place finish!

And so our three story lines come full circle. Pinwheel got out of Portland. Wind Runner got out of Portland, and we, at long last, got off the rocky dock and got out of Portland, too . . . wearing clean clothes.

Jul

We Made it to Maine!

Oh my goodness; we’re in Maine!

Suddenly we decided to hit the afterburners and get to Maine . . . enough tooling around in Rhode Island and Massachussets . . . let’s get to MAINE!

Consequently, we have hit a number of places rapid fire and I am behind on posting about them. So this will be a tour through several locations. I will apologize for the length of this post right up front. Quick overview of our trip so far:

From May to Maine!

After Cuttyhunk we headed to Martha’s Vineyard. We hit two different spots in the Vineyard which were very different experiences. The first was Vinyard Haven. It is pretty but a slightly more industrial section of the island. We anchored outside of the harbor which was peaceful and entertaining. We watched all kinds of boats coming and going along with the constant stream of ferries coming to the island. But our greatest entertainment that evening came from watching a very large shooner that looked a bit like a pirate ship. When we rode into the harbor by dinghy to check things out, we saw it anchored. There were signs indicating that it served as a summer camp. Turns out, they spend the nights anchored up outside the harbor after sailing in the late afternoon and they were our neighbor for the night. (Not very, very close, but close enough for us to get the gist of what was happening on the boat.) We heard the chow bell, we heard them doing chants and songs like they were sitting around a camp fire later on and then they set off the traditional sunset canon (a popular thing here in New England!) We could tell they were settling into their bunks and instead of having an actual anchor light up in their mast, they did it old school . . . they actually lit real lanterns and hung them from the rigging. So neat to imagine what they were talking about or if they were telling ghost stories while swinging from their hammocks down below. Although it was a very hot day by land, it was so comfortable at anchor and we had the most peaceful, easy, relaxing afternoon and evening aboard just minding our own business and watching the world go by.

The light at the entrance to Vineyard Haven Harbor

Vineyard Haven Harbor

Two schooners used for youth camps. The navy one was our neighbor in the anchorage.

Red sky at night, sailor’s delight!

The second part of our visit to Martha’s Vineyard was the more bustling, touristy Edgartown. First let me just say, it was blazing hot. We had made a reservation for a mooring ball right in the harbor. We would not do that again. Some mooring fields are open and spacious with local boats that are not always occupied . . . just sitting waiting for their owners to come show them some love. Not Edgartown. This is like getting a summer rental in Ocean City. Actually, what it was most like was like being parked in a floating RV park. (Now some people might like that . . . nothing wrong with RV parks). It was loud, crowded, busy and boats just one on top of another. Edgartown was very busy with tourists and quite the happening place. And it seems that at about 10pm every night, anyone over the age of 30 basically gets thrown out of town and it is taken over by the young, wealthy, happening crowd. We were in the area for about 3 days. The second day the breeze picked up and it was much more comfortable, but the first and third days we were melting quite a bit. On day two we were able to take a good long walk around town to find a hardware store (I can’t remember what needed fixin’ that day) and to get some exercise. We saw some amazing boats/yachts. But frankly, it just wasn’t our kind of place. Beautiful, don’t get me wrong. I’ll bet I’d like it more in October. Plus we should have anchored outside of the harbor where the air was moving and the boats were further apart. Lessons learned. First sighting of a motor yacht called “Blue Guitar” which everyone thinks belongs to Eric Clapton. (I researched this one hard and am pretty sure it is not his yacht – but that is a very popular urban legend.)

Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard

Walking around Martha’s Vineyard

Beautiful gardens all around Edgartown

Picturesque buildings in Edgartown

As we were walking, Frank let out a sort of “whoop.” Scared me half to death. It was the siting of the beloved Dairy Queen – his favorite part of Edgartown. Oh boy.

