The Bet

In one of our entries from Northeast Harbor there was mention of a bet. Well, you get to see it in living color thanks to our friend, Dorsey, who forwarded her pictures recording the moment. Let's see.....it went this way. Peter and Bruce were talking about the space between the catamaran pontoons. One of them suggested we go through them in our dingy when leaving. Jane of course, said, "NO!" Bruce bet Peter he would not do it. NEVER make a bet with Peter because he will always accept it (must be a male ego thing). He and Bruce decided on a $2 bet. Well, the rest is history.

The deed done!

You owe me two!

Payment between friends.

Look what has happened to Peter after 4 weeks on the high seas, Jane and Pretzel have weathered the trip much better.

August 21 Home Again!

Hadley Harbor to NEB Marina, Portsmouth RI

6:30AM Jane was up and glancing out the window. She saw s/v Shashey moving by leaving Hadley Harbor. We had no idea that Don & Barbare Lane were there! Peter tried to hail them on VHF but eventually phoned Don. What a shame we missed them. Hope they weathered the storm out on Martha's Vineyard!
By 7AM we left Bob & Deanna and headed into Buzzards Bay for the final leg home. Conditions were better than expected so full sails came out, leaving our engine on and followed our track to way point #1 toward Cuttyhunk. We had to turn into the wind to stay on our track so the sails came in. We wanted to get to the marina as soon as we could so we expected to motor all the way. Passing Quick's Hole and Cuttyhunk we saw at least 20 sailboats heading across Buzzards Bay or leaving Cuttyhunk. Never had we seen so much traffic on a Friday. Everyone was probably trying to get back to their base before the hurricane gets closer. Leaving Buzzards Bay the forecast 4-6' waves appeared out of the SW and winds were pretty consistently 18-20K with gusts up to 22. Peter reefed both sails so we were stabilized having a fairly comfortable sail. Pretzel was zipped into her carry bag next to us and slept the whole way. "Kinvara" handled the sail well. There were 4 other boats also making their way toward Newport. Just outside the Sakonnet River entrance our autopilot decided to take a nap. Peter turned toward starboard, hand steering, into the Sakonnet River. Once there we got our autopilot back and Jane took the helm so Peter could rest. Everything was fine until we rounded the island and headed SW again toward the marina. Winds were gusting to 25K and it was very rough. Made the marina by 3PM, and tied up at the dock, thanks to John and someone from NEB. Thanks John!
Of course we could not return without more drama. Just before we left the marina our car windshield was severely cracked by a stray stone tossed up by a truck. It was fixed the next day by a AAA mobile unit and everything was great! When Peter got into the car to get Dunkin Donuts the next day, he discovered the rear view mirror had fallen off and was sitting on the seat. Apparently whatever adhesive was used did not hold up to the heat. AAA is coming Monday to fix it.

This week we are thoroughly cleaning, restocking non perishables, and visiting with family and friends. The plan is to drive to Florida Saturday...for 2 weeks, leave the car there and fly back to Providence Sept. 14th. Then the Southern adventure begins.

Aug. 20-21 Hadley Harbor

After rafting with Bob & Deanna we cleaned up a bit then sat down for some munchies & drinks. It was fun catching up on the news about mutual friends, since Peter and Deanna taught together at Tri County High School Bob and Deanna keep their boat in Quisset Harbor and know Hadley well so they took us on a dingy tour of the private Island. There are beautiful homes, pretty little bridges and coves. We travelled to the Buzzards Bay side and Vineyard Sound side of the island.

On our tour Peter & Bob saw a boat very like ours. It was a Jeanneau Deck Salon 40' The couple are live-aboards and are going South again this fall. We traded information and might catch up with them again.
Returning to our boats we had dinner, compliments of Bob & Deanna. The yhad gone clamming earlier so we shared clams casino (yummy!), steamed, and clams on the half shell, salad, grilled sausage & chicken. Jane steamed veggies baked a french bread loaf. Delish! After dinner we adjourned below because the fog was so thick it seemed like rain. Part of the terrible Patriots pre season game (they lost) was watched on TV. It became too bad to watch so Bob got his ICW books and charts to share information with us. He is like a computer......they came North on the ICW last June and remembers anchorages, marinas, routes, chart pages, etc. So we have a start on our planning. We will have to chart our route each night before travelling with the anticipated stop and the emergency stop if weather turns bad. We also have to mark the hurricane holes along the way so we can duck in if needed before Nov.

