Purple at night...

Sailor's delight????

Maine cool in Boothbay

We awoke Friday morning to typical Maine cool - it was overcast, breezy, 70-ish.  We spent the day sight-seeing in long pants and sweatshirts.  What a change from the triple digits that the mideast coast is experiencing!

Boothbay is a nice tourist town - full of quaint shops with lots of tempting goodies.

They love to use the colorful lobster pot floats as decorations of the Maine scene.  Yeah, they're colorful, but you can come to dislike them when you're trying to sail through them!

We are trying to see some new places this trip, so we opted to visit the Maine State Aquarium in Boothbay. http://www.maine.gov/dmr/rm/aquarium/index.html   Just a short dinghy ride across the bay and we were there.  A whopping $3 admission, but the aquarium is only one large room.  We were initially disappointed and thought "oh, well, supporting the state", but once we were inside, we were delighted.  Each individual aquarium is filled with a variety of local fishes, plus good info on each of them.

There is the usual "touch tank" plus a special one with rays and cat sharks that literally lifted their heads out of the water in order to be petted!

Rain all night - blissful, gentle, cool rain.  Saturday morning broke clear and we headed for the Penobscot Bay, our favorite of the Maine bays.  We decided to go to Tenants Harbor and anchor in Long Cove.  Never been there before, so it seemed like a good idea.  We had a good SAIL the entire 24 miles, but weaved through constant colonies of lobster floats.   For the first time, we actually caught one under the boat.  It's not a pleasant feeling to see a long lobster float line being towed behind the boat in 60 degree water.  Fortunately, the pot "popped" free as we got to the end of the rope.  whew!!!! Good thing we were actually sailing for a change, without the propellor turning.

Entering the chanel into Tenants Harbor, we loved the sight of the South Island Lighthouse.

As we are anchored just past it (on the other side) we were determined to dinghy over this morning and explore it....until we learned that the island and lighthouse are owned by Jamie Wyeth and visitors are not welcome for some strange reason!  Seems the family owns quite a bit of property in this region.

Our anchorage in Long Cove is beautiful and calm today.  Maine blue sky, crystal clear northern horizon, it's like having our own  little cottage "On Golden Pond".

We settled for a ride into the town of Tenants Harbor.  Cute houses, a small grocery store, PO, fish house/restaurant, and Lodge of some sort make up the entire town.  So, we bought aluminum foil, checked out the local art show in the lodge, and bought 2 meals worth of freshly, locally caught haddock for a whopping $9.  Dinner tonight!

You know it's a small place when someone leaves a painted sign like this for the city grass mower.

Here is a nice shot of the harbor from land.

Tomorrow we plan to leave around 5 a.m. to catch the outging tide to another new place, the remote island of  Matinicus.  Matinicus is the outermost Maine island inhabited year round and not a frequent tourist destination.

Hopping around the Midcoast of Maine

We left the beautiful Goslings for yet one beautiful place after another.  On our way to Five Islands, we stopped at Seguin Island, home of the second oldest lighthouse on the coast of Maine.  George Washington himself signed the deed for the island!  It was a little foggy as we approached the island.

There are two guest mooring balls that are placed in the small cove.  We tied up to one and Luke rowed the short distance to the little beach.  This rather reminds me of some of our Bahamian pictures.

Then it is a slow walk up the hill to the lighthouse, along the path beside the old railway (formerly used to haul anything that needed to make it to the top!  It was discontinued shortly after the platform failed to stop at the bottom, killing a lighthouse keeper's wife and child).

Finally, the lighthouse!

In 1985, after 200 years of manned service, the lighthouse was automated and abandoned.  Fortunately for us, the Friends of Seguin negotiated a lease with the Coast Guard and acquired the lighthouse.  Volunteers live there during the summer months.  It must be a great place to live during the summer - the views from there are magnificent!

The Friends of Sequin made another big step a few years ago.  The lighthouse has a rare, historical, and powerful Fresnel lens, the only first-order lens north of Rhode Island. This is a huge lens assembly about 3 ft in diameter, and 6 ft high. The U S Light Service directed that all US light houses must have this superior technology lens by 1858 to improve the visibility of its light houses.  In the 1970's the Coast Guard wanted to convert it to solar power, and a high tech modern lens.  7000 signatures were gathered, convincing the Coast Guard to leave the lens there.

