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.