Weather was perfect for motoring on the ICW for the last 50 miles.   The engine starting missing as we arrived in the narrow canals and creeks approaching Beaufort.  It turned out to be a clogged racor filter, which was quickly remedied by switching to the back up.  We arrived at Dataw Island at about 1700.  Pam and Ollie picked us up .  It was great to get home and settle into our fall routines.    On Tuesday, September 29, we moved the boat to Skull Creek Marina on Hilton Head Island so that authorized servicers could work on the engine, bow thruster and generator.  Everything is now ready for our next adventure, which may be Florida Keys or the Bahamas.    

Saturday morning, we arose at daybreak.  We pulled anchor and started south.  Suddenly, we knew we were in SC – gunfire in the morning!  About 10 boats had passed us in the river, each camouflaged with grass and carrying duckhunters in camos.  Here and there, we would see them nesting among the tall grass along the river.  About 30 minutes later, we heard gunshots only 200 feet from us on the edge of the river, as two hunters jumped up to dispatch some ducks overhead!  Glad to see the muzzles of their guns pointed up river, not at us.  We didn’t notice any retriever dogs in use, as alligators patrol the edges.  Rough neighborhood.

 

We continued on to Charleston, about 60 statute miles.  We were fortunate that we arrived at the Ben Sawyer Swing Bridge when we did.  It had sustained electrical damage, and was only opening at 7 AM, 2 PM and 6:30 pm, instead of on the half hour.  We passed through at 2 PM and arrived in Charleston at 4 pm.  We were on the long face dock intended for big boats – 200 mega yachts with fenders bigger than our dinghy.  After settling in to the City Marina, we were interested to see a 134 foot mega yacht dock in front of us.  Continental Drifter III, Jimmy Buffett in town for a day.

 

On Sunday, September 20, we departed at 7 AM, backing out into the strong incoming tidal current.  Dataw Island Marina is only 50 miles away!

Thursday, September 17

Beginning at 1 pm, this was planned to be a 170 mile overnight voyage, past the Frying Pan Shoals at Cape Fear, and on to Georgetown SC at Winyah Bay.  There are two long legs to the route, each 70 nautical miles, run at 231 and 253 degrees magnetic respectively, plus the long inlet channel approaches.   We plotted our course on the electronic charts, with waypoints at every 7 miles to track our progress.  All of this was duplicated on paper charts as a back up.  We alerted Debbie’s siblings Stephen and Pam of our “float plan” and for them to expect a call from us at about 2 PM on Friday. 

 

Generally, we were 25-30 miles offshore, finding 3-5 waves on our beam, and 10-15 knot winds from the north and Northeast, on our stern.   We put up a staysail and motorsailed.   At night, with a new moon, and frequent cloud cover, it was very dark.  We could see no shore lights and we passed no other boats the entire trip, but we could hear military jets overhead all night.   At 1 AM, we were passing through 40 foot waters at Frying Pan Shoals, about 20 miles offshore, keeping the red flashing 4 meter high navigation light on our starboard.  Unnerving to find it was extinguished.

 

We arrived at the entry buoy at Winyah Bay at about noon on Friday, about 2 hours before low tide.  That meant that the prevailing east wind would oppose the strong currents of the Waccamah River flowing out through the bay.  The seas were confused and stacked up with strong cross currents as we made only 2-3 knots up the shipping channel.   We diverted to the ICW channel heading south on Minim Canal and found an anchorage at Minem Creek.  We put the dinghy back on the davits, took sorely needed showers, and turned in, rejoicing that we had avoided miles of shoaling, tidal currents and 27 fixed and draw bridges on the ICW in NC and SC , all bypassed by going offshore for 27 hours versus 3-4 days of daylight hours motoring.

We continued on from Norfolk at 1 PM, through the navy yards and then the locks at Great Bridge, and stopped at a local public dock for the night as local fisherman tried to drift lines underneath our boat to catch, what, stripers?  We stayed until Monday morning.

 

At 7:15 AM on , we pulled over to Atlantic Yacht Basin, a marine center, to have our wind instruments taken off the top of our mast in anticipation of the notoriously low  NC and SC 65’ fixed bridges.  This left only our flexible 30” VHF antenna atop our 63.5 ft mast.   We are armed with spreadsheets listing each bridge on the ICW, their type, height, height boards, if any, and rules of thumb based on the number of visible wood fender slats protecting the base of the bridges, indicating water level. Here we go!

