With our alternator finally sorted and our electrical gremlins somewhat under control (though still not completely eradicated), we set off again on August 15th to cruise up the coast of Maine. To ensure the alternator was charging the batteries and not overworking itself, we made only a short hop to the Isles of Shoals that first night. It performed admirably and has continued to so throughout this trip. Yay!
Our first two nights at anchor were rolly. Gosport Harbor at the Isles of Shoals is only exposed to the NE and that was the direction of the fairly short-period swells that first night. Our second stop was at Cliff Island, about ½ mile NE of Jewell Island. There was plenty of room to anchor at Jewell, but we wanted to try a new spot. It was nice and calm until high tide around 6pm. At high tide, the exposed ledge that breaks the incoming swells is under water and not breaking anything. We rolled quite a bit for about 4 or 5 hours. Mid-tide falling to mid-tide rising is the sweet spot at this anchorage. Fortunately that encompassed enough of the night to get some sleep at least.
The following day we set out for Greenleaf Cove in Muscongus Bay to visit with my cousins, Richard & Sharon in Bremen, ME. The day we travelled to Cliff had been overcast and cool. This travel day was overcast and misty when we woke up in the morning and it didn’t get any nicer. We donned our foul weather gear to keep our butts dry driving from the wet seats up on the fly bridge, and to keep warm. Eventually it started to rain lightly. The rain stopped just before we rounded Pemaquid Point, but then there was fog. Fortunately the fog still allowed for about ½+ nm visibility. The middle part of the ride was also bumpier than we’d expected, but not too bad. We made it to Greenleaf Cove in front of my cousin’s house around 3pm and settled onto one of their neighbor’s moorings. Then we dinghied ashore for some visiting and a yummy, warm soup that was perfect for that day’s weather.
We spent four nights in Greenleaf Cove, sleeping onboard Dumbledore and visiting with my cousins during parts of the day/evening. Friday was another overcast, showery day that started with me reading and Dave doing some boat tasks before we popped ashore after lunch. We ended up going to an art show and then out to dinner with my cousins and had a really good time. Saturday, Dave & I borrowed my cousins’ car so we could go to Dave’s family reunion in Greene, ME. It was a cozy group of 10 and we enjoyed several hours of conversation and food before heading back to Bremen. We arrived back to find that my parents had arrived. We shared another dinner ashore, courtesy of Sharon. Then my folks stayed at their house while Dave & I returned to Dumbledore for bed. Just after noon on Sunday, everyone packed up lunch and piled onto Dumbledore for a trip 7nm south to Harbor Island for the afternoon. We anchored before 2pm and ate lunch. Then Richard, Sharon, Dave and I went ashore to walk the public trail that the very kind owners of the island maintain. It’s lovely that so many private owners of Maine islands allow public access. If you ever have occasion to visit such an island, please respect the rules and privacy of the owners. We returned to the house for another shared dinner, this one courtesy of my folks. Then they returned to Dumbledore with me and Dave for the night, because we were heading off the following day.
Just after breakfast this past Monday, Dave and Richard drove to Rockland to park my folks’ car, then returned in Richard’s car. This allowed us to spend a couple of nights with my folks without having to retrace our steps back to Greenleaf Cove. We spent Monday night in Tenants Harbor, going for a short walk about town after lunch (and buying delicious muffins at the general store). The next day, Tuesday, we headed over to Warren Island State Park and spent a night on a mooring there. Warren Island is the only ME State Park designed specifically for boaters. The only way to access the island is by boat; there is no public transportation (ferry) there. We went for a walk ashore, but we had to rush it because we forgot our insect repellent and those mosquitoes were voracious! It is a lovely island that Dave & I hope to return to one day, better prepared for the insects. (The picture at the top of this post is looking from Warren Island to Dumbledore in the mooring field.)
Wednesday morning we set off for Rockland Harbor to drop off my folks so they could head back home to NH. We enjoyed a lovely lunch ashore together before they set off. Dave and I have been here since. Over two days we visited the Lighthouse Museum, the Sail, Power and Steam Museum, and the Coastal Maine Islands National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center. All were wonderful and we highly recommend all of them! We enjoyed another lunch ashore and a walk along the water on the Harbor Trail.
This trip started with several overcast, and lightly showery days (although Saturday’s rain was brief and we did have sun). Then we had a nice run of three sunny, warm (but not hot) days. Yesterday we had hoped to set off for the west side of Vinalhaven to ride out some predicted bigger winds. It was drizzly when we got up, but we donned our foul weather gear after breakfast, headed over to Journey’s End Marina for fuel and water, then headed out of the harbor. That didn’t last long. Although the harbor was calm, the exposed part of Penobscot Bay was not, and it was full on raining. So, we turned around and re-anchored, spending the day inside and closed up, chasing the numerous leaks that reveal themselves when it rains all day. (I’ll gripe about that in another post.)
It’s now Saturday, and though the day started gray, overcast and cool, around 3pm the skies became about half cloudy, half clear and the sun is out. Wonderful, right? Well, it is, but we still are likely to start our 3-day trek back to home port tomorrow morning, earlier than planned. Why? Tropical Storm/Hurricane Franklin will be passing between the US East Coast and Bermuda impacting our area mid-week. Don’t panic! the hurricane is not going to hit us. But a hurricane out at sea sends out swells and sometimes higher waves, and those could impede our progress home if we wait too long. It’s still not certain what the effect of Franklin will be, but we can’t afford to wait until the last minute. If it turns out that Franklin doesn’t raise the seas much, we can always dub around our home waters before returning to our dock and land home.
That’s my update. Given the timing of our return home and the holiday weekend, I will probably post again the weekend after Labor Day and let you know how the end of our trip panned out. Until then, stay safe and take care of each other!
Life on Lady 