The Log of Spartina

Wednesday, September 23, 2026

day twenty-four - down and back on Eggemoggin Reach

Up at 5:30, calm and clear. Quiet on the harbor, even the lobster boats heed the "no wake" buoys. Fog slides down the hills, never quite reaching the water. New set of clothes and a clean the boat.

There is a tiny cove with a boat ramp and town dock on the northwest corner of the harbor. Motor there to get rid of some trash. I find that there are recycle bins there but no place for trash. I've come across this a few times before in Maine. Why should the little towns pay to get rid of cruisers trash?

Motor over to Buck's Harbor Maine. Not open yet, there is a small store and a fuel dock, plus a sign showing where I can drop off the trash. How nice. Get rid of the trash and, when the store opens, top of the fuel can. The lady at the store tells me I am welcome to leave SPARTINA at the dock while I walk up to the coffee shop in the village.

Iced tea and a blueberry muffin in the in the old post office of the one-intersection town. Beautiful murals on the walls and a great breakfast, plus an iced tea to go.

Back at the marina pick up some bottled drinks, cast off at 9:00 on the windless morning as life begins to stir on schooners in the harbor.

No wind on Eggemoggin Reach, under power headed east to the Wooden Boat School for a visit.

Under the bridge to Deer Island, then past the Torrey Islands, past Little Babson and Babson Islands. Tie up to a mooring off the Wooden Boat School at noon. There's a launch picking up sailors coming in from sails on beautiful Herreshoff 12 and 1/2 designs. I wave to the boat, ask if I can catch a ride to the dock. The captain of the boat, Rick, asks if my name is Steve, tells me he heard I might be coming by.

Rick gives me directions up to the school. It is lunchtime up there, Rick finds a sandwich for me - a nice shrimp po' boy. I get a tour of the school, mostly located in an old brick building. Batches of students are building skiffs, river dories, ship's wheels and even casting bronze in the various shops. It looks like it would be a fun place to spend a week, but then again I've retired from boat building. I ask if Matt, the editor, is around, and I am told he is out sailing.

2:00 Rick runs me in the launch out to SPARTINA. I thank him for the hospitality. The afternoon winds are beginning to gust, I tuck both reefs into the main for the sail back up Eggemoggin Reach. Four tacks into the wind between the Torry Islands and Little Babson Island at 5.5 to get to the Reach, then a run west to Joyce Point as fog hovers to the south. Less wind along the way, round up to shake out the second reef, 3.3.

3:15 see the markers for the Benjamin River, make two downwind tacks into the channel. 3:45 in the mooring field on the Benjamin River, tacking back and forth in what could easily be a maritime museum of classic boats.

4:15 tie up at a mooring behind the Cape Dory Robinhood IDA. Setting up the boom tent, Randy, my host for the evening, rows out to say hello. A friend of a friend, he and his wife Nancy had invited me to use their guest morning. Randy also has a Sea Pearl, an open cockpit cat-ketch, that he has sailed in the Sea Islands in Georgia. We have a nice conversation about our sailing down there in the beautiful marshes. He invites me up for coffee tomorrow mid-morning, I thank him but tell him I will be off sailing by then.

19.51 NM

day twenty-three - small world, again

Morning comes with fog. 7:00 sail off anchor, light north wind and less fog. A half dozen tacks, gentle sailing, almost ghosting, out of the cove.

Rounding the northern tip of Spruce Island, I find Mark out rowing a skiff with his dog. He lives on Spruce Island four months of the year. He points to his Contessa sloop moored nearby, and we talk about sailing the Maine coast. We talk about my slow drift across the water, going fast versus going slow, the trade off between traditional cruising boats and high-tech designs. I tell him I am very comfortable with a traditional design, don't mind being a little bit slower. "If you are not out there for the aesthetics," he says, "why are you even sailing?" He invites me to stop by on next year's sail. As I head off to the east, Mark says "Your patience will be rewarded."