 

For the next 180 miles, the bridges are either swing or draw bridges, or 65 ft fixed bridges whose height above water should only be affected by a few inches of “wind tide” driving waters from Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds.  At about 100 miles south, Fairfield Bridge, our VHF bent double under the bridge.  12 miles later, we arrive at the Wilkerson Bridge, which has been officially marked down to 64 feet by the Army Corps of Engineers.  The bridge height board in fact says 64 feet above water.  We inched up to the bridge, expecting  6 inches of clearance, and likelihood that I would have to go up the mast to rotate our antenna 180 degrees.  Too close to call.  Finally, we called TowboatUS in Belhaven, 12 miles away.  They arrived in their launch an hour later.  First attempt, we all agree, the front of our mast touched the bridge.  They hung two 100 gallon water barrels to our boom swung to port to deflect the mast sideways.  Eventually, we slid under, while warning power boats to stay away.  No time for a 1 foot wake!

 

We continued on, touching our vhf on each bridge.    We arrived in Beaufort NC, taking a side creek to avoid the bridges in Morehead NC.  We intended to go offshore the next morning late, but in the morning, found weather and sea conditions marginal for the trip, so we decided finally to continue down the ICW.  Rounding Radio Island and past Morehead, we came up to 65 ‘ fixed Atlantic Beach bridge at 10 AM  – at mid tide – and the height board reads 63.5 feet, with 3 hours to wait to pick up 2 feet at low tide! We turned around, found a dock, pulled the dinghy, and went out the Beaufort Inlet to the Atlantic Ocean. 

We decided to layover in Annapolis a day or 2 or 3.  Our beloved Maiden France in Chicago has a prospective buyer!  We are hopeful and anxious, since our Maiden has been sitting on a cradle for the last 2 years.  We could use a little boat prayer about now.

 

The Chesapeake has been whipped up by 35-40 knot winds from the N-NE, causing 4-5 foot choppy waves.  After 4 days of waiting, there is a break in the weather predicted Friday afternoon, so we left early in the morning amid gale warnings.  We sailed 40 miles south to the Solomons, fueled, ran Ollie, rested for 3 hours, and departed at 7 pm for Norfolk, about 110 miles.    Overnight, conditions improved, and we had a good sail amid the push/pull tugs, barges and freighters.  Everyone was crowding the western shoreline for lee protection, so there was a lot of communication with the captains of these vessels.

 

On September 12, we pulled into Portsmouth/Norfolk at 10:30 AM.  This is a good place to drop off a crew member – OLLIE!   Our good neighbors Kitty and Don had been in nearby Virginia Beach with family, so Kitty came by to pick up Ollie to take him back to SC.  This will facilitate our taking longer offshore passages weather permitting to avoid the ICW bridges and shoaling in NC and SC, hopefully starting from Beaufort NC.

September 5 -Our sail to Cape May was good…………flat seas, warm and sunny and NO EVENTS…………that is, until we arrived to set the anchor.  Cape May has only one small anchorage area located adjacent to the Coast Guard station.  This one and only anchorage has poor holding in loose muck and on a previous visit here, it took us six attempts before our hook finally grabbed.  It is Friday night on a holiday week-end and this area is already over-crowded but we found a spot, .all looks good…….until we noticed the green sailboat parked off of our port, getting a little close as the two boats swung on their anchor rodes in the tide and wind.  Are we a little too close?………We are  thinking we are OK until the skipper popped into his cockpit and very politely informed us of his concern.    After a few minutes of small talk, we decided to pull anchor so all would be confortable.   We circled a few times and then dropped the hook farther off his starboard.  It was 5:30 now, Ollie needed a run and we were all in need of showers.  Just as we were about to set our plan to action, we hear on the VHF  “Sailing vessel Abacus, this is the United States Coast Guard,  Sector Cape May”.  Oops.  We are now being informed that our swing will encroach on the 300 yard security zone of the 210 foot cutter Dependable.  Rather than contest the subject with a ship that has a deck gun, up came the anchor again.  We found another small spot among the boats crowded into the small anchorage area and called it a night. 

 

After checking the tide tables for current, we needed an early morning start to catch the max flood tide up the Delaware Bay.  At 5 AM on Saturday, Carter drove the dinghy in the dark across the Cape May harbor to find a spot for Ollie’s shore duties, returned and raised the dinghy up the davits and we were off by 0545.  The morning sunrise is spectacular as we head into the Atlantic to circle up the Bay.  We had a great ride up the Bay, averaging 9 kts under sail with East winds running 10-20, motor sailing with full jib and main.    Good Stuff.  We pulled into a Marina at the C&D Canal, 84 miles, at about 2:30.

 

On September 7, we traveled to Annapolis …..squalls and building conditions as we arrived.  Strong North Easterlies were expected to blow all week along the east coast.  We have spoken to Thom Wagner, who owns Passport Yachts, who usually has a slip for us, but he had two new yachts here that he planned to sail up to Newport for the Newport Boat Show that runs 9/15-9/19.  With gales and high seas forecast for the week offshore for the whole week, the voyage would be too risky. 

