Month: July 2017 (Page 2 of 2)

We’re holed up in Boothbay Harbor waiting for some rain to pass, so we figured it would be a good place to hit up the library and do some blog posts.  We’re anchored in Lewis or Lobster Cove in Linekin Bay with a whopping 2 other boats (crowded Maine anchorage).

The sail over from Seguin was with the wind at our backs – the seas a bit rolly which still didn’t bother the seals, one of whom popped up to watch us sail by.  We also caught sight of this monster – complete with helicopter on deck if anyone is interested in chartering!  http://www.superyachts.com/motor-yacht-7468/evviva.htm  BTW – anyone who knows me knows I love to google the monster yachts we come across during our travels.  I think because we left early in the season we didn’t see the usuals in Block Island.  But with this, I’m sure I’ll be making up for lost time!

Boothbay is like most other quaint Maine tourist towns.  It’s got everything on the checklist –  a  working lobster industry (we ate lobster mac & cheese and lobster rolls at a local wharf while watching the lobstermen unload the daily catch yesterday), ice cream, local beer, and schooner trips.

James and Jenny had sent pictures from one of their stops during the week – Seguin Island – and it looked amazing so we decided to visit on our way to Boothbay Harbor.

We got in mid afternoon and with the exception of one other boat had the cove to ourselves (not that you could fit more than 5 boats anyway – only 5 moorings and you’re not allowed to anchor due to the power cable crossing the seabed from nearby Phippsburg). Our timing was perfect, the island stewards were just returning from their day ashore provisioning. We helped them carry some of the gear up to their house (not an insubstantial climb with gear, and I didn’t even bring the water jugs) and then got the full tour. Because it was their day off, there were no public tours going on and we had the island to ourselves.

There source of the name is unknown – most likely bastardization of Native American names, but my personal favorite was ‘place where the sea vomits’…..The lighthouse is amazing – you can climb to the top to see one of the last Frehnel lens (400+ prisms) left in operation. The views of both the Atlantic and land are stunning – on a particularly clear day you can see Mt Washington! We hiked the north trail which provided some additional cool views of our boat, and then eventually turned around when the (as usual) nesting gulls got paranoid and started screaming.

The gulls are not shy, by the way. Though I wouldn’t think these particularly used to people (ie. Like the ones that hang out at local restaurants looking for leftovers), we had one land in the dinghy, then get so bold as to settle in on the solar panel (which Trip had to clean the next day) and even our mainsail! We were having steak for dinner which I wouldn’t have thought would have tempted the birds, but it is nesting season and they’ll take whatever they can to feed a growing family.

Gulls aside, we were sitting directly under a nest with a pair of ospreys. We spent most of the evening and even the next morning watching the two take turns hunting, tending to the little ones, and standing guard. Absolutely magnificent birds.

The three boats all left the next day – James & Jenny for Boothbay Harbor, Lawrence and Viviane and us for Harpswell Harbor. I joked that this is what a busy Maine anchorage looked like on a holiday weekend – 6 boats total in the cove. After a quiet night we headed on to Snow Island, the next body of water running up the peninsulas, but now East Harpswell.

What a jewel of a place. Seals, osprey, bald eagles – it’s a wildlife paradise. There’s several really cool coves that we explored by dinghy. Tons of docks going to the water’s edge, but most homes tucked back in the woods giving the element of privacy.

And the water is warm enough to swim comfortably!  Not just dip your toes or jump in to say you did, but lovely for a leisurely swim!

We left Portland yesterday after the fog burned off (a daily routine most likely from now on) and sailed to Harpswell, where we rendezvoused with Lawrence and his wife Viviane, as well as Portland friends James and Jenny.

Dolphin Marina is a great little family owned place with a fabulous restaurant.  They meet you with the launch and hand you your mooring pennants (instead of the usual routine of leaning awkwardly over the side with a boat hook).  They have free bikes and kayaks for loan.

The six of us started on board Kalyra for cocktail hour, then went ashore for a great dinner.  This morning the launch delivered complimentary blueberry muffins and coffee – what a way to start the day!

