October 11, 2006 We are ashore tonight. After reading the weather forecast which said a strong front would move through the area with high winds and rain, we opted for a motel. Even the guide books mentioned that Rockport Harbor is famous for it's "Rockport Roll' in southerly winds. Getting all our baggage ashore before the rains start and providing more access to lockers to winterize/decommission Kloosh tipped the scales in favor of getting a motel. And a long hot shower offers added incentive.
During this process the biggest bonehead-move of the trip occured. (Though Cheryl may have her own ideas about that.) After tying the dinghy across the stern to facilitate easy loading of baggage in bumpy conditions, I went below to assist Cheryl in lifting the bags to the cockpit. When I next came on deck I immediately sensed something was amiss. Our dinghy had gone a-missing! Sharp-eyed (and fortunately not sharp-tongued) Cheryl spotted our escaping dinghy heading into the harbor, making it's unauthorized attempt to liberty ashore! A quick call to Peter Johanson, who was on his way to Kloosh to meet with us on the hauling procedures for tomorrow, instigated a speedy nab and return of the AWOL dinghy.
Over a seafood meal at the Rockport Grill, Cheryl and I reviewed the things we wanted to have done to Kloosh over the winter. So we made a list. And then another. We have lists of lists. It seems a large part of cruising and having a sailboat is having lists!
For example, making postings to this blog is on our 'Nightly' List. It's also on the 'Things to Complete When We Have Internet Access' List.
We appreciate you sharing our 'Autumn in Maine Cruise'. It has been a very special time for us. All the photos we have taken on this very colorful cruise will get posted soon, or...as soon as it gets to the top of one of our lists.
October 10, 2006 Accolades and kudos to the weather. So far we have had only two days of rain and one night of very blustery winds. At the wi-fi cafe in Camden we looked at the satellite photos of the northwest Atlantic. Weather-guessers Cheryl and I forecasted that our great weather would soon change. With the idea that we had Monday and Tuesday as good sailing days, before the down hill slide to rain and cold on Wednesday, we planned for our quick trip to the isolated Cradle Cove, before the inevitable trip to Rockport to winterize Kloosh.
Today, with bittersweet feelings, we sailed back to the mainland port of Rockport, having our last fling with Kloosh jibbing in 17 knot winds from the north. Cheryl decreed that we sail back and forth across Penobscot Bay putting off heading to the barn until our arms just would not wind in the jib one more time. We were craving a cold beer on a cold day so you gotta know we had our upper body exercise for the day.
Then, not knowing our limits, nor remembering our age, after mooring in Rockport we decided to take the sails down and bag them. The winds had died down to mere cat paws in the harbor so it seemed like a good time to do so. How nice to get the deck work done just as dark clouds loomed on the horizon!
October 9, 2006 We started the day with a toot at Zoot, world famous Camden wi-fi hotspot. We enjoyed great coffee, blueberry muffins and the fastest internet connection we have seen since we left Grand Junction. After spending a few hours catching up on the blogs, bills, and news bulletins we decided to get back to our vacation. Shallow of us, huh?
After completing a few chores we set sail, rather late in the day, for our next destination...Dark Harbor. En-route, we rethought our destination and opted for a stay in Cradle Cove on Seven Hundred Acre Island. It sounded more conducive to a good night's sleep.
We had a delightful, but short, sail to our anchorage and were tucked in before it got dark and cold. Even though the days warm to the 60's the night's get crisp. But we often sit in the cockpit anyway, sporting our layers of polartec, to watch the sunsets.
Though the tide qualifies as perpetual motion world wide it is more of a force to contend with in this part of the world. Cheryl recorded over 13 feet of fluctuation in Cradle Cove. Just up the coast from here, the Bay of Fundy has the highest recorded tide fluctuations in the world. At any rate, our bed rocked, rolled, and changed altitude throughout the night!
October 8, 2006 One of our most rewarding days. We left North Haven bound for Camden with glassy seas and no wind. Learning from our last attempt to sail in a narrow channel we motored out of Fox Island Thorofare well offshore and out of harms way before cutting the engine.
