Sunday July 24th.

We had a lay day today which is supposed to be a day of rest and relaxation.  It was far from that! 

The day started with a bike ride to North East harbor.  A beautiful ride along the fjord we sailed up yesterday.  At North East Harbor we parked the bikes and took one of the free busses to Jordan’s Pond, which we walked around before having lunch at the pond.  This was followed by another bus ride around Mt. Desert to see views of the island, then a bike ride back to Somes pond – a beautiful, warm, freshwater pond just outside Somes Harbor.  After swimming in the pond, we returned to the boat, changed clothes and dinghied a mile or so to a restaurant on the north eastern shore – Abel’s Lobster Pound where we had a delicious dinner. 

On the dinghy ride home we saw a seal basking on a rock that appeared since it was low tide.  It was the picture perfect pose with him in an arc – all that was missing was the beach ball balancing on his nose, oh yes and our camera!

Ships Log: 5900.6, Todays Log: 0, Seasons Total: 205.4.

Human Log: Bike: 22 miles, Hike: 3.5 miles, Swim: 0.5 miles, Bus: 40+ miles, Dinghy: 2 miles.

Saturday July 23rd.

Happy birthday Rome!

We woke up to another hot sunny day.  Winds were light so we dilly dallied around in the morning.  

Eventually it was time to set off towards North East harbor or Sommes Harbor, despite the lack of wind.  We motored for 3 hours and then the wind picked up and we beat through the lobster pots until we got to the entrance to North East Harbor, 44 16.80N 68 16.44W.  The sailing was great now and having motored for so long, we decided to continue sailing up Somes  Sound, 44 18.90N 68 18.63W.  Somes Sound is billed as a fjord in the sailing guides.  It was beautiful, but nothing like the fjords in Newfoundland.  We arrived at Somes Harbor, 44 21.62N 68 19.63W and dropped the hook next to several other like-minded sailboats.  It is a beautiful harbor, albeit crowded with moorings. 

We planned to take our bikes ashore for an exploratory ride, but thunder and lightning reared their ugly heads in the distance and we decided to stay put.  As it turned out we didn’t get any storms in the evening. 

We put the mosquito nets up and dined on lamb chops, asparagus, potatoes and carrots, washed down with red wind.  Life is tough on the high seas!

After dinner Ron tried his hand at fishing again, but returned fishless with tales of the multitude of mosquitos out there.  It seems our mosquito nets work quite well!

Ships Log: 5900.6, Todays Log: 22.5, Seasons Total: 205.4

Friday July 22nd.

Another beautiful day, with 10-15 knot winds in the forecast gusting to 20.  The winds put us on a broad reach to run all day.  We couldn’t use the screecher since we hadn’t sorted it out yet, but the genoa did just fine.  With 15 knot winds we were sailing at 6-7 knots, and when the wind got up to 30+ knots, we rolled most of the genoa away and were sailing at 8-9 knots.  Quite exciting sailing through lobster pots at 8 knots.  We had planned to either sail to North East Harbor or Sorrento, but with these winds the decision was easy.  We continued to Sorento across beautiful Frenchman Bay, 44 26.45N 68 11.68W. 

We dropped anchor in Sorrento, 44 28.35N 068 11.00W, next to the many moored boats and went ashore for a walk.  The views from Sorrento are stunning, looking out over the boat towards Mount Desert Island.  Sorrento, apparently, was initially a resort town, but now there are no stores, or tourist facilities, (not even an ice-cream shop!), but there are many beautiful and expensive looking large homes in an idyllic setting.  

We had a relaxing evening on the boat.  Ron did a little fishing, to no avail and Teresa spied on a deer feeding along the shoreline.

Ships Log: 5878.1, Todays Log: 23.4, Seasons Total: 182.9

Thursday July 21st

Yesterday, a couple rowing past our boat in their dinghy asked me if our boat was as much fun as she looked.  I responded “sometimes”, and they both said they knew exactly what I meant.  Today might have been an example.  The weather was gorgeous once again with SW winds between 8 and 15 knots.  We were sailing under screecher alone, and with no mainsail to interfere with it, we were sailing at up to 8.5 knots. 

