WE?RE SAILING TO MAINE!

Friday July 2, 1999 New London, CT to Stonington Breakwater

This day of departure has finally arrived. It has taken months of planning...the psychological planning taking up most of my time.

DO I REALLY WANT TO DO THIS?

AM I CRAZY?

WALK OUT THE DOOR OF MY BELOVED HOME, SAY FAREWELL TO FAMILY AND FRIENDS AND MY CAT AND JUST LEAVE FOR 6 WEEKS?

HOW DO I PLAN FOR SUCH A TRIP?

WHAT FOOD SHOULD I BUY AND HOW MUCH?

WHO?S GOING TO PAY THE MONTHLY BILLS WHEN THEY COME DUE?

GIVE UP THE SECURITY IN KNOWING WHEN MY NEXT HOT SHOWER WILL BE AND GIVING UP MY HAIR DRYER?

GIVE UP KNOWING ANYTHING ABOUT THE FUTURE?

JUST LIVING DAY TO DAY WITH NO PLAN...JUST A GENERAL DESTINATION...
DO I REALLY WANT TO DO THIS?

This trip will be pure adventure. There are 3 of us here on board our Tartan 30 for this trip: Cap?n Al, Taylour age 13, and me, First Mate.

It has taken days of advance planning, long lists of food items, long sessions in the food store, big food bills, lifting of heavy packages and trips up and down the dock and out to the boat for stocking.

It has meant trips to my dentist and doctor for check ups to assure me that I am in good health. With each good report I would breathe, thank you God!

Two days ago Mary Highmore asked, "Is Al going to give you a diamond tiara?"

"What for?" I asked.

"For going on the boat for 6 weeks!"

I guess I just don?t look at it that way. This whole trip will be a gift to me.

Al and I got down to the boat before Taylour did and our friend Jack Vibber stood on the dock being helpful and watching us settle in on the boat. He overheard me call to Al, " Where do you suggest would be the best place to put the bicycle and the piano so Taylour has some more room in his bunk?"

Jack nearly fell over when he heard that! He must have figured we had a grand piano on the boat and a large bicycle! I told him about the keyboard and the portable bike and he looked relieved!!!

Karin brought Taylour to the boat and also his friend Shauna. Not long after we sailed off .

The weather today was a "snallygaster"! It blew "guns" and we sailed up and down the waves to Stonington where we hollered "uncle" and came in to port. Al and I had taken turns at the tiller and it had been very difficult to hold on course.

Taylour, who has earned his CT state boating license, had a great time exploring the harbor here in our dinghy while Al kept watch and I collapsed in my bunk for an hour?s nap. I just couldn?t keep my eyes open.

It is great to be here and it has been a good Day 1.

SATURDAY, JULY 3, 1999 STONINGTON to CUTTYHUNK ISLAND!

Last night after supper Taylour brought out his portable mancala game and we played that for awhile. Then we climbed into our respective bunks and by 9:30 all of us had turned out our overhead lights! That is one thing about sailing I have observed over the years. At night we are all tired out from being outdoors in the open air all day and we conk out early.

I slept soundly until sometime deep in "o-dark hundred" when some waves caused our boat to roll hard. I woke up with a start nearly rolling out of my bunk and in my confusion I wondered where I was. I thought to myself, " Why is my bed rocking?" I had forgotten I was on the boat!

I slept in the cockpit last night out in the open air and it felt wonderful. Nice and warm.

Al wanted to get an early start this morning and the next thing I remembered was Taylour gently waking Al up with " It is 5:30 in the morning, Al."

It was dawn and that is when Al wanted to depart for Marion, Mass. we were thinking. We sleepily did our morning toiletries and motored out of Stonington.................into the fog!! We did not expect the fog but we decided to keep on going to the closest harbor...Pt. Judith.

We were getting hungry for breakfast and we were underway which means rock and roll on the boat. Better be very careful in the galley. Maintaining balance on my feet was difficult and I considered it a major achievement just to serve bowls of cold cereal and milk on the cockpit table. Just as I was climbing the ladder to join Al and Taylour in breakfast a motor boat zoomed by and the wake from the boat rolled the dishes and OJ glasses crazily from side to side spilling some of the contents as we hastily grabbed for the moving objects. Not too much was lost and we were soon eating.

When we got as far as Pt. Judith the fog suddenly cleared so we decided to keep going to Cuttyhunk. Shortly after that decision the fog dropped over us again and we decided to keep going to Cuttyhunk Island.

It turned out to be a 9 1/2-hr. trip mostly in the fog! Since we have radar on the boat this time it was a great day to try out the radar system. It worked great. We could clearly see the oncoming boats and we took turns reading the screen and blowing the fog horn when needed and being lookouts. Being caught in the fog was a lot less stressful with the radar system.

We did have one scary moment when 2 oncoming motor boats zoomed out of the fog heading right for us at high speed. They were going too fast. They turned suddenly when they saw us but it was too close for comfort.

When we had patches of good visibility we read our books and kept a look out.

I am reading STONES FROM THE RIVER by Ursula Hegi. It is a Oprah Book Club choice and an excellent story about a dwarf growing up in a small German town on the Rhine River during World War II. I am learning how German children were recruited into Hitler?s youth groups at school, which promoted the hatred and persecution of the Jewish people.

At lunchtime I wanted to spend as little time in the galley as possible because of the pitching of the boat, so I must smeared some deviled ham between 2 slices of whole wheat bread and served the sandwiches! Quick and easy.

As we approached Cuttyhunk Taylour sat on the side of the boat dangling his feet in the water. It looked so refreshing that I joined him. It is strange how such a simple act can bring such great pleasure and how a youth can show you how to enjoy it again when you have forgotten over the years!

We arrived at Cuttyhunk at 3:30 this afternoon. This place is packed with boats and vacationers! There is no room in the inner harbor so we have anchored outside the harbor. Taylour has explored the harbor in our dinghy, which he loves to do, and has taken a swim.

I was so thirsty and I fixed myself a Sprite with ice. It tasted so good!

Today is Karin?s birthday...Taylour?s mother. Taylour will call her on our cellular phone tonight.

SUNDAY JULY 4, 1999 CUTTYHUNK to MARION, MASS.

Before going to bed last night Taylour tried calling his mom to wish her a happy birthday but something went wrong. The woman who answered would only speak in Spanish so we knew it couldn?t be Karin! We told Taylour we would try again the next day.

Last night I slept up in the cockpit and at 12:30 a.m. Al?s voice woke me up.

"How did we get over here?!!" he was asking. I looked over the side of the boat and could see that we were positioned very close to another sailboat, which a few hours earlier had been at a much greater distance from us. WE WERE DRIFTING! Al started our motor and hastily pulled up our anchor while I steered away from the other sailboat. Our anchor had a ton of muck and seaweed on it, which must have caused it to drag. After cleaning off the muck we re-anchored where we had in the first place. It was a good thing Al came on deck just by chance when he did to check something else and discovered our predicament. Drifting off your anchorage after dark when you can?t see what is happening is one of the scariest things that can happen when you are anchored.

Somehow I managed to get back to sleep after that but I did rise up a couple of times during the night to recheck on our position. In the morning light we were right where we wanted to be.

After breakfast we set off for Marion, Mass leaving Cuttyhunk about 9:30 a.m. The morning weather report did not predict a major storm, just possible thundershowers.

When we set off it was reasonably clear. 30 min. later the sound of thunder was heard and before long we were in the middle of a serious thunder and lightening storm! The rain was heavy and the water churned up. We were caught. Al and Taylour donned full rain gear and kept the boat going checking the radar screen the whole time. I stayed below, read Morning Prayer, prayed and sang hymns...particularly the traditional navy hymn, which is so comforting. I was not afraid and just doing these things brought increased peace.

Before long the rain lifted and we arrived in Marion about 1:00 p.m.

We are staying at a mooring at Burr?s Bros.

Soon Taylour and I decided to go in to the marina for showers and then a walk around town while Al said he wanted to stay on the boat.

I pointed out to Taylour how so many boats were named after women.

"I wonder why that is." Taylour commented." When I have a boat I am going to name it ?Taylour"!!!

It was a very hot afternoon so we walked slowly in the heat to town and back. All stores were closed up tight as it is Sunday. We admired the quaint homes behind white picket fences and then took the hike back.

After cooling off Taylour took the dinghy for an exploration of the harbor and after he came back he took a swim jumping off the boat and climbing back up the ladder. I am thinking about doing the same!

Time to add my two cents, which will be in italics! Watching the thunderstorms on the radar was quite interesting - we could watch the storm cells passing ahead of us, behind us, and occasionally towards us. Even the ones coming towards us gave us time to don our foul weather gear. At one point we were wondering whether we should have left Cuttyhunk, but we were in the clear while we could see on the radar that Cuttyhunk was getting hammered!

MONDAY JULY 5, 1999 Marion, Mass to Tenants Harbor, Maine!

Last night there were fireworks set off from a beach in the river and we were privileged to view them right from our boat! Many, many people sat on their front lawns or came over by boat or car to see them.

It was a very hot and humid night and I tossed and turned and sweated all night. In the morning the weather forecast was for 100 degrees!!!, and we were glad we had made plans to leave Marion and go through the Cape Cod Canal which was our link to the Cape Cod Bay and Gulf of Maine.

We tried to use our cellular phone to call Taylour?s mom and let her know he was all right, but it was not working properly. That was too bad. We wanted also to call mom and dad to let them know the same.

Monday was another very hot and humid day but we motored through beautiful Cape Cod Canal with no problems.

The long sail across the Gulf of Maine (the ocean!) to Tenants Harbor was ahead of us. It would be a 25 hr. non-stop sail and we thought it would be a good idea to give our float plan to the Coast Guard so they could send out a search for us if we did not notify them of our safe arrival. However when we contacted them in Sandwich, Cape Cod they told us that they do not receive float plans. Then we tried notifying Kris Brown in Chatham but again the phone would not work. It was disconcerting to have to set off on such a trip without anyone knowing where we were or where we were going.

The sail from Cape Cod Canal to Provincetown, Cape Cod was hot and uncomfortable and I sat in the shade of the sails as much as I could. I also kept using my wash cloth to cool myself down.

We sailed straight past P-town and I was beginning to feel bored with the long hours behind and ahead of us.

All that changed when Al suddenly shouted,

LOOK! I SEE A WHALE!!! OVER THERE!"

We looked to the side of the boat and then we saw it. Out of the ocean very close to the front of our boat I saw the most beautiful sight I have ever seen. A large sleek shiny black whale surfaced and dove right next to us!!! It was absolutely incredible and I could have cried for happiness in seeing this. We turned and saw the same whale surface and dive again and again each time getting further and further from our boat. Taylour and I grabbed our cameras but by the time we got set up our pictures of the whale were only distant ones.

After that I was fully awake and on the alert. My eyes were riveted on calm waters for the next 2 hours trying to find another sighting.

Finally giving up on that I started to change my position on the boat when once again I was stopped in my tracks. This time it was I who saw this incredible sight.