With 4 to 5 knots wind our challenge was to get Kloosh moving in the light airs. After bouncing around for a time we were up to 1 knot of boat speed. On a beam reach we were able to do about a third of the wind speed, with 4 knots true wind speed our boat speed averaged 1.5 knots.
Later we went for a few miles wing on wing (mainsail to starboard and the jib to port), where our speed improved to about half of the true wind speed. We found this a very comfortable sail as we moved with the wind and enjoyed the reduced noise of no engine or wind. Off our stern John spotted dolphins heading for the open waters, and sure to their reputation the wind piped up as soon as they departed.
Winds increased to 12-15 knots. Time for tacking practice! Aye, maties! We'll do it til we gets it right!
Awhile later, limp armed, dry mouthed and with palpitating hearts we decided enough of this *&^%!! Although we had improved remarkably we still want to improve our sailing skills more and there appears to be plenty of room. It turned out to be loads of fun. We also found that the 130% jib is huge and requires tremendous exertion to trim it without the use of our electric winch, which we tried not to use. By the end of our sail we were joined by numerous sailboats all taking advantage of the gusty afternoon breezes on the warm fall day. What a glorious sight, all those full bellied sails heeled on the wind…boats pulled through the water by the invisible hand of the wind, and then suddenly pivoting on their keels to a new tack.
After mooring in Camden we dinghied to town to peruse the bookstore and grab a cold sixpack. This sail training is thirsty business.
October 7, 2006 Though the cruising guide mentioned a restaurant, art galleries, a chandlery, laundromat, etc. at North Haven we found all buttoned up tighter than a pea jacket in December. Obviously the season has ebbed.
So we (Cheryl anyway) decided to turn our venture into a brisk autumn's walk at more than a mail carrier's pace. Photo opportunities and Maine pretty much mean the same thing this time of year. We were glad we had brought the camera. One wonders what we would have spent on film prior to the digital age.
Through Cheryl's diligent research we knew that North Haven has 27 miles of highway. We (John) were saved from seeing every last mile by a small poster on a roadway bulletin board advertising a Pie Sale at the local church. (It's presence already well known from it's bells.)
Looking back we should have gone for the 9 incher! It took a while but we settled on a very handsome 8 inch apple pie on the recommendation that it had been baked by one of the island's top pie bakers. Of course we could not continue to explore the highways and byways of the island with our mouths watering like that, so we made a bee-line for the dinghy.
That pie never had a chance. Half was gone before we came up for air.
The guilt we felt from pigglyness demanded we get out and do something, so Cheryl dug into the guide book and came up with a rousing excursion to Perry's Creek by dinghy. And just to add some drama we decided this would be the perfect time for Captain Cheryl to take command of our trusty dinghy - for the first time. Much exercise was had even before the painter was untied as Cheryl insisted she could start the lovely outboard. (understand we talk nicely about our outboard due to no little superstition to it's tempermental nature). A bit white of face Capin C. was by the time aforementioned Miss Yamaha coughed to life and we were off with a roar at a pace somewhat faster than a walk.
Perry's Creek was beautiful with the fall colors and remoteness. Capt C maintained a steady hand on the helm and guided us safely back to Kloosh.
October 6, 2006 Leaving Pulpit Harbor...
Well, John decided to sail off the mooring and out of Pulpit Harbor. While it wasn't a complete mess it will do until a real one arrives. Sailing off the mooring engine-less and getting the sails up turned out pretty good. But, the wind coming straight into the harbor through the narrow , rock laden entrance left us little room to maneuver and tack our way out. On top of that our tacking skills had not been practiced near enough. Cheryl's suggestion to keep the engine running in neutral, just in case we needed it, saved the day. We needed it.
After our awkward exit we headed to North Haven Harbor where we planned on finding Denis and Pam's other mooring. On our arrival we toured the small harbor looking for the mooring to no avail. We grabbed a private mooring and then deployed the dinghy to search some more. No luck. After calling the boatyard they suggested we call the owner of the mooring and supplied us with her phone number. Upon calling, J.P. Lannon graciously offered us the use of her mooring for the duration of our visit. 'Tis true, the colder the climes, the warmer the welcome.