Next, to one of our very favorite spots in Maine, Five Islands.  This is a postcard shot of small Maine harbors.  One island has only a working lobster dock, a lobster house that sells fresh lobsters and lobster dinners, an ice cream store, and a small boat company that sells gas to the lobster boats (oh, plus a few picturesque Maine homes).

 Another island has a few homes and a small yacht club that generously maintains 5 free guest mooring balls for transients (that would be us!).  The locals a the homes here have a variety of beautiful little run-abouts.

But the best thing about Five Islands is our friends Gloria and Mike.  We met them on our first visit to the Bahamas in 2008.  Mike keeps five "recreational" lobster pots and has the freshest lobsters you have ever tasted!  He and Luke personally plucked those rascals out of the cove for us while Gloria and I visited with their grand Bengal Cat, Ben.  It was a great visit and wonderful dinner.  Even Smokey got a little left-overs when we returned to the boat.

From Five Islands, we hopped our way to Boothbay.  First, a stop at Damariscove Island.  Damariscove Island is 1.7 miles long, 1.4 mile wide, and almost completely divided in two by a narrow strip of water.  That narrow strip of water is where we anchor.

The swift current and narrow channel require two anchors - the usual bow anchor and a second stern anchor, set to the rear of the boat.  Not a real challenge setting them (drop the bow, go backwards and drop the second one, and then pull both anchor ropes to set the boat in the middle of them).

Damariscove Island  ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damariscove_Island  )has an amazing history - it has been used by English fishermen and trappers for over 400 years, long before Jamestown or Plymouth.  In fact, the pilgrims on the Mayflower stopped there for provisions before landing in Plymouth!  By then, Damariscove was a year-round fishing community!  When the Indian War broke out in 1676, (and lasted 56 years), 300 colonists fled to Damariscove for protection.  After Indians boarded a boat there and beheaded the owner of Damariscove Island, the colonists largely moved on to Monhegan Island.  Legend has it that the beheaded fellow and his dog haunt the island today.  We didn't see him, thank goodness!  The Island was deserted again, except for seasonal fishermen and the Coast Guard, during he Depression.  The Coast Guard deserted their station there, too, in the late 1950's.  Around 1985 the old Coast Guard Rescue house was sold to private owners who have restored it.  They are the only residents now.  That's Latitudes mast in the narrow channel in front of the house.

And back to that anchoring ..... we are glad they are there!  It got a bit tricky getting that second stern anchor up.  We were doing it, but with some difficulty and a lot of slow effort.  The owner of the home  paddle-boarded over to the boat and offered to help.  He got on board with us and helped Luke pulled up the stern chain and anchor and get the stern anchor back to the bow.  Very nice!!!

The 360 views from this island are the best!  Here we are on the rocky ledge.

And yet another view.

Although there are no trees on the island, the paths on it are often narrow and lined with really tall bushes.

This stick and lobster pot "artwork" is pointed towards Boothbay.

But are we going there yet??  Noooo.... yet another stop; this time at Squirrel Island.  Squirrel Island, a mile from Boothbay, has been an exclusive summer retreat for generations.  The 94 homes are pretty much only resold within families.

 The only businesses here are Town Hall, an ice cream shop, and a post office.

No vehicles, bikes, skates, or skateboards are allowed on the island, so the entire island is linked with paths.

Once again, the friendly folks of Maine maintain one free guest mooring, giving us the pleasure of exploring their island.

Finally, about 6 p.m., we wandered into the anchorages at Boothbay, setting down for the night.  Smoke was more than tired of the constant stopping and starting of the hated engine.  She, too, settled down in her favorite place - on our opening hatch just outside of the screened cockpit.

And just what has poor Luke been doing while I typed this saga?  Laboriously changing a shredding V-belt on our main engine.  Good thing he caught it, but a tedious and dirty job.  I love Luke!

On to Boothbay in a bit, for some city life (that means tacky shops and ice cream).  Actually, the town runs complementary shuttle buses all over town - like to the grocery store!  We hear there is an aquarium in town  and a wonderful botanical garden.  We may well try to visit both during our stay here.  Oh, and it's 70 today~

Maine, sweet Maine

To the Goslings for the night - now this is Maine!  70's, sunny, rocky, beautiful.   We passed the Cape Elizabeth lighthouse as we entered the Casco Bay.  This is a typical Maine lighthouse, but a little larger and better kept than some.