Next we went through Woods Hole (one of the openings between islands in the Elizabeth Islands) and came across a little slice of heaven: Quissett Harbor, Mass. Picturesque, protected from storms (which we were expecting), a quiet, charming harbor. Not a whole lot happening in Quissett itself, but if you walked up the road about 1/4 mile there was a trolley that ran either to Woods Hole or to Falmouth. We needed parts at a hardware store (again) and took the Trolley to Falmouth the first day. Nice downtown, shops, grocery, West Marine (bonus!), hardware stores and plumbing supply (which is really what we needed). We enjoyed provisioning all over town and finding a nice pizza place to have lunch at the bar and watch some of the British Open. Oh, and a barber shop! (I escaped using the clippers again!) The guy who oversees the harbor is such a cool character. He’s been there for 30 years (He must have moved there when he was 20), and manages the marina/yacht club. In the evening he gets in his skiff, puts on bermuda shorts and a big straw hat, has a beer in his hand and rides around the harbor to collect the very reasonable mooring fee from visitors. Did I mention that if they did a movie of his life Richard Gere would definitely get the part? What a stitch. We loved him.

Quissett Harbor

Waiting for the Trolley in Falmouth after provisioning.

At the Barber in Falmouth. I am spared from clipping again! Wow, is it short.

Again, it was HOT! And I had about one nerve left which someone was about to get on . . . so as we were gliding out of town, I spotted . . . I’m embarassed to admit it . . . a vey nice looking hair salon. I called and found that they had a cancellation the next morning. Yup, I weenied out and went to a grown up hair salon for some air conditioning, Wi-Fi and pampering. I am SOOOOO ashamed. My hard core sailor needed a break for a couple of hours and I turned back into a girly girl for a bit. Can I tell you, it was DELIGHTFUL! And Frank dodged the bullet from having to trim MY hair!

Rachel was a sweetheart! It's only fair that I get a picture in the midst of getting my hair done, too.

Rachel was great! Ladies know it is nerve wracking to go to a new stylist – but anyone would be better than Frank! It’s only fair that I get a picture in the midst of getting my hair done, too.

Funny story (now) . . . I had taken the trolley into town and left Frank repairing the head (yes, a crappy job . . .) and expected to see him when I returned to Quissett. When I was finished at the salon, I listened to a voicemail from him saying he was coming into Falmouth to go to – you guessed it – the hardware store and to call him when I got done. I was feeling happy and refreshed and human and respectable looking again, walking down Main St. with a little extra swing back in my step. I figured I would find him and we’d go have lunch before heading back to the hot boat. And that’s when the following conversation took place (approximately):

Ems: Hi! Where are you?

Frank: I just got out of the hardware store and now I need the pluming supply store.

Ems: Okay. Where is that?

Frank: I don’t know exactly.

Ems: Okay. Were you in the hardware store on Main Street?

Frank: Yeah, I think so.

Ems: Where are you now?

Frank: I’m behind the library.

Ems: Okay, well I’m in front of the library, so we’re going to be making eye contact any second now.

Frank: Yeah, well I’ve got to get this part to finish the head, so I’m headed there now.

Ems: Okay, where is “there?”

Frank: I don’t really know! I’m not looking for you right now – I’m looking for the PLUMBING SUPPLY STORE!

That is a direct quote. I don’t think I exactly hung up on him . . .

Moral of the story, he thought I was still sitting in the salon trying to get him to come say “hi” while I was finishing up. What he failed to realize was that I was on Google Maps trying to chase him up and down Main St in nearly 90 degree weather with my new hairdo now sticking to my face trying to catch up with him!! We were able to laugh about our miscommunication over lunch in the air conditioning , but the sidewalk was sizzling for a few minutes before that. Ah . . . communications.

We met a really lovely couple from two boats down as we were riding around the harbor . . . had cocktails together our last evening there. They were SO kind as to give us their cruising guide for Maine. We have a cruising guide for all of New England, but this is the penultimate guide specifically for Maine. They had used it for a couple of years and wanted to pass it along to us, and asked us to pass it along to someone else who could use it when we were done with it. What a generous and wonderful thing to do. We already have referred to it multiple times in our first few short days here. I’ll say it again – people on the water are amazingly kind.

We left Quissett on Sunday, made our way through the Cape Cod Canal and went to Provincetown, an extremely colorful place that is welcoming of all kinds of lifestyles, some very flamboyant. I’ll just tell you that we learned what “bear week” is and I’ll leave it at that. We grabbed a mooring ball close to the bustling town because we were . . . wait for it . . . in search of a hardware store – quickly. And then we very quickly made our way out of Provincetown the next day and headed east to Maine.

