day thirteen - fog, thunderstorms and a late start

Up at 6:00 with big plans to leave Penobscot Bay and begin working my way to Portland.  Sleeping gear tucked away quickly, I begin to strike the boom tent.  As I do so, I see a wall of fog coming up the cove.  Thick, thick fog.  I put the boom tent back in place, get out the Jetboil and make a cup of tea.  I'm not going anywhere for a while.

I look at the charts.  If the fog clears quickly (doubtful) maybe I can make it around Whitehead Island to Port Clyde.  I check the weather.  Fog, then thunderstorms.  

8:00 thunder mixed with fog horns.  8:45 heavy rain, very glad not to be sailing.  Drift off to sleep. Wake at 10:30, the storms have moved on.  Gustly east wind rolls through the cove.  Break down the boom tent, tuck away the gear.  Put two reefs in the main.  Sail off anchor 11:40 under mizzen and jib.  

12:00 outside of Long Cove, raise the double-reefed main. Wind dropping quickly.  12:10 round up to shake out both reefs.  Full sail.  Sailing 2.8 west through the ledges on the far side of Dogfish Island.

1:00 doing 3.0 to the southwest, wind over the port quarter, crossing Penobscot Bay.  1:40 pick out Fisherman and Marblehead Islands.  Lighter wind, sailing at 2.6.

2:50 light winds sailing south into Dix Island Harbor.  Begin a series of tacks just above tiny Spectacle Island.  Another tack just west of Little Pond Island.  

Another one between Great  Pond Island and High Island. It is approaching low tide and the rocks on either side of the channel show themselves well.

Tacks become shorter.  I suspect the tide has turned and we are working against the start of the flood tide.  

Last few tacks are rock to rock, a favorite kind of sailing.  Looking west I see the masts of boats anchored on the far side of Birch Island.  I wonder about heading that way but this close to low tide the channel between Birch and High Islands is too shallow.  I settle for the quiet harbor surrounded by islands.  Anchor down 3:40 as the fog rolls in.

 9.96 NM

day twelve - west, foggy afternoon

Up at 5:30.  Straighten up the boat, a bit of a mess from the late evening on LOON.  Motor to the dock to drop off trash.  Cast off 6:25.  Motor through the mooring field, out of Seal Cove at 6:35 and not a breath of wind.  Broken overcast.

7:00 sun breaks through the clouds.  Tinker Island to starboard, 7:10 cutting across the shallow, rocky south end of the island.  7:55 Pond Island with tiny Lamp Island to port.  A helping ebb tide but still no sign of wind.  8:15 passing the east end of Eggemoggin Reach with a school of porpoise to starboard.  

8:25 a tiny puff of wind and then nothing.  9:50 in Deer Isle Thorofare, a hint of wind now and then but nothing consistent.  10:25 docked at the Stonington Public Dock, walk up to 44 North Coffee for some iced tea, a muffin and some high speed internet to catch up with friends.  11:30 cast off from the dock and motor to the fuel dock just a bit west down the thorofare.  As I top off the fuel can, the man in the shack reminds me that his place is the ONLY place to get fuel on Deer Isle.  

11:50 cast off from fuel dock.  Raise sails 12:15 west end of the thorofare with a teasing south breeze.  Guy passing by on the large parked hulled sloop DEFIANT tells me he is hoping for wind for me, but the forecast does not look promising.  I aim the bow towards the wind turbines on Vinalhaven.  

There is a light south wind, motorsailing west with towering clouds in the distance.  Soon overcast and a slight chill.  

1:00 motorsailing with engine at idle speed, 3.0 at red marker "3" and headed towards Fox Island Thorofare.  

1:35 an eagle perched on Channel Rock with Stimpson Island to starboard and Calderwood Neck to port.  I'm frustrated with the lack of wind and the motorsailing.  Looking to the stern, with Isle au Haut in the distance, I see a dozen, maybe 15 sailboats - all kinds of sailboats, small and large - headed west towards me, everyone of them under power.