9:00 Pendleton Point, turn to the northeast, skies clearing but the fog seems to cling to the islands spread out across East Penobscot Bay. Wind fails, motorsailing.

9:45 Resolution Island off the port bow. 10:10 Resolution Island to port, Horsehead Island off starboard bow, Colthead and Beach Islands ahead.

Sun breaking through the overcast. All that water and not another boat in sight.

10:30 a touch of wind, making 1.6. As I look around, surrounded by ten islands sprinkled across the Bay. Lovely. Thinking of heading to Orcutt Harbor. 11:15 better wind, 3.0. 11:40 Hog Island to port, 4.1.

12:40 falling off to round Thrumcap Ledge and Thrumcap Island. This puts SPARTINA on course for Bucks Harbor just to the east of Orcutt Harbor. I've wondered about Bucks Harbor in the past, an interesting looking harbor with an island in the middle. Navioncis has notes about mooring fields and no room to anchor. Decide to head that way and see what it is like.

The wind carries us to the east side of Harbor Island, mooring fields spread out of the water with some beautiful and classic boats here and there. I slow tack through the mooring fields just to get a better look at the sailboats. Glancing to the right I see a yacht club up on the hill. At the dock below the yacht club there are three women and one is waving with both arms to get my attention. I sail that way to see it is Sarah, the artist who painted SPARTINA in Oriental and whom I had just met a couple of days ago in Camden. A small world, indeed.

Sarah tells me she lives nearby and has been a long-time member at the yacht club. Passing by other members as we walk up the hill, she seems to be related in some way or another to everyone there. She tells me there is a store nearby and she'll walk up there with me. She grabs a couple of items, I get a sandwich, salad and a cold drink.

Back at the yacht club, I talk with the harbor master, also related to Sarah, and she points me to a spot to anchor over on the west side of the harbor. I thank her, say goodbye to Sarah and cast off

Anchor down Bucks Harbor 2:20..

17.74 NM

Tuesday, September 22, 2026

day twenty-two - rain and wind and cold

Sleep in until 8:00. Less rain and wind than I expected overnight. Breakfast with hot chocolate. Overcast and gusty. Heavy rain arrives at 9:00. 9:45 a cold south wind arrives, put on the wool sweater. Hot tea, reading, a nap. Rain gone and light wind after 12:00, then strong gusts at 3:00. Evening comes with more rain.

day twenty-one - small world

Wake in the company of schooners, including LAZY JACK, just after 6:00. Tuck away the sleeping gear and strike the boom tent. I walk up to one cafe to find a line already formed, waiting much too long as each customer seemed to have very specific instructions for frothed this, whipped that, not too much cinnamon but certainly more nutmeg and much sure you steam the milk just right for a nice layer of microfoam.

I surrender and walk down the street to the deli where I get a blueberry muffin and iced tea. Then I grab a second iced tea to go. No rush to leave this morning, I'm an not going far.

Sitting on the waterfront enjoying my iced tea, I hear a woman's voice saying "you won't remember me but......" I look up, smile and stand up to give her a hug. It is Sarah, the artist who made a wonderful painting of SPARTINA in Oriental, NC during the Spring sail in North Carolina. It is a small world. She lives in Maine and was visiting Camden with her family when she recognized my with my long-billed hat. It is a treat to see her.

I walk to the harbor master's office and pay $58 for my night at the dock, then walk back to the deli to get a sandwich to go. Cast off 10:15 with a wave from Ruby on the SWIFT.

We wend our way out of the inner harbor and then through the mooring fields on the outer harbor. Light overcast and no wind on West Penobscot Bay, I motor at idle speed.

Wind ruffles the water now and then, not enough to make it work raising sailing. The deli roast beef sandwich makes for a nice lunch.

12:10 approaching the ferry dock on Isleboro, I can see the ferry across the water leaving Lincolnville. Round the north end of Warren Island, motor past the $25 per night Warren Island State Park mooring buoys and drop anchor in about eight feet of water at 12:20. This should be a good place to wait out the weather.

