August 2016

Well, that does it, nobody on board but me.  I dropped Barry off in tiny Sakonnet Harbor RI this morning.  As I write this I am passing the “gold coast” of Newport.  There are many cities that have a section that they proudly refer to as The Gold Coast but this one is, for sure, the granddaddy of all gold coasts.   The mansions here are so high end that even the hedge fund guys can’t afford the kind of homes that their robber baron ancestors referred to as “cottages”  It’s hard to believe that those mammoth homes were only occupied for a few weeks each summer.

I’d guess that the main reason that these homes stood vacant for nearly the entire year was because their owners were working hard to make even more money so that they not only had a huge mansion but that theirs was the “most hugest of all”, vacant or not.

All of this makes me remember all those years that I schlepped my boats to Maine and back each summer with the very limited vacation time I had.  Back in those days it took a “crowd” or perhaps better stated, a “village” for me to take my vacation.  With a crew to head up, and I always had at least four on board, to the crew heading back home, one summer it took a total of 15 people to make it possible for me to move my boat north, find a place to keep her when I wasn’t aboard and then to coordinate all crew and logistics for the run home a few weeks later.  For a number of years I resorted to lending my boat to friends with the agreement that they could use the boat for two weeks if they brought her home.    This worked well for a few years until I lent the boat to someone who turned out to have a problem with “adult beverages” and crashed the boat into another boat and ran her up on a rock ledge, both in one day.  That’s a very tough way to start the day.

And, of course, with that many people involved and the reality of weather to contend with, it was a logistical nightmare, crashes excepted.

These days, in my “retired life” it’s a lot simpler but heading back to Maine this time was certainly more like “the good old days” with crew coming and going and last minute “adjustments” to well laid plans. Back then, it just wouldn’t do to tell my boss “I’d love to be at work today, after two weeks away, but the weather, well it was just too windy to get back”.   Yeah right.

I expect that the response would have been something like the old Account Temps radio commercials.  “Don’t worry, Bob from Account Temps is here. Take as long as you want to get back.  EVERYTHING is under control.  We are doing just fine without you.”  Oh great.

Anyway, I digress but all the rushing around and crew changes this time have certainly brought back memories of my “past life”.

As I write this I am sailing along with the big Code Zero sail out on a nice easy broad reach.  It’s very pleasant indeed.

We finally made it through the Cape Cod Canal at around dark last night. However, the wind, while less than 10kts, was right on the nose for the last few hours.  That combined with a flood tide made for a very slow run down Buzzard’s Bay.

We decided to spend the night in Cuttyhunk bight and picked our way in to drop the hook a bit after midnight.  I set the alarm for 05:00 this morning (now that hurt) and sailed the rest of the way to Sakonnett where I dropped off Barry.  He has a summer home there.

The harbor is very tiny and really packed with moorings.  We picked up one of the two town moorings and within moments the harbor master stopped by to see if we were staying the night.  We explained our “touch and go” plans and he very nicely offered to take Barry to shore.  Very neighborly.

What a pretty harbor. They seem to take their commercial fishing seriously.  Sorry no obligatory shot of today’s sunrise although it was a stunner.

I guess I’ll close with a shot of Pandora sailing.  No bone in her teeth today.  Just an easy sail back to home waters and “real life”.And, the light at Pt Judith.  Back in home waters.Did I mention that the lawn needs cutting?  Oh yeah, and there’s a bathroom to finish remodeling.

Welcome home Bob.  If it wasn’t for the fact that Brenda’s there, well, I’d be tempted to just keep going.

One last thing, thanks for helping me Barry.  Life was going to be a LOT more complicated without you.  Yes, indeed, sailing, it takes a village and I am blessed to be a member of a particularly good tribe.

 

 

As I begin this post it’s Sunday morning and I am in the middle of the Gulf of Maine sailing toward the Cape Cod Canal.  I expect that we will arrive before dark and in time to catch the ebb tide for an easy run through to Buzzard’s Bay.

