Fall 2010

Brady is 15 months old already. He is trying to talk and has a lot to say. However, at this point it comes out in screams.

Ryan is our 4 year old grandson who is the "life of the party." He keeps life interesting.

Kyle is 7 years old and in the 1st grade in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. He loves school and playing soccer.
We've recently spent a few beautiful fall days with our favorite grandsons. They had a ball jumping in the leaves, and we had a ball watching them!

Please forgive my mistake. When I edited my blogs in preparation for printing them in a book, I stored them in "draft" form. Now I find out that they have to be resent in order to be printed.

So, you will be receiving all 57 posts from 2009 and 2010. Please use the delete button. You certainly don't have to read them AGAIN. So sorry to bother you.

Hope your fall has been as beautiful as our's in northern Michigan. Keep well and be happy.

Good-bye Summer 2010

We hate to end this summer of sailing from Rhode Island to Maine and back again. It's been a great experience.


Earl (the hurricane) pushed our decision to return to Bristol up by 10 days. We were in Woods Hole, MA, and planning to tour some of the oceanographic places and then head on to Martha's Vineyard with Sharon and Lloyd. The advice of all the "weather experts" at the yacht club was that we should head as far away from that area as possible. So, we made a beeline down to Bristol, RI, and had plenty of time to secure the boat for whatever Earl wanted to throw at us. Fortunately the storm turned and we barely got any rain or wind.

Sharon and Lloyd were in complete agreement........but now they are involved in unloading and putting the boat away. Lucky them. Really, we feel so lucky that they will help us. By the end of Labor Day Weekend we will have readied the boat for winter storage. Then we will go off to Boston to be tourists with them before putting them on a plane to return to Michigan.




Thank you for reading this blog and sharing in our adventure. Next year we will begin the journey back to Michigan, so stay tuned. :-)

Almost the End

Replica of the Mayflower

Lloyd and Sharon

This has been the summer Lou and I have dreamed about.....living aboard, an engine without problems, beautiful days with a few foggy/rainy ones to remind us of the beautiful ones, fabulous friends who have been great boat buddies, and a fun filled week with family on Mt. Desert Island. Maine,(sailing in Pebnobscot Bay was even more wonderful than we imagined.)

Last week we were in the eye of a 4 day nor'easter. That resulted in heavy rains and high winds. When we tried to stop in Marblehead, we were encouraged to move on before the 7 to 11 foot waves started rolling in. We went on to Jim's in North Weymouth and were well protected in the Back Rive. (Thank you Jim!)

Lou and I took this time to get off the boat and be tourists for a few days. We went to Plimouth Plantation and thoroughly enjoyed the actors who played the parts of actual pilgrims. Then, we went aboard the replica of the Mayflower. Oh my gosh! I got a refresher on my history of these settlers. They were English who fled England over the church and lived in Holland for 11 or so years. Life was very difficult in a foreign land, and the men had diffculty finding work. Besides, they wanted their children to remain English. So, they signed an agreement with a group of investors who bought the ship and agreed to feed and cloth the pilgrims in exchange for 7 years of work for The Company. At the end of 7 years each person would be granted 20 acres in the winderness. That was more land than nobles were given in England. So, while the work was extremely hard and the weather severe, people were willing to take this risk for a better life for their family.

Once we toured the Mayflower I realized that the sail across the ocean was even more difficult than I had imagined The exact dimensions of the replica of the merchant ship Mayflower are:

106.5 feet long, 90 foot hull, 25.5 foot beam, and 13 foot draft. There were 102 passengers traveling in the hole for approximately 3 months. I could barely stay down below for 10 minutes. Once they arrived in Plymouth Colony they faced farming in a wilderness, having to grow all their food, untold dangers, and living in 1 room dirt floored mud sided houses. It is unbelieveable to see.

So that's enough history. We've started talking about our "adventure" and I want to write it down so I don't forget:

PEOPLE WE'VE MET:

*Bob and Camille in Bristol, RI, aka the Commodore and his wife. They invited us for dinner, talked about sailing spots, gave us charts, and introduced us to lacrosse.

*Jim Halpin lives on the Back River of the Fore River in North Weymouth, MA, which is near Boston. He arranged for us to use his friend's mooring both on the way to Maine and on the way back to Bristol.

*A perfect stranger we met on Martha's Vineyard who shared stories about the Methodist Camp Meetings and the cute Victorian cottages.

*Another perfect stranger we met at the Boston Yacht Club in Marblehead who was full of stories about where to go and where to stay on our journey up to Maine.

*The lady who Marlene and I talked to in Marblehead who's house was built in the 1600s.

*The barber who cut my hair in Rockland, Maine, who had been cutting hair for 50 years.

*Sarah Rogers who encouraged Lou's new interest in drawing and painting.

*The librarians we met in several of the little ports. In Castine I met the Director of the Library who grew up in Keane Valley, NY, and knew our friend Norm from Colorado.

*Judy who is a waitress in Braintree, MA. She was so interested in our trip that she wanted our blog address and didn't charge us for breakfast.

*Seeing Don and Louise Tuski in Bath, ME. Don was the former President of Olivet College in Olivet, MI. He is the new President of the Maine College of Art in Portland.

OUTSTANDING EXPERIENCES

*Whale watching near Bar Harbor, Maine.

