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Since my last post we moved Pandora back from the eastern Penobscot Bay toward Rockland and Camden.   Along the way we enjoyed visiting Merchant Row near Stonington, the home of one of the last operating granite quarries in Maine.  In the 1800s granite was a major building product, prior to the widespread use of concrete as a building material.  This shot is of a very active quarry, one that seems even more active than when we began cruising in Maine nearly 15 years ago.  You can really get a feel for the scale of the operation.  It’s interesting how smooth the cuts are and how massive the blocks are.

This area of Maine is dotted with small granite outcroppings and navigating among the islands can be tricky, especially in the fog.  Fortunately, this day was chrystal clear and sunny.  This shot of the chart plotter gives a good feel for just how “interesting” navigating in Merchant Row is at 7.5kts.

Note that the island in the upper left hand part of the display is Crotch Island, the one with the “crotch” in the middle of it, the granite quarry that is in the photo above.  The actual quarry is the Deer Isle Granite Quarry.  Their site shows that they sell small items for the home and it’s hard to believe that they don’t sell bigger pieces given the scale of the operation.    It would be fun to have kitchen counters from an area that we love.   I guess that even big chunks of granite are sometimes destined to become small trivets.  Not a very noble end for a magnificent island.  Go figure.  All of the islands in this area are made up of unbroken granite and are quite beautiful.  

Granite isn’t the only industry in Merchant Row.  This mussel “farm” is anchored off of a small island where the ever present currents keep the “crop” fresh and sweet.  When you purchase wild mussels in a grocery it’s likely that they came from a place like this.  By suspending them in water above the bottom they never get grit inside which makes them taste even better.   We have dug them ourselves and it takes lots of washing to be sure that you won’t get a mouth full of grit. 

There’s another new industry cropping up in Maine, and elsewhere in the US, and that’s wind power.  These three massive towers are the first on the Maine coast and generate enough power to supply the electrical needs of Vineyard Haven with enough left over to sell back into the power grid.  Some hate the look of wind generators but I think that they are wonderful.  To see these monsters slowly churning away is quite a site to behold.   Pandora is also fairly “green” with nearly all of our power coming from solar panels. When Pandora was launched in April we turned on the freezer and it’s been on all summer.  I can leave the Pandora at anchor for days, or weeks, at a time and never need to use the engine or generator to charge the batteries.  The solar panels put out a great deal of power, sometimes nearly 30 amps at their peak in the middle of the day.

 Back when schooners were the primary mode of transport in Maine, especially for heavy cargo like granite, the primary “trucks” of the day were the coasting schooners.   Today they take human cargo out for day and week long trips.  Merchant Row is a favorite stomping ground for the “dude schooners” and to me this is one of grandest of the schooners.  While I am not positive, I think that this one is “Heritage”, a wonderful schooner with really sweet lines. 

Views like this are fairly common place in Maine and this one with the Camden Hills in the background are particularly scenic.  If you want to spend time on a Maine schooner, you can book here.

As I write this I am back in New Jersey, courtesy of Hurricane Earl.  My plan was to bring Pandora back to Mystic from Maine over the Labor Day weekend but alas, she’s on a mooring in Rockland riding out the storm and I am in New Jersey.  It doesn’t look like Earl will be much of a threat in Maine after all with most of the strong winds coming from the North West. This means that wind driven waves won’t be a problem as the winds will be coming off of the land and there won’t be an opportunity for big seas to develop in the harbor.  While wind can wreck boats, it’s big seas that tend to be the worst culprit.  

As for getting Pandora back from Maine, as soon as the winds and seas get back to normal I will head back to Rockland with crew to bring Pandora home.  While I was planning to head down to Annapolis again for some late Fall Sailing, I think that I will just pull her out in CT and begin thinking about the 2011 season.   Work is a bit too busy and now with the delay in getting back to Mystic, I don’t think that Annapolis is in the cards.  Perhaps next year. 

All and all, we spent about six weeks sailing in Maine where I was able to keep working a full week and still enjoy the sailing life.

Forgive me but I can’t help myself as I close this post with yet another magnificent Maine sunset.  Pretty impressive, right?  Brenda and I think so and plan to make the summer of 2011 our 15th visit to Maine. 

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Of course, what blog post would be complete without a shot of a schooner at anchor with a beautiful sunset.  This particular schooner is the Heritage, one of the many that take out paying guests for week long cruises along the coastline of Penobscot Bay.  Earlier this evening all aboard went to a local granite island in Merchant Row near Stoninington for a lobster bake and a bit of dining under the setting sun. 

>We spent the better part of the last week enjoying Maine aboard Pandora on a cruise with The Corinthians.  For readers of past posts, this group looms large in my life as I serve on the Afterguard, or leadership board of the group.  It’s a great group of sailors from all over the northeast from Boston to Annapolis.  Among many activities that the group has, is the summer cruise is here in Maine on alternate years.  Nearly 50 boats participated this year, with a good number making the trip up from Annapolis. We started our cruise in Booth Bay Harbor and headed east to Rockland, Fox Island Thoroughfare and then on to Gilkey Harbor in Isleboro.  The cruise headed on from there but Brenda and I stayed on for the Seven Seas Cruising Association Isleboro rendezvous.   The SSCA is new to us but they, as a cruising and liveaboard group, seem like a lot of fun and we are looking forward to learning more about them and making new friends.