Leaving Quissett Harbor at daybreak

Entrance to the Cape Cod Canal – Like the C&D Canal, you have to time your trip through the canal based on the currents; thus the early morning departure.

The Maritime School at the Canal Entrance

Exiting the Canal. Again, we didn’t meet any large boat traffic. We hardly met any traffic at all! We looked for whales after we came out the canal, but they would not come out and play that day. Guess they feared Frank the mighty fisherman!

Proof that we were actually in Provincetown . . . for 12 hours.

Our thought was that Provincetown is like a mix of Key West and New Orleans . . . a carnival-like atmosphere. You can’t really see the large, orange painted transvestite on the unicycle. Yeah, you read that right.

The harbor in Provincetown. Supplies from the hardware store secure in the backpack.

We didn’t feel like doing another overnighter . . . that took a lot out of us . . . so we were looking for a way to turn the trip into a couple of long, back-to-back days instead. We were on the single side band radio one morning listening to the morning cruisers net with boats checking in from all over when someone mentioned they were in “Isle of Shoals”. We looked at each other like a dog does when it’s confused – you know – head cocked sideways . . . and kind of made that little “wuh?” noise. We’d never heard of it. And we knew these people were headed for Maine. Upon further research, we found this little patch of nine teeny islands in a cluster that are about 10 miles off the coast of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The Maine/New Hampshire state line splits right through the middle of them. They are a perfect stopover point for a trip to Maine. And so, we decided we would explore the Isle of Shoals. There is quite a history if you Google Isle of Shoals and start poking around. There was a grizzly murder of three women on one island in the late 1800s while the men-folk went to fish and couldn’t get back to the harbor due to weather. There are rumors that Blackbeard’s wife’s ghost wanders on one of the other islands after he left her there to wait for him and she died before he returned. On Star Island there is a huge retreat and conference center for the Unitarian Church. (I always thought Unitarians were pretty cool. The guy who wrote “All I Ever Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten” is a Unitarian minister . . . trivia for the day.) We grabbed a (free) mooring ball in the harbor expecting to stay just one night and mosey on the next day. We realized the harbor was right where the state line crossed, so we figured when the wind blew one way we were in New Hampshire and when it blew the other way and the boat swang around, we were in Maine. It was a beautiful, remote, picturesque, interesting place to see. And not a place very many people will ever have a chance to lay eyes on. I think we like some of those kinds of places best of all – the ones that very few people get to find. It just feels extra special. We ended up being there for two nights . . . that pesky weather, you know. Our day was spent on boat chores. We ended up re-sewing a lot of canvas by hand where the thread is starting to dry rot. It was the best job of collaborating on a project that we have done in a long time. We have a hand stitcher and it is a much easier job with two people. Remember, canvas is very thick and heavy and requires huge needles. It’s not like hemming a pair of pants! Three hours and two stiff necks and backs later, our repairs were in pretty good shape. And it was cool enough, at last, to be able to cook a real dinner on the boat without melting. Boat care and maintenance never go away and we’re putting some hard miles on this baby.

The next morning, we started out at about 6:00am in a bright sunny Isle of Shoals to head to Portland, Maine. About twenty minutes later, it wasn’t bright and sunny any more. It was foggy. Very foggy. And it stayed that way for the first four hours of our trip. We got some good practice time in on the radar. We know we need to get used to it . . . that’s the part of the country we’re in and boaters around here know how to deal with fog. But it’s still a little nerve wracking for us . . . but we did very well, and around 10:00am, the sun finally started breaking through again. By the way, there has been very little actual sailing in these last few legs. Either there hasn’t been any wind or it’s not in a favorable direction, so we’ve been motoring or motor sailing a lot. So after a couple of days of grinding northeast, we finally made it to Maine.

The Retreat on Star Island, Isle of Shoals

Good company in the mooring field.

Sites around the picturesque island

Welcome to Star Island! Another fun night of listening to youth campers enjoying there time in this very remote location.