1:45 no wins at all, under power with the sails up.  Into Fox Island Thorofare I find it is very crowded with windjammers, huge yachts and power boats.  Suddenly chilly, then warm again.  Dark clouds overhead but not threatening.  1:55 friendly waves from the spectacular Herreshoff ketch TICONDEROGA. Chilly again and then a warm breeze fills in as the dark clouds move on.  Sailing!  

Make several tacks working west down the thorofare.  Lots of traffic and sometimes lose ground as we fall off for traffic.  Fun and enjoyable sailing.  Sailboats, powerboats and windjammers all around.   Making 3.2 in a nice breeze.

West end of the Thorofare...fog.  A wall of fog sliding up from the south.  My hopes of crossing Penobscot Bay to the Dix Harbor anchorage disappear in the fog.

The Fox Ears, two tiny islands just south red marker "22" are shrouded in fog.  The same with sailboats coming up the channel to North Haven.  

A loud blast gets me attention as a car ferry from Rockland emerges from the whiteness.  Another horn, this time a ferry coming up from the south.  I check the gps to confirm I'm safely out of the channel.

4:20 tacking just off the shore.  4:35 thicker fog, navigating with GPS and Navionics past rocks unseen.  Find the cut that leads us around Crockett Point.  A dark shape to the west, Dogfish Island.  Follow the shore into Crockett Cove, fog clearing along the way.  Anchor down 5:00.

31.14 NM

 

day eleven - sailing LOON

Sails up 7:15 in light north wind.  Calm water and sunny.  Just a brief sail around Moose Island, I've been invited to sail with a friend.

Bruce was one of my first sources of information about Maine.  He has sailed up there for years, and a friend at home had put me in touch with him.  This year he has invited me for a sail on LOON, the classic Friendship sloop that he spent years rebuilding.

Bruce arrives on his dinghy at 10:00, with both water that I had asked him to buy for me and also a batch of fresh baked cookies - how nice!

Soon we are underway, with SPARTINA left behind LOON's mooring.

It is an easy sail north, light winds and a helping tide towards the southern tip of Bartlett Island.

We grab a free morning at Dogfish Cove, enjoy a light lunch and then head into the beach for walk.

By the time we head back south to Seal Cove, the afternoon southwesterlies have filled in.

Great sailing close-hauled as we sail east of Hardwood Island, eventually heaving-to so we can tuck in a reef.  A lot of canvas on Friendship sloops, reefing comes earlier than I had expected.

An hour or two of tacking carries us back to Seal Cove.  Just a fantastic day of sailing.  A little bit out of the normal for my cruises, I enjoy every minute.

Back at the mooring, Bruce heads down below to heat up some pasta alle vongole - pasta with clam sauce - that he had prepared the night before.  That, a salad and a glass of wine, what more could I ask for?

As sunset arrives, Bruce rows back to the dinghy dock for a drive home.  I motor to an unused mooring and set up the boom tent and sleeping kit.

day ten - lobster on the menu

Awake at 5:30, a peaceful morning with glassy calm water.  6:05 under power, round the schooner AMERICAN EAGLE anchored nearby.  Surprised to see just one person on deck on such a pretty morning.

Out on Somes Sound a lobster float tells me I've got a helping ebb tide.  6:30 shake out the reefs from yesterday and raise the sails with a light west wind.  Motor sailing.  

6:50 a little more wind off Southwest Harbor.  Notice that the moorings in the harbor are full, and even outside the harbor there are several boats anchored.  I had heard about a flotilla of boats coming up from New York, maybe they have taken over the anchorage.  Sailing at 2.4.  

7:00 sailing, but it is the tide that is doing most of the work.  Great Cranberry Island off the port bow.  7:40 can feel the swell coming off the ocean.  

Out of the cut and Long Ledge to starboard, almost fully exposed as we approach low tide.  8:00 wind and sailing again, begin a series of tacks west to cross Bass Harbor Bar.  Making 3.5.  8:45 better wind.  

8:55 tack, sailing into both wind and tide.  9:15 on a starboard tack, can see both the Bass Harbor Bar markers and the lighthouse. 