Said goodnight around 10:30-11 and went to bed......until Bob knocked on the boat at 3:56AM. Scared the crap out of us. Apparently we had the wind generator on and it was noisy so we put it on brake mode. It still turns but hopefully it let them sleep. Sorry Bob & Deanna!

Aug.20 Plymouth to Hadley Harbor

Today we timed our trip to get the west current through the canal. Dropped the mooring ball at 7:30 and motored to the yacht club dock to fill water tanks. It was 2 hours after low tide but at one point in the channel the depth read 1.3' under our keel. There were memories of Wellfleet all over again so we held our breath and kept going. The current was against us all the way out of the harbor so that was a 45-60 minute trip out. Once in Plymouth Bay the winds were variable at 1K or less but the current was with us so we averaged 7.8 SOG again. There were lots of boats coming through the canal and heading North. Peter talked with one sail boat on VHF and they were going to home port in advance of Hurricane Bill.

We arrived at the canal just 30 minutes after the current shifted west so we had an easy trip through. At the halfway point the canal turns to the South West and the wind started blowing 15K and above so we were anticipating heavy rolling waves on the Buzzards Bay side. Jane went below to get everything well secured and all life jackets went on, including Pretzel! We had to wait for the train bridge to go up (another first for us) along with about 5 other boats.

Buzzards Bay was calm but very foggy. We moved in and out of fog all the way to Hadley Harbor but heard lots of chatter on VHF16 from boats in Vineyard Sound, Quick's Hole, and Cuttyhunk. The fog there was very dense. Arrived in Hadley at 3PM and rafted with Peter's friend Deanna Martell and her husband Bob. We have decided this will be our last night "on the road" and will head for NEB marina tomorrow since the forecast is for big wave action Sat. & Sun. (over 10' waves).

Aug.19 Rockport to Plymouth

Another early day, hot, but clear skies and NO FOG!! This was the first morning with no morning moisture on deck. Planned to go to Scituate or Plymouth, depending on conditions. We have now decided to push our way home due to reports of a hurricane moving along the East Coast. Also wind and tide will be perfect for going through the Cape Cod Canal on Thursday. So we headed out of Rockport, rounded the twin lighthouse towers off Cape Ann and headed South toward home port.
With sails out on a broad reach, the current with us, we reached cruising speeds of 8.0K over ground. We could not see the Boston skyline due to heat haze but ocean visibility was great! Jane was disappointed we were not travelling as close to the whale grounds and commented on the lack of sea life like we saw in Maine. At 9:40 she spotted some splashing off the port side and immediately thought it might be another whale. It turned out to be even better! It was a pod of 8-10 dolphins arching their way towards our boat. They shifted to the port side, crossed aft and arched along the starboard side before moving away. What a wonderful sight to see. It really made our trip that day!

At 1:45 we arrived in Plymouth Harbor, and got a mooring from the Plymouth Yacht Club right near the breakwater. We could see the Plymouth Rock monument from where we were. It would be a great place to stay and visit for a few days. The yacht club charged $45 per night, free launch, and full use of their facilities. Our daughter, Natalie came for a visit and brought some groceries for us to last another 3 days.

When trying to watch the weather & news on TV that night we discovered our inverter was not working. There were a few moments of panic because we could not charge computers without it and we depend on them for weather reports and chart plotting. After the rush of adrenalin Jane remembered that we had used 2 small portable inverters before the larger one was installed so we had a backup! Can't say enough for spares.

Plymouth Rock really is there inside the monument in the center of this picture!

Aug.18 Biddeford Pool, ME to Rockport, MA

Up early today with a long day ahead of us. Anchor up and underway by 6:45AM. We left Biddeford Pool with another sailboat, s/v Grace B. from Beverly, which also left Boothbay Harbor same time as us yesterday! They recognized the name of our boat because there is another boat in the Beverly Yacht Club with the name of "Kinvara". Small world again. So now Peter is trying to figure out who that would be. It has to be someone with a tie to Kinvara, Peter's hometown in Ireland.