Tonight we sat in the cockpit and watched the sun set off of Kloosh's bow as the full moon rose over her stern. Symmetry.
October 5, 2006 After a bit of a late morning start, due to staying awake most of the night listening to the wind, we awoke to a beautiful fall day. Sunny and crisp - just the way we like 'em!
The first couple of hours passed quickly, John 'at work in the office' and Cheryl cleaning the icebox. As a reward for all that we joined the Warbonnet crew for a hike ashore.
What a great time to be in Maine! When you see a bird it is really a bird and not a medium sized fly, or so the locals tell us. Maine does have a reputation for flying pests during the season of June through August.
Our group of five meandered down country roads with only a very occasional car to chase us to the shoulder. Photo oportunities abound about every 10 steps or so. We will post more photos of the whole trip once we get back to the land of fast internet connections.
We stopped at a country store of three aisles, the hotspot of the area, and had ice cream bars. I wonder why ice cream always tastes better after a boat ride?
Warbonnet left bound for Rockland after the hike. Ellis showed his stuff setting main and jib before leaving the harbor. I swear (a bit too much probably) that there is nothing so beautiful as an outbound sailboat hard on the wind.
October 4, 2006 After a morning of chores we delightfully greeted Ellis, Linda and Lucy on s/v Warbonnet when they pulled into Camden Harbor at 11:00 A.M. on their Hallberg Rassy 39. Just in time for lunch in town! We dinghied in and ordered up Lobster Rolls at the Mariner Grill, a restaurant with a great view of the river and harbor of Camden.
We took in some of the shops, bought a few more provisions and then set sail at 2:45 P.M. for the 1 1/2 hour run to Pulpit Harbor on Haven Island. We enjoyed our first time at 'buddy boating' letting Ellis take the lead with his local knowledge of the area.
Pulpit Harbor has a ten foot rock formation at it's opening which sports a huge, 150 year old osprey nest at it's peak. Though the season had passed for seeing any young in the nest we were told it's a main feature in Maine to watch the osprey feed their young.
The crew of Warbonnet came to Kloosh for cocktails. We enjoyed the camaraderie, compared boat features, and decided to take our evening meal to Warbonnet and continue the stimulating conversation. A good decision as Linda treated us to a fancy brown sugared apple dessert and Ellis broke out some Irish single malt whiskey. We made the trip back to Kloosh just as the weather began closing in.
The harbor turned into a great choice for the night when another low coursed through the area after midnight. John and I awoke to the wind in the rigging, he rocking of Kloosh, and the slapping of waves on her hull, even though the harbor is considered one of the most protected in the area. We stood on anchor (actually mooring) watch from 2:00 A.M. until 6:00 A.M. reading and talking with one another and watched as the knotmeter hit 27 knots per hour. Like anxious parents with a newborn we will probably relax in the future when these things happen. But for now we wanted to gain experience.
October 3, 2006 Wednesday morning brought Denis and Pam from s/v Glide. They arrived on their yacht club launch with croissants to welcome us to their mooring in Camden Harbor. What a nice surprise given that they are leaving tomorrow morning on their nine month adventure of sailing from the Chesapeake to Panama.
We had coffee and croissants together as they showed us on the chart their favorite anchorages in Penobscot Bay. They offered us the use of their other moorings in Pulpit Harbor and Fox Island Thoroughfare on the islands of North Haven and Vinalhaven. Pam also pointed out the location of the seven acre island that she and Denis have purchased in Dark Harbor. Turns out it is a common practice for people to purchase some of the 6,500 islands that comprise the coastline of Maine.
The rest of our lay day was scheduled with boat projects (John is working on one of the radar units that is inoperative), laundry at the Wayfarer Marina, and reading. Also, the numerous phone calls John received from the Advanced Hearing website kept him busy, especially whenever he precariously had climbed the backstay to reach the radar unit. Who says men can't multitask as well as women?!
Above, is a photo of s/v Appledore, one of the touring schooners, entering Camden Harbor on her last run of the day as the moon rises above her. As the glassy waters of Camden fade into the horizon, obscuring any definition between ocean and sky we feel beckoned to our future destinations.