7.91 NM

Monday, September 21, 2026

day twenty - a new harbor, an old friend

I wake to see Matto rowing TRIM out of the anchorage. He is off to Rockland to haul out. I can see Bobby is up and stowing gear on LAGNIAPPE, getting ready to head west to Portland.

6:05 cast off from the mooring and it is a gentle drift over to LAGNIAPPE. I tell Bobby it was good to see him, hope to see him in the fall on Chesapeake Bay.

6:50 out on Fox Island Thorofare, 3.3. Sailing into the wind with an opposing tide, it is a pleasant series of tacks with North Haven to starboard and Vinalhaven to port. 7:10 tacking west at 4.1, just a beautiful morning with clear blue skies.

8:00 light wind leaving the thorofare, making 1.9. 8:45 passing the rocks known as Fox Ears in light wind, motor sailing. 9:15, better wind and sailing past Fiddler Ledge, turn to the northwest with no particular destination in mind.

9:30 choppy and confused water as the flood tide rushes over the shallows around Drunkard Ledge.

10:00 motor sailing north. 10:15 turn northeast to stay clear of the shipping channel as the tanker NEW ENGLAND heads south on Penobscot Bay.

10:50 enough wind to sail. 11:40 rounding Robinson Rock and cutting below Mark Island. Wind comes and goes, motor sailing.

1:10 I find both the wind and a destination - Camden. Making 2.6 into the harbor known as the home of the windjammer fleet. We sail through the mooring field in the outer harbor at 2.6, boats of all shapes and sizes spread out of the water.

Round up to bring down the main and the jib, I follow the channel around Eaton Point into the Megunticook River and the inner harbor. I stop at the fuel dock but there are already a couple of boats waiting in line. I ask a guy on the dock if there is somewhere I can tie up for the night. "With a little wooden boat, you can get away with just about anything here," then he points out the harbor master's offie across the water.

I motor over there to an open dock. I'm crouched down wrapping a dock line around a cleat when I hear my name shouted across the harbor. I don't even need to look up, I know exactly who it is. I call back as loudly as I can, "Ruby!!!" She is a good friend and a shipmate from the Schooner Virginia, now working the season on the Windjammer SWIFT. It is good to see her.

At the harbor master's office they tell me to move over to the next dock and I'm good there for the night. I head up to a restaurant to get some iced tea and cool down. A walk along the waterfront, then dinner. Late evening I meet Ruby and a shipmate friend of hers at Cuzzy's for some pool and a beer. Then back to SPARTINA for the night.

16.13 NM

day nineteen - the raft-up

A breezy morning, I raise anchor and motor up to the top of Waterman Cove for better protection. Mid-morning texts begin arriving from Matto and Bobby. They are both on their way to Perry Cove, Bobby coming down from up north and Matto coming up from Seal Cove on the east side of Vinalhaven.

10:45 I see them coming down the Thorofare. I sail to Perry Cove under mizzen and jib, we all head in together. Matto grabs a morning for TRIM, SPARTINA ties us to his port and Bobby's LAGNIAPPE ties up on the starboard side. And the fun begins.

It's a sunny afternoon gathering, I don't think I have ever seen three Pathfinders together like this. Between the three boats, we've got plenty of food, a few different kinds of beer and even a bottle of spirits of some sort. We catch up on our lives, talk about our cruises. We compare boats - Matto's was built by my friend Seth about the same time I was building SPARTINA. Bobby's was professionally built. They are all the same, yet slight variations here and there. And they have all been well-sailed. We talk a lot about sailing gear, sharing ideas and past experiences. And we talk about our appreciation of John Welsford, after all it is his design that brings us together in this little creek in Maine.

It is just a wonderful afternoon with great friends and great boats. Matto breaks out his drone for some aerials. As evening comes, we cast off and separate for the night.