Once off shore we motor sailed in and out of fog. The fog horn was on again and it never affected Pretzel. She could not survive the small "fog cans", the sound was so piercing so we are so happy with the automatic horn. She and Jane slept right through some of it. There was lots of heat haze over the coast. Most of the day we could not see land. We knew it must have been very hot and humid ashore because we did not need jackets even through the fog. When the sun did shine the temperature increased dramatically. It's getting so much easier to navigate with the radar now. When you can't see the boats it really forces you to look at the GPS screen. We now can differentiate between a lobster pot and a boat!

Arrived in Rockport by 3:15PM and got a mooring. This was another first for us. Since the harbor is so narrow there is no swing room so boats have to be moored fore and aft. The harbormaster met us on the way in and offered help, which we gladly accepted. He hopped on board. As Peter made a hard turn to the 2 mooring balls the harbormaster picked up the aft mooring line. It is connected to the forward mooring ball with a long line so Jane had to pull it along the starboard side to get to the loop for the bow. It was not difficult but a little fussy. Since there is not much wiggle room in Rockport we were glad for the extra pair of hands.

After lunch, R & R, we walked the charming town. Pretzel was ashore for the first time in 48 hours so she sniffed everywhere!!!! This was the hottest day for us so far the entire summer. Since we were not swinging into the wind it was uncomfortable sleeping in the heat...no breeze at all!

Aug 17th Boothbay Harbor to Biddeford Pool

We left Boothbay at 6:45AM anticipating a long trip. Once out of the harbor the fog became thicker so on went the automatic foghorn. Happily Pretzel slept through it. The noise did not send her into spasms like the hand held fog horn. Still Jane's favorite new boat toy!!! We got peeks at Seguin Island now and again as we passed SW of it but there was really no boat traffic except for lobster boats which were easy to spot on radar. We're really getting the hang of this fog business. The last day we had fog was sailing NE from Kennybunkport to Boothbay--the same path we took today. Once the fog cleared we were near the Portland Shipping Lanes and spotted 2 oil tankers and 1 cargo ship, anchored, waiting for their turn to get into Portland Harbor. Back to reality for us!!









Along the way Natalie called from the Rome airport. She was starting her trip back home, flying through Paris. A long day but one I'm sure she will be glad to be home again.

Two years ago we were sailing from Boothbay to Biddeford Pool with our friends, Roland & Mona Levesque. We had engine trouble and had to go into Portland to fix the problem. Well..............
it happened again! Once past the shipping lanes our engine sputtered quite a few times making us rethink our plans. I think there is a bad engine witch outside Portland just sitting there to get us. We decided to continue to Biddeford Pool since we could sail in if needed-or Peter would lower the dingy to push us in. I called the Biddeford Pool YC to see if they could give us a mooring. I was told they were private and all reserved. As I write this there are still 5 empty balls.
Anyway we were lucky to make it in still under power. After anchoring, relaxing, and having lunch, Peter set about changing the fuel filters. He really thinks we got bad deisel since we just topped up in Boothbay. The last time we filled in Boothbay we discovered 24 hours later some corrosive areas around the fuel cover and along the fiberglass channel. Don't know what is causing it since it never happened before. Anyway, we hope the engine works fine tomorrow. Nice sunset!!!

Tenant's Harbor to Boothbay (again!)

Sunday morning dawned a glorious sunrise. We were up at 6AM, Pretzel took care of business on deck (it's called a poop deck for a reason!), so we had breakfast and readied the boat for departure.

BUT.......

before dropping the mooring we had to go ashore.

The REAL reason we stayed in Tenant's Harbor an extra day......

After eating at Cod End on Friday we started back on the dingy amid a swarm of mosquitoes. Peter took his hat off to swat a few and his very EXPENSIVE sunglasses went for a swim!!! Devastated, he arranged for a diver to search after his lobster run on Sat. Turns out that he came Sunday morning at 7:30. After apx 15-20 min in the water he found Peter's glasses, which made his day!!!! You are only hearing about this because it had a happy ending. He loves his sunglasses...and these were the favored golf set.