*Seeing and feeling the power of the tides in the East River, NY, and the Kennebec River in Maine.

OUTSTANDING FOOD

*Lobster stew in Tennants Harbor, ME

*Peach Shortcake at the Ebb Tide in Boothbay Harbor, ME

*The Front Room in Portland. We would fly to Portland just to eat there again.

*Kelly's Landing (thank you Cyndi) near N. Weymouth for their twin lobster dinner for $20.

OUR BOAT BUDDIES

*Cyndi McChesney from Colorado. She lived through the "night of the mosquitoes" and was still smiling. She introduced us to Jim!

*Mike and Marlene Cosgrove from East Lansing. Mike learned to helm through a gazillion lobster pots going into S. Freeport and pretty heavy fog going out. Marlene was a handy galley winch who was always happy.

*Dave Himes from Chicago who was living one of his dreams and planning to check it off his bucket list. Dave loved every part of every day.

*Sharon and Lloyd Slinglend from Trenton, MI. They are our old (read that as OLD) friends who met us in Boston. They have sailed with us in the Detroit River long before Tequila was remodeled. One 4th of July we wore every jacket we could find and were still cold. Hopefully this week will be filled with warm suuny days.

Our big thanks to Cyndi and Sharon who each helped us see a whale.

Back to Boston

Lou has found his next "dream boat." While we were in Salem we were able to go aboard this 150 foot Barquentine sailboat. The size of the masts and the lines made our rig appear doll-like. This boat carries 10,000 square feet of sail and a 14 foot draft. Just think that I worry about our 7.5 foot draft. It was a very interesting tour.

We stayed an extra day or two in Salem so that we could do some very touristy things.....ride the trolley, visit some museums, etc. Salem is famous for the witch trials that occurred in the late 1600s, but it's real fame is from the world wide shipping industry. Salem was THE major international port at the time. It's said that the captains could sit in their parlors looking over Salem Harbor to Marblehead where the pirates kept their boats.

We tried to moor in Marblehead to reprovision and take on water, but the harbormaster strongly encouraged us to go back to Salem (only 3 miles away) or continue toward Boston. I'm so glad we opted to continue to North Weymouth (near Boston). We traveled through a rainy day, but the seas were pretty calm and the winds were still light. After we were settled on the mooring that Jim Halpin had secured for us, the winds began to build. We are tucked way back in the Back River of the Fore River off the Hingham Bay, but I honestly was worried that the mooring wouldn'd hold us. It blew HARD and rained all night and continued into Monday. I think Lou and I will just "hunker down" and stay below all day today. Maybe this weather front will pass soon.

We'll be here until Friday when our old friends from Michigan join us for the return trip to Bristol. Sharon and Lloyd are bringing the good weather with them I hope. Otherwise, it could be a repeat of last year when Bill and Karen Murray came and we were in the tail end of a hurricane. Yuck!

F O G

Fog comes when least expected or at the most inconvenient times. We had planned to leave Portland between 6 and 7 am this morning, however we can't see the boats right next to us in the mooring field. Now is a good time to revise the schedule.


I woke up this morning thinking about our week on Mt. Desert Island and realized that I hadn't written some of my favorite memories.


*Taking the kids 2 by 2 out to spend the night on the boat. Ryan was so excited about his very first time sleeping on the boat that he talked non-stop as we dingy-ed through pea-soup fog to the mooring.

Jon-boy had tons of questions and beat Papa (Lou) in the fastest game of War I've ever seen.
Kyle and Jon-boy got to have a sleep-over on the boat and had a great time together. I couldn't believe how quickly they all settled down when it was lights out. It seems that we all went to bed by 9 pm.

*Brady had no problem adjusting to the sounds of the boat motor and took great naps on our bed while we got the sails ready. It was a contest to see which parent volunteered for the nap duty.










Kate came to the boat by herself. She's the oldest and the only girl so she got the bed all to herself. She played Farkle with me. I loved watching Kate entertain Brady. He loved it too.

*Lou made friends with a perfect stranger who was drawing at a picnic table. He has a new interest in painting/drawing and may be developing a new hobby.

*Lisa designed really funny (and gross) relay races in the backyard.

*Jon helped me with my bike on the 6 mile ride in Acadia National Park. As it turned out, the right side gears completely "blew out" and I had to pedal in "1". The group was always waiting for me to catch up. :-(

*I loved planning the Pirate Treasure Hunt and making the official treasure map on the boat. The best part was that the kids loved it. They drank swill and yelled Arrrrrgh when the rules were read.......no fighting, no gambling, keep your weapons, clean, no brushing teeth, etc. Even the parents put eye patches on and went on the walk through town. They were all laughing by the time they got back and discovered the treasure. Ryan kept asking if I could make up another treasure hunt for them.

*We had two fun sails with the group. Sharon is a sailor-in-the-making. She wanted all the sails up and even tried badgering Lisa into flying the spinnaker. It didn't work.

*We're so happy that we were included in the memory making vacation with these two young families.

On another note, Dave Himes discovered his true identity while in Boothbay Harbor. He thinks he is a "pareidoletist" (sp?). That's a condition of the brain that sees shapes in vague stimulus like driftwood or clouds. Must be a talent. All these years people thought he was daydreaming.