A few minutes ago, after not seeing another boat for hours, this sword fisherman steamed by.  I can only imagine what it must feel like to be perched up on top of that tall tower in a seaway.  Boy, would Brenda love that.  The drill is that when they spot a swordfish swimming along the surface nearby, one of them will head out onto the bow pulpit and attempt to spear the fish.

“Listen Rodrigues, get your elbow out of my ribs.  I was up here first and I’m standing in the middle.   Stop looking at me like you don’t remember that I am captain today.   I won the coin toss, fair and square.”I left Camden last evening  to make the 175 mile run to the canal, after spending much of the day making my way from NE Harbor after my crew from the Corinthians cruise left to head back home.

Originally, the plan was to have one of them stay aboard with me for the return trip but his toe was hurting and it was clear that he wanted to head home.  While this wasn’t good newsl, I didn’t want to press him to stay as it wouldn’t have been good for either one of us.

With one day to find a replacement crew, I was sort of stuck and didn’t really know what I was going to do.  Frankly, I wasn’t ready to leave Maine but to stick around for another week until the weather turned in my favor again wasn’t very appealing.   I also considered leaving the boat in Maine and renting a car but that was very complicated and I have so much on my plate in the coming weeks, that didn’t seem like a good idea.  I also thought about taking Pandora home alone but being out overnight by myself by myself wasn’t something that I was particularly looking forward to.  However, having a crew member aboard that wasn’t happy to be there was an even worse idea.  Time to be flexible.

I made a few calls and amazingly, with one day notice, my friend Barry offered to crew for me even though he was scheduled to crew for someone else already.    I was very touched that Larry, the skipper of the boat he was on, who I hardly know, was so quick to offer one of his crew without hesitation.   Problem solved and a good weather window to boot according to Chris Parker, the weather router.

All and all, it will be very nice to be home again with Brenda.  So after feeling sorry for myself after scrambling to find crew I got a good night sleep, compliments of Barry.   Now, fully recovered and “adjusted”, I am looking forward to being home.  I’ll admit that it helps that I am romping along at about 7kts on a close reach in 10-13kts apparent.  With the big code zero sail out it’s pretty amazing how fast the boat can go.  At this rate we will reach the canal a lot sooner than expected and make it through with a strong ebb tide pushing us along.

Camden is one of my favorite spots in Maine and after motoring all day to get there while dodging thousands of lobster pots, it killed me to leave immediately after taking on fuel and crew.  It would have been nice to have dinner ashore but I was pretty tired and needed a rest.  It also gave Barry an opportunity to settle in aboard Pandora.  I wish that I had been able to take on more fuel as diesel is less than $2/gal there as compared to nearly $3/gal in CT.  Love those CT taxes.   At least it’s still less expensive than in Cuba where it was nearly $6/gal.

After waking up at 04:00 yesterday, thinking about next steps, I was so bushed when we left that Barry took pity on me and stood an extra-long watch when I headed down below to sleep after midnight.  When I woke up the sun was high above the horizon and Barry was clearly ready for a nap.  Thanks Barry.

The time I spent in Maine with the Corinthians was a whirlwind but good fun.  All that we did is now a blur so I am glad that I took the time to do some posts along the way.

I spent the last few days in NE Harbor, one of my favorite spots.  There are two formal gardens there managed by The Garden Preserve and I couldn’t let a visit go by without seeing them both.  Craig, one of my crew, loves gardens  too and we toured both together.

Thuya gardens is up the hill near the harbor with a commanding view of the boats from one of the observation spots. What a view.Pandora on her floating dock. This shot of the gardens doesn’t begin to do justice to the wonderful work that the five gardeners do to keep everything in top shape.These flowers are huge.  I have only seen dahlias like this in Victoria BC gardens. The entire garden was beautifully scented by huge lilies. Lots of life in the garden including plenty of butterflies.The other gardens are Asticou, a formal Japanese garden and they are lovely.  I only had a short time there.  A very serene spot.Well, it was a fairly quick but fun visit to Maine and I am very happy that the run back has turned out to be a pleasant trip.