On August 30, we left the next morning for Port Washington, about 35 miles away, in much better conditions, to stage for an early morning passage in the East River, changing our target destination beyond NYC to Manasquan Inlet, about 30 miles down the NJ coast.   We arrived at mid afternoon, took one of the free mooring balls, and settled in   As we cleared the East River into NY harbor, we reviewed the weather conditions:  We were in a fine high pressure system, but to the south near the Carolinas, a low pressure center had stalled and was throwing large waves from south, against the prevailing 15-25 knot north winds.  Wind on the stern, waves on the bow, a recipe for a bad slog.  We pulled into Sandy Hook NJ for protection and to wait it out.

 

The low in the Carolinas stalled, so we stayed in Sandy Hook, reprovisioned, did laundry etc.  It was Thursday afternoon before the low moved enough for the waves to shift to the north east with the winds.  We got up at 5:30 AM on Friday,  took Ollie ashore quickly, and departed for Atlantic City, 83 miles away.  NOAA issued a small craft advisory for the NE winds 15-20, waves averaging 4-6 feet.  Fortunately, the waves were long swells, so while we rolled a lot, we made good time, arriving tired in Atlantic City at 5:30 pm.  The band was just setting up at Harrah’s, power boaters were partying, etc.  Debbie made shrimp jambalaya for dinner, which was terrific, and we turned in, turning up our music to counter the outside din.

 

WIFI internet connections in marinas can sometimes be problematic, especially Atlantic City.    Debbie of course has her Verizon wifi card.  For others on board, one can connect through a public WIFI service (at an exorbitant $12/day, three times other ports) or, alternatively, go to the adjacent Hooters restaurant, buy some fries or something and use their free wifi J. 

 

No internet tonight.

We reached Stonington CT (very near the Mystic River) at about 4 pm, took a mooring ball and went into town.  Stonington is another very cute town of mid 1700, early 1800 houses and buildings, including homes of patriots, shipwrights and ship masters, apparently the third largest “collection” of historical homes in CT.   The anchorage is well protected by breakwaters, a peninsula jutting out from Watch Hill, and Fisher Island just to the south. 

 

From Stonington, we motorsailed in the rain on an east wind and following seas, with only the staysail.  At times, we made 8 knots, with thunderstorms all around and TS Daniel expected within 36 hours off the east end of Long Island.  We arrived at Port Jefferson at 5 pm and took a mooring ball in view of the high east winds predicted.  Port Jefferson is well protected except from the north, but has high bluffs on the east side.  While it rained off and on all night, the winds were not noticeable in the harbor.  From Port Jefferson, we had hoped to leave in the morning to take a late afternoon passage through the East river and to stop in NYC to see Carter’s brother Portis and his wife Laura.  As a result of TS Daniel, that didn’t work out. 

 

Hayley called to advise that our 9 year old cat, Schuster, the cute, cuddly one, had kidney failure and had to be put down.  Everyone is sad.  Shuster is survived by Simon, the orange serial killer cat.   

 

On Saturday, August 29, 2009, it was rainy but calm at the mooring field in Port Jefferson Harbor, so we waited until 11 a.m., dropped the mooring and headed for Port Washington, 35 miles west.  As we moved out the harbor toward the jetties, the wind increased progressively until we found 25 knots of east wind outside the jetties and confused, 5 foot waves breaking over the bow.  Of course, none of this was indicated in 3 different NOAA weather reports and NDBC buoy data we checked before departure.  While we probably could have handled these conditions, we were concerned about having large waves on our stern which might hit the dinghy on its davits.  Plus, it would be unpleasant sailing, so we waited for a large incoming ferry from Connecticut, turned and returned to the mooring.  

Our layover in Salem/Marblehead was extended due to our smoking generator.  Of course, it started smoking on Saturday and the local boatyards were closed over the week-end.  Ho Hum......we ended up running the engine to keep the batteries charged while on the mooring and riding out hurricane "Bill", passing off the Massachusetts coastline.   

 

Early Monday morning we ran aground while trying to "dash" into the boatyard (which had assured us of 7 feet of water).  We were truly stuck in the mud at 2.9 ft. in the middle of the well marked entry channel.   “Must be new silting.  Tides have been strange lately”.  Hmm.    One of the boatyard skiffs came out to nudge us thru the sludge and we made in to the dock by 9AM.  The boatyard was quick to have a look and by 10 we had ordered parts from  Fischer Panda, for overnight delivery.  All under warranty.  We received the parts by 10, installed by 11:30 and off the dock by noon with a flood tide allowing us to float on out.  As we bid farewell to Salem, we were working the charts, calculating our day's destination........taking into account wind speed, currents and daylight hours.  We calculated that we could make it to the Cape Cod Canal by 8 PM with enough light to see.........sunset at 7:27 plus 25 minutes of “civil twilight”, i.e. uncivilly dark at 7:52.  A quick call to the marina in the canal in Sandwich, MA and we were all set.  We had a beautiful sail down Massachusetts Bay into the Cape Cod Bay and arrived just as planned.  (Can you imagine that?)