Dave introduced us to Jane and Bill Berry who now live in Old Orchard Beach, Maine. Jane invited us for dinner and Bill drove us around Old Orchard Beach and to and from Portland. They seemed to enjoy their afternoon sail, and we certainly enjoyed a home cooked dinner.

Speaking of dinners......if you are ever in Portland, go to a tiny little restaurant called The Front Room on Congress Street. The meals are FABULOUS!!! Thank you Dave for dinner.

Bill and Jane Berry

The Front Room restaurant - Donna, Bill Himes, Lou, Bill and Jane Berry

The fog is lifting and the captain has decided it's time to move, so guess that means it's time to end the blog.

A Week With Dave

Our sailing buddy, Dave Himes.



Notice the grin? It never left Dave's face.....early in the morning, mid-day, late at night......


He was fulfilling an item on his "bucket list" and thought everything about the week was perfect. That's just the kind of guest I like on the boat! Here are some of his thoughts.



Things he liked: seeing so many sailboats, spending the week "shopping" for his next boat (joke), playing Farkle, experiencing the tides, noticing the difference between Great Lakes smells and ocean smells, all the cute little harbors, the challenge of navigating through channels and multiple islands while trying to match the information on the charts and GPS, and watching for the sea critters (seals, porpoise, jumping fish, heron, horseshoe crabs).



We did our best to provide him with every variety of sailing condition, but failed to find the 15 foot waves. He had a great day with main and jib and a 20 degree heel, jib only, motor only, and fog with about 100 feet of visibility. He loved it all.




He got lots of lobster eating opportunities but liked the lobster stew from Tennant Harbor the best. He thinks I'm Houdini-in-the-galley which is quite a compliment since most of it was created by opening cans.




He decided that playing Farkle with Lou requires a new set of awareness. His new strategy is SHOW NO MERCY! When Lou finds a sliver of opportunity, Dave plans to pinched him off.




It's been a great week and we're sorry to say good-bye. We're off to Portsmouth in the next day or two.

Good-bye Maine

This is a hard blog for me to write. We will be leaving beautiful Maine in a few days. I LOVE MAINE! The coast is dotted with islands big and small, the shoreline is rocky and tree covered, the fishing villages are cute and the people are friendly, and the lobsters are plentiful. We've had very little rain and fog which makes the travel easier and my disposition a whole lot better.

Our last night in the "true cruising grounds" of the Penobscot Bay was spent in Stonington. This port has a reputation for loud and rude lobster men who really don't want cruising boats in their water. There are reports that they rev up their exceptionally loud engines at 4:30 am and "buzz" the boats of the sleeping cruisers. If the noise doesn't wake you, the wake will. We were there on a Saturday night and the lobster men don't fish on Sundays. Lucky us!

We met out friend, Dave Himes, from Chicago on Monday in Rockland. We took him and his friend Bill out for a great morning sail and returned to pick up the Rogers family.....Todd, Sarah, and Everett.....for an afternoon sail.







Todd used to crew and captain on the schooners in this area. He loved all the "tweaking" that can be done on Tequila to fine-tune the rake of the mast and the angle and flatness of the sails. I don't think he stopped grinning the whole time he was helming. Sarah and Everett (7 years old) did just fine on their first sail on an old racing boat. Everett liked standing on the bow.

Everett liked us well enough to invite us to watch him race his mountain bike that night. I was so impressed. He's a strong little guy and can really handle his bike. The race was at their local ski hill.

It was a really fun day with this family and two great sails. It seems that we have to motor a lot when we're going from Point A to Point B, but when we're "fun" sailing, we can go with the wind.

Todd, Lou, Everett, Donna, Sarah

Dave will be sailing with us as far as Portland. We need to thank Diane, his wife, for sharing him with us. He LOVES looking at all the different boats in the harbors. He wants Diane to know that they all look better than his 22' Catalina. Dave is a sailor and likes all the "stuff" that sailing involves. He's another good "boat buddy."

Mt. Desert Island

We met the Sytsemas from Mt. Pleasant, MI, (Don, Lisa, Kyle, Ryan, and Brady) and the Morrises from Wantage, NJ, (Jon, Sharon, Kate, and Jon-boy) last Saturday. Boy is it good to see family! We have had so much fun with these 9 people exploring Mt. Desert Island and Acadia National Park.

We have sailed in the only fjord in North American and to an island for exploring, biked, and watched three of the kids jump off the boat into the 68 degree water. (They weren't in too long.) The meals have been terrific and the companionship outstanding. All the kids get along so well that it's fun to see them together. The funniest meal was when Lisa and Sharon cooked the live lobster and actually had to handle them. We should have video taped the action in the kitchen.

The activity that we all liked the best was the Whale Watching Cruise. We picked a perfect day for it. The winds were so light that the ocean was actually "flat." We had to be reminded that we were in the ocean. There were about 25 or 30 sightings of whales (sometimes the same whale in a different location.) We saw and heard them spout water from their blow-holes, dive and lift their tails out of the water, one flipped on her side and had a flipper out of the water, and one actually jumped all the way up and out of the water. The last whale we saw actually slapped her tail four times as though she was saying good-bye. It was absolutely amazing!

A Race

As we left Bucks Harbor, Lou found a boat to race. This schooner had all her sails up and we only had the head sail flying. Nevertheless, Lou tried hard to out-sail her. He didn't win.