Just off the stern of our boat and in our wake following us was a huge shark. There was no mistaking it. The upper part of its head and the tail fin were clearly outlining what was a 12 foot shark!!! I was startled and called out to Al and Taylour to see this. He followed us a few seconds more and then dove out of sight. Having seen the movie "Jaws" over and over this sight was a bit frightening to me...especially since he obviously was following us. But we figured he was following us out of curiosity. We were glad to see him leave us.

Taylour who knows a lot about sharks and whales told us it was a blue shark and not a threat to us.

I picked up my book and had been reading for some time when I glanced up. There off the side of our boat right in front of me was another large shark with just the dorsal fin showing. I called Al and Taylour over and Taylour said it was a small white shark.

Once again I prayed to God for our protection as night finally drew and darkness closed in around us. We were alone on the ocean.

The long dark night was a very busy one. Al and Taylour and I took turns sleeping and keeping the boat on course. Two would be awake while one slept. We used Leroy our tiller master to help with the steering and we used our radar to track other boats out there.

In the beginning the ocean was quiet and calm. When I went down below for my sleep time Al was thinking it would take a long time to get to Tenant?s Harbor at our slow speed.

I fell asleep and was awakened out of my sleep an hour later with the roar of the wind in my ears, the waves careening by our boat, the sounds of Al on the deck and my face and body pushed into my side cushion. "What is going on I thought?

I climbed up the companionway stairs with difficulty and was confronted with a wild scene. I couldn?t believe it. An east wind came out of no where and we were "on our ear", heeled over and screaming over the water at 6.5 knots! Al was on deck putting a reef in the mainsail and both Al and Taylour had put on their full rainwear and life jackets.

I put on my windbreaker and life jacket as well.

The rest of the night one little rain cells with lightening came and went over us. We could see the lights of some boats ahead of us and we tracked them carefully on radar.

Forecast on leaving Marion was for West winds becoming southwest at 15 to 20 knots Monday, with the same except for 15 to 25 on Tuesday. We had fully expected a downwind sleighride to Maine, but ended up on the wind! Thankfully, our Tartan 30 sails well and enjoys going to weather - perhaps more than we did after 25 hours!

TUESDAY JULY 6, 1999 Enroute to Maine

The predawn light began at 4:00 a.m. and I was so glad to be able to see around me once again.

I thank God for bringing us safely out of the dark night and safely to harbor. I thank God that I was not afraid. In those dangerous hours I truly was not afraid and once even a song I used to know came to me. You may know it too. It does...

    "All day all night, angels watching over me I pray,
    All day all night, angels watching over me.
    Love stay with me through the night...
    Angels watching over me I pray.
    And keep me till the morning light....
    Angels watching over me."

Yes, there are risks in taking such a trip, but we are willing to take these risks. No matter what happens to us we are with God and that is the bottom line. In our adventures we learn about life and about ourselves and we grow in love and understanding.

We practically sailed on a lone ocean last night. Very few other boats were about.

About 08:30 a.m. Al spotted Monhegan Island...our first sight of Maine! It was very exciting.

It was 12:30 p.m. when we pulled into Tenants harbor and pulled up to a mooring.

It is wonderful to have the boat flat and quiet again so we can walk down below and put things in order. It had been difficult and dangerous to move about when the boat was heeling.

During the night it became cold and today we are all wearing our warm clothing! It is very chilly here but a great relief from the heat!!

It will be fun to explore this lovely little seaside village.

I had expected more fishing boats on station that we would have to avoid. There were none. Just a group of boats heading 040 heading for Maine that we watched on radar. There was one boat that came up from behind us, but gave no radar return. We were getting returns from boats over 10 miles away, but this ?stealth ship? gave no echo at 1-mile distance. I called him on channel 16 low power and got an answer - ?Heart of Gold? bound Tenants Harbor. ?Thanks for the info - see you in Tenants? he said. Went past us and disappeared. Met them in Tenants - Jim and Sue Corenman from Richmond, Cal. Left in ?93 on a round the world cruise - just getting back. Sailing a 50 foot Schumacker racing machine with an 8 foot steering wheel. No wonder they went by us so fast. But they took 19 hours for the crossing compared to our 25. I suspect a bit of our doing well and their ?dogging it?.

WEDNESDAY JULY 7, 1999 TENENTS HARBOR, MAINE

Yesterday afternoon Al and Taylour and I rode our dinghy over to the dinghy dock and tied it up. Then the three of us explored the little town and checked out eating places. We picked out a nice restaurant and we looked forward to returning there later for a nice seafood dinner.

I guess God had other plans for us because just as we got into the dinghy to ride back to our boat, storm clouds gathered and the skies opened up to a very heavy downpour. We were caught! We arrived at the Sea Cup drenched to our skins so we went down below and took off everything and put on dry clothes. The rain continued into the night and none of us wanted to venture out again to the restaurant.

Taylour spoke up and said, " I like to cook. Can I cook you something like Dinty Moore stew?"

Al and I looked at each other. "Yes!" we said. "That sounds great!"

So Taylour heated up the stew and served it with bread. I dug out a can of fruit cocktail from the food locker in the hold beneath my bunk and we were in business. It tasted delicious!

All of us were very tired from staying up all night the night before so basically we crawled into our sleeping bags and zonked out very early. I checked my watch and turned out my light at 8:10 P.M. The next think I knew it was 5:30 the next morning!!! All three of us slept like that!

I woke up this morning and started thinking about the black flies.

I didn?t tell you about that yet.

That whole afternoon we sailed from the Cape Cod Canal until nightfall, we were beset with black flies. Stinging flies. Drawing blood flies. Hundreds of them.

We declared war and manned ourselves with the fly swatter. You should have seen us. Whack, whack, whack!!! It went on for hours. The dead flies collected under our wood grating in the cockpit and there they will lie until we wash and scrub the floor.

This morning I began to think of the movies made called "The Birds" and then the "Bees" etc. etc. These were scare movies about plagues of birds and bees attacking and killing people. Why not "The Flies"?

Talking this over with Taylour we formed the plot of the movie. It would go something like this:
 

    Al and Maren and Taylour set off for a long cruise on our sailboat..
    It is a bright sun shiny day...not a cloud in the sky. Birds are singing , colorful flowers bend in the breeze on the shoreline...clothes are happily drying outside homes on the hilltops...you get the idea.
    All is going well. Then just one black fly appears. Just a little
buzzzzzzz. One swat...it?s gone.
    A little while later 2 black flies appear. Buzzzzzzzzz. Swat! Swat!
    Time goes on...3 black flies land. Swat! Swat! Swat!
    By the time we enter a picturesque harbor and pick up a mooring, many more flies have landed and succumbed to the Swat! Swat! Swat!
    Al and Taylour decide to go into town to get some needed groceries while I say on the boat alone to start supper.
    Now the music changes to a foreboding tune.
    I stand unsuspecting at the galley sink scrubbing potatoes while outside a black cloud forms.
    The next thing I know the inside of our sailboat is filled with black flies. I quickly disappear from view as I am covered with them. By this time the movie music sounds like a funeral dirge.
    The black cloud disappears as suddenly as they appeared leaving me still standing at the sink with my hand raised in position to scrub potatoes.
    But something is definitely wrong. At first sight nothing appears changed. At a closer look one finds that all that is left of me is my outside skin and bones. The flies sucked out everything else.
    Now the movie music plays pleasantly again as Al and Taylour smiling and laughing, enter the dinghy and start the ride back. Their shopping trip has been successful and they are bringing back the needed groceries. The Sea Cup swings sweetly back and forth at the mooring...nothing is out of place. Nothing is amiss. There is nothing to cause suspicion of foul play!
    Al and Taylour enter the boat and begin talking to me as normal. After all I am still standing at the sink with the potato peeler in my hand. It is Taylour who peers at me strangely and tells Al he thinks something is wrong with me.
    At close up inspection they discover the terrible truth. I died while peeling potatoes.
    They calmly sit down and discuss their options. What should they do?
    Finally Al settles it. Why cancel their vacation plans? There is no need to. I seem perfectly happy where I am. Al and Taylour will keep on cruising from harbor to harbor while I continue to stand at the sink peeling potatoes.
    When then get back home again they can decide what to do next.
   The movie ends with Al and Taylour sailing off into the sunset on a perfect summer?s evening while I............................

Now back to reality.

This morning we awoke to a fog filled harbor but the morning sun soon burned if off leaving a brilliant not a cloud in the sky day!

We wanted to wash our clothes and I wanted to wash my hair as well so Taylour and I set off for the laundromat in town which also had a room for taking hot showers.

Inside this building I was quartered to death. Quarters needed for the washers, dryers and showers!!! Good thing there was a change machine there. While the washers were going, I put my quarter in the meter and started up the shower. One quarter bought me 3 minutes of time in the shower. I thought I could do it but just into my second shampoo there was an ominous click and the hot water shut down. I groped for my purse and through squinty eyes deposited the next quarter. I was so glad the water started up again because if it didn?t I would have to dry of and get dressed again and then walk back into the laundry room with my hair still sudsed up!!!

Let me tell you about the tides in Maine. When it is low tide, it is LOW TIDE!!! Very low tide. Like nothing we see in Connecticut.

It is something to see along the shoreline with all the muck.

At the dinghy float there is a ramp leading to the main dock. At low tide the ramp is ALMOST STRAIGHT UP IN THE AIR LIKE A LADDER!!! You have to grab both a handle on either side of you and kind of pull your way up to the top one little step at a time. You better not be carrying anything when you return or you may not be able to make it down again without help. When I returned with all the dry clothes Al had to help me carry a bundle down.

There are many adjustments you have to make from going from a home to living for awhile on a boat. Things are very different on a boat and you just have to adjust or adapt.

One of the things that even after years and years of sailing overnight on our sailboat Al and I have NOT adjusted to is "low overhead" in several places on the boat and hard knocks to our heads when we forget where they are. For instance about every time I go under my bunk to pull a can of food out of the food locker, I clunk my head. Al also bumps his head in places. It is something that is very hard to remember. Maybe it is the bumps in the head themselves that make it hard for us to remember....I don?t know.....

But I do know it is a common problem with every guest on our boat.

Particularly in the V berth where our younger guests spend the nights.

Al and I have taken both our nieces, Pamela and Debbie Light separately on extended cruises.

Each morning without fail we would hear Pam or Debbie wake up and then we would hear this loud clunk and a moaning. They had hit their heads on the low ceiling not remembering where they were.

It happened so many times to Pam one cruise week that we set up a chart and started checking off the number of times she whacked her head on the boat on a given day. The number of times was phenomenal.

Yesterday Taylour told us a story about what happened to him one of the first times he was sailing with us overnight on the Sea Cup. When this incident happened to him he did not tell us right away. He forgot about it until he got home and he only told his mother, Karin who thought it was a funny story.

Here is how Taylour explained to us what happened to him.

"One morning on one of the first trips I took, I woke up in the V birth and checked the time on my watch. It said 5:30. Then I sat up and felt a hard knock on my head. I fell backwards. The next thing I remember is getting up again and looking at my watch. It said it was 9:30!!!!!!