Then things got interesting.  The wind picked up and we decided we’d had enough fun with the screecher so decided to furl it and unroll the Genoa – a much smaller sail.  Unfortunately, the roller mechanism on the screecher decided not to co-operate.  We got it half rolled, then had to pull it down manually, (in rising winds).  Teresa had to cope with steering, lobster pots, and the screecher halyard, while Ron was on the tramp trying to pull the sail down.  Well, (obviously since you’re reading this), we succeeded, but not without some bruises. 

Apart from that, it was a great day’s sailing.  We now have a project to figure out how to drop the screecher  more easily without furling it.

We arrived at Frenchboro, 44 07.53N 068 21.74W and picked up a mooring in the small harbour.  After stowing the screecher a little more securely, and planning our next few days, we went ashore to the Lunt Dockside Deli where we had crab pasta, washed down with a BYO of Rhubarb wine, courtesy of Melanie, our new friend from the DEYC.

All’s well that ends well!

Ships Log: 5854.7, Todays Log: 23.2, Seasons Total: 159.5

Wednesday July 20th

We sailed to North Haven, 44 07.51N 068 52.28W.  We had a great sail, winds between 10 and 20 knots and mostly behind us.  However the lobster pots seem to be getting more prolific, meaning that we had to keep a constant lookout for them.  At one point, we encountered 2 that were less than 16’ apart, which is a shame since Quinita is 16’ wide.  So we sailed over one pot, but didn’t snag it, thank goodness.  It seems that the lobstermen in Maine are required to use sinking (as opposed to floating lines), which helps somewhat.  But there are still plenty of stories of people getting snagged. 

The navigational marks are often used by the local birds to hold their nests. 

We picked up a mooring in the crowded thorofare of North Haven and took our bikes ashore for a ride. 

Ships Log: 5831.5, Todays Log: 28.9, Seasons Total: 136.3

Tuesday July 19th.

We finally set off to do some real cruising.  The forecast promised a great sail, but they lied.  We sailed out of Boothbay at 2-3 knots, waiting for the forecasted winds, but after an hour resorted to motoring.  The engines were on and off several times during the day, which was frustrating, and we arrived at Maple Juice Cove in the George River, 43 58.53N 069 16.89W at 4pm. 

Maple Juice Cove must have the easiest anchorage ever - a wide cove with a flat bottom at 10’ depth with nice mud everywhere.  It’s very pretty.

We went ashore in the dinghy, and walked to a famous house that had been painted by a famous painter.  It was open for visitors tomorrow!

The sunset was spectacular, followed after ½ hour or so by a spectacular moonrise. 

Ships Log: 5802.6, Todays Log: 24.2, Seasons Total: 107.4

Monday July 18th

The plan was to head for Maple Juice Cove today, but there was thick fog in the morning and thuderstorms with ‘Damaging Winds” forecast in the afternoon.  That didn’t sound too inviting so we stayed put in Boothbay.   Not a bad place to spend an extra day.

Ships Log: 5778.4, Todays Log: 0, Seasons Total: 83.2

Sunday July 17th

Mac & Barb from DEYC had contacted us earlier, since they were thinking of switching from mono-hull to catamaran sailing.  So we invited them for a sail and showed off our boat.  Very light winds to start with but they picked up later in the afternoon and we had a nice sail.  And what better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than to have a captive audience while you talk about your boat!

Ships Log: 5778.4, Todays Log: 5.2, Seasons Total: 83.2

Saturday July 16th

The good weather continues.  We took Paul and Ana for a sail.  Went to Linekin Bay, picked up a mooring for lunch and had our first swim of the season before sailing to Burnt Island where we picked up another mooring and went ashore to explore.  The former lighthouse keepers who lived on Burnt Island  from 1980 - 1983 were visiting the island and took us on a guided tour of the former residence.  It was interesting to hear about their time there and to think of living on the island year round.  After that we sailed back to Boothbay Harbor.  It was a perfect sailing day – sunshine and winds of 8 – 12 knots. 

In the evening Paul and Ana treated us to dinner in the Boat House Bistro.