We're at Acadia Nation Park on Mt. Desert Island. Our sailing goal for the summer has been to meet Lisa and her family and the Morris family (Don's sister) in Northeast Harbor on Mt. Desert Island (it's pronounced like the sweet treat after dinner) on July 31st. We've traveled from Bristol, RI, to here and arrived 2 days early. We're so proud of ourselves! We stopped for the first night in Southwest Harbor but only have 2 miles to go to reach Northeast Harbor. It's so beautiful here: the mountains of the island, the waters of Penobscot Bay lapping around the boat, the rocky tree-lined shores, the boats on moorings, and the water slipping around the hundreds of islands.

We came through some challenging spots to get here, but it was a beautiful day for it. The winds were dead calm to start. Then, we had to negotiate York Channel and Casco Passage to get into Jerico Bay. By the time we got into Blue Hill Bay the winds started building and were piping up to 22 knots for our entrance into SE Harbor. These is a small craft warning on the weather station. We're on a mooring and feel safe and sound, but the boat keeps spinning around. The wind and tide and currants do strange things.

Our new favorite boat game is Farkle. (Thanks Mike and Marlene.) So far I've been winning.

Just a small sad note about our friends Brian and Shannon Cosgrove. They live in a section of Chicago that was seriously affected by flooding of the sewer system. Their basement was under sewer water and they lost all appliances, the furnace, all their books and Shannon's teaching material, but most importantly all of their photos and all of Shannon's Mom's photos. It's at least $30,000 that is NOT covered by insurance. The photos are irreplaceable.

Good Thing for Friends

An old neighbor, Todd Rogers, from Bath, Michigan, lives in Rockland, ME, with his new wife, Sarah. We drove to Rockland about a month ago to share in their wedding memories. Todd was kind enough to drive us back to Portland (about 1 1/2 hours each way) to pick up our new phone. YEA! We're back in the land of cell phone connections. (What did we ever do without them?) It was a relatively long process, so Todd and his pal, Brewer, used the time wisely. Sometimes we just need a car. Enterprise didn't have any cars available and the other company was out of business........ We'll be in debt to Todd for a long time.

This schooner slipped on a mooring close to ours last night after we went to bed. Imagine how much fun it was to watch her raise the sails with the manpower of the guests while still on the mooring.

When we got back from Portland, we went to dinner with Todd and Sarah. During dinner there was a HUGE storm. The winds were gusting up to 40 knots, the rain was pelting the windows, the thunder and lightening was cracking all around the bay. Once again they were willing to "save" us with a bed for the night. But, by the time we got back to Rockland from Camden the rain had stopped and the lightening was off in the distance. Lou and Todd bailed 4" to 6" of water out of the dinghy, and we motored out to the mooring. Actually, we didn't even know that another storm rolled through about 1 am.

Todd has sailed in Penobscot Bay as first mate and then captain on the windjammers for several years. Now he has his own remodeling and renovation business for homes and boats. His love of sailing (and knowledge of these waters) was evident when he described gliding into a cove and dropping the anchor. His advice on various routes and passages to Mt. Desert Island is invaluable. I spent the winter pouring over the Cruising Guide to the Maine Coast. It's a 466 page book that lists so many coves and harbors and passageways that I couldn't make a sailing plan. We'll be following Todd's cruising advice and stopping at places like Cradle Cove, Castine Harbor, Bucks Harbor, and passing through Eggemoggin Reach and Casco Passage into Jerico Bay near Mt. Desert Island.

We've now spent a whole day in our foul weather gear motoring through rain and "pea soup" fog. The visibility gradually improved by the time we arrived in Castine Harbor. This is one of the oldest communities in North America. It has been continuously occupied since the early 1600s. At the end of the 19th century the steamboats brought the summer people or "rusticators" as the natives called them. There are some beautiful 18th and 19th century homes in perfect condition. In 1942 the Maine Maritime Academy was founded here.

More lobster trivia: Lobsters remained relatively unchanged for nearly 100 million years, despite their unusual build. Its brain is in its throat and its nervous system is in its belly. They listen with their legs and taste with their feet. Plus, their teeth are in their stomach and their kidneys are in their head.

We have had a few delightful days in Rockland with Sarah and Todd. Todd has driven us on all our errands, poured over the charts and given his advice, supplied us with Maine-made maple syrup and garbage bags, and been a gracious host. Sarah has shared her home and husband with us. Thanks guys for everything. Hope to see you again soon.

Just a note: We are sailing in places without internet connections, so we may not be able to reply to your emails promptly. Cell phone reception is also iffy.

Rockport, Maine

We are surrounded by the lobster industry----lobster boats, fishermen, the ever-present sea gulls, lobster in all forms on restaurant menues, and we're fasinated by it all. So, here's a little lobster trivia for the day:

Lobsters come in every color but red. They can be blue, light yellow, greenish-brown, grey, dusty orange, calico, and even have spots. However, they all turn red when cooked which I haven't done yet.

We're tried (and will continue to try) to support the men and women who set the thousands of lobster pots we have to weave around. We've had lobsters boiled, in a salad, on a roll, in a dip, and in a stew. The stew was so delicious that we asked to talk to the cook. Her little serve-yourself-and-sit-on-the-deck place advertised grilled lobster. Now that's something I'd like to try on the boat grill. The only problem is that she splits them down the middle while they are still alive. I don't think I can do that!