 

Now, here is where the plan went awry:  The 7 mile CC Canal runs a fast current of about 4-5 kts.  Keeping in mind that our Yanmar will push us at about 6-7 knots, you can appreciate how important it is for us to catch the ebb tide to take advantage of the out bound current.  We calculated that if we left around 6AM from the marina, we would catch the ebb going out Buzzards Bay.......all very good unless there are  opposing SW winds at the west end which leads us into Buzzards Bay.  When we left Salem, NOAA assured us of NE winds in Buzzards, but by the time we arrived in the canal.........the report had changed to SW 10-15 increasing to 25.  All night long, we slept lightly, listening and hoping that the report would change.  But sure enough, around 3, we started to hear our Stars and Stripes flapping against its halyard, and knew that we were in for a ride.

 

By the time we pulled out of the marina at 5:20 AM, the wind was already approaching 20 kts out of the SW.  We thought that we would take a look at the west end of the canal and if it looked too rough (which we fully anticipated) we would bail right there at the Onset Harbor which is a protected harbor.  The verdict was in by 6:15.........we  bailed out in Onset to layover for another day to wait for the N winds on Thursday.

 

 Are we ever glad that we waited out yesterday in port.  The wind really howled all day long and it would have been a horrible slog heading SW into it.  We had a very restful night in Onset, and as predicted, the wind shifted N, providing us with a gorgeous sailing day.  The sun came out, the air was dry and the light to moderate N winds gave us an excellent ride to Long Island. 

 

We are glad to out of Buzzards Bay, as the morning  NOAA forecast is for 40-50 kt NE winds on Saturday, thanks to TS Daniel.  Those conditions were expected to moderate the farther west in Long Island Sound.  We decided not to sail the coast of NJ until all remnants of the storm have passed.

Off to Kennebunkport where we have spent the night.  The highlight of that passage was the pilot whale sighting!  Not far off of our beam, we watched as he gracefully dove in and out of the calm seas, seemingly oblivious to all of the excitement he incited aboard Abacus.  Even Ollie was at the bow squealing.  The Kennebunk River has a very narrow jetty entrance, and the river channel is wide enough for two boats to pass each other and perhaps 6 feet deep at low tide.   Kennebunkport, as expected, is a cute little tourist town with narrow, winding roads and lots of fun shops to peek into. Many of the shops occupy buildings dating to the late 1700’s and 1800s, so that hand hewn beams are visible in the ceilings.   Other stores are built on pilings to accommodate the tide.  The town fully met everyone’s expectations...........plus, we are pretty sure that we sailed right by "Walker Point" which is the summer home of you-know-who: GHWB.

 

On Tuesday, we continued to York Harbor.  Mr. Donnell’s dock was taken, but his daughter Mary has a dock also just upstream.  We pulled in, where Mary and Mr. Donnell, who is 91, greeted us and helped with lines.  We bought 4 lobsters from Mary and enjoyed them on this last evening in Maine.

 

About an hour out, we were under sail with sunny, warm weather when Debbie tried to throw the gear into reverse to close the prop when  UH OH…the gear would not engage and the shift lever was very “wobbly”.  She called to the ship’s engineers who promptly arrived on deck with their belt-laden tools and they both got to work dismantling the gear lever at the helm.  It turns out that a ¼ “stainless steel set screw had sheared!  What to do…….well, our well-trained and highly-skilled engineers knew just what to do as they first oiled and then got out the drill  to back out the sheared stub the threads.  Despite a mind boggling store of spare parts, bolts, pins and screws on board,  none were the right size (of course) so we jury-rigged a vice grip to use for gear shifting.  As we were only a few miles off shore of Portsmouth, NH, we headed in to find a chandlery.  Wentworth Marina in Portsmouth was incredibly helpful in allowing us to berth Abacus and to use their courtesy car to get into town.  It took 2 hours and several marine and hardware stores before we finally found the necessary bolt………..plopped it in place……….and off we went to spend the night at Isles of Shoals, six miles offshore.   Gosport Harbor is formed by three islands linked by a breakwater.  A large religious conference center/250 guest hotel is located on one island, and the University of Maine operates marine testing facilities on the other.  The holding ground is poor and anchoring is not recommended.  However, we found an unoccupied Portland Yacht Club mooring ball, which is available for public use provided a club member doesn’t come to claim it in the middle of the night.