9:35 tacking off the rocks of Mount Desert Island, 2.6 and feel a warm breeze.  Look to the southwest to see windjammers navigating the islands.

10:20 clear of the bar and and sailing northwest in light wind.  Off Bass Harbor the wind fails, underpower.  11:30 the water is like a sheet of glass, not even a hint of wind.  Follow the coast of Mount Desert Island past Mitchell Cove, Duck Cove, Goose Cove and Latty Cove.

12:00 off Seal Cove.  A lobsterman is working his pots.  I hand him a mesh bag with $10 in it, he hands it back with a lobster in it but forgets to take out the money.  He laughs as I hand him the cash.  

12:30 anchor down behind Moose Island.  I repair a couple small tears in the jib with sail tape.  Then cook the lobster with a free dried meal of Pasta Primavera, an excellent late lunch.

 18.34 NM

day nine - hellos and goodbyes

UP at 5:30, clear skies and a light west wind.  The day begins with a new set of clothes.  How nice!

Tucking away gear I see a man approaching on a paddle board.  It is Rossco, who arrived last night to join Matto on TRIM.  We had met last year, and he had come over to hello......and goodbye.  Just after dinner last night he had received a message that he needed, for reasons beyond his control, to return home.  He had no choice.  What a shame.

At the Town Dock before 7:00, I begin walking to the coffee shop and run in to Matto, Rossco and Freya, they join me for breakfast as Rossco waits for a ride to the airport.  It was good to have some time to catch up, even if Rossco can't join the sail.

Back at the Town Dock, I am impressed by a lobsterman who has tied his LACEY ANN to the dock as the tide ran out so he could change his prop.  He tells me he tied up at 2:00 am, the morning high tide, and expects to leave the dock with the afternoon high tide.  I ask him how he learned to do it.  He thinks for a moments, says he must have learned it when he was eight or so years old, helping his Dad do the same.  

I grab a mooring just off the dock to clean SPARTINA for a couple of guests.  Soon, the oldest daughter and her husband arrive, they are camping nearby.  The forecast strong westerlies have arrive, we head out for a sail under mizzen and jib, a perfect morning on the water.  Then lunch.  And then goodbye, my second goodbye of the day.  

1:20 under mizzen and jib to Somes Sound.  1:30 out of Southwest Harbor, 3.9.  1:40 raise the double-reefed main.

Solid wind on the port beam, 5.5 when the gusts roll through, 3.8 otherwise.  It is a straight shot up the Sound and an easy sail on a sunny, breezy day.

2:00 turn into Valley Cove, make a handful of tack up along the shoreline to find the right spot in the anchorage.  At the base of two mountains, there is a steep drop-off and I need to find the sweet spot that is not too deep, not too shallow.  Anchor down 2:30.

I must have picked the prime spot as two schooners, both in the 60 to 80 foot range, try to anchor on either side of me.  The first one, out of New York, makes three attempts, and for whatever reason, gives up, heads off to another anchorage.  The second makes just one attempt, then heads off.  And finally a large power boat comes in, looks around, then heads off.  I guess I had the spot.

I relax in the shade of the boom tent, drying out some gear that had gotten a bit damp during the two storms. A light dinner before heading off to sleep.

 7.54 NM

day eight - a day off

A little rain in the night.  There is a float nearby that is covered by seals.  Late night they make guttural noises like a bunch of old men...belching, coughing and gurgling.  A little annoying but kind of funny.

Wake to fog and cries of seagulls.  The apps show that the rain has moved on, forecast is for fog and wind.  Chilly, layer on a wool sweater and wool socks.  Hot chocolate with breakfast.

Mid-mornng Matto and Freya drop by to check on me.  We visit for a while, talking about weather, gear and boats.  We've both got company coming soon.  Matto has his friend Rossco coming to join him for the sail.  My daughter and son-in-law will be camping nearby.

Read, sleep, relax. Some rain in the afternoon, some strong gusts too, but not nearly the 50 mph that had been forecast.  A relaxing day.