Another piece of trivia: Lobster is a low-calorie, low-fat source of protein: 3.5 ounces of meat has about 96 calories and less than 2 grams of fat. That does not count the butter that it is dipped in.

I think we have arrived in the most beautiful cruising grounds we've seen. We've sailed into Penobscot Bay with more than 200 large and small islands. We're in Rockland for a couple of days to reprovision, fill the water tanks, wash the salt water off the boat, and catch up with laundry and see an old friend. On the way here from Bath we stopped in Christmas Cove and Tenants Harbor. These were quiet little harbors with mooring fields from shore to shore.

At Christmas Cove there was a narrow 35 foot entrance to the cove with red and green daybeacons on tall pilings to guide us in. From our mooring we could watch an osprey feeding her young on top of the green beacon and hear the chicks noisily calling for more food. Osprey use the same nest year after year with a few renovations. Scientists have dated one nest to be 115 years old.

We loved being in Bath which is called a big town-little city. The Kennebec River was quiet, and we were the only boat on the moorings for the 5 days we were there. We had to stay so many days to attempt to resolve our 21st century technology problems.

1. Our iphone is sick, sick, SICK. However, we have to wait until the new model arrives. So, no help there.

2. Then our old computer with the navigation program crashed AGAIN. Luckily we found a computer guy who was about 1/2 mile from the boat and could fit us in., He found that the new hard drive (installed in May) crashed taking with it all the pictures and other data. He was able to install a used hard drive that will be devoted to running the navigation program.

3. While climbing down the ladder and into the dinghy to go ashore the strap on the new computer (only 3 weeks old) bag broke, the computer fell off my shoulder and splashed into the water. Lou tried everything to save it, but mother boards do not like salt water!!! So, off we went to buy another computer. Ouch!

Actually, this may (I hope) fill our quota of bad things that can happen. I'll take these problems over bumping into rocks any day. But, it does make staying in contact a bit of a challenge.

Kennebec River

There is a 17 mile coastline between Cape Small (near Portland) and Pemaquid Point in the Gulf of Maine. In this area there are 5 big waterways; The Kennebec River, Sheepscot Bay, Boothbay Harbor, The Damariscotta River, and Johns Bay. We decided to head for Bath which is a good protected place to wait out the thunderstorms and fog that are predicted. It was a 12 mile trip up the river with the kind of scenery I have been expecting in Maine; water crashing into rock islands, trees standing tall, and several lighthouses. I loved it! One of Lou's favorite movies is"The Hunt for Red October." This is the river where the sub was being hidden at the end of the movie. Also, Kevin Costner's movie "Message in a Bottle"was filmed here.

The tide was still rising as we traveled up river toward Bath. The rising tide and the down bound current create interesting wave patterns when they collide. Sometimes there's even foam on the surface. The current would try to grab the rudder and steer the boat off course. We could see the path of the current which was not straight.

We had no problem grabbing a mooring ball in front of the Maine Maritime Museum and having a late lunch. Before we could think about going ashore to register the tide changed. We couldn't believe our eyes. The outgoing tide was burying the other mooring balls and was rushing past so fast that we were afraid to get in the dinghy. Inside the boat you could hear the water swirling around the hull. It was like seeing the power of water in the white water rivers of Colorado. Next thing we knew someone was waving and yelling from shore that we were moving. Yep.....we dragged the mooring ball down river about 100 yards. Help arrived from the museum and put us on a dock for the night. Whew! The tide can run at 6 knots and raise and lower 10 feet. This is a first experience for us with tide and current at these levels.

Today we're exploring the town of Bath and tomorrow taking a tour of the Bath Iron Works. It's a famous shipyard for building top-of-the-line ships. As we drove by it today, we could see a battle ship under construction.

QUESTION: How many lobsters are out there?

ANSWER: Last year 70 million pounds of lobsters were landed. That's about 56 million lobsters. The estimated value of this catch is $244 million. Total population is 100 million to 130 million lobsters in Maine waters. If you get a chance, ask Mike Cosgrove what he thinks of the lobster pots.

Mike and Marlene are back home in East Lansing after 12 nights on the boat. We already miss them. They were good "boat buddies" and endured all kinds of conditions (sunny, HOT, windy, rainy, noisy with the wake splashing under the transom, and fog) and never complained. It's not everyone who can live with 2 other people in 550 square feet with a curtain for a bathroom door. They introduced us to a new game and pitched right in. See you next year for more adventures.

Flying the Flag

In 1994 Lou "traded"our 34 foot Hunter for this 40 foot Farr. On the maiden sail from Waukegon, WI, to Muskegon every place that could leak leaked. Jim Somers, Lisa, and Matt were the only crew on deck as we "beat"(that means pounded) through the rain and cold water of Lake Michigan. This boat was an old racer that hadn't had any TLC for a long time. That didn't make any difference to the "boys"who wanted a racing boat.






The first couple of summers all the high school and college friends of Matt and Lisa came to race and party. In fact they were the ones who threw names in the hat at the NAME THE BOAT pizza and beer party. Since Tequila was the name chosen, we decided that the logo would be the tequila worm with six guns and a sombreo. I collected the beer cans during those early years and had the flag made. Here it is flying over the boat in Boothbay Harbor.