I thought it might be fun to include some photos of “boats of Maine” to show some of the diversity that you see as you cruise the waters of Maine.  There is no question that sailboats dominate, very unlike the waters near the New York area, where it seems that power is the preferred choice.  The predominance of sail in Maine is likely because of the fact that precious few can afford the fuel to make the run here.  For me, I doubt that I have burned 70 gallons to date this season and I have moved Pandora from Annapolis to CT and now to Maine, a distance of probably about 600 miles of sailing.   That’s a long way at 6-7kts.  Fortunately, Pandora is easy on the fuel and only uses about .9 gallons per hour when we are under power which is fortunately, not all of the time.

When we were visiting Rockland the Navy came to town. Unfortunately, we left as they opened the ship up to visitors.  What an amazing sight.  This ship just dwarfed everything else in the harbor.  I wonder if it was built at Bath Iron Works. I expect so as that’s probably why she is visiting, to show the flag.  They were also, no doubt, in town for the lobster festival this weekend.

If you are more inclined toward the varnish verses the iron crowd, try a visit to Camden.   Too small for the Navy but not to small a place to show the flag, even if it’s a private signal.

Yes, this is what you get if you can keep your money out of the hands of the government and if you want to see the fruits of capitalism, a visit to Camden will never disappoint. These two lovely beauties were tied up at the town dock. So unfortunate that they weren’t able to find room at the Camden Yacht Club or another more worthy spot.   Some times you just have to hang out with the unwashed, like it or not.

Speaking of the unwashed, if you feel a bit like roughing it, there is always an opportunity to go out with the gang from Outward Bound.  This program helps young people, and some adults that have never grown up, learn to be more self reliant. For me, and definitely Brenda, it would be tough to give up the warm showers.  It has often been said that when it comes to boating, “don’t spend a lot of time on at boat that’s shorter than your age”.  In the case of this crew, I would say that the numbers work as it appears to be a group of 20 somethings.

And, there’s always a mess of lobster boats out feeding the gulls. It’s amazing how the birds materialize when the old bait and crab by-catch is thrown out when the traps are hauled. 

It’s not a boat but this house on Fox Island Thoroughfare is really interesting. It does look a lot like the transom of a boat. I’ll bet that it has great furnishings.

Since I have gotten off of boats, these two shots are of some of the buildings on the Wyeth compound on Allen Island off of Port Clyde.  It’s clear,  the look of the buildings on the island that Andrew and Betsy Wyeth had both money and taste.  What a great spot.  This other building, and there are many on the island, really looks like one of Wyeth’s homes.   Very idyllic.

>After a great trip to Maine aboard Pandora, we are settling into a nice visit to cooler climes.  While my trip up the coast was uneventful and allowed for some great sailing, Brenda wasn’t so lucky getting here.   For some time now our 10 year old SAAB has been smoking a bit from the turbo with assurances from the garage that any failure would be a gradual loss of power and not a total engine shutdown.  Ha!  When Brenda was outside of Worchester MA last Sunday afternoon the turbo gave out in a dramatic, smoke bellowing final shudder.  While the engine wasn’t damaged, it wouldn’t run and had to be towed to a nearby shop.  Yes, we have AAA towing.  After the diagnosis, we decided to put in a used turbo (hope that was the right decision) and get a rental car so she could continue her way to BoothBay.   By the time she got to Maine she was bushed.  

Unfortunately, that’s not the end of the SAAB Saga story as when she picked up the car on Wednesday, after a four hour ride back to Worchester,  she headed out only to have the car die again.  This time things had a somewhat better outcome as after a frantic call to the garage, the preliminary diagnosis was that it was a loose vacuum hose.  The mechanic diagnosed this over the phone as the likely problem as the engine smoothed out when the AC was turned off. 

Anyway, the car’s not completely well yet but Brenda did get back, albeit a bit later than she expected last evening.  Ed took pity on her and we greeted her in the driveway with a glass of wine followed by a (late) lobster dinner and a wonderful evening with Ed, his son, daughter-in-law and their son. 

That wasn’t the first taste of Ed’s lobster as we have been enjoying his hospitality here in the Oven Mouth, a wonderful spot off of the Sheepscott River near Booth Bay for the last few days.  Ed is retired and enjoys being on the water as a part time lobsterman.  At 82 Ed is an amazingly spry guy and a wonderful host.  In the last two days I have personally consumed 5 of his lobsters. 

Ed also has a 1800’s vintage catboat that he has converted into a small (really small) trawler.  It’s a sweet boat with a nice little Yanmar Diesel.  Very cute.