Ships Log: 5773.2, Todays Log: 10.1, Seasons Total: 78

Friday July 15th

Another blistering hot day.  Paul and Ana were due to arrive in the evening to spend the weekend in Boothbay, and so we stayed put for the day.  We went ashore and found some shade to do some bicycle tune-ups, then went for a very pleasant and shady ride between Boothbay harbor and Linekin bay. 

We got back to the boat, and took the floor out of the dinghy to clean it on the dock.  That gave us a better workout that the bike ride. 

Paul and Ana arrived at 7pm and we had dinner with them on the boat.

Ships Log: 5763.1, Todays Log: 0, Seasons Total: 67.9

Thursday July 14th

Anyone notice any cool boats of the cover of this magazine?

Brenda and Vin arrived in Boothbay Harbor on Dragonfly with Mike and Barbara, so we invited them for dinner. 

It was a hot, hot and windy day.  At one point, our wind generator was producing 12 amps of electricity and the 2 solar panels were producing 4 each for a total of 20 amps.  Of course, the whole problem with renewable energy sources is what to do with the excess energy when the batteries are full.  We used the excess to cool some more beers in the fridge!

Ed and Marlene (from the DEYC) were on Moon Shadow on the next mooring to us, so we invited them aboard for happy hour along with Vin, Brenda, Mike and Barbara.  It turns out that Ed’s jokes are just as bad as Mikes!  Ed and Marlene left to eat ashore and Teresa made a scrumptious pasta primavera for the rest of us. 

The Dragonfly crew returned to their boat just before the heavens opened (we think). 

Ships Log: 5763.1, Todays Log: 0, Seasons Total: 67.9

Friday 8th July – Wednesday 13th.

The Newport Jazz Festival took place this weekend (Newport, VT that is!).  So we left Quinita on a Tugboat Inn mooring and headed home to enjoy the Jazz.  Our friends Gene and Cynthia organized most of it (Gene is a professional Sax player).  The weather was a little damp on Saturday, but the music was fantastic.  Star of the show for us was Stanley Jordan.  Half way through the YouTube video he’s playing 2 guitars at once.  He didn’t do that in Newport, but his playing was fantastic!

Teresa visited her mum in CT on Monday and Tuesday and Ron returned to the boat on Tuesday and finished off some more jobs. 

On Wednesday, Ron took Quinita to Hodgdens dock ‘cause one of the engines had not been running well.  Sean arrived, did some magic (we hope) and it’s now running much better.  Teresa rejoined the ship in the late afternoon.

Ships Log: 5763.1, Todays Log: 1.2, Seasons Total: 67.9

Thursday 7th July.

Did I mention Lobster pots?  They were sprinkled liberally amongst the moorings and half way through the night we heard a tap, tap, tap on the hull.  It turned out that we had a lobster buoy snagged on our centerboard.  Not a job we were going to deal with at midnight.  We were tired enough to sleep and figured we’d deal with it in the morning. 

Fortunately, by the morning, the lobster pot had freed itself, but we spent an hour hoisting up the mooring buoy and freeing our lines and the mooring pennant. 

The tides weren’t good for returning to Boothbay until 1pm, so we took a walk around town.  Wiscasset has an interesting “Museum in the Streets”.  You pick up a pamphlet which has 29 historical buildings on a map, and walk around to visit them.  Each building has a plaque with information outside, which makes for a nice outdoor museum.    It’s a very picturesque town.

After having a delicious Maine lobster roll and buying some Maine Jam, we returned to the boat and set off for Boothbay.  The winds were very light, but 3 classic Friendship sailboats had set off just before us and were sailing.  With their large gaff rigged mainsails, they were making slow progress.  We tried to sail with our screecher but, in 3-4 knot winds dead astern we were even slower and had to resort to the engines if we were going to make Boothbay on the tide. 

The bridge at Townsend Gut was now operational, and we tied up at the DEYC dock by 5:30pm. 

Ships Log: 5761.9, Todays Log: 11.4, Seasons Total: 66.7

Wednesday 6th July.

We were destined to have a foul tide through the narrows back out to the Sheepscot river, if we were to have a fair tide up to Wiscasset, so we left early (ish) before the tide through the narrows was too strong.  Another hot day, but no wind, so we motored to Wiscasset, 43 59.88N 69 39.95W. 

