day twenty-two - light wind, strong wind

Crystal clear morning.  A heavy dew coats SPARTINA.  Water is smooth as glass.  Under power to get out of the anchorage, sails up JUST past the rocks in a cat's paw wind.

7:30 making 1.0.  It is a beautiful morning and I'm quite content.  8:45 and doing 1.4.  There's no rush,  I've got plans to meet a friend Bruce with his Friendship Sloop LOON near Pumpkin Island.  We had discussed sailing to an anchorage nearby and rafting up.  

9:30 no wind at all and we drift with the incoming tide northwest of Bradbury Island.  I enjoy the stillness.

10:00 light wind, 0.6 kts.  Better wind at 10:30, making 2.1.  Sail outside of Birch Island then inside Pumpkin Island with waterfront homes of Eggemoggin at the northeast end of Little Deer Island to starboard.  Round Pumpkin Island and sail into the entrance to Eggemoggin Reach looking for LOON.  No sailboat in sight.  I get a text from Bruce telling me about problems with his diesel, he can't make it up the reach.  I tell him no worries, it is a beautiful day for sailing and wish him well.

We turn west into a building breeze, 12:45 making 4.5 close hauled.  I'm not quite sure where I am going as we sail north of Hog, Pond and Western Islands.  

Quicker than I expect we cross the seven-plus miles to Islesboro, coming into the island just below Hewes Point.  The wind is building and runs almost directly parallel to the islands eastern shore.  I get in as close to shore as I can, using the lobster pot floats as my depth markers, then come about for a 20 minute tack out away for the island.  Then back to shore, another 20 minute tack out, this one towards Little Spruce Head Island.  Then tack in and, on the following tack, round Pendleton Point and turn into the channel between Islesboro and Job Island.  

It is an easy downwind run up the western shore of Islesboro.   Passing Middle Island to starboard, I turn into Cradle Cove on Seven Hundred Acre Island.  

I'm about to round up and drop anchor when I see a nice sailboat on the far side of the anchorage.  I sail over and come close to the stern of MOONLIGHT, asking the woman on board if it is a Morris Frances.  She says across the water that it is a Morris Leigh, then asks about my boat.  I tell her, quickly as I'm doing 4+ kts, that it is a Welsford Pathfinder.

I drop anchor not too far away and put up the boom tent to get out of the sun.  I relax for a while in the shade of the boom tent until I hear a man calling "hello, Welsford Pathfinder."  I look out the tent to see it is the couple from MOONLIGHT, rowing over to say hello.  They are out for a week or so, and we have a nice chat about our respective trips.  Then they say "have a good evening," and row back to MOONLIGHT.  

 24.61 NM