We dropped the mooring by 8AM and left under perfect conditions, except for wind. So we motor sailed with our main and jib giving us a little boost up to 5.8K over ground. Once again we saw lots of seals and porpoises along the way.

Arrived back in Boothbay at the Tugboat Inn at 1PM, did laundry, fueled for the remainder of our trip back, and relaxed for the afternoon while Peter watched a golf tournament. Ahhhh...civilization again! We are sitting under a cell tower!

Boating...make new friends but keep the old!

Mt Desert Island to Tenant's Harbor

Good by Northeast harbor. We had a great time visiting this place. Kinvara left Friday on a beautiful sunny day with no fog in sight!!! We motor-sailed most of the way since we were running into W/SW winds all day. After passing West through Casco Passage again we headed for Merchant Row and then the Fox Island Thoroughfare. Turning SW towards Tenant's the wind was on our nose. Winds were 17-22K all day and we were really cold. The fleeces and wind proof jackets came out while Pretzel buried herself into her carrier with 2 blankets!!! We saw seals and porpoises throughout the day which made it more exciting. After 9.5 hours of travelling around lobster pots we pulled into Tenant's Harbor and picked up a Cod End mooring. Then ashore for Pretzel and food for us at Cod End. We bought 2 bowls of fish chowder to bring back and have tomorrow. It was a long day....always sad to be returning from a trip but we are taking advantage of the good weather. hope the temperatures are a little warmer on the water tomorrow.

We decided to stay in Tenant's Harbor a second day to give Pretzel a chance to rest! (Ha..and ourselves too) It is beautiful, sunny, and hot. This is the warmest day we have had so far in our 3 weeks in Maine!

We walked to the market to give Pretzel some exercise then over to the Lyman-Morse Boat building facility. There were 3 mock ups of custom boats being built in Thomaston, Maine. OMG imagine 3 boats from 40-48' long built entirely out of plywood. Every detail down to bunks, lockers, hatches, galley appliances, etc. are made. We not only walked on the decks but could go below and visualize how it would look. On the way back Pretzel met a cute little dog who jumped onto our dingy from the dock. Turns out the dog belongs to Jamie Wyeth, painter, who lives on the restored lighthouse island at the entrance to Tenant's Harbor. He drove up really dark antique Mercedes (50's or 60's) with a painting, jumped in his launch and headed for his private island. His motor boat, Dreadnaught, was docked alongside. It is all black with beautifully varnished wood. Jamie Wyeth is the son of Andrew Wyeth, painter of the famous "Christina's World". Apparently he is involved with an institute to conserve decommissioned lighthouses. Another of those "One Morning in Maine" moments!!

Four Days in Northeast Harbor

On Monday we packed our backpack and Pretzel for a trip to Bar Harbor via the "Island Explorer", a bus system which transports all over Mt Desert Island. It is free, contributions accepted, and leaves often enough for it to be very convenient. Ll Bean funds the bus service which is propane powered. We had been to Bar Harbor before when Sarah & Natalie were small but remembered little. I'm sure there have been many changes since then. Lunch was on the dock at a fish restaurant. We love the dog friendly atmosphere here where many places accept dogs for outside dining spaces! Pretzel got a new bed and new wheeled carrier at the local store, "Bark Harbor". What a lucky dog!

Tuesday was a back to basics day. After breakfast we had a 10:30 time to pull up to the commercial dock to pump out the holding tanks. There is no overboard dumping of waste within 3 miles of the coastline so we have to use the pump out facilities in different ports. After that nasty business was taken care of we pulled alongside the water float and washed the entire boat...only the second time in 3 weeks...and filled any empty water tanks. We have 3 water tanks which carry a total of apx. 150gal. So any time it is convenient we try to top up tanks with fresh water.

Once the boat was tied up to our floating dock again, Jane went into the dingy to wash the starboard hull and pull of some green growth just under the water line. She couldn't get it all but discovered that the local ducks love eating it off the boat!! After an afternoon nap we grilled dinner then into town for an ice cream. Life is Good!!!!!