The Oven Mouth is a piece of water that is very narrow and drains a large area upstream through a very constricted rocky cut.  As a result, the currents at full tide can run upwards of 7kts.  It’s impressive to see whitecaps build as the current races by.  It’s particularly amusing to see the local duck population go by with the current without a care in the world.  I swear that they are out there for the ride. Very funny.

The scenery here is wonderful with the light changing on a nearly hourly basis from ephemeral mists in the early morning to the dramatic light and dark of the sun on the pine trees.  Happily, the temperatures are a lot lower now than we had experienced in Annapolis, CT and Martha’s Vineyard where things topped out in the 90s most days.  This morning I turned on the Espar heater for the first time this sailing season. It went down into the mid 50s last night.  Very pleasant. 

Work has been incredibly busy with my partner developing grant submissions to both the NIH and some pharmaceutical companies with some medical society partners.  I am hopeful that things will begin picking up in a few months as some (lots?) of our requests are approved (hopefully).   Starting a business isn’t easy but a lot of fun.  Also, with the cell phone booster, fax and printer that I have aboard, it’s been very easy to stay in touch.  Each day is incredibly busy with scheduled calls and lot’s to do. 

I am looking forward to a cruise with The Corinthians this coming week when I can put work aside (mostly) for a week. 

I should also note that if BoothBay Harbor isn’t on your list for a visit, it should be.  Yes, there are lots of tacky t-shirt stores, but the natural beauty and friendly people are wonderful.  It’s one of my favorite places to visit by land or water.

I was particularly amused by this sight as it “motored” by the other morning.  Is it a car, a boat?  It’s tacky and wonderful, that’s for sure.   I guess it’s a caboat.  No kidding, it’s steered from inside the car by wheel.  Notice the Maine registration on the front fender.  Good thing that it has a spoiler on back to help control it at speed. 

On a somewhat more sublime note, this old tug motored by one evening with what looked like a very comfortable “crew” aboard.  What a nice way to enjoy a cocktail cruise in BoothBay Harbor. 

Well, it’s nearly 8am and time to get to work.  Lots to do but TGIF (In Maine, no less).

>At 05:30 today I dropped the mooring in Mystic to head to Boothbay Harbor Maine for our annual visit Down East.  I am not certain of exactly what year we first went to Maine but I think that it was about 14 years ago.  This year the plan will be to keep Pandora in Maine waters for the month of August and head back to Mystic and ultimately to Annapolis in the Fall.  This trip has become something of a tradition for Brenda and me.   As she doesn’t enjoy the long delivery trips, I assemble crew through my connection with The Corinthians, a great sailing group that I belong to and am very active with, and Brenda joins me by car.   The Corinthians will also have their cruise this year in Maine and will be joined by members of the Little Ship Club of London.  Some 35 members of the LSC will make the trip and join for a total of 65 boats for a week of racing and cruising in Maine waters.   Interestingly, two of the LSC members joining us will have made the trip over on their own boats.   The Corinthians and LSC clubs have had a long and very close association with members of each group visiting the others to sail together every few years. 

With me on this trip to deliver Pandora to Maine are three others, all quite experienced sailors.   Having left first thing this morning from Mystic we will reach the Cape Cod Canal mid afternoon, in time to catch the fair current that will help push along to the eastern mouth and into Cape Cod Bay. 

Our trip across the Gulf of Maine will take us through some of the most productive waters on the east coast and the home of many whales, including the endangered Right Whale.  Unfortunately, we aren’t likely to see many on this crossing as we will be crossing the best whale watching waters over night in the dark. 

When I heard the recent report about the whale that landed on the deck of a small sailboat off of Cape Town South Africa, I had to think about that happening aboard Pandora.  After a bit of searching on the Web, I didn’t find many references to whales striking boats, however, it does happen from time to time.   When I saw a photo that someone sent me from the NY Post yesterday, I thought that it must have been a doctored photo but it seems that this really happened.  I wouldn’t want to have a 40 ton whale land on Pandora.   I tried to find a photo that I could post on the site but the best I could find was a link to the New York post story.  Check it out.

The most famous of these “encounters of the whale kind” was the ramming and sinking of the 87′ Nantucket based whaling ship Essex.  On November 20th 1820, while some of the crew were hunting a pod of whales in the South Pacific, a very large whale repeatedly rammed the Essex and sunk her.   Some have speculated that toward the end of the height of the commercial whaling industry, some of the whales that remained had become more aggressive and were more regularly attacking the ships that were pursuing.  Who knows if that was what led to the ramming of the Essex but it’s fun to think about.  Herman Melville drew inspiration for his book “Moby Dick” from the Essex incident.   To learn more about this incredible story click here.

Anyway, I hope to be able to post my own photos of my own “whale encounter” from my trip to Maine.  Who knows.  For now, I will just have to put up this photo of me piloting our dink with a “whale’s load” of luggage.  Yes, it’s not the best analogy and a literary stretch.  However, it’s my blog.. You’d think that this amount of stuff must be able to sustain us for a year at sea.  Alas, it was for just a one week voyage.