F O G

Marlene enjoys a gin and tonic after a hard day in the fog.

Mike and Lou waiting for Marlene and Donna who are shopping in Boothbay Harbor, Maine

F O G

OK, we found the famous Maine fog.......or, rather it found us. We left South Freeland and threaded our way back through the islands and lobster pots very carefully. At one point we were searching for a buoy, and I was watching the course on the computer. Lou was on the helm and going exactly the wrong way. Marlene had her finger on the chart trying to find where we were, Mike was on the lookout, and I was yelling "GO 180 DEGREES TO PORT NOW!" Naturally, Lou was not listening. We found the wrong buoy, but at least we knew where we were, Mike sighed out of relief, and Lou said he thought it was fun. We were all alarmed when we came upon another sailboat. She would float in and out of our vision, so we named her The Ghost Ship. Fortunately we didn't get too close. After that we all strained our eye balls to look through the fog. Our guesses about the visibility ranged from 1/4 mile (Lou), 330 yards (Mike), and 10 feet (Marlene and me).

We started a list of the creatures we've seen: a porpoise, a whale, lots of seals, and osprey and her chicks, a blue heron, a big variety of sea gulls, crabs, and live lobsters.

We arrived at Boothbay Harbor, and the fog lifted almost immediately. It's a cute harbor with lots of mooring balls. We'll head back to Portland tomorrow (hopefully without fog) to get Mike and Marlene to a train that will get them to Boston. From there they will take a ferry to Quincy to pick up their car. We will certainly miss them!

MAINE......AT LAST

Mike, the Official Greeter

Mexican Train on the boat------

Lou, Mike, Donna, and Marlene at the Portsmouth Yacht Club, in Portsmouth, NH

July 7, 2010 Freeport, ME Temperature - HOT HOT HOT

We made it into Maine after talking about it for over a year......maybe two years. Actually, the coast from Massachusetts to New Hampshire and southern Maine could be the coast of Lake Michigan. We've seen little towns, trees, sand dunes, and water. We're not swimming (silly us) so we can't tell if the water is fresh or salty. I'm sure the famous rocky shoreline will begin soon.

Our ports-of-call have all presented different levels of peaceful sleep:

*On the Annisquam River/Blynman Canal our mooring was on the north end of the river which almost put us in Ispwich Bay. It was BUSY! We all thought that hundreds of power boats and skidoos were rushing in and out of the river and zipping by us. We were rocking and rolling in their wake until sundown, but then it got quiet. It was a peaceful/tranquil night of sleep.

*The dock at Newburyport (the first dock we've been on since June 15th) required a trip up a river and under a bascule bridge. We were there on the 3rd of July with all the party people. We enjoyed their music and laughter and didn't have any problems going to sleep. Sometimes the stress of the journey and the stress of the mooring/docking just takes all our energy. (I really admire Matt's and Tomeaka's friend in the Caymans, Judy, for all the different places she sails and all the situations she finds herself in.)

*July 4th found us in Portsmouth, New Hampshire on a mooring with no other people around. It was a beautiful deep water place to be with a picturesque New England scene off the bow. That's what we thought when we went to bed. WRONG THOUGHT! At about 4 am the lobster boats started passing by which created hugh wakes. The noise of Tequila slapping down on the water and then the boat rocking and rolling violently had us up and dressed by 6:30 am and on our way to Portland, Maine, by 7.

*In Portland we stayed on a dock at the Sunset Marine. They gave it the right name. We saw a beautiful sunset over the city of Portland and had fun playing Mexican Train on Mike's new table until it got too dark to see the dots. (Just a note about Mexican Train - we change the rules on each round to satisfy everyone's likes. Mike has the most difficult rules. Is that a surprise?) This is a busy port with a hugh cruise ship arriving at 7 am, so the slapping under the transom woke us up early.

*South Freeport was an adventurous trip up the Harraseeket River around 30 islands and thousands of lobster pots. Mike was helming and trying hard to stay on course, but it was difficult with all the swerving around the pots. S. Freeport is a beautiful quiet harbor, and we've decided to stay at for another day. The L.L. Bean main store plus 200+ outlet stores are here which aided in the decision to layover.

Mike and Marlene have settled into boating so easily. Mike learns another skill everyday and has been crowned our Official Greeter. He waves and smiles at everyone-----even the power boaters who are zooming by us and creating big wakes. His policy is to not discriminate.

Marlene has taken over the job of chart reader which really helps Lou follow the buoys into new ports. I'm so glad that Cyndi was here for a week and now the Cosgroves are here. How will we manage without them?

Last winter when I was reading the guide books for Maine, I read about Maine lobster pots, fog, and a very rocky shoreline. So far we've encounter the lobster pots-----lots and lots and lots of them. Here are a few things we've learned about the lobster industry:

*Lobster fishermen have specific territories where they drop their pots. Each licensed fisherman is allowed 800 pots. They cannot get a license until someone retires.

*Lobsters hatch from eggs and molt their shells as they grow. The first year they might molt 7 times, but then only once a year as they grow older.

*Each pot, really a cage, is attached to more pots in a row. The fishermen don't mind blocking the entrance to a harbor at all.