My head was aching and I felt a small bump on my head.

After I got dressed I came out of the V berth and noticed there was no kettle of water boiling on the stove. Instead I noticed the rocking of the boat. I looked up and saw Al and Maren sitting in the cockpit. I had not expected to see them there.

I asked, " What is for breakfast?"

Al answered, ?We already had breakfast. You missed it Taylour. We figured you were sleeping in late so we left you alone. We had our breakfast about two hours ago and now we are underway heading for Cuttyhunk.? Then I made myself a bowl of Cheerios. It just didn?t dawn on me that I had knocked myself out until I told this story to my mother after my trip. "

Al and I were very sorry to learn that Taylour had hurt himself but we thought it was a funny story.

THURSDAY JULY 8, 1999 TENANTS HARBOR to ROCKLAND

Last night Al and I enjoyed sitting on our boat and watching the beautiful sailing yachts in Tenants Harbor. Right behind us a very beautiful 50? Hinckley pulled up a mooring. I mean this boat was gleaming from bow to stern. The waves bounced reflecting from the shiny hull, and the varnished teak shined. It looked like a brand new boat but we learned the couple had been sailing it for 5 years. There were other Hinckley sail boats in the harbor as well and unique ships. It was a pleasure to watch over the harbor and how blessed we felt to have our own wonderful boat to enjoy like that.

Al and Taylour and I had dinner on shore and we enjoyed a seafood dinner.

This morning we took the Sea Cup to the dock to top off our water tank and while we were there Taylour asked the young lady whose name turned out to be Helki to hold up two large lobsters from the tank so we could take her picture. She was pleased to do so.

Then we left the harbor and had a most wonderful sail over to Rockland. We had a steady strong wind and sailed the whole way winding our way past many islands in the sun and lighthouses on the points. It was such a beautiful sight over the water and I shall never forget it.

In Rockland we are at a dock and I enjoyed visiting the Art Museum which had a collection of Wyeth paintings. The paintings I liked the most were entitled "Sea Captains Daughter", "Her Room", "On The Beach", "The Islander" and "Deep Woods". "The Islander" was a very large painting depicting a large wild sheep with horns standing on top of a cliff on an island and looking out over the water and other smaller islands in the distance. For some reason it brought tears to my eyes...

This port is the largest city in the area. Al bought some shear pins for the dinghy and I bought some postcards.

A big highlight of the sail this morning was the phone ringing just as we left Tenants Harbor. I was at the tiller and the boat was heeling. Al answered the phone and is was Kris!! She was loud and clear on the phone and I had a short conversation with her. That it is possible to talk on the phone over the water like that is amazing to me. It was great to talk with my sister.

FRIDAY JULY 9, 1999 - ROCKLAND to PULPIT HARBOR

About 3:00 this morning Al and I were awakened to the sounds of Taylour talking in his sleep.

" Come here, Casey. Come here!" Taylour said sounding just as if he were talking to a dog.

Al told Taylour, "It?s all right, Taylour. And Taylour said, "O.K." and went back to sleep.

Over breakfast in the boat I mentioned to Taylour about his talking in his sleep and Al didn?t even remember it! Good grief! Both of them were talking in their sleep!!! I can?t take this................

Taylour told us that he sees a commercial on TV a lot that has a dog named Casey in it and someone is calling the dog. Taylour thinks he must have been dreaming about that Casey.

I always wake up at sun up and sun up these days is 5:00. This morning I rose and took a long walk in town since all I had to do was step off the boat onto the dock.

It was wonderful to walk the residential streets in the quiet of the early morning admiring the old homes.

After breakfast Al and Taylour and I did some browsing along Main St. Taylour bought a lobster poster he liked and back at the boat he took a swim. He saw a lot of starfish under the water.

After lunch on board we had a beautiful, beautiful sail over to Pulpit Harbor. I can?t begin to describe to you the beauty that surrounds us over the water on this sunny clear day. The wind was strong, pushing us over the water at 6-7 knots. White caps, schooners, large puffy clouds, mountains in the background, tall pines on the shore with homes hiding behind the trees.

We found a free mooring and relaxed on board the rest of the afternoon where I wrote some postcards and did some reading.

Taylour took an afternoon nap and when he woke up he said, "Good morning" to us. We had to tell him it was still afternoon!

After supper mom called on the phone! It was wonderful to hear from her and such a thrill to talk at such a distance and out over the water.

Dad also called us on the telephone and it was great to talk to him!

SATURDAY JULY 10, 1999 - PULPIT HARBOR LAY DAY

When we woke up this morning there was no wind. We like it here in this quiet, secluded harbor so we decided to stay for the day riding on the mooring we picked up. It is a private mooring which has a lot of seaweed hanging from it which probably means no one has used it in a long time. So far no one has claimed it so we are still using it. Al tried anchoring in this harbor when we first arrived but the anchor would not hold to the bottom.

Taylour just loves exploring in the dinghy and has spent most of the day doing so...returning to the boat only when he was hungry! After lunch Taylour took me for a dinghy ride and we explored a couple of coves together. He is very good at starting up the motor and putting more gas in it when it runs out of gas! We are very proud of Taylour passing the course which gave him a license to operate pleasure craft.

Taylour and I were going to go to shore and walk around the island this afternoon but then dinghy engine stopped running and upon close examination Al announced it needs an impeller. We will have to wait until we get to a major harbor to find the needed part.

We have been relaxing on board reading and playing the keyboard. Taylour and I have been taking turns on the keyboard.

After supper I rowed the dinghy to shore and had a nice walk on the land. I passed by many fields of wild flowers...purple lupines, day lilies, daisies and other varieties. I picked a bouquet and brought it back to the boat.

SUNDAY JULY 11, 1999 - PULPIT HARBOR to CASTINE

We woke up to another sunny clear day. We can hardly believe how we are blessed with such beautiful weather!

We sailed 1/2 day to Castine in perfect sailing conditions. We did 6 knots the whole way and were surrounded with such beauty in sky and sea. We passed many pine tree filled islands along the way. Thank you, God, for blessing us so!

Castine turns out to be a lovely seaport town. The town is filled with historical homes with main street shops. Wherever you look you see the boat filled harbor stretching out to the open sea. This place is idyllic.

Al and Taylour and I took a walk to town to the grocery store where we filled our canvas bag with food supplies for the boat. The manager of the store looked at our heavy canvas bag and insisted that she drive us to our yacht club so we would not have to carry the heavy load! We are moored at the Castine Yacht Club at a guest mooring.

When we were in the car the woman insisted on giving us a driving tour of the town which we enjoyed and appreciated very much. Then she left us off at the yacht club.

We couldn?t believe how kind she was!!!

We decided to go out to dinner at Denton?s Wharf nearby. It was the best decision we ever made!!! We had the meal of our lifetime. Mussels in marinara sauce with the sauce so delicious we dunked the crusty bread in it. I had the lobster salad sandwich with french fries and a green salad. All this while sitting on the outside deck overlooking the harbor. It doesn?t get any better than that. We all enjoyed the meal.

Before going back to the boat I took a shower at the Castine Yacht Club. What a great way to end a perfect day!

Kenny Eaton at Eaton?s boat yard was of great help in locating a new impeller. He advised against going to Searsport, but rather to press on to Little Deer Isle, where there was a Tohatsu dealer. He gave us the name and phone number of the dealer.

MONDAY JULY 12, 1999 - CASTINE to BENJAMIN RIVER

Early this morning at 7:00 I rowed to shore with the bag of dirty laundry and headed for the local laundromat. This laundromat did not have a change machine so I walked next door to he open market and got some quarters.

I met this nice young mother also washing clothes and it turned out she was from Freeport, Maine and she and her husband and two little boys were "gunk holing" in the area. She saw the book I was reading and we had a discussion about STONES FROM THE RIVER by Ursula Hegi. She loved the book!

From Castine we motored to Benjamin River. It was another clear and sunny day affording stunning views of the sea and sky and islands. How we praise God for letting us see this.

Along the way Taylour saw a couple of seals in the distance in the deep water! Just their heads stuck out of water and then they disappeared underneath.

A while later I looked out over the calm water and saw some big black dolphins leaping and diving up into the air and back into the water. There was a group of them. That is the first time I have seen dolphins in their natural environment. How exciting it was to see them!

Tonight we are in Benjamin?s River at a mooring. I should have worn gloves when I picked up this mooring because all kinds of gunk and gook was clinging to it, making a mess on deck and in my hands!!!

Taylour is rowing around the harbor exploring and loving it.

The saga of the impeller continues. The dealer with the part is on the south shore of Little Deer Isle, but we wanted to go down Eggemoggin Reach - on the north shore. So, we stopped just before the suspension bridge to Deer Isle, and I took the folding bike to the dealer and returned with the part. It didn?t fit. The owner of the restaurant/marina gave me a ride back to the dealer, who refunded my money. The dealer looked at my impeller, and felt that it should work. He felt the power head would have to come off the engine. And here I am without even a metric wrench on board. I?ve got tools to take the Atomic 4 apart, but no metric stuff. A discussion with Maren indicates that perhaps a new outboard is in order. This one is over 11 years old, and has given us decent service, but.... Follow the continuing saga of the outboard!

TUESDAY JULY 13, 1999 - BENJAMIN RIVER to STONINGTON

Last night sometime before 8:00 a man on a boat in the mooring area began to sing. He had a good voice and he sang out over the whole harbor so we could all hear him. He sang the Star Spangled Banner and God Bless America and then all the boats in the area tooted their approval on their horns. It was funny but very nice too.

This morning I got up and rowed the dinghy to shore for a morning walk around 7:00. I asked the man fishing on the dock the direction to take for the post office and general store. "Over there" he gestured about 250 yds. and the general store is about 300 yds. down the road too.

Well, I walked and I walked and I came to a crossroads and guessed maybe the PO was off to the right, so I walked some more. 1/2 hr. later I came to the post office and store. It was much longer thatn 250 yds. away!!!

But I had a good walk.

After breakfast on the Sea Cup we motored to the village of Stonington where we have a mooring at Billings Boat Yard.

Stonington is a busy fishing and lobster harbor. It?s a realy gutsy town. No frills. Plain shingles houses...the rustic Maine village you see in the pictures. I loved it. I took a long walk to town and browsed some shops where they sell items hand crafted by people in Maine. I want to take some more time in the morning to walk the hilly streets and enjoy the many homes. It is picturesque wherever you look!

Today was our first cloudy day. It sprinkled rain a little but that was all. It is 7:30 at night now and the sun has reappeared. We are so happy.

Billings Marine is a Caterpillar Diesel dealer, but no outboards of any size or type. They recommended the Dry Marine back in Little Deer Isle, the same as who sold me the wrong impeller. Another individual advised me that there was a new West Marine in Southwest Harbor. Great, I figured, buy an outboard here and then deal with the Mystic, CT store if there are any problems. I go to sleep with anticipations of a West Marine store with a row of outboards to choose from.