Not leaving the Isle of Shoals today! A raw, rainy day in the harbor.

The lighthouse as we leave the Isle of Shoals in the sun.

We’ll spend pretty much the next month exploring just a few of the myriad of islands in these parts. So much to see – so little time. We frequently talk about the fact that two years sounded like a long time to try to do this, and yet we know we will only scratch the surface of the number of things to see on this route in two years.

So next post will begin our adventures in Maine for the month of August starting with Portland. I wonder if Portland has a hardware store?

Jul

Where the Heck is Cuttyhunk?

If you’re not from the greater NY/Massachussetts area, you may never have heard of Cuttyhunk. Oh sure, everyone has heard of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket . . . but Cuttyhunk is not exactly a household name. It is actually a pretty cool little place. Not a whole lot happening there, but after Block Island, that was okay for a day. Speaking of Block Island, I have a piece of old business that I forgot to include in the last post. This word in from Block Island:

The Minnow has been found! The Minnow has been found!

Moving on to new business: Cuttyhunk.

For those who know south Jersey well, it’s like the Strathmere of the Elizabeth Islands meaning it is the road less traveled and a little funky. What are the Elizabeth Islands? They are a little chain of chunks of land off the Rhode Island/Massachussetts coast. Cuttyhunk is at the very southwestern tip of them. Some people might say, “I spent a week in Cuttyhunk one day,” and I almost borrowed that line, but that seemed a little harsh. It’s a very pretty place. We thought we would grab a mooring ball, but they were VERY close together and we saw a good spot to anchor close by instead. There is a seafood place that delivers to your boat, which sounded like a great idea! And then we saw that they were charging $22 for a half dozen oysters . . . yeah, I can eat pasta on the boat again. We did, of course find the ice cream place. We didn’t know exactly how long we would stay in Cuttyhunk . . . after spending the afternoon, we knew a few hours to roam around in the morning and we’d be good to go. The highlight was the hike (very hot!) up the hill to the Fishing Camp that is known for having once been visited by Teddy Roosevelt. Here are some sites and scenes:

Here is scenic Cuttyhunk

Mooring field by day . . .

…and a beautiful sky over the field by night.

Some day I will tire of taking sunset pictures . . . but not yet!

This is the lawn leading up to the main building on the Fishing Camp. Check out the planters. Really? A toilet? That’s Cuttyhunk . . . just a little different.

Inside the Fishing Camp – a step back in time.

Although the Fishing Camp operates as an inn, it is open to the public for breakfast. This was our view . . . amazing!

Considering how valuable this real estate must be because of the scenic view of water all around, it has a funky mix of old and new – well cared for places and not so tidy places! It’s an odd little place.

On our hike . . .

Frank admiring the view.

We enjoyed the quiet refuge of funny little Cuttyhunk for an overnighter. My sister, Triana, had saved an article about Cuttyhunk for us months and months ago. I believe it referred to it as a
“forgotten island.” We won’t soon forget you, Cuttyhunk.

We find good company with the commercial fishing vessels on our way to Martha’s Vineyard.

Next post, a catch up of several places we have been in the last week or so . . . since we are actually now in MAINE!

Jul

Block Island, Rhode Island – Some People Love It.

Well, after our epic week in Shelter Island, anything immediately afterwards was bound to be . . . hmm . . . a little less epic. I don’t want to sound like the next couple of stops weren’t good stops, because they were. But it’s like comparing your birthday to Flag Day.

So you will see two posts (hopefully) in rapid succession so that I don’t have one giant post, because – and here’s a shock – I’m behind. So this post will be about Block Island closely followed by a post about Cuttyhunk. What’s/where’s Cuttyhunk? Answer coming in next post, I promise.