*As the lobster boats come to collect their catch, they must measure each lobster from behind the eyes to the shell to make sure the lobster is a legal length. If it's too big or too small, the lobster gets thrown back in. If the lobster is a female with eggs, the tail is notched and she's thrown back in. There are huge fines if the rules are not followed.

We seem to be in a seal fishing grounds. It's fun to see them poke their heads up and dive back down. We haven't seen any sharks although it has been reported that they hunt the seals.

During breakfast this morning, we sat on the deck and watched an osprey fishing for her chicks. The nest is off our stern. What a neat place to be.

It is difficult to find wifi so there may be some gaps in the blog. Thanks for keeping up with us.

Cosgrove Crew Arrives

Mike and Marlene arrived on schedule even though I had left Jim's street name out of the email I sent them. Their GPS was going nuts. Fortunately, they are resourceful people and found us!






We spent their first day aboard off the boat. Go figure. They had never been to Boston, and we had only been there once with Bill and Karen. So, we took the Harbor Ferry to Long Wharf in downtown Boston for a beautiful day of sightseeing in the Cradle of Liberty. We jumped on a Trolley Tour to catch the highlights of this historic town, enjoyed the street entertainers, saw the places where the Boston Tea Party and the Boston Massacre occurred, and learned that there are 300,000 students here. We also learned that there are 2,000 Dunkin' Donuts stores. (These east coast people love their coffee.) We strolled through the Quincy Market and thoroughly enjoyed all the people milling around and all the bike riders. This is a vibrant active city that we'd like to come back to spend more time exploring.

Our first day sailing, July 1, was perfect. We hoisted the main and jib and sailed at 6 and 7 knots north to Marblehead. There are huge marble rock formations marking the harbor......I didn't know that. Marblehead is called the birthplace of the American Navy. At the start of the Revolutionary War it was the 10th largest city. Today, the old town is the way it was then with narrow streets and houses that have plaques on them saying who they were built for and the date. Marlene and I talked to Marie who lives in a house built in 1683. She said that I would fit quite nicely in the low ceilings and doorways. Their friend visited and had to kneel in the bathtub. They still have the original windows with the wavy glass.






We are on a mooring at the Boston Yacht Club. It's the 3rd oldest yacht club in the country......1866. It's a very interesting harbor with 1500 moorings and million dollar houses.
We are amazed at the enthusiasm these New Englanders have for the 4th of July. It's a shame we can't be back in Bristol, NH, or stay here in Marblehead, but we'll continue to move north and stop when we stop. I don't know where we'll be so Happy 4th of July everybody. Hope it's a great holiday at White River Campground.

Martha's Vineyard to Boston

Jim Halpin

Martha's Vineyard

Cyndi McChesney

Tequila on a mooring ball (black sail cover)

Martha's Vineyard looked so cute that we decided to stay another day to see more of it. In a town (Oak Bluffs) on the island is an area filled with Victorian cottages and stores. Before the Civil War Methodists from all over the country would come to the Martha's Vineyard Camp Meeting and live in tents. Shortly after the war the tents were converted to tiny houses with small front porches and gingerbread trim. The meeting house is called The Tabernacle and was converted from a tent to a wooden structure in 1879. It can seat over 3,000 people. One of the residents told us there was something happening there every night. It is worth another trip to the island.

On Friday, June 25th, we headed toward Boston through Woods Hole (a tricky channel from Martha's Vineyard to Buzzard's Bay), through the Cape Cod Canal (with the tide running against us), and stopped north of Plymouth in a town called Scituate. It was a 12 hour day with the wind on the "nose"which meant no sailing. Still, it was a beautiful day with no navigational mistakes. Yea!!!!

Cyndi has become a valuable crew member. She can roll out the furling, handle dock lines, bungee the bikes, swat at mosquitoes, and helm. I drive like a drunken sailor, but she can head for a point and hold steady. That was great because Lou could check and recheck the navigation into North Weymouth, Massachusetts, and I could observe the islands and forts along the way. She has gotten her "sea legs"and finds it somewhat disturbing when things continue to "rock and roll"on land.

Here is a picture of our "new best friend", Jim. He lives in N. Weymouth in a house he built in the mid-1950s. Jim has tried to teach Lou about the tides, talked him through the many turns from Massachusetts Bay into the Back River of the Fore River, and found us a mooring for the few days we'll be here. It's time to say good-bye to Cyndi and wait for Mike and Marlene to arrive from East Lansing, so it's a great place to "lay-over." Jim's boat (on the right) and our boat (with the black sail cover) can't be more than 200 yards from his deck. He is able to bring his 44 foot Islander to his dock and haul it out or put it in up his own ramp and store it in his yard. Imagine that!!!

Jim regularly races with his friends on Tuesdays. He's the captain (84) and everyone else is slightly younger. His neighbor and friend, Dot, is 80 and tells us that she can "tail"or helm but doesn't have the strength to crank the wench. Another crew member has a bad back, but they usually finish in the top half of the field.

On our long day last Thursday, we saw a whale. That's a first for Lou and me. Thanks to Cyndi's sharp eyes we could identify it as a Northern Right Whale. We're in a protected habitat for this species which likes to summer in Cape Cod Bay, Gulf of Maine, and Bay of Fundy. We're in the right place to see more of them. There are only 400 Right Whales and they grow from 35 to 55 feet long and weigh up to 70 tons. We saw a little guy. It would be like comparing Kyle to his dad in height. We be watching for more.

