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!