We had heard so many people talk about Block Island (and Frank had been there for a quick weekend about 10 years ago) and it is a favorite stop for a lot of people . . . I mean A LOT of people. It is a large harbor with a vast amount of boats in it. And the atmosphere there is much more of a party. And it caters to a wide range of audiences. There are all kinds of people and boats there. There are gorgeous, massive sailboats with burgees from the New York City Yacht Club (very elite!) and we saw a group of gentleman jump onto the launch in their blue blazers to go to dinner . . . to powerboats with interesting and colorful names. At changeover time one day (again, like a hotel check out/check in process) we watched with interest to see who our new neighbors were going to be. True confessions: we were not disappointed when power vessel “Badabing” passed up the mooring ball beside us. At another spot in the harbor we saw power vessel “Fuhgeddaboutit.” I commented that if you could just locate the power vessel “Whaddayoulookinat” you’d have a Jersey trifecta. Anyway, clearly a fun place if that’s the scene you’re looking for.

The weather in Block Island was not ideal, but we took advantage of some of the cool, cloudy weather with a great bike ride around the island. Not only was it great exercise but it got us out of the “hubbub” and out into the countryside, which was lovely. We also had a great, unplanned surprise when we figured out that we were, indeed, going to be in Block the same weekend as some good friends of ours. That was a definite highlight.

I will always associate certain sounds with Block Island . . . the almost constant “Whoo . . . . Whoo” of the fog horn (almost more like a fog whistle than horn) and the sound of the bakery boat from Aldo’s Restaurant trolling the mooring field and anchorage calling out “Andiamo!” which they tell us means “come out” in Italian. If someone knows better, feel free to correct us. Anyway, around 7:30am, the bakery boat begins its rounds selling breakfast goodies boatside. Yes, it’s like room service. Then the chant begins again around 4pm with hors d’ouevres for purchase. Those guys work hard in all kinds of weather. And they have GREAT muffins.

Here are some sights from the Island:

Here's a look at Block Island from ashore. Frank worked hard to get his hair to look like that!

Here’s a look at the harbor at Block Island from ashore. Frank worked hard to get his hair to look like that!

B.I. has a great launch service. You can radio for them and they'll pick you up at your boat. If you have a dinghy, why would you want the launch service?

B.I. has a great launch service. You can radio for them and they’ll pick you up at your boat. The blue boat, Maverick, is one of the fleet. But if you have a dinghy, why would you want the launch service?

Oh . . . that's why. This is parking lot of a dinghy dock - and this wasn't even that crowded! A popular spot.

Oh . . . that’s why. This is the parking lot of a dinghy dock – and this wasn’t even that crowded! Later they were at least two deep. A popular spot.

There’s a great little bar at Paynes Dock. The owner performs most nights singing mostly old Irish tunes with an eclectic mix of other selections. His dog, Zippy, sits up on a chair and watches him adoringly or naps or barks at all the men who walk in (never the women).

A great bike ride around Block Island. This stone commemorates the 300th anniversary of Block Island’s founding listing the 16 families who purchased the island. (That was some time after the Indians got kicked off . . .)

The National Wildlife Refuge by the northern point lighthouse. Hmm . . . what CAN you do here??

This is a beautiful hotel that sits atop a bluff. Frank must have gotten bored waiting for me to take a picture and started checking his email. Oh wait – – – he doesn’t GET email any more!! (Well, not much.)

The countryside of Block Island looks like it could be somewhere in Ireland. Lush green, lots of rock walls.

We’ve discovered that we really enjoy renting bikes at various locations, but we’re learning to be good at riding together. There was an option at one place for a tandem bicycle and I don’t know which one of us replied louder or faster, “Oh HELL no!” For the few family members who witnessed us trying to maneuver a two person kayak together, you know that we don’t collaborate well on stuff like that. (Sailing as a team is different.) So even riding our own bikes, I’m still following and chirping about the fact that he turned at the last second with no signal and I almost drove off the road trying to follow him, etc. etc. etc. But I also know that if I lead, he’s likely to see something that interests him and turn off to look at it, completely forgetting that I’m in front of him . . . and then I might find him on the other side of the island two hours later after realizing he’s no longer behind me. These are just the things you learn together, which is fun. So I got a good laugh out of him this day with the bikes when he said, “Okay, who’s leading?” and I responded, “You lead, I’ll bitch.” Hey, it works.

Chairs overlooking the harbor at the hotel where our friends Cori and Greg stayed and a good breakfast spot.

This was the far end of our bike trip . . . legs aburnin’! That is NOT a flat island.