This visit was my 16^th to Maine by boat and I couldn’t help to wonder what sort of memories this little girl that I saw picking and eating blueberries on top of Blue Hill earlier in the week will recall many years from now.  I expect that she too will have many fond memories of this wonderful place.   For now, her mother will have to work to get the blueberry stains out of her dress.  I for one have just love visiting this beautiful part of the world.  I can’t wait to go back.

Oh yeah, one more thing.   Saw a bunch of whales… again (stifles a yawn).

 

Everywhere you look in Maine there are rocks, rocks as big as a mountain,medium sized boulders or as pint sized as a pebble and about every size in between.  You’d think that with all of the rocks milling around together would also spawn some sand.  Alas, no sand but many, many rocks.

So, the other day we packed a lunch and decided to head out and see how many rocks we could climb over.  Well, that’s not exactly what we had as a goal but that’s more or less what we ended up doing.

The plan was to climb up a a really big rock and visit, well,  “bubble rock”.  I have to say that I had no idea what exactly was meant by “bubble rock”.   My first thought was that the “bubble” was the mountain.  I was wrong.  This is the “bubble” on top of a sort of bubble mountain.   It’s way bigger than it looks.  Craig stood next to it and try as he might, he couldn’t budge it.   Where is “hulk” when you need him?  “Arnold?  Can you help me out here?”

I claimed the peak, of course.  More rocks. The view of Jordan Pond from Bubble rock was spectacular.  There is a restaurant at the other end of the pond, in the clearing to the right at the far end to put a fine point on it.  That’s where we began and ended our hike.  They are known for their popovers.   We “knew” some popovers after our walk.   Pretty good.  The view from “lake level” to where we climbed. OK, so about that title.  I saw an eagle carrying a snake.   Perhaps not a happy snake at that.   “Weee!!!  Take me higher!I also got a shot of a loon.  Check.   He was pretty busy fishing so kept ducking, or would that be “looning”, under the water and popping up somewhere else.   I had a tough time getting a good shot.  As many times as I told him “look at me loon”, no luck. The water was impossibly clear.  What a view.And finally, a frog in water, not so clear. So, rocks of many sizes, an eagle, a snake if an unhappy one at that, a loon and a frog plus a popover or two for me and ten thousand steps.   Good day.

Arguably, there’s nothing more “Maine” than wooden schooners and I had a generous “helping” of them a few days ago in Somes Sound on Mt Desert Island.

As is the case with so much of life’s experiences, it’s all about being in the right place at the right time.   And, as luck would have it, we were as 2016 is the 100^th year of the founding of Acadia National Park and the organizer of the Corinthians Cruise found a way for our fleet to participate in a parade of schooners up Somes Sound.  And, as if that’s not enough, we were to lead the parade up one of the most beautiful pieces of water in all of Maine.

And it gets even better.  To make the sight even more of a spectacle for the thousands that watched from shore, about 35 of our member’s boats dressed ship with signal flags galore.

We waited at the mouth of Somes Sound for the schooners to approach as they emerged from the summer afternoon haze.  Well, actually, there wasn’t much of a haze but I liked the sound of that.  As the schooners assembled to begin their run up the sound they tacked back and forth.   This one came pretty close to Pandora’s bow.  Our fleet began to head up the sound ahead of the schooners in single file. Well, sort of single file.  Then the word came from the Master of the Corinthians, “hurry up, they are going to pass us”.   And hurry we did.Things got a bit chaotic after a while and we ended up in more of a clump than single file.  Chaos or not, it was a joyous sight.  My friends Alice and Andy have a cute little tug called Loon.  It was fun to see her chugging along with the fleet. Many local boats got into the act including this lovely little red sloop making her way with the fleet.After reaching the head of the sound, The Corinthians turned to face the schooners and watched them sail by.What a sight as the schooners passed by and saluted the spectators on shore with cannon fire.Love the fine lines of the stern.  Hard to believe that something this big can be so sleek.As the schooners passed, the perspective changed and the afternoon breeze freshened.