WEDNESDAY JULY 14, 1999 - STONINGTON to SOUTHWEST HARBOR

In Stonington yesterday afternoon I found a wooden puzzle for sale showing the village of Stonington. I fell in love with and brought it back to the Sea Cup where we all went to work on it immediately and put it together.

This morning I took a shower in the marina and then took a walk to Stonington one more time to walk the high cliffs and see the homes overlooking the harbor. I shall not forget this fishing village by the sea.

We left Stonington at 9:30 this morning and motored over to Southwest Harbor where the Hinckley yachts are made. It was a sunny and clear day and absolutely beautiful out over the water. So many pine tree filled islands we pass by and the scene is mesmerizing.

Taylour and I both saw seals poke their heads out of the water near us. It is the neatest thing to see. Al and I also saw a Puffin bird in the water.

Taylour is astonished that I wake up in a good humor every morning. I usually wake up smiling or laughing and Taylour keeps saying he has never seen anything like it. He everyone he knows wakes up grumpy and frowning.

So far on this trip I have lost a wash cloth and one water shoe. I lost both of them overboard at different times. Little matter....

We are tied up at one of the docks at Southwest Harbor and at the end of the dock is a super private luxury powerboat named "Christine." Just like the "Love Boat" these huge boats have stewards in fancy uniforms. Al and I were laughing to notice one of these stewards taking the garbage off the boat. There he was all dressed up in formal shiny black pants, white shirt with gold epaulets walking in a stately manner with the white plastic garbage bags in his hands going to the dumpster. He made it look like such an elegant errand.

Al said he was sorry he didn?t have a nice uniform like that when he took the trash out.

After securing the boat at Great Harbor Marina, Taylour and I went up to the dock office to register & pay. They directed us up the street about 50 yards to a 3-week-old West Marine. The manager greeted us proudly at the door, but became crestfallen when I told him we wanted an outboard. He?d had two, but had sold them both. But he promised he could have us one in a week. Back to the phone book, looking for outboard dealers. Found two in Bar Harbor, and one other nearby in Manset by the Hinckley yard - a Honda dealer. I figured it was a bit far to go by bike, but we could stop by in the boat on the way out of Southwest Harbor.

THURSDAY JULY 15, 1999 - SOUTHWEST HARBOR to SOMES SOUND

This morning I got up and walked to the nearby grocery store to buy some groceries carrying our canvas boat bag. I loaded up with spring water, bread and cans of fruit and veggies. The canvas bag was then very heavy and a girl who worked there offered to drive me back to the marina. I accepted the offer and that was the 2nd time we were offered a ride back from the store. We find the Maine people very friendly and helpful!

We motored to the other end of the harbor to the Hinckley Boat Yard where Al was able to find a new outboard engine for our dinghy. We are very happy with our new little outboard engine, which is a new Honda. It is much quieter and easier to start than our old motor.

After that we sailed up Somes Sound which is a very beautiful sailing area with the mountains coming right down to the water. Now we are at a mooring and exploring the area in the dinghy. It is so pretty you just want to sit in the cockpit and look around all the time!

Al met the couple from the next boat over and they came over for conversation on out boat. Their names are Betsy and Jonathan who have been sailing on their boat for years!!! A very nice couple.

As Maren has said, success with the outboard search. The new engine is only single cylinder, is only 2 HP, and has no gear shift - it is, however, a four cycle engine and doesn?t weigh any more than the Nissan. No more mixing oil with the gas, and it starts and idles like a dream. Even Taylour and Maren can start it!

FRIDAY JULY 16, 1999 - SOMESVILLE LAY DAY

This is such a beautiful peaceful place that we decided to spend a full day here at the mooring. The cruising guidebook that we are using gave us directions to the general store so we took our dinghy in to the town dock after breakfast and walked 1 1/2 miles North to the general store. This was a very good store and we found everything on our list. As we were walking back to our boat along the busy roadway a car stopped and the couple in the car offered to give us a ride!!! They said they were boaters themselves and recognized that we were going to our boat by the canvas bag Al was carrying. They were a very nice older couple and we accepted the offer. It was a hot morning and it was wonderful to be offered the ride. This is another example of Maine hospitality that we are finding!!! Such nice people.

After we put the groceries away on the boat Taylour and I took the dinghy to shore where we had a swim. Then we went to the nearby island and walked the shore at low tide looking for shells, etc. It is a good thing we had on our water shoes for protection because the bottom of the water is always filled with stones!

This afternoon Al and I relaxed on the boat with reading and writing post cards while Taylour took the dinghy for more explorations. He loves to go for a dinghy ride and he always comes back when we tell him to.

This afternoon around 3:00 p.m. Taylour came back on time but this time something was wrong. He had accidentally slipped on a rock on shore and a rock had slid by his hand and put a slice into one of his fingers drawing out some blood. Taylour came back to the boat upset about it and we treated the injury and bandaged up his finger. It was a nasty looking slice but did not look like any emergency. Taylour started to feel ill after his finger was bandaged but we think it was the traumatic stress on him.

He is feeling better now and we will keep an eye on the finger.

We telephoned Ben and Laura on our cell phone and it was wonderful to have a talk with them. All is well.

Tonight we had hot dogs on the grill for supper served on rolls with green beans on the side. It tasted so good!

SATURDAY JULY 17, 1999 - SOMESVILLE to NORTHEAST HARBOR

Early this morning we motored down and out of the Sound and into Northeast Harbor where Al had plans to meet with Todd Dunn...a man Al has been chatting with on the cruising web site on our home computer.

Todd was going to sail over and join us and raft up next to us for a visit.

This was a very hot day. The hottest on our trip so far. We are guessing it was near 100 degrees outdoors.

We got to Northeast Harbor by 9:30 a.m. and Taylour dinghies me to shore where I planned to do the weeks laundry and take a shower.

The laundromat was in one place and the showers in another and between them was a steep hill with little shade. Up and down, up and down the hill I went between the two carrying the heavy tote bags filled with clothes. It was no picnic. You can imagine how it felt in the laundromat with the dryers going!!! I stayed in there as little as possible.

In the shower room I saw a mother with her 2 young daughters trying to take a shower together in the same stall using the time from the same meter. Four quarters for 3 minutes time and the mother was telling her daughters that they had to shower fast. Really fast!!!

I was glad I was by myself!

Todd and his girlfriend Linda did come alongside us for a visit. While I was still in town they took Al and Taylour for a sail on their boat.

Then when they were back and I was back we had a nice talk together and I had a tour of their 36 ft. Allied Princess sailboat.

Since the dryer did not completely dry my clothes in the time I had I had to hang them up on the boat?s lifelines to finish the drying time. Don?t like to do that, but sometimes I have no choice.

I like the name of the lobster boat moored in front of our sailboat. Over the stern of the boat is written " HOPABOARDA" !! Pretty neat, eh?

After supper on board I took a dinghy ride myself using the new outboard motor we purchased. It sure is easier to set up and operate than the old one we had! We are happy to have it.

Northeast Harbor is nice but small and quite crowded. Numerous boats from CT in here - kinda strange to come all this distance to see a Baldwin burgee! Quite a change from Somes Harbor. Tomorrow we plan to push on to FileWhen finished, click Sathe east to Corea for a look - I don?t expect to stay there. Leaving Northeast, we?ll fill up on gas, water, and ice. On the way back from Corea, we?ll take a look into Winter Harbor, and either stay there for a night or move out to Little Cranberry. This is about as far east as we planned to go. Now we?ll just work our way back, seeing the places we missed or want to see again.

SUNDAY JULY 18, 1999 - NORTHEAST HBR. to WINTER HBR.

This morning we took the dinghy to town and strolled up and down Main St. a bit since Al and Taylour had not seen it the day before. We went to the market and picked up some groceries including the Sunday newspaper, which reported about J.F.K. JR. piloting a private airplane that, was missing. Luggage from the plane and pieces of the plane has been found during rescue efforts and so this tells of yet another terrible tragedy in the lives of the Kennedy family. So sad. One has to wonder about the number of calamities that beset this family.

There was very little wind today and we motored for most of the day to Corea Harbor. Along the way we saw several porpoises rising up out of the water for air ...some very near our boat. It is always very exciting to see these sea creatures.

The first time Taylour saw them today he jumped through the forward hatch very quickly in his excitement to get his camera. Unfortunately he did not secure the hatch properly in his haste and the hatch lid came slamming down on his fingers!!! Major pain! Three fingers were injured but not broken. We are glad he was not hurt any worse.

Taylour is learning from experience how important it is to be very careful on the boat.

Corea is a major lobstering port and we had thought we would stay at a mooring. But upon entering and circling the small harbor we could see there was no room for us. The harbor was filled with lobster boats (being Sunday) and no one was in sight. So we took a few pictures and then made our way over to Winter Harbor.

We never get tired of looking at the many islands we pass out over the water. The rocky coast of Maine is just so beautiful.

Corea is our furthest point ?down East?! From now, it?s all back tracking and seeing stuff that we passed by earlier, or want to see again. We tried twice to pick up a mooring in Corea. The first mooring, it wouldn?t come up. Nothing to attach to. The second mooring, we were able to pull up some chain with a ring, and run a line though the ring. But a check of the depth sounder showed 8 feet of water - this at high tide with a range of 10 feet. Needless to say, we didn?t stay in Corea. Strangest thing is that the harbor was deserted. No one on boats or on shore. The shore line off Corea and during the trip back around Schoodic Point was just beautiful! Rocks, surf, pine trees, and tourists on the shore looking at us. I was glad we were on our side of the surf line and not on the land side.

MONDAY JULY 19, 1999 - WINTER HARBOR to SORRENTO HBR.

When most parents say goodnight to their children they give them something pleasant to think about so they will not have any nightmares. Not Al. He launches into this discussion with Taylour about the possible nocturnal activities of "The Bilge Monster" or " The Giant Mosquito". Taylour just laughs with Al while I worry about Taylor?s having bad dreams...which doesn?t happen. Taylour sleeps fine!

Last night I was already snug in my sleeping bag when Al crawled into his. I heard him moan and groan has he struggled to get comfortable and I heard the nightly "whump" and accompanying moan as he hit his head. Finally there was this silence and in the dark Al added, "Oh no. I forgot to go to the bathroom!" Out he had to climb again and go through it all over again.

This morning as every morning I was awakened by the roar of the motors of the lobster boats as they were driven out to sea. I am pretty used to it now and find it a comforting noise. I will probably be listening for the noise long after I am back home in Uncasville.

What do Al and Taylour think of being wakened by the noise of the boats? Are you kidding?! Don?t imagine them for a moment the least little bit put out. Those two are heavy sleepers and they sleep like logs until around 7:00 a.m. By that time I have been up, washed , dressed, done my morning reading and either slipped back down into my sleeping bag for more rest or been up and writing post cards or working a puzzle.

After breakfast this morning we dinghied over to the town of Winter Harbor and walked around. In one shop I saw a studio and handcrafts and bought a gift I will give to the Kiehls and Burgesses at Christmastime!