 

An update on Bob, the fisherman.  He has been tending his line now for four days.  Around day 2, he decided to offer to his potential catch something a little tastier than Reynold’s Wrap, so he purchased 5 dead mackerel at Kennebunkport.  Francie warned that the size of the mackerel would attract a fish much too hearty for his  “hand reel”.  Debbie suggested that he ditch the hooks and have mackerel for dinner.  No, no, Bob was not to be deterred.  Last evening at anchor, Bob was still tending his line as we three were enjoying cocktails, smoked sausage and kalamata olive hors d’oeurves.  Bob was getting very excited because the fish were biting.  They ate all of his mackerel without so much as sustaining a lip injury.  So ends the saga of Bob, the fisherman.

 

We haw a great evening at anchor and we are now en route to Marblehead.  As all of New England is eyeing “Bill”, we are fairly certain that we will need to lay-over for a few days as this area is expected to get waves of up to 15-20 ft.

We have left "Down East" and we are now back south.  We stopped in Northeast harbor to fuel and reprovision.  The next day, we stayed in very picturesque Perry Creek, just off the Fox Thorofare which runs between North Haven and Vinhaven Islands.  John McLeod (of Cloud Dancer, who we met in Buckle Harbor) generously let us use his mooring ball there.  We continued to Portland enjoying our first warm day (sunny and 80’s) since arriving in Maine.  What a treat!  Most days we have been wearing sweatshirts, windbreakers and dropping the cockpit side panels to keep out the cold, humid, wind.  It was fun arriving back in Portland, as the wind was blowing 15 out of the SW, so we sailed into this very large harbor of Casco Bay...........almost all the way to our mooring.  Being Saturday, there were lots of sailboats along with the busy commercial traffic filling the harbor.  We sure enjoyed the sail which was challenging as we were not only dodging other vessels, but dodging quite a few islands in narrow passages in the harbor (many with 1800’s fortifications) and also a few areas of rock shoaling.  As we were lowering the dinghy, up popped a seal to see what the local humans were up to....

 

Debbie hiked 2 hours to the grocery store..............sore feet in new sandals! and returned to Abacus around six.  We poured medicinal G&T’s and  sat in the cockpit, with a stiff breeze blowing and lots of entertainment in this busy harbor  These Mainers must wait 364 days for a summer day like today.  A real treat was watching a 1000ft Royal Caribbean cruise ship pull out, marshaled by 2 police boats and a pilot boat to lead the way past our mooring. 

 

Our friends Francie and Bob from Marblehead joined us on Sunday as we head south and west.  The weather was sunny  and hot and we all were excited about the brisk SW winds that were predicted to build throughout the day.  However, under very calm conditions, we headed out into Casco Bay........and waited......and waited.......and waited for even a hint of a breeze.  Nothing.  So, Bob decided to go fishing.  He is a very handy sort of guy and fashioned tin foil minnows to put on his hooks, attached it to a hand reel of  what looked like butcher's string and tossed it astern.  Debbie got very excited, hoping to make a Salade Nicoise for lunch with his fresh tuna catch.  We waited.....and waited......and waited..........and while every cormorant in the bay was bringing in a catch every 3 minutes Bob could not even snag some kelp.  About mid-afternoon we saw 8-10 kts of wind and had something of a bit less than a "brisk" sail to our evening anchorage in Seal Cove at Richmond Island, which is a well protected bay created by a breakwater connecting the island to land, with a large sand beach, bluffs with pine trees and semi-desolate rocky shoreline.  Ollie was happy to hit the water after a hot day aboard Abacus.  

The next day, August 9,  was clear and calm, so we motored to Roque Island.  We benefited from a 1-2 knot tidal current and arrived at noon at “the thorofare”, a narrow passage which opens into Roque Island Harbor, which is shaped like a horseshoe with a mile long sandy beach lining the inside curve of the harbor, while rock bluffs and trees line the sides and islands protecting the end to the East.    The tide is 12 feet, so positioning and scope of anchor chain had to be adjusted to accommodate the change in depth.   This is a spectacular anchorage, among the best we have seen.  With weather approaching, 10 other boats arrived to anchor in the bay.  Ollie had an opportunity to play with 2 different dogs on the beach and in the water.  He was exhausted by days end. 

                                           

The next day we explored Roque and Spruce Islands by dinghy, finding herons, eagles and seals as well as wonderful scenery.  Returning to Abacus, and noting it was now a sunny, clear day, we decided to move 7 miles to “The mudhole”, a fully protected anchorage in the Great Waas Island.  This meant that Roque Island was as far "down east" as we would go, and we were now headed home toward SC. 