MOSQUITOES!

We're finally on our way. Hooray! This is an old picture, but here's Tequila on Lake Michigan. We met our Colorado friend, Cyndi McChesney, on Sunday, and set sail (read that as motored) out of Narragansett Bay and into the Sakonnet River on 6-21-10. We're accustomed to Indian names in Michigan, but the Odawa speak differently than the indians in this area. We're having some difficulty pronouncing Waquoit, Quissett, Apponaug, Naushon, Pocasett, etc., and understanding them when spoken with the Rhode Island accent. We often have to be corrected.

We found a mooring in a quiet little harbor called Sachuest Cove for our first night "on the road." As we settled down for Cyndi's first night aboard, I was worried that our "night noises"(might also be known as snoring) might keep her awake. Instead it was the Invasion of the Mosquito Brigade. Thousands, or so it seemed, of those buzzing biting bugs were dive bombing any part of our bodies that was uncovered. The ATTACK mode would force us to cover our heads with the sheet until the heat and carbon monoxide would force us to poke our noses out. Word spread quickly and the ATTACK mode was put in gear quickly. Lou, Cyndi, and I all suffered in silence thinking that the other two were fast asleep. It wasn't until morning that we realized we were all swatting at those little buggers. It was after 1 am before the army moved on and we got to sleep. You can imagine how happy we were when the Harbormaster was banging on the boat at 6:30 am to collect his fee. Some days are just like that!

Cyndi's a good boat buddy who's willing to put up with no shower for a couple of days, water conservation, and many trips up and down the companionway steps.

The second night was at Cuttyhunk Island and found us prepared for the Mosquito Brigade. Screens were in place, all ports without screens were closed, and we sprayed with Deep Woods Off (should be renamed Ocean Off). No mosquitoes this night......only a huge rain storm that got the head pretty wet because we left the hatch up for air. Still it wasn't as bad as the biting bugs.

Now we're at Martha's Vineyard for the night and enjoying the cute town of Vineyard Haven.

KER-SPLASH!

Up the ladder ---- down the ladder------up the ladder=====

Going down is better than going up.

Good-bye 13 foot ladder; hello dinghy. We're in the water and floating just fine. After a weekend in Maine at a wedding, the sailing will really start. Cyndi McChesney, our friend from Colorado, will be joining us for the maiden week. Good thing she is a very flexible person with a positive attitude. Sometimes we need those traits.

While we've been waiting to get in the water we have been discovering how important this area was in the War of Independence. Last Saturday Lou and I went to the Gaspee Parade in nearby Warwick. What does that commemorate you ask? And, so did we. In 1772 the men (some wealthy people, some merchants, some shipbuilders and pirates) of the Warwick/Providence area attacked a British tariff ship, the HMS Gaspee which had gone aground near Warwick, RI. The British officially declared it "the first act of war by the Americans" because it was a planned attach and there was a shooting. The patriots captured the crew and burned the ship. So, every year the fife and drum corps from RI, Connecticut, and Massachusetts parade in costumes and people come from all around to celebrate the beginning of independence. Bristol, the little town we have been staying in, lays claim to the oldest Fourth of July parade in the nation. Everything is red, white, and blue. We're a little sorry that we won't be here to see the 2 1/2 hour long parade.

Stepping the Mast

A wall in Bristol

Going up!

Lou was carefully watching while the crane lifted our 54 foot mast into the air and onto the boat. These guys have done hundred of these procedures, but Lou still had to supervise it. :-)

We've been "camping out" on the boat since June 1 expecting to hit the water any day. But, we're still not there. We climb up and down about 13 feet several times a day. Actually, we've been enjoying having the time to catch up on tons of projects. This is such a cute town and area of Rhode Island, that we've done some exploring too. This is a street in Bristol.....

My birthday dinner at the New York Yacht Club in Newport was a memorable experience. We sat in the lawn chairs on top of a grassy ridge over-looking the busy harbor. Now as we sail by, we'll know how it is to actually be there. Ït took a letter of introduction for us to be able to eat there. We shared lobster macaroni and cheese. It was delicious.

THINGS I HAVE LEARNED FROM THIS SAILING LIFE:

Never set a schedule because it's bound to change. (We thought we would be in the water by June 1st.)

Only invite guests who are very flexible. (The schedule is likely to change on a moments notice.)

If it can go wrong, it probably will. (We moved the sink top. Then we discovered that that disconnected the drain hose. So, when I drained the dish water, it all went into the newly painted bilge.)

We have met the nicest people. (The marina staff are fabulous, the Commodore and his wife have gone out of their way to socialize with us, a stranger wrote a letter of recommendation for us to go to the NYYC, etc. etc. etc.)

Cleaning and maintaining a boat is darn hard work! (Lou takes Ibuprofen on a regular basis.)

Making little repairs in a timely manner is so important. (It means that you are always working on a "fix it" project.)

Sleeping in sheets is a true luxury. (Sixteen day of sleeping in sleeping bags made us appreciate a "proper" bed last night. However, it was so cold we had to break out a sleeping bag to add to the covers. Thank heavens we brought them on the boat.)