The Casco is full of lobstermen and their lobster floats.  It's a narrow, winding passage through the mass at times.  Look carefully at all of the little colored dots that surround the boat.  That is what we have to navigate through.

We must have seen more than a dozen lobster boats, all tending various numbers of pots.  One lobsterman threw out 8 undersized guys from just one pot.  It's incredible that there can be that many lobsters in such a concentrated area.  And that's over all of Maine! 

Smokey is fascinated with the pots.  She sits on the cockpit edge (not the boat edge) and carefully watches as each passes. 

We borrowed a mooring in the shallower waters between the Goslings.  That is a standard practice in Maine - if a privately owned mooring is unused, it is expected that a transient or recreational boater will pick up the mooring.  If the owner boats up and wants his mooring, you of course politely move to another unused mooring.  One of those four boats in the distance is Latitudes.  We are standing on one of the Goslings.

Most of the "sand" on these islands is actually either rock or shells.  This island has a sandy beach of  snail shells.

The interior of this small island is typical Maine green, full of moss, tall evergreens, and ferns.

 The view from the eastward side of the island is impressive.

and Seals!  We finally found basking seals, lots of them.  Babies as well as adults.  The fur colors were interesting - many different shades.  They were equally interested in us.

It was a nice rainy night - that means a clean boat and clear air this morning.  We left the Goslings and are en route to Five Islands, with a possible stop at Seguin Lighthouse on our way.

sailing in jeans and sweatshirts!

Wow, what a difference a couple of days can make.  Today we left Portsmouth, NE in jeans and sweatshirts.  And STAYED in them.  Can't wait to sleep under a blankie tonight.

It was a great visit in New Castle with Marina and Dave. The Piscataqua River, where we moor, has an ebb current in excess of 1.8 knots. That's really moving through the water at a mooring! Portsmouth, the "big" city,  and New Castle, where the yacht club and its moorings are located are really great, clean, quaint towns.  Luke and Dave visited the Stratham fair http://www.strathamfair.com/ - a local fair, it concentrated on livestock.  Dave loved the calves.

Luke was impressed with the log toss (as simple and hard as it sounds). 37 feet was the winning toss.

and the ax toss (note the lack of bystanders near the target!)  The large ax is in the middle of the blue tent. In the middle of the bull's eye is a soda can -- instant positive feedback!

And from Luke: The fair was very impressive in several respects. It was heavily 4H oriented, and the young teenagers with their animals were knowledgeable, enthusiastic, informed, and quite willing to discuss their areas of expertise. A few nuggets of knowledge:

Talking to a sheep farmer: Sheep get sheared twice per year.  Raw wool sells for $0.25/lb. 30% of sheep farmers just throw it away. It's not worth getting it to a spinning mill. Getting their own wool spun at a mill is very expensive. The money is in the meat. $6.00/ lb is break even for what seemed like a small high quality operation.

Talking to a goat farmer: Goats are raised either for milk or for meat -- two different breeds. If sheep meat is mutton, goat meat is "chevon". (I sure didn't know that.) http://www.goatmeats.com/

A chicken farmer: Different types of chickens lay different color eggs, including pink and blue varieties. Egg purchasers do not differentiate among chicken types, as long as the eggs look right.

A biologist: Texas A&M has developed domesticated quail. If wild quail are released, they head for the brush. Domesticated quail follow their human around.

Marina and I did more ladylike stuff - like getting great pedicures.  Just take a look at these blue sparkles~

We just downloaded this picture --- en route to Portsmouth, we had a hitch hiker...suddenly a young robin appeared on our lifeline, about 8 miles from shore.  It rode with us for a long time, much to Smokey's delight. She was quite aquiver.  Eventually the robin flew off  but we can't imagine that it made it back to land.

It's a sad, sad day.  My younger daughter Nikki had to make that one last trip to the vet with her 15 yr old cat.  The vet said Mr. B probably had cancer and didn't suffer, but it was indeed time.  We are all very sad - it's heartbreaking to lose your pet of many years.

We are at a mooring in Biddeford Pool, ME (made it to Maine!!!).  An expensive little town with a grocery/restaurant, gift shop, and small local yacht club. And a gazillion rental cottages on the Atlantic shore.  No high-rises, just homes for rent.  It rained earlier and should rain tonight.  With some luck that will be it and we can head further northeast.

Whew...