October 2, 2006 What a difference a day makes! Yesterday we motorsailed due to low winds...today we flew from Rockland to Camden on 15-20 knot winds... Kloosh surging to nearly 7 knots, while pointing 30-25 degrees to the wind. Yes, Kloosh can go to wind and will no doubt do better as we learn to sail her.
The low that passed through presented nice winds on a cloudy day today, but we thoroughly enjoyed the romp. We paralleled the colorful shore between the two harbors with the wind coming off the land, making the seas flat, and not rolly like yesterday. A very enjoyable sail!
Pam and Denis on s/v Glide, which is a sistership to Kloosh, live in Camden and generously offered us the use of their empty mooring. They will fly out in two days to meet up with their Sceptre 41 in the Chesapeake. Then they plan to head south to the Bahamas and other points south. Bon voyage.
The lighthouse in the above photo is on Curtis Island, at the entrance to Camden Harbor. What a delightful place! Camden has only a small harbor, but harbors many Maine style sailboats, at least six large schooners at last count, and a few Lobster boats.
Remember Mel Gibson's movie 'Man Without A Face'? It was filmed here - and to complete the historical notoriety of Camden, in 1847 Captain Hanson Gregory invented the donut hole when he stuck his biscuit on one of the spokes of the ship's wheel as he was navigating! The town has a Hole in the Donut Festival every June. Truly a place steeped in history.
We took the dinghy into town and walked the narrow waterfront streets visiting art galleries exhibiting Maine artists whose specialties are, of course, nautical themes. Since we have enjoyed many fine meals on Chesnut Street in San Francisco with Charlie and Ross when we turned onto Chestnut Street in Camden we decided to eat at The Waterfront. From coast to coast we have experienced fine meals on all Chestnut Streets we have come across. (Including the ones at mom's house on Chestnut Street in GJ).
To cap the evening off as we returned to our dinghy for the return ride to Kloosh we encountered a recalcitrant outboard motor. John pulled like hell but couldn't get the motor to run for any length of time. After changing the spark plug (thanks previous owner Andrew!) which John dug out of the dinghy bag along with the plug wrench (thanks again to Andrew) the engine finally coughed back to life. This happened just in time to save Cheryl from spitting on her palms and slipping the oars into the oar locks (thanks John).
Now to the real night cap now that we are home aboard....Good Night All.
October 1, 2006 Today turned into a quick dash up Penobscot Bay to Rockland Harbor at 8:00 A.M. The high pressure in the area was not to last due to a low coming in from the west, so we decided to make a short, early trip before the weather deteriorated.
We also took Muscle Ridge Channel per a local fisherman's suggestion. It not only had scenic beauty to offer it also provided protection from ocean swells that are coming from Hurricane Isaac. Though Isaac is no threat to Maine we did notice the swells building on the ocean yesterday as we came in. They are a bit rolly to navigate, especially when they come up on your stern, but neither John nor I are prone to seasickness.
Tonight it is raining and the 20 knot wind is howling through Kloosh's shrouds ...but we are snuggled in Rockland Harbor, secured to a mooring, reading our books and posting our blogs.
Fair winds to all of you.
September 30, 2006 An early departure from Booth Bay had us to our destination of Allen Island at 11 A.M. We anchored and had lunch but decided to continue making our way into Penobscot bay while the weather was decent. A quick review of the chart and we set sail for Tenants Harbor.
Tenants Harbor proved to be a jewel. We were able to pick up a mooring near the dock, quickly got the dinghy launched, and headed to town. As we docked we met up with a gentleman waiting on the dock for his ship to come in.. Well, he is a fisherman and was waiting for a fishing boat.
The conversation did give us a bit of insight into being a lobsterman along the Maine coast. Some nights a million pounds of lobster are trapped and it is barely enough to keep up with the demand. It used to be that a lobsterman could put out unlimited traps. Recently the limit has come down to 1200 and now its down to 900. My personal feeling is that no one could count the seemingly endless numbers of lobster pots. In places the pots are thick enough that eels have a hard time migrating between the pot warps.
The mooring was handled by the East Winds Hotel where we were told that cell phone service has not come to this thriving metropolis of 1800 souls. Could this be a sign of things to come 'Down East'?