We woke on Wednesday to clouds and a little fog out the bay but decided to take the boat North up Somes Sound. It is technically the only fjord on the Atlantic Eastern seacoast. It is a glacial river valley drowned by ocean, surrounded by the mountains on Mt Desert Island. It was a beautiful trip in our boat. We also admired some spectacular multi-million dollar homes along the eastern side of the sound. At the head of the sound we pulled into little Somes Harbor to tour around. We saw tents on platforms on one side of the harbor and realized it is the Mt Desert Campground we stayed at with our girls some 20 years ago! Never thought we would be seeing it again from the water! Finally, going South in Somes sound we had both sails out & engine off for about an hour. The wind was about 8K from the east so we had a nice gentle broad reach. Toward the end of the sound the wind increased to 12K and we had a great finish before turning our engine back on to return to Northeast Harbor. We returned to our float by 11AM so Jane took her shower while the water was hot. At noontime we had decided to travel on the bus again to Jordan Pond in Acadia Natn'l Park. Just before leaving, our friends from the marina, Dorsey & Bruce & Pepper, arrived in Northeast so we made plans for cocktails on their boat. Jordan Pond is a beautiful place with fabulous trails around the pond & property. We had lunch outside then made our way back to the boat.

Pretzel's friend, Pepper

It's 5 o'clock somewhere so over to s/v Esmerelda to visit with Bruce, Dorsey, and their Scottie, Pepper. Also joining us were Darcy and Cleave from New Hampshire who were celebrating their anniversary. We had a great time discussing all sorts of "sailing" news. Our return to Kinvara took a detour, however. On a dare from Bruce, Peter decided to take a shortcut between the pontoons of a catamaran moored nearby. Nearly took our heads off! After a chat with Eric & Bruce on the SSB that evening we had scrambled eggs for dinner (Jane was too "happy" to cook) and settled down for a little reading or snoozing!

Thanks Bruce, Dorsey & Pepper

It's Thursday morning and the weather is beautiful. It's raining again in Massachusetts but the storm will pass south of us here. Another glorious day! We decided to stay again tonight, get some laundry done, and plan our next move. The next 3-4 days are predicted to be sunny and hot so on the water is where we want to be. Peter had been working on making a snubber line to attach to our chain when anchored. He finished it and it looks great! What a sailor man!

To make up for the lack of dinner last night Jane decided to make chicken parmesan, roast potatoes, and fresh organic green beans, topped off with raspberry shortcake. We really do eat well on the boat!!!!

A look at the weather forecast predicts sunny days until Mon.-Tues.. So.... we have decided to leave tomorrow and start our trek back to Rhode Island. We are hoping for a few 7-10 hour days with Pretzel so we can stop 2 days to visit friends and maybe a night in Cuttyhunk, then be back at the marina by the 23rd. That will give us a week to get things organized with the boat before we drive to Florida. The GPS track will be mixed up but hopefully we can stay in different harbors than the trip North.

Buck's Harbor to Northeast Harbor, Mt Desert Island

Leaving Buck's Harbor on Sunday Pretzel went ashore to finish morning business. The boat ramp was like descending Mt Everest for her. She kept stopping, looking down, and carefully walked a few more steps. Of course she could have been stalling for time before getting back on the boat!

Heading South down Eggemoggin reach we approached the bridge with trepidation. Our friend, Eric said it was 85' clearance, and the charts said the same thing. It is not the Newport Bridge, though, and looked very close as we passed under. Our mast needs a total of 58' to clear. We knew it would be fine but looking up it seems very close!

Near the end of Eggemoggin Reach we turned to port to visit Wooden Boat for the morning. As we arrived 4 boats were leaving. We discovered that they are closed on Sunday. What luck..it was such a beautiful day that we decided to keep heading for Southwest Harbor. Because we had great visibility we went through Casco Passage easily. Peter spotted a cell tower so Jane quickly called her daughter, Natalie, who was flying to Italy that night. She also got on the computer to check for email. The cell towers have become a favored sight also, due to spotty connections! Upon arriving at Mt Desert Island, Jane could get no answer from Southwest Harbor by phone or VHF so we continued on to Northeast Harbor. Staying here for 4 nights.