At Wiscasset we popped into Wiscasset Yacht Club where they were very friendly, allowed us to use their dinghy dock and pointed out the town moorings, one of which we picked up.  The mooring pennant was thoroughly wrapped around the mooring chain, which at the time didn’t worry too much, since we usually rig our own lines because, unlike a monohull, we need a bridle. 

After mooring we jumped on our bikes and set off for a ride.  The ride was billed as a 55 miler, but given that the temps were forecast to be in the mid 80s, we worked out a shortcut.  As it happened, we should have worked out a shorter shortcut – we were both exhausted when we got back from a 45 mile ride. 

Arriving back at the boat, we discovered that one of our bridle lines was thoroughly wrapped around the mooring chain.  We didn’t have time or energy to fix it, so we dropped that line and used a different one for the night.

The kind folk at the Yacht Club allowed us to use their showers, (perhaps because they were downwind of us), after which we had dinner at Le Garage followed by an early night.

Ships Log: 5750.5, Todays Log: 5.9, Seasons Total: 55.3

Tuesday 5th July

We woke up to a boat covered in ash from last night’s fireworks.  So we headed over to the DEYC dock to wash the boat. 

Our plan for today was good;  we’d leave Boothbay by 10am in order to catch the flood tide up the Sheepscot River and spend the night in Wiscasset.  After washing the boat, we even left ahead of schedule.  However, when we arrived at the Townsend Gut bridge, which is supposed to operate 24hrs/day, 365 days a year, the bridge was not operational.  So we had to beat south against the tide to round Southport island.  We did then have a nice, fair tide run up the river, but couldn’t make Wiscasset on that tide.  So we stopped in Oven Mouth, 43 56.23N 069 38.21W and anchored. 

We took a dinghy ride to explore this area and on the way back to Quinita, we noticed three seals sunbathing on rocks.  We stopped our engine and dropped the dinghy anchor upwind of them, hoping to quietly drift down for a better view.  We did get some photos, but however quiet we were, the seals didn’t seem to like us much.  Just as we were about to leave, something large broke the surface of the water right next to the dinghy and alarmed us.  We still don’t know whether it was a brave seal trying to frighten us off, or a seal coming up from a dive and being startled to find us there, or the loch Ness monster …  Anyway, we guessed we might be disturbing the seals, so left. 

The area where we are anchored gets mud flats around the edges during low tide.  With a tide of 10 – 12 feet this dramatically changes the setting.  At low tide many birds come in to walk the mud flats in what looks like a search for clams, crabs and other food.

Ships Log: 5744.6, Todays Log: 16.9, Seasons Total: 49.4

Saturday 2nd – Monday 4th July.

The whole weekend was hot and sunny. 

Teresa’s sister Rome was visiting for a couple of days and their cousins Laurie and Darcy would be staying in Boothbay for the weekend, so we moved to a TBI mooring in the morning.  Rome joined us in the afternoon.  We lunched on board, and Teresa and Rome went for a drive around town trying to find a parking lot with spaces.  Tough job on July 4^th weekend! 

Teresa and Rome returned to the boat just in time for happy hour. 

On Sunday Debbie, Laurie, Darcy, Doug and their daughter Kasey arrived and we all took a boat trip to Cabbage Island for a Lobster bake.  This consisted of a pile of clams, 2 lobsters, baked potato,  onion,  sweetcorn, a hard baked egg (which acts as a clam/lobster timer) and blueberry cake.  Enough food to feed an army.  We then waddled around to explore the island before returning to Boothbay Harbour for another happy hour on Quinita. 

We spent most of Monday (4^th) in Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens which was very impressive.  

Rome returned to CT, Debbie returned to Union, ME  and we had dinner with Laurie, Darcy and Doug. 

Quinita was in a prime position for watching the July 4^th fireworks.  It was a little chilly after the sun set so we bundled up, and positioned ourselves on the tramp for a great view of the fireworks.  

Friday 1st July.

Little wind today so we motored back to Boothbay Harbour and picked up a DEYC mooring.  We did a few jobs – wired in a 2^nd Solar panel regulator.  Our batteries were a little low and we noticed the DEYC dock was empty so we moved to the dock and plugged into shore power.  Teresa took to opportunity of doing some laundry without needing the dinghy.