This afternoon we motor sailed (no wind!) over to Sorrento Harbor, which is a nice pretty quiet harbor.

I forgot to mention that at the Yacht Club in Winter Harbor there was another sailboat at a guest mooring and this turned out to be a family from France who is chartering the boat in Maine. It was a nice family of 5 and Al was laughing and saying this was a good chance for him to practice his high school french. He should do very well in talking in french to these people because after all he had 4 years of high school french: French I, French I, French I and French I!!! Al likes to tell this story about himself and I am beginning to believe it.

The town of Winter Harbor is quite interesting. Everything you need, but still quaint and inexpensive. Funny weather today. Threatening all day, and then rain. Now (7:30 pm) the sky is clearing to the NW, promising a fine day for tomorrow. Just a short hop south from Sorrento to Bar Harbor. We actually went right by it today! The Porcupine Islands off Bar Harbor are quite pretty.

Sorrento Harbor is an interesting mix of commercial and pleasure craft. No Hinckleys, only one schooner, several O?Days, and us on a ?Memorial Mooring?. To a "Robert M. Lewis, 1886-1958, He Cruised" - what a nice memorial! Tomorrow am we?ll get to shore and check it out!

TUESDAY JULY 20, 1999 - SORRENTO to BAR HARBOR (BA HA BA!)

This was beyond doubt about the most beautiful day that we have seen here in Maine. Sunny, clear, sparkling blue water under a bright blue sky...words cannot describe the beauty of Frenchman?s bay and islands.

Taylour and I left the Sea Cup about 9:30 a.m. to go our separate ways. Taylour went off on dinghy explorations while I walked on land and explored the harbor town of Sorrento.

Sorrento is really a small town, mostly a summer community, I think, and most of the community activities are held in the Sorrento library. Out of curiosity I looked up the town library and I am glad I did. This library is no ordinary library. It is a huge old building and a sign out front states it is on the National List of Historic Places.

When you enter the massive grand hall at the entrance level you are amazed to be standing in the library with not a book in sight.

You have to wonder! The main level room is used for community gatherings and you find the books upstairs on the second floor along the perimeter of the room. Not very many books it seems. But the building is very impressive and well restored.

Taylour found some treasures on the island and beach and we were back on board our boat by 10:20 a.m.

It was such a gorgeous day Al and I decided just to sail around Frenchman?s Bay today. The huge body of water just waiting for us, and no one else was out sailing or boating! I kid you not. We had this whole bay to ourselves for some reason. The wind picked up and we sailed around for about 4 hours admiring the wind and sea. It was a sail I will never forget.

We finally sailed over to Bar Harbor where we are at the dock. The harbormaster has wedged us in between some huge motor boats. We look like a little toy boat next to the big boats.

Bar Harbor is a commercial place with a large shopping area. The streets are filled with people browsing the shops. There is also a harbor walk, which overlooks the beautiful harbor.

We browsed around town and then went out to dinner at the Fisherman?s Grill. We had a good meal!

Taylour has done some bike riding in town and he was invited to have a tour of the luxury boat next to us. He is thrilled!

I can?t quite believe our fortune in getting dock space in Bar Harbor. But I called the Harbormaster on Ch 16, and he said to "Pull in behind ?Sea Fever?". We had 5 feet of our stern hanging out past the dock - fortunately Sea Fever was the smallest yacht at the dock at about 70 feet. The other four boats at the floating docks took up the full dock and then some. These boats all had crews in uniform to carry the trash up to the dumpster and keep the shine shined. On Sea Cup, I?m happy to keep things working and to keep the water out!

WEDNESDAY JULY 21, 1999 - BAR HARBOR to LITTLE CRANBERRY ISLAND

Last night Taylour said he wanted to sleep out on the bow of our boat in his sleeping bag. I did not like it for fear he would roll and fall off the boat during the night, but Al thought he would be safe. There are some lifelines around the deck.

Anyway Taylour slept out there just fine.

This morning we walked around town again and then we left the harbor about ll:00 a.m.

Today was another gorgeous day. We followed the rocky coastline absolutely in awe of the mountains we passed, Arcadia National Park, the massive rocks sloping down to the sea and families enjoying sitting on the rocks. They were taking pictures of us and we were taking pictures of them!

I had a chance to go ashore at Little Cranberry Island and walk around. It is a quaint little village by the sea and the old houses and cottages are a delight to see. The scene of the waterfront with the boats and mountains in the background is something I will never forget.

There is a notice at the market store announcing a chamber music concert tonight at 7:30 at the Congregational Church and we are thinking of going.

I want to share a poem with you, which I found printed in the island pottery shop I visited. I liked the thoughts of the poem so much I copied it down.

This poem was written by Rachel Field of Sutton Island and her thoughts are mine as well. I give it now to you:
 

IF ONCE YOU HAVE SLEPT ON AN ISLAND
If once you have slept on an island
You?ll never be quite the same.
You may look as you looked before
And go by the same old name.
You may bustle about in street and shop.
You may sit at home and sew.
But you?ll see blue water and wheeling gulls
Wherever you may go.
You may chat with the neighbors of this and that
And close to your fire keep
But you?ll hear ship whistle and lighthouse bell
and tides beat through your sleep.
Oh you won?t know why
And you can?t say how
Such a change upon you came.
But once you have slept on an island,
You?ll never be quite the same.

Today we sailed along the southeast corner of Mt. Desert Island. This area contains the most dramatic examples of the rocks meeting the sea, and is the area you see on all the tablemats and postcards of Acadia National Park. It is stunningly beautiful! Our perspective was a bit different than the post cards, being on the other side of the breakers, looking at the rocks, pine trees, and tourists.

THURSDAY JULY 22, 1999 - LITTLE CRANBERRY ISL. to FRENCHBORO

During my walk on Little Cranberry Island I came upon the little General Store which was closed. Many announcements were posted about island activities and one was a Chamber Music Concert that was to be that night at 7:30 in the Congregational Church. I asked Al and Taylour and Taylour said he wanted to go with me. He said his mother Karin used to play classic music before he was born and afterwards and Taylour thinks he grew to like that kind of music from that exposure to it. Anyway to the concert we walked and we were treated to a lovely evening.

Inside the church it was really old looking. Down home comfy. It was totally dark wood walls and floors and the seats were these old wooden slat chairs. It was such a nice feeling to sit there.

The artists were all college age boys and girls and they played in three groups of quartets. Different quartets each time. The quartet instruments were a cello, a violin, and 2 violas. They played Beethoven and Bach and it was excellent. These young folks are away from home at a music camp in Blue Hill and are travelling around a bit entertaining.

I had seen young people earlier in the day picking and eating wild raspberries in the field, and I showed Taylour the spot. The little raspberries looked good and I had seen others doing it so...............Taylour and I picked and ate some wild raspberries too. Yummmm......

Maine is well known for its blueberry and raspberry products and I bought a jar of raspberry jam for the boat. It is delicious!

I was sad to leave this little village of Isleford on Little Cranberry Island. It was such a quaint and peaceful place full of unique turn of the century farm homes.

Today there was lots of wind and we had a "wahoo!" sail over to Frenchboro.

Frenchboro is one of the outer islands...another typical lobstering village. It is hilly and I had a great walk this evening. The old homes overlooking the harbor have private family graveyards next to them. Deer on the island are plentiful and welcome and I saw one during my walk.

During the evening walk I came upon a little pond with what looked like a Canada goose sitting in the pond. Upon closer inspection it looked kind of statuesque and unmoving looking. So I decided to test it to see if it were real or not. I picked up several stones and threw them all around the "goose". The goose did not flinch an iota so I concluded it was a plastic Canada goose! Somebody?s idea of a joke!

Taylour is a great kid and we are enjoying him so much. One of the funny things that is happening is his meeting girls in every port and being friendly with them!

It started in Tenants Harbor our very first stop in Maine. Taylour told us how the girl in the wharf restaurant smiled at him. Her name was Helki and he took her picture holding up 2 giant lobsters from the lobster tank!

Taylour said he was looking forward to meeting more friendly girls.

I didn?t think it would happen that way, but darned if Taylour isn?t right! I don?t know how he is doing it, but he is meeting girls he chats with in each port. These are the gals who work in the wharfside restaurants selling food, etc.

Even at the concert last night Taylour, age 13, asked if he could sit alone and I went along with it. Later on I noticed a young lady sitting next to him for the rest of the concert! Taylour told me later she was 19 years old and an assistant for the musicians.

Other names of girls he has mentioned are Picca and Amy. Taylour chats with them, gets them each to sign a special dollar bill he has and then gets their E-mail or snail-mail address. Tonight when Amy signed his dollar bill she asked Taylour, " Who are these others people who signed the bill?!" Taylour had some fast explaining to do!

FRIDAY JULY 23, 1999 - FRENCHBORO to BURNT COAT HARBOR

We were sleeping soundly last night when crash! boom! We were all awakened suddenly by the loud clap of thunder followed by flashing light. It was a strong thunder and lightening storm but it lasted only a few minutes before moving on!!

After breakfast Taylour dinghed to the dock and did some fishing. When he returned he told us he had caught several pollack fish which he threw back.

We had a short motor over to Burnt Coat Harbor and picked up a mooring in front of the boathouse.

The Taft guidebook recommended going for a swim in the rock quarry pond and gave directions by dinghy. So Taylour and I went off in the dinghy. It turned out to be a beautiful quarry pond surrounded by high rock cliffs and wheeling gulls. Hundreds of gulls in the water and on the rocks at one end of the pond.

Taylour said, "I?ll swim over to the other end of he pond."

When Taylour got there the sea gulls, which were also at that end, all took off at the same time. Taylour screamed and was then lost from my view as the gulls surrounded him. Hundreds of gulls...it looked like it could be a scene from the movie " The Birds"! When the sky cleared I shouted, "Taylour, are you all right?!"

"I?m fine" he said. I felt very relieved!

I swam in the pond with Taylour and we were there a couple of hours. It was very peace and lovely there. The gulls did return but stayed at the other end of the pond.

When we got back to the Sea Cup, I took a sun shower washing my hair. It felt so good!

After that Al and Taylour and I took a walk out to the lighthouse at the end of the point picking and eating raspberries as we walked along!

The lighthouse afforded a fantastic view of the bay! It was a lovely walk and view!

When we got back to our Sea Cup we found a schooner anchored right behind us. It turned out to be named "American Eagle" out of Rockland.

It has been a busy but wonderful day!

SATURDAY JULY 24, 1999 - BURNT COAT to STONINGTON

We left Burnt Coat Harbor around 8:30 am and rounded the point with the lighthouse. Then we motored straight to Stonington for supplies. You see, at these outer islands there are very few facilities for visitors. We are not allowed to bring our trash to shore and there are no laundromats and general stores or banks. So today we went to Stonington where we are at the dock.

We are at Billings Marine Yard and there is a washer and dryer right on the dock. I did the laundry while Al and Taylour dinghed to town for groceries and the bank. We are glad to be stocked up again.