One Morning in Maine

Friday we pulled anchor in Pulpit Harbor and made way for Buck's Harbor in Brooksville, Maine. A short run through some islands and headed north east again. Winds were blowing 15K out of the west so we pulled out our 100% jib and flew through a small passage of islands. We arrived in Buck's Harbor at 10:45, moored, and went for a walk to the Buck's Harbor market down the street. On the way we visited with the marina's 2 Scottie dogs, friends of Pepper, a Scottie from our marina. Pepper had been in Buck's Harbor with Dorsey & Bruce just a week before us.

Buck's Harbor is the setting for the famous children's stories; One Morning in Maine, Time of Wonder, and Blueberries for Sal. Well , we were sitting outside the market and in that moment of time Peter glanced up and recognized a couple we had met a few times before. Jane & Mark Hanley, from Kent,CT., are brother & sister-in-law to Chris Hanley, Richard Johnston's wife. Now, Richard grew up in Kinvara, Ireland, where Peter came from. Also with them was another sister, Mary, who has a summer home in the area. It was quite a coincidence that we met up at that incredible moment, in such a beautiful and remote place. It really is a small world out here!!!

The next morning, as we took our stroll to the market for coffee and blueberry muffins, we were invited to go with the Hanleys to a flea market and then back to Mary's house for lunch. What a beautiful setting. Her house is on the water facing Penobscot Bay and Castine. They were all so gracious to welcome us in, along with Pretzel, and it was such a pleasure to meet all their parents. children, and friends. Thank you to the Hanley family for grounding us again on land. What fun!

Good bye Boothbay....Hello Pulpit Harbor

We spent Wednesday in Boothbay re-provisioning, thanks to Lynn & Pat's car. Laundry, cleaning, drying out from yesterday's fog, water fill up, and deisel fill......ready to leave Thursday morning.

Thursday we left with a glorious, sunny, and calm day. Motor sailing was in order. Had bagels & coffee on the water while watching a couple of porpoises arching through the water. Then, heading further East, we crossed through Muscongus Bay. There were lots of seal sightings and more porpoises. Turning North into Penobscot Bay we could see the hills of Camden. It was very reminiscent of Conemara in Galway. We rounded northeast of North Haven Island, looking for the entrance to Pulpit Harbor. It was so difficult to see we had to rely on the GPS to find it. Finally Pulpit rock came into view and it was awesome!! On top of the rock was a huge nest with 2 osprey in the nest. We pulled into the harbor at 3:45, set anchor, and relaxed for the evening. There was a fabulous sunset over the Camden hills which we watched from our cockpit. The sky turned pink then red behind the clouds. "Red sky at night, sailor's delight"

Final Boothbay Hoorah

Who got a tattoo?

Kinvara Crew

Kinvara Guests

Boys will be boys!!

Derby, England Comes to Boothbay

Monday morning we woke to fog so we started preparing for our overnight company. By the time we finished and popped our heads out the fog was gone replaced by blue sky & sunshine. Pat & Lynn Atchinson arrived from their son's home. They come every August to the USA to visit their son & wife on Cape Cod. We found overnight parking then came out to the boat. It was so beautiful that Lynn and Jane went kayaking around the harbor for about 1.5 hours. Peter and Pat followed in the dingy to keep tabs on them. Pretzel started off in the kayak but switched to the dingy after a while. It was a hot day!!! We relaxed on the boat and the boys caught up with old news. Pat and Peter were in boarding school Dublin and did not meet up again until their 40th high school reunion in 2007. We make a point to get together once a year now.

Later in the afternoon the starter cord on our engine got stuck so Peter and Pat attempted repairs. After losing a wrench to the deep blue sea, it was repaired and works perfectly!!

That evening we had planned for shrimp & cocktails and the Yankee cookout of hamburgs and hot dogs. We were joined by Donal & Bridget Gleeson, who returned to Boothbay for the night. We also invited John & Diane from s/v Edelweiss, who we met for the first time 2 years ago in Boothbay Harbor. It was a fun night. Dessert was a Maine blueberry pie from Bridget and a chocolate Victoria sponge cake made by Lynn. Yummy!!!!