Cheryl wanted to hike around the very quaint town so off we went after paying for the mooring and getting directions to the main drag. The colors are improving little by little so there are no end to the Kodak moments we try to capture on our Fujifilm.
St George must have heard of a dragon on the loose hearabouts and a fair damsel in distress. Being in the right spot at the right time I was able to capture the demise of the dragon just in the nick of time! The event made the local headlines with many suggestions of naming streets, towns, and schools in his honor.
September 29, 2006 Greetings from Booth Bay Harbor! The weather sure changes quickly up here. We awoke to rain and wind in the A.M., just as the weather forecasting had predicted. A grey, wet day, but one that afforded us the opportunity to lounge around and catch up on our reading...also our laundry, grocery shopping, repairs of the head and the outboard motor for the dinghy... actually a more productive day than we had hoped for.
The owner of Carousel Marina graciously offered us the free use of the marina car to run our various errands. Sure glad we came up here in the autumn as we're sure there would have been a waiting list for that vehicle in the summertime.
We just finished plotting our course for tomorrow. It looks like a day of clearing weather after the front moved through before another low swings into the New England area on Sunday or Monday. We plan on a 19 mile jaunt around Linekin Neck and Pemaquid Point which mark the west boundary of Muscongus Bay. Muscongus is known for it's rocks so we have decided to harbor at the north end of Allen Island, which is further into the Gulf of Maine and away from those treacherous rocks.
Allen is a private, wooded island with sheep grazing in the clearings. Georges Harbor is a cozy anchorage about 100 yards wide at the north end of Allen. It is known for being a calm anchorage in spite of it's exposure to the Gulf due to Brenner Island's position to it, which breaks the seas and wind.
More to come so don't touch that dial!
September 28, 2006 
Day two started with a 9:15 departure time. Leaving The Basin at low tide reminded us of yesterday's mishap with running aground. John navigated carefully though at one point we had 16" under the keel as we inched our way over the hard granite rock bottom. (Actually, we saw our neighbor Ellis leave about 20 minutes earlier and knew he had made it with the same draft as ours.)
Today's sail was different in that it was more relaxed. We had 10 knots of wind which lent a milder sail, but Kloosh still shouldered her way through the lobster-pot strewn waters of Maine and clocked in at 5 knots most of the way around Cape Small.
We had such an enjoyable sail we decided to push further than Five Islands Harbor, where we had intended to anchor. We transited Townsend Gut, which turned into a delight. The highlight of this passage came at the Townsend Gut Swing Bridge. John radioed ahead for the bridge-tender to open the swing bridge for Kloosh's 60 ft. mast.
We moored in Booth Bay Harbor, just around the corner from the exit of Townsend Gut. People have continually mentioned to us what a good time of year this is to visit Maine, and we agree. We easily found a mooring, took a leisurely walk through town, and found a restaurant with an outdoor cafe with a view of the harbor. Lobster and scallops tonight!!
With the weatherman predicting possible rain showers tomorrow due to a cold front moving through we have decided to lay over another day. What a hardship, weathered in at quaint Booth Bay Harbor!
September 27, 2006 We departed South Port Marine in Portland, Maine this morning at 08:15 and promptly run aground. We then discussed the wisdom of trying to go down a channel recommended at half tide, but attempted at low tide. Good thing we had bought a couple of the boatyard boys a case of beer on our last visit out. They promptly pulled us out before the rest of the marina awoke. (We hope!)
The good news...this turned out to be the only shallow spot of the day. We then enjoyed some of the finest sailing to be had. A 15 knot wind smack on the beam as we headed east. Kloosh hit her stride at near 7 knots through relatively smooth seas. Clear skies and mild temps combined to make a memorable day sailing the Maine coast.
We were glad to arrive in The Basin at 1:30 not only because of its idyllic scenery (it truly did seem like a lake in the mountains), but also because we were hailed by Ellis and Linda and friends Lee and Lucy on Warbonnet shortly after our arrival. Ellis and Linda graciously taxied over to invite us to a sundowner on their HR 39. John and Ellis had talked on a sailboat forum about Maine and what a surprise that we anchored in the same place on the same night...