 

As soon as we pulled out into the ocean, the fog rolled in and waves kicked up.  We managed to make the turn past the Mistake Island light house about a mile back into the series of ledges and islands.  The mud hole approach falls to 2 feet of water unless you hug the shoreline and use the lobster trap buoys as an indication of shoaling.  We successfully navigated though the hazards and found a small patch of 16 feet deep water, occupied by 3 sail boats and 3 power boats.  Nonetheless, we found enough room near the shore to drop our anchor, and with the help of Craig and Carol from Mizpah, dropped a second anchor from the stern to keep us from clocking.  Craig and Carol joined us for cocktails. 

 

Hearing noises outside later that night, I arose to find Craig in his dinghy, in thick fog,  resetting his stern anchor, as Mizpah had drifted to within 15 feet of our bow.  He expertly respositioned it and all was well.  Two other nearby boats also had to reposition for similar reasons.  Tight quarters. 

 

Everyone departed the Mud Hole except us, but we were joined in the anchorage by  two J42's traveling together ("Sweet Beam" with Christie and Johann and their two dogs, a lab and a golden doodle , and "Amigo VI", with Bernie and Lynn.  We enjoyed cocktails aboard Amigo VI.  We also met Mike and Judy aboard Aleyah, a Ocean Cruiser 42.  They offered great information regarding sailing to Nova Scotia, Belfast Maine and other local anchorages.

 

On August 12, we decided to pull anchor, bound for Bar Harbor.  I thought I found enough depth along the shoreline for us to leave at low tide, despite the chart indications of 2 foot shoaling.  Wrong! We immediately ran aground in soft mud, so we backed off and reset our anchor in the deep basin we had just left.  We waited 3 hours for the tide, and then left without further incident. 

 

 

The next morning, August 6, we left for Northeast Harbor.   Having run over a lobster trap line as well, Debbie alertly put the engine into neutral, feathering our prop before it fouled.  I was able to disengage the trap line and we continued on.  North East harbor is well protected, forming an L into Mount Desert Island.  We were surrounded by 200 foot hills.  We hiked up the Asticou rock terraces to the Thuya lodge and gardens for a glorious view of the harbor and island.  We then left for Somes Harbor, six miles into the interior of Mount Desert Island.  A wind storm hit, but we were protected by 1000 foot bluffs on both sides until we anchored in the harbor for the night. 

 

From Somes (two syllables) we went to NE harbor again for fuel and water and motorsailed to Eastern Harbor.  We are now past Schoodic Point and officially “Down East”.  Looking for an anchorage, a lobster boat (Oscar and John aboard South Wind) directed us to an available mooring ball and sold 2 fresh lobsters for Debbie’s birthday dinner.  After a nice walk in a very rural area, we returned to the boat, enjoyed the lobsters and a very fallish evening (60 degrees, partly cloudy/high grey clouds) reminiscent of late September in Canada in Lake Superior. 

 

Lots of catching up to do now that we have a strong WIFI connection. 

We departed Tenants Harbor for Pulpit Harbor, on the northeast shore of  North Haven island.   The entrance is difficult to see until you are upon it, turning sharply to starboard alongside a rock upon which rests one of the oldest known osprey nests (e.g. hundreds of years old- imagine the mess) and into a very snug harbor.   We anchored in a narrow channel which was protected from all directions and enjoyed a quiet night.  The next morning, we were greeted by heavy fog.   We motored to Castine, about 14 miles.  This harbor was so ideal that the English, Dutch, Americans and French vied for control of the port starting in the 1700’s.  It is a pretty town with a classic town square and houses dating to the 1780-1825.  We spent the night on the town dock with the State of  Marine Academy training ship, and its tugboat towering over us.  

 

From Castine, we sailed down the Eggemoggin Reach  to Woodboat Harbor, the headquarters of the Woodboat magazine and a boat building school.  In the course of a week, 10-14 foot boats and kayaks are built, usually by father/son/daughter or grandfather/grandsons, from epoxy glue up to fibre glas finish.   Great fun.  After touring the operation, we reboarded and left for Buckle Harbor, a great little anchorage on the north side of Swan Island.  While only 6 miles away, a storm was approaching, so we got settled quickly.   The access to the anchorage is a narrow passage through ledges (i.e. rocks) called York narrows.  We noted, after anchoring, that a 28 foot boat, Abishag, ,  had gotten tangled in a lobster trap line and lost their engine.   We launched our dinghy, and joined by another boat’s dinghy (Cloud Dancer) we moved the disabled sailboat to anchor.  Cloud Dancer had diving equipment on board, enabling Tim on Abishag to cut the lobster trap line from his prop.  We hiked on shore with Tim’s two daughters, Zoe and Cleo, plus Ollie, Roddy the Lab and John  from Cloud Dancer. 