Taylour is so funny. He keeps telling us about his school bus driver, named Bill. On the first day of school this bus driver announced,

"Hi, I?m Bill! Honk!" Taylour makes his voice sound like Bill?s. Taylour found out that Bill failed his bus driver test 3 times and he is worried about this. At suppertime Taylour kept us laughing so hard at his imitation of Bill.

The only other excitement of the day was my walking down the wharf and having a little mouse scurry past my feet. He startled me and I jumped! Fortunately I did not jump off the wharf.

Dinghy rides are lots of fun and Taylour and I dinghed to town and walked around. We visited the Granite Museum together.

The dinghy is a great pleasure with the new motor. Its reliability and smooth power encourage us to use it for somewhat major trips. This marina is about a mile or so west of town, and the decision becomes whether to walk or take the dinghy. Taylor and I had no problem deciding to take the dinghy, particularly as we had a substantial amount of groceries to return to the boat. Wine, Beer, even some food! Weather turned quite chilly and foggy this afternoon, but some rain showers have cleared up the fog. The sun started to peek through at sundown, with some nice red clouds. We?ll see if the adage for ?sailors delight? holds true. The weather forecasts up here are next to useless!

SUNDAY JULY 25, 1999 - STONINGTON HARBOR

This morning we took showers at Billings Boat Yard. I deposited my 25 cents for a 4 minute shower and was pretty confident I could finish in time. I was wrong. My hair was almost rinsed of the suds when the ominous clank sounded and the water shut off. I was out of time and still a little sudsy. So I dried off, dressed and finished rinsing my hair my cupping my hand under the sink faucet and then pouring the cold water over my head using my hands. It worked. I bet I am not the first person to try that.

We had planned to sail over to McGlathery Island this morning, but that was before the fog rolled in. The wall of fog crept over the harbor and surrounded us by 10:00 a.m. So we put putted slowly over to the other side of town and dropped our anchor for the rest of the day.

In the afternoon I had a chance to walk through town. I stopped at an outdoor craft studio and saw the artist working away at his craft. I studied his samples and then I saw it - The perfect reminder of our wonderful trip. I can?t tell you exactly what it was because Al will read this and then it won?t be a surprise any more. Suffice it to say Al raised his eyebrows when I arrived back at the Sea Cup carrying this large box. I will present it to him on our 34th wedding anniversary, Sept. 4, 1999!

Taylour likes to cook and asked to cook our supper this evening. He did a very good job of cooking up macaroni and cheese with a side dish of heated string beans.

Strange day. The fog has been up and down, in and out, all day. At one point, we could see our destination, about 2 1/2 miles to the SW. Now, all we can see are a few lobster boats to the north of us. Oh well, this is really our first foggy day with ?Maine? weather.

MONDAY JULY 26, 1999 - STONINGTON to McGLATHERY ISLAND

Sunday morning at the dock in Stonington we woke up to complete silence. I mean it was so noticeable. Each day the roaring of the engines of the lobster boats awakens us as they blast past us with the waves rocking us like crazy. Then come Sunday morning. Very quiet. Very peaceful. No one about. Thank God for quiet Sundays.

This morning it was back to business. I awoke at 4:30 a.m. to the roar of engines and the boat pitching back and forth. I had to wait for the boat to stop rocking so I could use the head (bathroom!)

The fog this morning was as thick as yesterday. We could barely see past the stern of our boat! Al and Taylour and I dinghed into town and walked around and bought some more groceries. On the way back in the dinghy I had to sit over a block of ice which very soon made my leg ache! With 3 of us in the dinghy and the groceries and blocks of ice it is cramped!

After lunch the fog lifted and we all cheered. Then we pulled up the anchor and motored over to McGlathery Island, a short distance off shore. McGlathery Island is part of a group of islands here called Merchants Row. It is perfectly beautiful here surrounded by all these pine tree islands and we?re the only boat in sight! It is like we have this area all to ourselves! We constantly wonder about this, but it is fine with us.

On the way over I thought I was a seal and I waved to it. It turned out to be a lobster buoy and I was embarrassed. Oh well. It?s really tough to spot a seal head among so many lobster buoys.

Taylour and I went off in the dingy and explored McGlathery Island. We went over to the sandbar and admired the view. We walked along the shore, climbed rocks and walked through the brush to the other side of the islands where we were rewarded by high stone ledges over the sea. It is hard to describe the natural beauty of this area.

Anchoring in these waters is quite a bit different than in home waters because of the 10 foot tidal range between high and low. First step is to look at the rocks at figure out the state of the tide - if the tide is in, you want to anchor with 20 feet on the depth sounder. As a result, we?re always letting out and taking in a LOT of anchor line. Also, the bottom here tends to be very muddy in the areas between the rocks. If you don?t have enough line out, the anchors doesn?t set but just cuts a groove in the mud when you back down on it. But one advantage is that there doesn?t seem to be any kelp or eel grass on the bottom - just mud. The seaweed seems to be limited to the rocks along the shore, and is the type with the air bubbles in it that make it float. We come across great clumps of it floating free in the water.

TUESDAY JULY 27, 1999 - McGLATHERY to MERCHANTS HBR.

We woke up this morning to fog as thick as pea soup...again! Just like yesterday. So I got out the challenging English wooden puzzle I had on board and started working on that while Al and Taylour went off to explore McGlathery Island together. Al had not explored the day before and Taylour was glad to show him around.

The phone rang as I was working the puzzle and it was dad calling from New Jersey! Here we are at the out islands of Maine...hardly a soul around and I can talk to my dad by phone. Amazing. It was great to talk with him.

The fog lifted around noontime and after lunch Al remarked that at camps they had a quiet time after lunch. Taylour and I became silent and all three of us read quietly or just looked out at the beautiful islands for 1 silent hour. We loved it. It was just the thing. It is only in silence that you can begin to appreciate the message of the islands and feel God?s presence.

About 1:30 p.m. since there was little wind we pulled up our anchor and motored a short distance over to Merchants Harbor and we picked up a guest mooring in the harbor between Merchants Island and Harbor Island.

Al and I dinghed over to Harbor Island and walked all over this beautiful place of open fields and pine tree groves following the beaten paths.

When we decided to return to the Sea Cup, Al got into the dinghy first. Then I tried to get in. I put one leg in the dinghy and the dinghy moved away from me. I lost my balance and fell down right into the water. The cold water was a shock to me and I just laughed at this funny situation. I was cold with the soaking wet clothes and when we got back to the boat we both took sun showers in the cockpit and put on dry clothes.

In the meantime Taylour asked permission to go exploring on Harbor Island so we let him go. We told Taylour when to come back. He wears his wristwatch all the time and always comes back at the right time.

While Taylour was exploring the rocks on one end of the island I noticed that some kayakers had arrived and were setting up a pup tent for the night. Then I noticed a young woman walking alone down by the water.

What I saw next took me completely by surprise. This young lady proceeded to slowly and casually carefully remove all of her clothes and placed them on a rock near her.

There was no furtive glancing about to see who might be watching her. No rush into the water to cover up. She seemed as at ease as she would in the privacy of her own bathroom. By this time I had decided that I should give Al the opportunity to witness this scene so I told him about it and handed him the binoculars. He didn?t believe me but he became a firm believer when he saw her himself. He also did not hand the binoculars back to me! But I could plainly see her walk among the rocks a few minutes and then she slowly entered the water up to her neck. After about 4 minutes in the water she slowly came out and was in no hurry to put on her clothes. She strolled among the rocks a few minutes and then slowly and casually dressed herself. She walked around the point of land and disappeared.

Al and I were in plain view on our boat and she must have seen us...but she didn?t care. She was just enjoying the moment.

These islands south of Deer Isle are a natural wonder. I suspect the folks with the kayaks have found the least expensive way to explore them. Certain of the islands are friendly to camping, and the kayakers set up their tents and camp. The boat to the west of us is a 24-foot power boater, from Indiana. He trailered his boat from Indiana, where he is a college professor, and launched in Rockland. Tomorrow, we plan to head north to more inland areas where fog should not be such an issue. Not sure where we?ll end up tomorrow night.

We?re all accommodating well to life on the boat. Getting to a port with a shower is not such a big issue. We?re happy to be where we are, and take a sun shower. We have accommodated to the climate by moving the sun shower to the cockpit where we?re out of the breeze a bit. But Maren and I both managed to shower on one 2 gallon sunshower this afternoon.

Also, the pressure to get to town for fresh food is diminishing. When we get to town, we buy ice, milk, orange juice, and fresh food for the grill as well as restore our supply of canned stuff. When we?re on these out islands for days at a time, we exist on the canned stuff plus what?s in the icebox - until the ice melts and we need replenishment. I think the ice presently limits us - hence the use of refrigeration systems on boats going away from ports for long periods. I still don?t think we?re ve or Cancel below. Change Permissiready to do without refrigeration at all - as some boats that we?ve read about have done!

Fishing here in Maine has not been too productive. We?ve caught some mackerel with the spinning gear, but nothing we?d want to put on the grill. You certainly don?t want to troll while underway unless you want to catch lobster gear.

WEDNESDAY JULY 28, 1999 - MERCHANTS HBR. to BARRED ISLANDS

Surprise of surprises when we woke up and looked out the companionway we could see something other than the stern of our sailboat! We could see land! It has been two-three days since we could do that before noon!

After breakfast we motored in a dead calm, maneuvering through myriad lobster buoys and their attached toggles over to the Barred Islands where we are at a rental mooring in a delightful lagoon. It is a small anchorage and sailboats have come and gone during the afternoon with 3 boats here at the most at one time. Al and Taylour did some exploring separately on the nearby islands and I got lots of reading in. I have not finished the book of THE KITCHEN GOD?S WIFE by Amy Tan. I recommend any of her books for excellent reading and peek into the traditional customs of Chinese families and living.

Later this afternoon I actually donned my bathing suit and went for a swim off the boat with  Taylour. The air was warm and pleasant, the water looked inviting and the water temperature..............well let?s just say when I got wet it left me gasping and coughing for a few minutes!! Then I got used to the water and had fun playing catch with Taylour with a ball in the water.

Taylour rarely sees anyone else except Al and myself on this trip as so few boats are out here. He is so good at entertaining himself by exploring nearby beaches and islands. He loves to collect seashells, sea urchins, sand dollars, pieces of rope, smooth rocks...We are so glad he is with us.

THURSDAY JULY 29, 1999 - BARRED ISLANDS to BUCKS HARBOR

After breakfast this morning Taylour took the dinghy and explored the sandbar area for a while. Then he came back to the boat and went for a swim. Al showed Taylour how to swing from a rope away from the boat and then drop into the water. Taylour had great fun with that. He came back into the boat all tired out from this activity....and hungry. A peanut butter and jelly sandwich took care of that and then he was ready to rest on his bunk. It was only 10:00 in the morning by the time Taylour had done all that!

There was no wind so we motored over to Bucks Harbor. Along the way a seal came very close to the boat and we could clearly see his face.