It finally cooled off last night and we slept comfortably.  This morning brought showers and cool temps.  This afternoon brought back the oppressive heat (as you all know TOO well!).  Thanks to good friends, we have a car and did mall shopping today and grocery reprovisioning.  Later, we are at their home, had showers and are doing laundry.  Made dinner here, too.  We'll go back to the boat before the last 8 p.m. launch service to take us back to Latitudes for the night.  It was relatively cool there when we unloaded the groceries.  Tomorrow is a play day with Marina and Dave.  Supposed to be cooler, too!

Portsmouth, NH ---- 103 degrees~~~~

10 hours to northern New England and whadda ya get??? 103 ambient degrees... no idea how high the heat index is.  I came to New England for 103!!!!!????????  More later when everything cools off and I can think.

To Onset to Plymouth

We left Block Island at 5 a.m. oh-god-early to go the 53 miles to Onset, our staging area for the trip through the Cape Cod Canel. Leaving at dawn gave us favorable current all the way. Onset is a cute litte town that we like.  There is plenty to do there if you need - groceries, laundry, hardware, clothes, ICE CREAM, a little park overlooking the beach, etc.  We took the dingy in to go to the hardware store and ended up with a pair of shorts for me, too.   The name "Onset" means
"Beach Landing Place" as you can see by the endless beach on the shore.  Lotsa folks gather here for the water.

From Onset we transited the Cape Cod Canel at  a blazing 9+ knots.  That really IS blazing for us!
We had considered going across the bay to Provincetown or straight up the bay to Gloucester.  But, the winds  were  not for that - too much windpredicted from the wrong direction. SO --- we opted for Plymouth, MA, home of the Pilgrams in 1620.

It's a long way in through the channel into Plymouth - past the first light house on the high  rocks in the Atlantic coast.

Then past the secondary light house towards the channel into Plymouth.

We ended up in a 400+  mooring field of various boats.  No mind --- we are in Plymouth!  Home of the Pilgrams!  And the origional landing site of Miles Standish and all.  We are assured that the Plymouth Rock is the one in this monument.  I did take a picture, but it didn't turn our so well.  The rock is engraved "1620" and covered by seawater at high tide, uncovered at low tide.

Plymouth has lots of historic places, like  these old houses.  Interesting --- all of the doors are placed away from the ocean.  Pretty smart, I think....

Next, a visit to the Mayflower II, a reproduction built in England in 1956 and sailed to Plymouth. 

I have to admit , I never thought of the "Mayflower" as anything but a name until I saw this on the stern...duh....

Look at how long and narrow she was!  90-ish feet long and 25 ft wide.  We are half that length and carry 2 people and a cat comfortably.  For 66 days she carried 102 passengers (2 babies born aboard), all of their belongings to settle a new world, 25 crewmen, a few goats, chickens, horse, sheep, etc., all in the same "below" compartment.  Here is a shot of that, but it cannot do justice.

A little more about her...  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayflower

In addition, a 33 ft boat was cut into quarters and stored in the same living conditions - had to get ashore somehow when they reached the new world.

 And land they did....  straight into native Indian territory, which the Pilgrams believed rightfully was ceded to them by the king of England.  Many natives and modern day Native Americans feel differently....

We visited the Plimoth Plantation (yes, it is spelled correctly) where interpreters give both the Indian and Pilgram views of the time. Here is the entrance...no, I don't understand...

 First, there is a presentation of Indian life in the 1600's, starting with the winter huts, usually housing 2-3 generations (or "fires").

Indian speakers describe the life in the 1600's - fully self-sufficient and comfortable.  I thought it was interesting that families were limited to 3 children.  More was considered "greedy".  Children were spaced from 5-7 years apart and birth control was through a local herb.

Unfortunately, the entire tribe was wiped out by European born diseases after the Pilgrams arrived.  The fort of  Plymouth was founded on the Indiand lands.

A family of 6 lived in this house, plus two local Indians.  No, there is no more room.

The Pilgrams eventually won out, as we know, and Plymouth was settled and expanded.  Here is the oldest Uniterian Church in New England.

We met one sailing couple in Onset, then three more couples at different times in Plymouth. Finally we all realized that they are traveling together (same yacht club) so we all met to tour Plimoth Plantation.  Here we are with two of the native American children, playing in a log canoe.  We expect to see them more as we sail Maine (the sailors, not the children!)

It was a great visit to Plymouth - a real eduation in the truth of the Indian/Pilgram relationships.

Onward for us tomorrow - hopefully to Portsmouth, NH.