After a very rainy night, the next morning, August 1st,  was gorgeous, Maine at it’s best.   We took Ollie ashore and noticed a small graveyard across a field from the Olson House, tucked in among trees on a point in the bay.  On inspection, we found the markers for Christina Olson and her brother, who died in 1967-8, their parents, and Andrew Wyeth 1917-2009!

 

We returned to Abacus and set sail at 11 AM  for Tenants Harbor, about 16 miles.  Conditions were so great that we daysailed offshore for a couple of hours before returning to our course.  Tenants Harbor is a small, working harbor, well protected and very busy with lobstermen.  We took a mooring  ball and went ashore to the Cod End, the restaurant/fresh seafood/marina located in a single red shack  (a cod end is the bag at the end of a funnel shaped trawling net where fish accumulate).   We stopped for dinner there, lobster and clams, outdoors on the deck, perfect weather.   Wow.  Maine at its best.

 

 

On Friday, July 31, we left the Boothbay and pulled into Maple Juice Cove about 15 miles away.  The trip was uneventful, but lobster traps are spread like confetti.  We had originally intended a different island anchorage, but it was open to north winds, which we are expecting.  Ashore we found the Olson House which was included in Andrew Wyeth’s “Christina’s World”.  The house is now a museum.  We returned to Abacus as a lengthy rain storm passed through.

On Monday, July 27, we woke to more fog but left at 9:30 AM anyway for The Basin, 22 miles away on the eastern side of Casco Bay up the New Meadows River.  The fog remained thick all day, perhaps 100 yards of visibility, just enough to spot lobster traps.  We had a close encounter with 3 power boats, each about 35 ft long, speeding down the river in close formation without sounding fog horns or displaying lights.  They weren't monitoring their vhf  radios either, so unfortunately they missed out on my brief evaluation of their boating skills, intellects and probable geneology.

 

The Basin, 1/3 mile in diameter, is described as a “hurricane hole”, with protection from all directions.  This is good because thunderstorm warnings are being issued, with 70 MPH gusts and hail. But the storm we got was a short, hard rainfall, 15 knot winds and lightning.  Then the skies cleared.  We had a quiet night, waking to the sounds of lobster boats picking up some of the many traps nearby.  

 

After taking Ollie ashore, we departed for Boothbay in good conditions, 10 kt winds on our stern.  Having rounded Cape Small, we have left the Casco Bay area and have entered the “midcoast”, which includes the Kennebec, Sheepscot and Damariscotta Rivers, forming geographic cul-de-sacs to the north.  One can explore for days up any of  the rivers to cities like Bath, Wicasset, Newcastle and Damariscotta, but for now we will stay closer to the Atlantic.   The coastline has become more rugged, looking a lot like Canada on Lake Superior, with granite cliffs, pine tree forests and not many houses.  We saw a couple of seals and porpoises on the way.

 

The anchorage area in Boothbay is poor holding, so we took a mooring ball and dinghied to the city docks.  Boothbay is an active fishing town, with many lobster boats delivering their catch to the piers.  It is also a tourist haven, with many shops and restaurants.  All in all, a nice stop.  We had clam chowdah, fresh boiled lobstah and beer at the Lobster Wharf (previously the Co-op) which was great, of course.  Wednesday was a nice day, so we walked the town, reprovisioned at the grocery store, had lobster wraps and fried clams for lunch, and just relaxed on board for the afternoon.  Thursday, Carter walked to the Maine DNR Aquarium to pet the sharks there while Debbie stayed at the BHYC to relax and do laundry.   We are heading east again tomorrow, heading around the Permaquid Point and the west side of the Penobscot River.

 

 

We left York Harbor with a fast ebb at 6:30 and motorsailed from York Harbor in fair but cloudy  conditions on the 25^th, with light south winds bound for Portsmouth Maine, 38 miles away.  Bob was driving up from Marblehead to meet us   We picked him up at Portland Yacht Services and sailed directly to Jewell Island.  The island has a great anchorage for all winds but north, but is very popular on weekends.  Sure enough, it was crowded with both power and sailboats when we arrived.  We were able to drop anchor, however, at the entrance, which became very narrow at low tide but still had 7 feet of depth.  The island has structures left from WWII, including two observation towers for spotting German subs visiting our shorelines.  The reinforced concrete structures are still in very good condition, and the view from the top over Casco Bay is extraordinary.    After a quiet night, we motored back to Portland in a dense fog.  Bob and Francie disembarked, but we look forward to seeing them on our return trip.  Portland is a very active city, with lots of waterfront restaurants, shops and bars.  We walked to a Whole Foods two miles away to reprovision, and took a mooring ball for the evening.