There’s something about a lighthouse . . .

We found another Mecca for Frank . . . of course.

Last time Cori and Greg were on board I forgot to get a picAn attempt at a self portrait. I sent this to them and they said, "Do you have one that isn't so ridiculous looking?"

Our buddies joined us for a late afternoon visit. Last time Cori and Greg were on board I forgot to get a picture. Here’s an attempt at a self portrait. I sent this to them and they said, “Do you have one that isn’t so ridiculous looking?”

Oh yes . . . this one is MUCH better! Hey – what are friends for.

ANDIAMO! The bakery boat arrives.

I think this is a picture of the harbor at Block Island! Unfortunately, it looked like this quite a lot. I think I shall write a new bluegrass tune called "Foggy Harbor Breakdown."

I think this is a picture of the harbor at Block Island, but it’s hard to tell. Unfortunately, it looked like this quite a lot. I think I shall write a new bluegrass tune called “Foggy Harbor Breakdown.”

And here we are leaving Block Island . . . hopefully through the jetty . . . I can't see!

And here we are leaving Block Island . . . hopefully through the jetty . . . we can’t see! Frank’s job was to maneuver the boat and keep a careful eye on the radar. My job was to stop taking pictures and make sure I let him know if we were going to hit anything.

I just liked the spookiness of this picture! We used the radar lots for the first 30 minutes, but then . . .

I just liked the spookiness of this picture! Although it looked like this for the first 30 minutes, then . . .

. . . brilliant sunshine and blue skies! Much better. On our way to Cuttyhunk.

Are we glad we went to Block Island? Absolutely. We had some good moments there. Do we feel a need to put that on our list of stops for next year? Fuhgeddaboutit.

Jul

Shelter Island – The Land of Nice Surprises

Long Island was never in our original plan. At all. Not even a little. We always said, “We’ll go straight from Longport, NJ to Block Island, RI.” Somewhere around a week before we left NJ, we started thinking about alternatives, especially after getting the very sage advice that 4th of July in Block Island was not the best time to be there unless you love crowds and hoards of boats, who don’t know how to anchor, dragging and running into each other. Hmmmm. . . plan B. Long Island. So, as you’ve read, we hit Montauk first. But then where? Where to spend the 4th of July? And where was a place that my sister, Caroline, could come meet us for the holiday? She’s intrepid and was committed to finding us wherever we were for the 4th with little notice as to the final destination. And so somehow we ended up in Shelter Island, NY. It is nothing short of a miracle that we ever left . . . it is a slice of heaven on earth and we had an amazing 3 days – scratch that – 6 days there. It was full of surprises, 90% of them good.

So first a little bit about Shelter Island. It was inhabited by the Manhanset Indians, then was established by English settlers in 1652. In 1871 a group of 24 clergymen and laymen from Brooklyn incorporated part of the island as the Shelter Island Grove and Camp Meeting Association . Developers, landscapers and architects worked together to create/maintain the aesthetically pleasing feel of the island . . . and that they did! For my Methodist friends in NJ, some of the design is like Ocean Grove in NJ or even the Camp meeting area in Seaville, NJ. And then one third of the island is a nature preserve. The island is rollie, the roads are windy, the houses are mostly Victorian and it is very tasteful and peaceful. Unless you go to Sunset Beach which is quite in contrast. (We did not go to Sunset Beach.) We understand the beautiful people, elite and elite wanna bes hang out there. Mega yachts cruise through there. I kid you not, we saw a mega yacht that looked like it was gold-plated. P-Diddy is known to hang out there, but I Googled his yacht . . . it wasn’t his, but that’s what it made me think of. Itzhak Perlman (the famous violinist) holds summer youth camps on the island for highly gifted up and coming musicians. They hold open rehearsals and concerts free of charge. Next time, I WILL get to one of those. There’s some wonderful live jazz in local venues. I bought a beautiful jazz CD from a bassist/vocalist who plays locally in one of the hotels by night and who works on the ferry by day. Bought it off of him right on the ferry. Hey, he had CDs in his pocket and “Jazz” on his hat . . . of course I’m going to ask. So that gives you a flavor of the place. All of this wonderfulness is hidden away on this jewel of an island that is about 4 miles long by five miles wide. Some scenes from around the island:

Some of the gathering places close to our harbor

Victorian homes on the island are the norm.