We met our only goal for the summer – we’ve made it to Maine by July 1st!

Portland is a fabulous place to stop – there’s a mooring field near downtown with showers and wifi, and we have friends that live within walking distance, James & Jenny Hambly.  They were kind enough to lend us their car (coincidentally my old Subaru) for provisioning.  We got all the basics out of the way and then spent the day wandering around town.

Two restaurants to recommend:

• Duckfat;  the duck confit panini and roast Cuban, plus the fries cooked in duckfat (what else), finished off with a vanilla bean milkshake.  A must repeat.
• Central Provisions:  known for their cocktails (the head bartender had amazing ink and a finely waxed mustache, not that that makes him a professional but it certainly adds to the look) as well as tasty bar snacks – not everywhere can you order bone marrow toast and fresh chiccarones!

Trip’s first sailing experience was back in the 70’s to the Isle of Shoals, but he had no memories of the place. It’s a perfect half way point from Rockport, MA up to Portland, ME.   We started out with good winds, but things lightened up, so we drifted for quite a while, watched Lawrence play with his drifter, and most importantly had our first whale sighting! No idea what species, but reports are plentiful of minkes and finbacks in the area.

The single anchorage in Gosport Harbor is reportedly a mob scene on the weekends. It’s poor holding so anchoring is not really an option, but we got lucky and got the last two available yacht club moorings which are first come first serve. That was around 5:00 pm, if we had waited 3 hours the entire place emptied out as everyone went back to the mainland at the end of the weekend.

Star Island is the main attraction – with a big white hotel used as a conference retreat for a local Unitarian congregation. There are no services on the island, but there is a grill on the dock (we sampled the hotdogs) and visitors are welcome to join the family style meals at the retreat. The hotel reminded me of a much more rustic version of the hotel at Mt Washington – a bit ramshackle but a lovely place to stop and enjoy the view from a rocking chair on the massive front porch.

The island has trails cut through it out past the massive solar panel field, to a couple of monuments and to rocks with breathtaking views of the Atlantic. The trails take you through a ‘village’ of stone cottages and a chapel that have remarkably withstood the test of time.

And the storms!  The forecast called for storms to pass through, but we could watch the individual bands as they approached the island, the downpour began with lightening & thunder, and then the rainbow that appeared afterwards.  This happened 5 or 6 times, sometimes simultaneously as the bands of storms were passing through so quickly!

Rockport is tucked just past Gloucester. It’s a small town that relies exclusively on tourism, but it’s always fun to visit. Last time we were here we were tied up to a transient dock waiting for friends to arrive for an overnight sail to Maine – this year was a bit more relaxed.

I had picked up haddock and spinach while were in Marblehead, so we invited Lawrence over for a dinner of grilled fish. As the sun went down we realized we were anchored behind the performing arts center and there was a performance going on so the place was all lit up which we could see through the huge windows they had facing the bay. We got an impromptu acapella performance for just one song before they moved inside and unfortunately didn’t open any windows, but it was still a lovely view.

Sunday morning I made my first loaf of sourdough bread! The oven is original and we realized that the door doesn’t create an even seal, so we jury rigged a tin foil seal and got on with the baking. The finished product was a bit burnt on the bottom given the close proximity to the heating element, but it was delicious nonetheless and I see more in the future….

The rest of the day we spent strolling Bearskin Neck – the one street of the town out over the docks crammed full of shops and artists galleries. We headed up to the library to escape the heat and utilize wifi as we had realized that one of our main tablets didn’t have Maine charts downloaded. After that we hiked to a small point just outside the harbor where we watched a small regatta and just enjoyed the day.

Dinner that night was a takeout spinach & feta calzone from the Rockport House of Pizza. We discovered this place last year and I would go back over and over again. I love cooking on board, but you can’t beat takeout like this every once in a while.

Seas were calm the next morning, so Trip decided to go up the mast to free a hooked spinnaker line. He got a great shot of the deck from the very top of the mast. I’m beyond thrilled to be married to someone who is not afraid of heights.