The schooners turned to short tack back down the sound into the wind.  It was impressive to see them maneuver in so tight a space.Our Master Leigh was aboard “All that Jazz”, leading the fleet.  To see the largest schooner in the fleet tack in front of his boat was quite a sight and a fitting way to finish up the parade. We all scrambled to the local boat yard to pick up moorings for the evening.  Like the rest of the day, and to use a phrase that my late father loved, it was “organized chaos”.  Yes Dad, and what joyous chaos it was.

This trip is my 16^th to Maine and I have to say that to be in a parade with these magnificent schooner was one of the highlights of those many  years.

What a day.  I was blessed to be a part of such an iconic spectacle that makes Maine, well, Maine.

 

Anyone who’s cruised to Maine, and certainly those who love wooden boats, have made the pilgrimage to the Wooden Boat School and the headquarters for Wooden Boat Magazine.    So, yesterday the cruise headed there from SW Harbor, a distance just short of 20 miles.

As we made our way there yesterday were we passed the iconic Bass Harbor Light.  I believe that this is the most photographed light in Maine.   You can certainly see why.  She’s a beauty.Of course, that’s not the only one to feast your eyes on.  How about this one?  It’s still active but unlike the Bass light, this one is someone’s home.  I wonder how well they sleep when the fog horn is blasting away.Unfortunately, we weren’t able to sail yesterday or again today as the wind was just too light.  That’s one of the downsides of club cruises as the meals and stops are all planned in advance.  When Brenda and I cruise, we wait to move when there is wind and therefore spend a lot more time sailing.

Let’s hope that by the time the fleet heads back toward NE Harbor in a few days, that we won’t have to beat our heads against the wall to head east. Uncharacteristically, the wind is forecast to be out of an easterly direction for the next few days so we’ll have to wait and see.

So, back to the Wooden Boat School, a place that is a must stop for anyone that admires beautiful wooden boats.  Many credit Jon Wilson, founder of Wooden Boat magazine, with the revival of wooden boat restoration and modern construction.  It takes someone like that to galvanize interest in a dying art.  Clearly the tide has turned and wooden boats are a vital part of the boating community these days.

Speaking of lovely craft, I took a turn around the harbor and photographed some of the lovely craft that are moored there.

This is a sweet canoe stern launch.  Very elegant lines.How about the stern on this beauty?I loved the detail work on this Friendship Sloop.  Great trail boards.I think that this is a Herreshoff 12½ or perhaps a Haven 12½ designed by Joel White as centerboard takeoff on that classic design.   The varnish work is perfect.I think that these are International One Designs and may not be wooden.  However, there is a very active fleet in SW Harbor and was racing yesterday afternoon.   Each spinnaker had a unique design and made quite a sight as they raced to the finish line.While most of the boats that were moored at the Wooden Boat School are of classic designs, there are plenty of beautiful wooden boats being crafted in Maine of thoroughly modern designs.  How about this wonderful gentleman’s launch that I spied at a marina in SW Harbor?  She’s a real head turner.  They had better never let the varnish work get away from them. I’d say that Pandora takes “modern” to yet another level.  Not a lot of varnish on her.  However, I just love the way she looks and sails.  She looks right at home here in Maine too.The sunsets, and I do love sunsets, over the last few days have been spectacular. And a bit later.  Hard to believe that this shot was the same sunset.  Perhaps it’s my new camera but this photo actually is better than real life. I guess that’s what they mean when they call it “sunset porn”.   Well, they probably don’t say that but you get the point.   Right?

We are approaching Blue Hill so I’d better finish up for now.   Adios!