The Dory – interesting bar/restaurant that we frequented. Nat King Cole’s brother plays there regularly.

Homes with harbor views

Eleanor Q in the distance; looking over the harbor on our bike ride. Lush, green everywhere!

Although we are usually big fans of anchoring, holidays in the summer make you think that a more definite plan is in order. We were due to pick Caroline up in Greenport, CT on July 4th morning. That is spitting distance from Shelter Island . . . almost literally . . . especially if you’re really good with a watermelon seed. (That might be a West Virginia thing.) We anchored the evening of the 2nd and made a reservation to pick up a mooring ball for the next several days in Dering Harbor at Shelter Island. Jack’s Marina had just what we needed at a reasonable price with no more and no less facilities than we needed. (Actually, they run out of a hardware store . . . NEVER a bad thing!) We secured a beautiful spot in the most lovely harbor that was reminiscent of Annapolis Harbor to us (on a smaller scale) . . . beautiful boats, very nautical, great scenery . . . lovely! And that became home for the next 6 days. Close by were a small market and a few other stores and restaurants if we so desired.

The NorthSide ferry became a big part of our week. There are ferries running non-stop connecting Shelter Island and Greenport and the one mile ride is about a whopping 7 minutes long. We read about a grocery store and laundromat in Greenport and we were in need of both, so on the morning of the 3rd, we moved into the harbor, packed up our laundry in our backpack and set off for the ferry to Greenport. I went to the automated machine to buy tokens for the ferry trip (a whopping $2 per person each way). I stuck in a $20 bill (thinking it would give me an option for how many I wanted) and got $20 worth of ferry tokens! Ooops. Frank had fun laughing at me about that. Don’t you know, we used them all up and then bought more before all was said and done! Anyway, hopped off the ferry, made our way to the laundromat, then to the IGA grocery store, then to lunch and then hiked back to the ferry loaded down with clean clothes and provisions. I think I was in college the last time I went to a public laundromat in a down town area. You will see the photographic evidence shortly. Hey, that’s part of cruising. Finding a place to do laundry is big . . . a recurring theme in past posts, right? You can only hand wash so much.

The pilot house of the ferry – on our way to Greenport.

Downtown Greenport

Here you have it folks – Frank folding laundry in the public laundromat in Greenport, NY. He left for a while saying he was going to the bank. 25 minutes later he returned – the bank was just around the corner. “Going to the bank” is evidently synonymous with “going for a walk!”

Ems folding the laundry while Frank is walking. JUST KIDDING! He came back in time to help fold. You saw the picture.

Another look at the ferry. Could someone please explain to us the right way to pronounce “ferry”?? Is it “fairy” or “furry”? We’re different that way.

Hiking back with clean towels and fresh provisions.

And then it was time for Caroline to arrive on the 4th. God love her . . . she took her car to a taxi to a big ferry to a taxi to a little ferry to our dinghy to get to our boat, and our visit began! I rode the ferry across to meet her and accompany her on the ride back. I told you those tokens would come in handy! It was not our last trip to Greenport.

In the mean time, we had spotted our “sister ship” when sailing into the area. There aren’t a lot of boats that come from the same builder as ours, so you can spot them quickly. Long story short, we managed to contact each other and they couldn’t have been more gracious and welcoming. Again, not prearranged. Just happened to see ’em sailing. We were in their home turf and they welcomed us like long lost cousins. They shared local knowledge, privileges to their yacht club, the offer of the use of their vehicle for errands and a meal in their home complete with a musical jam session and (recurring theme) the use of their laundry! Oh, and an invitation for Frank to be crew in a race that weekend on a Doughdish Herreshoff 12.5 sailboat – a classic two person, two sail little craft!. He accepted. They instantly meshed as a team. They won. Pretty cool. Trophies were involved.

Our wonderful new “cousins” in the Doughdish that they raced on Saturday.