We also had to steer away from another sailboat coming our way. The skipper of that boat turned out to be a man who was reading a book and not looking where the boat was going!

We have a guest mooring at the Bucks Harbor Yacht Club. This club is in the town of Brooksville. We took a little walk to the general store, which is at the center of town. The center of town consisted of the post office, Methodist Church and the general store. That was it!!! A real country town!

Back on the boat we took swims and then took sun showers on the boat.

Behind the general store was a restaurant and we had a pizza dinner there. From there we walked back to the Bucks Harbor Yacht Club clubhouse where there is square dancing for all ages Thursday nights. We knew this would be happening from the information in our guidebook.

The dancing was the most old fashioned thing I have seen in a long time. Many families came and circles were formed with many little children included. A man in his eighties was the caller. It was more fun to watch and take part in the dancing.

Al did not want to dance but encouraged me to join in. The dances I knew how to do were Looby Loo, Hokey Pokey and the Marcarena. The rest I had to pay close attention to the caller.

Kitchen help set out a platter of cookies during the middle of the circle dance and when one little boy saw that he broke away from the circle and made a dash for the cookies. "No! Not yet! Refreshments will be served later," declared the caller and the disappointed little boy returned to the circle!

The last dance for that session was the Virginia Reel and an obvious favorite with the crowd. The little children participated with the help of grownups and it was wonderful to see the enthusiasm and clapping during this unforgettable dance.

At 9:00 p.m. the caller announced the dancing was finished. What he meant was the dancing was finished for the little children and adult helpers. I did not know this. What happened next was that a large group of adult couples went onto the dance floor and the serious square dancing began.

I think Al knew this but I was halfway across the water on the way back to the Sea Cup before I realized what was happening. Anyway it was a wonderful evening I will never forget. Even Taylour enjoyed meeting some young people although he did not dance. onsReadWriteExecut

FRIDAY JULY 30TH, 1999 - BUCKS HARBOR to LEM?S COVE

We had planned to leave for Camden this morning but the morning fog caused us to postpone that trip and spend the morning right here in Buck?s Harbor.

After breakfast I went to the dock by dinghy and then took a long walk in the area. It is a real country town with country homes set pretty far apart. I came across street names such as " Cornfield Hill Rd.", Captain Eel?s Lane", "Evangeline Lane " and " Black Bear Rd."

The main hubbub of activity was always centered around the general store / restaurant , post office and Methodist church. I discovered there is also a community center building near the general store. Today a wedding was taking place in the church with the reception in the community center where the basketball hoops had been folded up. The whole town is a quaint as it can be. So refreshing.

I had to smile when I came upon a truck parked in front of the post office with a sign painted in white letters on the bottom of the back window. Here is what it said:

"Get In, Sit Down, Shut Up & Hang On"!

When I got back to the Yacht Club clubhouse I saw the old piano in the corner. I noticed it was made in 1857 and was a "Kimball" piano made in Chicago. There was a songbook sitting nearby entitled " Family Songbook" by Readers Digest. I played a few tunes from it and although it badly needed to be tuned, it was fun.

I got back to the Sea Cup at 10:30 a.m. and it was still very foggy.

Al had a good idea and I agreed to do it. At 10:45 a.m. we left the mooring and went all the way over to Lem?s Cove arriving at 10:53 a.m. It was an uneventful crossing!

We laugh at this because Lem?s Cove is just an extension of Bucks Harbor. It is off in a corner with fewer boats and thus more space and peace about us.

This was a hot day and Taylour and I went for a swim off the boat about 11:00 a.m. It was about Taylour?s 3rd swim of the morning and my first! Taylour loves to swim!

About 12:00 the fog appeared to be lifting so we decided to leave for Camden after all. About an hour later we got socked in with heavy fog again. So Al and I agreed to turn the boat around and head back to Lem?s Cove. Poor Taylour was down in his bunk when we turned around and Al never told him he made the turn to go back. Later when we approached land Taylour looked at it and said," this looks like Eggemoggin Reach where we just were....but it couldn?t be. He was surprised to learn we had turned back!

The rest of the afternoon we have spent on the mooring in Lem?s Cove. Taylour and I swam from the boat and took a dinghy ride. One house along the Cove is a large modern house built way up high on the cliff. This house is very high up from the water and the cliff drops off abruptly from the house and goes straight down to the water where there is a dock.

Upon closer inspection from the dinghy we noticed a very elaborate winding wooden staircase ascending the cliff from the water and we also noticed a long outdoor elevator going straight down the entire cliff length. It looked like one had a choice of using he staircase of taking the elevator up the cliff. The elevator looked pretty scary to me. The only place I have seen an outdoor elevator like that is in the movie "The Deep." eUserGroup

SATURDAY JULY 31, 1999 - LEM?S COVE to CAMDEN

After breakfast I took a walk in Brooksville again and this time I went in another direction. It was a warm and humid morning and walking was barely comfortable. Like yesterday I came upon a country farmhouse that reminded me of farmhouses I have seen in Bavaria of Germany. These houses are part houses and part barns. The unique thing is that there are all under one roof. The lovely old farmhouse has a long center part leading to the barn area where the animals are kept. People and animals all under one roof. I guess that arrangement has its advantages and disadvantages.

When I got back to the boat Taylour told me he had met a family from New Zealand in the Chinese Junk style boat next to us. They are a family of four plus their dog sailing around the world and stopping here and there to get jobs to pay for their travels.

The fog had mostly gone from Lem?s Cove so we set out again at about noontime for Camden. This time we did not have to turn around. The fog was mostly gone and we had a good sail over to Camden arriving about 3:30 p.m.

Camden is a picturesque and busy harbor and commercial town. We are tied up at a float in the middle of the harbor. I look forward to exploring in this town.

We are in the inner harbor in Camden, which is very busy and crowded. There are docks for the schooners around the edge of the harbor, while the center is filled with an array of floats moored at both ends. Boats tie to both sides of the floats, with just enough room between the floats for another boat to fit through. The Camden YC controls some of the floats, and if there?s a vacancy due to a club boat being away, they will accommodate a visiting yacht - $25 per night. Seems quite reasonable considering the easy access to the center of town. Just far enough from the wharves so the dockside diners don?t drop their lobster shells on your deck.

We had a beautiful sail today. We had the radar warmed up, but never needed it. We powered for about 1/2 hour while the wind was on the nose, but other that than we sailed on the wind with a reef in the main. We had to tack twice to clear an island, after which we power reached across the bay into Camden.

Gear failure today! The flag halyard with the radar reflector up let go, and the reflector fell into the water next to the boat. Since it was still tied to the shroud, we were able to retrieve it with no problem. After arriving in Camden, Taylour went up in the bosun chair (Maren has a photo) and reran the halyard so we could fly our flags. Tomorrow I?ll get to a chandlery for a replacement halyard, plus a couple of other things we need.

SUNDAY AUGUST 1, 1999 - CAMDEN HARBOR LAY DAY

Last night was another hot and humid evening and after tossing and turning awhile in my bunk down below I decided to try sleeping on the cockpit cushion under the stars...mosquitoes or not. Fortunately mosquitoes did not bother me and I was able to fall asleep despite the noise and laughter coming from the nearby by town! I?ll try it again tonight.

We all got up early this morning and went to church - do you believe that? It has been over a month that we have been able to do that. Yesterday in town I did some scouting around and located St. Thomas?s Episcopal Church in town with Sunday services at 7:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. We chose the 7:30 a.m. service and managed to get there in time. It felt good to be in church again and take Communion and after church...we were hungry! We had breakfast downtown at a coffee shop and it was very good.

After we got back to the boat we gathered up all our dirty laundry and dinghied over to the wharf across the way where they have washers and dryers at the dock. Why waiting for the clothes I met a wonderful couple also on the dock using the facilities. They turned out to be about our age and we seemed to have a lot in common.

Bob and Earlene Chasse live in Bucksport, Maine and 4 years ago they bought a sailboat for the first time. It is their first experience in sailing and they have a 35? Pilot Hinckley they named " Simplicity."

I invited them to come over to our boat to see our boat, which they did. After a nice visit we went over to their boat to see what it was like. It was a pleasure to talk with them and we hope to sail with them sometime.

Al and I and Taylour browsed around town after that and had the opportunity to tour the Schooner " Mary Day" which is in the harbor here. Tomorrow it departs for a 6-day cruise in the area. The cost to cruise on it for 6 days is very reasonable and we are thinking about taking a 6-day cruise on it ourselves, perhaps next summer or the summer after. It goes to many of our favorite island spots.

MONDAY AUGUST 2, 1999 - CAMDEN to TENANTS HARBOR

Last night I slept (tried to sleep) in the cockpit and Taylour slept on deck. I didn?t fall asleep until after midnight when all the noise and singing quieted down but at least I got some sleep.

Monday dawned clear and cooler. It was the first time we had seen the sun in Camden. The town of Camden lay beckoning to me so I dressed by 7:00 and told Al I would row the boat to shore and take a walk in Camden.

I found the main residential street and walked for an hour admiring the lovely homes and inns.  Camden is definitely middle-high class living. It was a pleasure to be out walking on such a fine morning and in such beautiful surroundings.

We left our mooring about 10:00 a.m. and sailed over to Tenant?s Harbor arriving at 2:00 p.m. There was a good wind and we were able to sail most of the way.

Tenant?s is the first harbor we stayed at in Maine and it is the last one we are staying at. Tomorrow we head for the Gulf of Maine and crossing over again to Provincetown. It will be another long stretch with an overnight sail and I hope this time we do not have any rain squalls.

We heard there was a swimming quarry in Tenants Harbor and Taylour and I decided to try and find it. Taylour got directions from some one and we walked and walked about a mile in one direction. Then I asked for directions from some lady and she told me we were walking in the wrong direction. We needed to go back to the marina and walk in the other direction.

Well. Taylour and I walked and walked and walked and finally came to the quarry. The quarry was a disappointment and did not look inviting. Taylour walked back to the dinghy alone while I sat and rested awhile. Then I walked back and along the way a nice man who had seen me walking the other direction offered me a ride. I gladly accepted.

Back on the Sea Cup I had lots of grapefruit juice and water to quench my thirst!

For dinner tonight Al and Taylour and I had a lobster dinner at the Cod?s End Seafood Restaurant. We sat on the deck overlooking the harbor and had the most delicious mussels and lobsters we can ever remember eating! It was Taylour?s first whole lobster and he loved it!

Al and I have been used to using metal crackers to open our lobsters whenever we have a lobster dinner. Tonight we were not given any metal crackers. We were given large stones on our dinner trays to use to crush the lobster shells!!!

Well, that process was noisy and messy but it worked! It was hard to control the lobster juice and keep it from squirting the person you were sitting next to!

I am sad to think we have to leave Maine but I know I will also be glad to be home again.

AUGUST 3-4, 1999 TENANT?S HARBOR to PROVINCETOWN HARBOR

Tuesday August 3 we went to the dock for water and gas and then we headed out of Tenant?s Harbor and across the Gulf of Maine to Provincetown, Cape Cod.