Ships Log: 5727.7, Todays Log: 4, Seasons Total: 32.5

Thursday 30th June.

The rain has gone and it’s another beautiful day.  We started out with a bike ride to Ocean Point 43 48.92N 69 35.81W which is the other side of Linekin Bay, where we were planning to spend the night.  The ride was gorgeous and we covered 14 miles. 

Winds were forecast light, so we anticipated a very leisurely sail to Linekin Bay.  As it turned out the winds were perfect at between 8 and 15 knots.  On the way out, we saw a couple of the Windjammer ships in outer Boothbay harbor.  They were heading back in, and a little too late we decided to follow them and see if we could catch them.  On a reach we may have had a chance, but pretty soon they headed downwind, and with their massive gaff sails spread out before the wind, we couldn’t catch them.  Oh well, it was fun trying, and we were now almost back in Boothbay harbour and had a very pleasant beat out for the 2^nd time. 

Linekin Bay is a great bay to sail in.  Wide open, not too many lobster pots, and the hazards are well marked.  We anchored in the NW corner, 43 51.44N 069 36.19W, and very nice it was too!  As the crow flies we’re about 1.5 miles from Boothbay Harbor but it’s so different here.  Very peaceful, no tourists, just a few houses and moorings and no razzamatazz. 

Ships Log: 5723.7, Todays Log: 8.3, Seasons Total: 28.5

Wednesday 29th June.

Today was mostly damp, drizzly and rainy.  It had rained during the night, so the cockpit and decks were wet and stayed wet for most of the day. 

Teresa did some laundry and Ron returned the car to Hodgdons, since the town parade was scheduled for later in the day and there was to be no street parking. 

In the afternoon, 7 Windjammers sailed into the harbour.  The weather had cleared up a little and they all looked beautiful under sail.  The first and largest dropped anchor under sail which was pretty impressive given the number of boats on moorings.  I’ve often wondered how we would drop anchor under sail if we had engine problems.  (We always use the engines to back the boat on to the anchor to ensure it’s dug in well).  Here’s how Windjammers do it.  They approach the anchoragerunning downwind with some way on and drop the anchor off the port (in this case) bow.  The ship continues making way as cable is let out.  At some point, the cable is made off and the momentum of the ship digs the anchor in.  At the same time the ship is steered to port (around the anchor) and comes head to wind.  It looks very easy when done well, but might not be in practice!)

The street parade took place mostly in the rain, which stopped just in time for the DEYC party on the dock.

Ships Log: 5715.4, Todays Log: 0, Seasons Total: 20.2

Tuesday 28th June.

Spent the day on the mooring.  It was another beautiful day, and local artists displayed their wares on the street.  Teresa checked out their stuff.  Our replacement water heater had arrived at Hodgdons, so we both cycled back there to pick it up.  Ron returned with the car and Teresa cycled back and went food shopping.  Ron installed the new water heater.

Half way through this project, the antique boat parade took place, so we stopped work to view the boats.  The last boat was Dave Quist on Capn Howard, a 32’ Nordic tug. 

Ron was just about to return to work on the water heater when he saw 2 skiing friends from Sunapee, NH sailing by.  We called over and they were as surprised as we were to see us.  They were heading out to Townsend Gut to anchor, so we arranged to meet at Robinsons Wharf for dinner.  Small world!

Monday 27th June

Our first sail of the season.  We woke up intending to motor through Townsend Gut to Boothbay Harbor where we would pick up a mooring, shop and get sorted out ready to receive guests.  However, the wind was blowing and the tides looked good for sailing around Southport Island to Boothbay Harbor.  So that’s what we did. 

We beat out of Sheepscot River with an ebb tide, and  when we reached the tip of the island, the tide turned and carried us into Boothbay on a run.  Perfect.  Well almost perfect – the wind instruments stopped working as soon as we set off, which made the beat more interesting.  Nevertheless we had a great first sail.   Let’s hope all our sails work out that well!

We picked up a DEYC mooring in Boothbay, 43 50.96N 069 37.65W, and had lunch. 

Teresa went shopping and Ron fixed the wind instruments and the wifi Bullet. 

Ships Log: 5715.4, Todays Log: 9.9, Seasons Total: 20.2