Frank drinking some special wine that Caroline brought . . . out of his trophy from the race! An etched wine glass from the Yacht Club. Okay, one real glass wine glass aboard amongst the plastic ones will work.

Frank drinking from his first place trophy – an etched wine glass from the Yacht Club. Using it to enjoy some special wine that Caroline brought. Okay, one real wine glass amongst the plastic ones will work.

We very much enjoyed the hospitality of the yacht club and appreciated being able to use the facility.

Meanwhile, we had emailed friends we knew had a home in Shelter Island. It so happened they were coming to town for the weekend and treated us to a lovely evening starting with a driving tour of the island, drinks at their home and dinner out with a table overlooking the harbor. They shared lots of local knowledge about where to rent bikes, what to do and where to go. It was a most unexpected and delightful night!

A beautiful view during our evening tour!

The local yacht club at the harbor had an extremely active sailing program and we were treated daily to kids sailing classes all around us which were just a hoot to watch. They also decorated their boats for the 4th and had a little parade. It was pretty priceless.

Sailing Classes!

4th of July small boat parade

And it was great for me to have a sister aboard! One of the things Frank and I talk about regularly is missing family. It hasn’t been that long since we’ve seen them and it’s not like we saw them all the time before, but somehow knowing that you can’t hop in the car and be there in 2 or 3 hours just feels different. So having a family member on board was a treat. Scrappy 1 and Scrappy 2. (That is what Caroline and Frank have nicknamed each other somewhere along the way. I’ll spare you the story of how that came to be, but it was during a heated Wii bowling match a couple of winters ago.)

Dinner in the cockpit. On a nice evening, we grilled some nice shrimp!

Dinner in the cockpit. On a nice evening, we grilled up some mighty fine shrimp!

Caroline looking content during a day sail in the bay.

Caroline and Ems coming back from a trip ashore to the market. Ems’ driving is improving and Caroline was a great supporter. Independence Day indeed!

And in my family, what do you do when a sibling comes to visit? Why put them to work, of course!! We took advantage of the water at the dock at the yacht club and did a quick scrub down of the boat . . . she badly needed a bath!!

The reward for a clean boat? “Dark and Stormies”!

And an evening sail was our other reward.

Monday morning it was time to say goodbye to Caroline. Off to the ferry. Sniff sniff.

Sisters saying goodbye.

And one final wave from Caroline as she left on the ferry.

I said 90% of our surprises were good. The 10% was the voltage regulator that decided to give up the ghost on the trip over. Fortunately we have a spare. Unfortunately, it wasn’t exactly the same model, so though the batteries still charged from the engine running (the regulator’s major job), the tachometer didn’t work, which we eyeball a lot when we’re motoring. Frank spent lots of time trying to locate the part, but the holiday made that challenging. Couldn’t order it until Monday. We had thought we’d be gone by then. We were able to have the part overnighted to Jack’s Marine and hardware store by Tuesday, but then still had to install it, test it, tweak it, etc. So our stay extended to Wednesday. That was our 10% surprise, and even that turned out pretty good . . .it kept us in a great place for a few extra days. What’s so bad about that?

Anyway, the whole stay was like that . . . one nice surprise after another. Caroline just kept shaking her head and saying, “You’re going to have a hard time topping this week.” Caroline, we’d have to agree.

	frankandems on And They Lived Happily Ever…
	Lynn Brumfield on And They Lived Happily Ever…
	Dick Giddings on And They Lived Happily Ever…
	Saint Andrew in the… on And They Lived Happily Ever…
	Cheryl D on And They Lived Happily Ever…

Posts from the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

From Maine to Mass – Our Last Days in Maine

A Reach to Our Ultimate Maine Destination: Acadia

Anchors Aweigh . . . or Not: Midcoast Maine

Two Ports and Two Rocks

Boothbay Harbor: Lobsters and the Pots They Come In

Portland, Maine: New Friends, Reality Shows and Spin Cycles

We Made it to Maine!

Where the Heck is Cuttyhunk?

Block Island, Rhode Island – Some People Love It.

Shelter Island – The Land of Nice Surprises

Places We’ve Been

Topics

Recent Comments

Past Posts

Follow Blog via Email

About the Crew

Pages

Search