Just before passing Monhegan Island we were thrilled to see not just a few dolphins jumping of the water near us but it seemed like hundreds! On and on they came in large groups swimming and jumping, swimming and jumping. Little birds were also diving into the water near them and we knew there must be a school of fish nearby. It was so exciting to see all the dolphins so close to our boat!

The trip to Provincetown was terrible. It was a very difficult trip for all of us. The wind turned out to be a "smokey souwester" as Al calls it, and it was right on the nose......for the whole trip. What an ordeal. For the next two days and one night we slammed into the high seas heeled well over on our side. Up and down. Up and down. At night we took shifts of sleeping and watching. I took one turn of "sleeping" and woke up sick to my stomach. For the rest of the trip all I could do was sit in the cockpit fighting off being sick. I dared not move or go down below where I might be thrown around and hurt myself. With the boat heeled like that and bouncing in the waves of course everything down below was off balance. It was very difficult to walk anywhere or do anything down below so I stayed on deck.

It was a beautifully clear night for the overnight passage and a million stars hung low in the sky just above us. A moon rose giving us some comforting light. We were totally alone on the long stretch. Not one other boat on the horizon the entire night! But we were not afraid and just plowed on.

This morning Al fixed some orange juice and cheerios for anyone who wanted it as I was too ill feeling to do it. I had some orange juice.

Taylour and Al fared better than I did and were not sick. They got more sleep also.

Al spotted a shark near our boat this morning and this afternoon I saw a whale jump clear out of the water and land back in with a terrific splash at some distance from us. Then we all saw some more whales.

We arrived in Provincetown harbor about 5:30 p.m. and it feels good to be in a quiet harbor again.

I feel better now and have changed my clothes and brushed my teeth, which I was unable to do this morning.

I am very happy that we did this trip in our own sailboat. It was a real accomplishment and I feel good that I stuck it out. Good experiences and not so good experiences...I am glad about all of it. Al and I and Taylour loved Maine cruising and hope to do it again. I may or may not agree to cross the Gulf of Maine again like this...there are other ways to get there and I am glad I did it on our own boat once.

I forgot to mention that I saw a sign on a car in Tenant?s Harbor which read, " Have You Flogged Your Crew Today?" We have been laughing and joking about that sign.

Taylour has been absolutely wonderful on this trip, enjoying explorations in towns and on islands with us and being a big help. He is hungry all the time and eats all the time but we do not mind. His mom told us he is genuinely hungry all the time and we know he is a growing teenager.

AUGUST 5, 1999 - LAY DAY IN PROVINCETOWN, CAPE COD

You can imagine that the three of us slept very well in our bunks last night after our 2-day ordeal underway. We slept like babies! It was a much-needed sleep for all of us.

A lay day was also definitely in order so today we just relaxed and strolled the streets of Provincetown.

Before that even we took showers at the marina dock. This shower system requires the purchase of tokens to be used for the meter, which regulates the water in the showers. $1.00 per token and the token is good for 3 1/2 minutes of shower time.

It was a good thing I bought 2 tokens because I had trouble. With the meter ticking I turned on the shower and I could get nothing but cold water. Finally it changed to warm water and then quickly to piping hot water! I turned to cooler water and it started all over again. Cold water, then warm and then piping hot. With the meter always ticking I couldn?t get the right water temperature for most of my metered time. When the ominous clunk sounded and the water shut off I was left with sudsy hair and hands. Groping for the 2nd token I slid it in the meter and finally found the right temperature in time to rinse off! Geez. I miss my home showers.

Walking through the town is an interesting experience here. This is the town where the men dress like women and the women dress like men. It is very confusing. In one of the shops a man behind the register asked me, " Can I help you with something?" The man was dressed in a very feminine pink dress and his hair was light colored and fell to his shoulders. He had no face make up on and his voice was strongly masculine. I try to ignore looking at the strange couples but it is hard. There are so many.

I walked to the end of Front St. and noticed the pretty cottages by the sea and the front gardens so lovely. One garden had a sign in it, which read: "What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about?" I have to think about that!

We had a delicious dinner out at Napi?s Restaurant where Al and I shared a shell fish bouillabaisse (sp?). Taylour ordered chicken/broccoli fettuccine.

We are all feeling back to normal again!
Other

AUGUST 6, 1999 - PROVINCETOWN to HADLEY?S HARBOR

Today we planned to go through the Cape Cod Canal so we got up early and left the mooring at Provincetown at 5:15 a.m. so we could be at the Canal when the current was with us.

Al and I had orange juice as we left and we waited until Taylour was up and out of his bunk before we all had cereal together around 9:00 a.m.

There was moderate wind and we sailed with our jib to the Canal. It was a very pleasant 3-hour sail over the Cape Cod Bay and through the Canal.

It is always a treat to go through the beautiful Canal and observe the many people walking or biking or roller blading along the Canal footpath.

Halfway through I decided to take a book and sit on the bow of the boat. The sails were down so this was easy to day. This was very pleasant

UNTIL...a large powerboat went speeding past us and this huge wave from its wake approached the bow of our boat. I saw it coming but had no time to react. The next thing I knew the wave swept over our whole bow and nearly swept me off the boat! I was soaked and my book was soaked but fortunately I stayed on deck. I never thought that would happen!

I quickly changed into dry clothes. Meanwhile Taylour checked his V berth area and saw that water from the wake had come in through the unlocked hatch over his bunk and soaked some things including his portable CD player and earphones. Taylour was very upset about it fearing his equipment was ruined but Al helped him to rinse his things with fresh water and dry them out. Only time will tell if they work again.

We arrived in Hadley?s Harbor about 1:30 p.m. and are anchored in the outer harbor with some other boats. Taylour and I took a long swim off the back of the boat. The water felt so warm to us compared to the very cold water of Maine. It was great. File Versions

Hadley Harbor was jammed with boats - I?ve never seen so many in there. We arrived fairly early, took a tour through the inner harbor, and anchored in the outer harbor with a couple of other boats. By evening, there were over a dozen boats in the outer harbor. First try with the anchor didn?t hold - eel grass. Second set was good, and even survived a change in wind from SW to N. Hard to get used to the crowds of boats after the Warning: Restoring an older version will ovrelative solitude of the Maine anchorages - even the ?prime? ones. erwrite the current file withou

SATURDAY AUGUST 7, 1999 - HADLEY?S HARBOR to WESTPORT HARBOR

After supper the three of us began talking about Dinty Moore Stew and how good it tasted on the boat especially with sauteed onions added to it and kidney beans. Then Taylour started laughing and joking sounding like a French Chef and we decided the conversation would make good material for a St. David?s Night Skit. I sat down at the computer and typed it all up...we will see if it makes an appearance at St. David?s Night Talent Show.

This morning after breakfast Al invited Taylour and me to go clamming in Hadley?s Harbor. I stayed on the boat but Al and Taylour went off for 1 1/2 hours and returned with muddy feet and clothes.......and a bucket full of clams!! We put them right on ice in our ice chest.

Around noon we left Hadley?s Harbor and sailed over to Westport Harbor. It was a bumpy sail on the wind again but it was only for a few hours. There was one scary time when a dragger came charging down Buzzards Bay on collision course with us! Al radioed him and blew a foghorn at him but to no avail. As I was panicking, Al had to turn our boat around to avoid a disaster at sea. That dragger would have made short work of our sailboat!

Now we are back in Massachusetts we are seeing lots of boats out over the water...unlike Maine. Now we have to watch carefully when we are out over the water!

Westport Harbor is a lovely spot. We have rented a mooring from Tripp and Son., Co. Next to us is a sailboat flying a flag that says,

"Just Married" !!! This is Saturday. Maybe this is their first night.......

Tripp Marina has showers and a laundromat. I am happy to feel clean again and will do the laundry tomorrow.

SUNDAY AUGUST 8, 1999 WESTPORT - DUTCH HARBOR, JAMESTOWN

It turns out that Tripp Marina has a laundromat in it and this was good news for us. This morning I did two loads of laundry and had a good time talking to the other people from sailboats also doing the laundry. I talked with a gal who 4 years ago was the head teacher on Hurricane Island in Maine for the Outward Bound program. I have to admire kids who have gone through such a rigorous physical training program.

This morning thunderstorms came through and for a period of about 2 1/2 hours there was drenching rain along with thunder and lightning. This is much needed rain and it felt so good to see the rain!

When the rain stopped we ventured out of the harbor and headed for Dutch Harbor. It was extremely rough outside and the next thing we knew we were heading into 10-foot waves. The waves were on the nose for the whole trip and it was difficult sailing but we felt safe.

A scary moment came when we suddenly came into fish traps off of Newport. We had to come about in a hurry to avoid being caught in the trap. We barely made it out in time!!!

The trip lasted 4 hours but it seemed like 8. We are safe and calm now at Dutch Harbor and we need the peace!!

It was a nice surprise to discover our good friends Rich and Ellen Adams from the Thames Yacht Club also in Dutch Harbor. We heard Rich?s voice on the radio and discovered him that way!

MONDAY AUGUST 9, 1999 - LAY DAY IN JAMESTOWN, R.I.

Poor Al has an aching back from all the heavy sailing maneuvers on the boat recently and he badly needed a day of bed rest. We spent a nice quiet day on our boat and in town.

After showering at the marina, Taylour and I walked to town and loaded up on needed groceries. We filled our two canvas bags and each one was too heavy for us to carry the long walk back to the boat. So I thought about what I could do and then I went over to the courtesy desk in the grocery store and explained the situation. I asked if someone could give us a ride back to the boatyard with our bundles. They were glad to help us and I paid the girl $5.00 for the ride. It was well worth it!

Taylour swam from the boat and explored in the dinghy while I stayed on the boat with Al and read and worked the Stonington, Maine puzzle.

At the end of the afternoon Al and Taylour and I walked to the pizza store and sat down and had pizza for supper. They we walked back to the boat. The outing was good for Al.

We have met a very nice couple from Marshfield, Mass who keep their Tartan 27 sailboat in Marion, Mass. They are Bill and Jean (Ryder) Levin and their boat is named the Otter. Bill recognized Al?s name from the Tartan bulletin board on the Internet!

TUESDAY AUGUST 10, 1999 - JAMESTOWN-NEW LONDON

Al?s back was hurting so much today that all he could do was lay down on his bunk in the cabin and suffer. Taylour and I had to get the boat back home without Al. It was as challenge, but we went over the chart with Al and all went well. Taylour and I took turns at the tiller.

It was a strange day. At first Al did not admit how much he wanted to go home and go to bed where our firm mattress would do him good. But he finally admitted his desire and so we just stayed on course for New London. About 7 more hours we were home!

The cruise to Maine and back on our own sailboat has more than met our expectations. God was with us the whole way. Weather was near perfect with very little fog. We saw sights so beautiful by the outer islands it will last us a lifetime of memories.

Living on a boat is cramped and often uncomfortable but the chance to explore, meet new friends and discovery God?s ocean creatures and creation more than makes up for it.

We are ever so grateful for our experience.