 

We left Salem on July 21 with Francie aboard......pouring rain, moderate wind out of the east and seas of 2-4 ft.  We motorsailed to Newburyport, MA in the Merrimack River, which has a very swift current strengthened by heavy rains in the New Hampsire hills.  We approached during the height of the ebb tide, making only 2.5 kts....rolling easterly seas funneling into the river made for a wobbly approach. 

 

On July 21, the sky was overcast but dry, so we decided to take a walk-around Newburyport before casting off.  As we were tied to a face dock adjacent to the waterfront park. it seemed like a perfect idea to take O to the park for his morning constitutional.  When we arrived, we were greeted by a very friendly Newburyport-ian who had 2 little dogs on leads (Leo and McDuff).........we immediately agreed that a little off-leash romp would be good for all of us.  Well, Ollie and Leo (who is about 1 ft tall) hit it off immediately...........they ran circles around each, rolled in the grass together, pounced on each other and smiled and laughed themselves to near exhaustion.  The owner, Holly, and Debbie  were enjoying a good chat as she described this charming New England town.  As the boys were nearing the end of their play session, we learned that Holly is a writer and when she mentioned the name of her last book (Daughter of a Gerbil Farmer), Debbie realized that she had just read its review in People Magazine  Before Abacus left Newburyport, we had a copy of her book in tow.  Francie, also a writer,  is first up to read it.

We motor sailed north and spent about an hour circling several small, rocky islands (Isles of Shaols) about 5-10 mi off the coast of NH and ME.  These little islands are barely inhabited but have a unique and sometimes violent history and folklore.  We were tempted to anchor for the night, but decided to proceed north to York which is located up the York River........finally the sun broke out as we approached another challenging river entrance...........ebb tide against us again..........rocks everywhere, 4 kt current and 11 ft tide.  We would certainly never attempt some of these rivers in the fog or after dark or without current charts!  We entered a very charming small harbor filled with lobster boats and we tied up to a singular dock owned by 91 year old Mr Daniel Donnell who rents space out to transients.  A delightful Mainian with his distinctive Down East accent............he greeted us at the dock and helped us tie up.....gave us the lay of the land.....and did not forget to tell us that Mary, his daughter who lived next door sold fresh, live lobsters.  No question about "what's for dinner tonight?"!  Mary was kind enough to share her incredible, custom made lobster pot (a rectangular boiler made of welded stainless steel) , some shell crackers, picks and 3 of the most adorable lobsters you ever saw.  So fresh the lobster crackers weren’t needed -  just peel and eat!  What a feast!

We were planning on continuing to Porpoise Bay, a fishing harbor with limited anchorage,  but  a gale is expected,  tonight/tomorrow, ...actually looks like a Nor'Easter, so we will stay put here probably until Saturday the 25th, when the winds should shift S again.  Already we have walked some of the beautiful trails in the area, and York itself is another charming hamlet .........beautiful seaside inns abound and lobster huts everywhere.  What more could a sailor ask for?

 

On to Boston!  We sailed Abacus right into the inner harbor, right past the Old North Church, Faneuil Hall, the revitalized wharf and "Old Ironsides"....the historic frigate from the War of 1812.  The Boston Harbor is huge compared to NYC's harbor and it is dotted with multiple small islands that are now part of the National Park Service.  We sailed into the fork of the harbor that splits into the Charles and Mystic Rivers.......whereupon we were blocked by a  55 ft bridge that only let us peek down Debbie’s old Charles River where she used to sail at the MIT sailing club.  A great historic moment for her, who as a  lowly MGH student nurse had never guessed that several decades later she would be returning to Boston, by sea, on a beautiful Passport! 

 

After touring the harbor,  we sailed out to the islands outside the harbor and took a mooring off Peddock Isand.   One large Island, Spectacle Island, was created from the Big Dig diggings.   Debbie is re-reading The Mayflower by Philbrick....to re-trace that  ship's routes from Ptown to Plymouth.....and to imagine what it was like arriving on Cape Cod in November, after 10 weeks at sea! 

 

Fog rolled in which made slow going for the short 20 miles from Boston to Salem on the 18^th.  We had our radar on and we were using our programmed fog horn that sounds a regularly timed honk every 2 minutes.  We arrived in Salem to sunnier skies and have enjoyed our 3 day stay there, where we linked up with Francie and Bob for a neighborhood barbeque, dinner at their beautiful cottage by the sea and a generous time-consuming afternoon reprovisioning.  As Bob has gotton tied up with work, he is unable to join us as we start heading north.