East Coast Travels

8/15 to 8/30 2007

We're working our way Northeast. Visiting places we'd only dreamt of as we read our sailing magazines.

We plan to post and update at least weekly. We move the older portions of the log to secondary pages accessible at the bottom of the page. Join our voyage!

Updated on 09/20/2007

8/15/07 - We were picked up at the Jubilee Yacht Club by Joe and Evelyn around noon (Joe is and internet writing friend I've corresponded with for years). We had a great day touring the north side of Boston, their old stomping grounds. Ruth wants to move there! We ended our day at their condo, enjoying a home-cooked Italian dinner. It was fantastic to finally met Joe and to see Boston through the eyes of a pair of natives. Thank you Joe and Evelyn!!! 8/16/07 - Beautiful morning - warm, sunny and still. The marine forecast is calling for small craft warnings this afternoon with some weak fronts. We hung out at Jubilee until noon where Ruth made a major book trade - whoopie, new books to read! Then we returned to Misery Island so Ruth could work the phone and then go glassing while I refinished the last of the teak (first of 5 coats). Ruth had a great afternoon of glassing. Added some beautiful pieces to her collection. Misery Island is named for an early boat builder who spent several miserable days there, caught in a December storm. Since then it has been a resort with golf course (went broke), a cottage community (burned out) and is now owned by a conservation group (uninhabited). 8/17/07 - Another beautiful day. Amy called last night and is showing the Grand Cherokee to a potential buyer today... fingers crossed. Still no bites on the house even with a new realtor. The buyer didn't show... still have a Jeep and house for sale. Good new was that Ruth found another mother lode for beach glass and had a great afternoon mining. Evening brought strong winds... we could hear them whistling through the rigging. I got up ever hour and checked our position to make sure we weren't dragging anchor. We stayed put all night in our snug little hole in the rocks. 8/18/07 - Strong winds, 24 - 40 knots, convinced us to get out of Misery to get to a mooring in Salem harbor. After dancing with a mooring ball for half an hour we finally got secured to it and settled down. We grabbed a water taxi and picked up the crew from Ariel. Then we toured Salem. We did the tourist trolley and visited the Witches Dungeon and other historic sites. It's unbelievable that 3 teenage girls could start a hysteria that resulted in 19 people (and 2 dogs) being executed (and dozens of others tortured).  We closed the day with sun-downers on AA with Miles and Laureen. At dusk we said our good-byes as the two boats are on different courses for the next few weeks. 8/19/07 - Ariel headed south about 7am and we headed north. If all goes well we'll meet again around September 6th and head south. After settling with the water taxi for the mooring we departed about 8:15am. We rounded Cape Ann under power to find favorable winds for the next 26 mile leg. We shut down the engine and sailed along at 7-8 knots burning no fuel. Enroute we passed a rock that looked like a snow covered mountain range - special effects courtesy of the local Cormorants. We also skirted the Isle of Shoals... coool and appropriate name. By 3 we were at Portsmouth on the NH & Maine border. We topped off the diesel tank (22 gallons), pumped out, and took on 100 gallons of water before going up the river to Pepperell and anchoring. What a great day, a little cool (60's) and overcast - but what a sail! The landscape has changed from sandy shores to granite outcroppings - rugged and magnificent! Laureen left a pair of sunglasses aboard so we are showing them the scenery so she can review it when we join up later. 8/20/07 - Monday morning, bright, cool and calm. I fired up the diesel heater for the third morning in a row, running it just long enough to take the sharp edge off the cabin air. We should push on to Portland ME but I think Ruth is dreaming of glassing the beach behind our anchorage. Everything you visit has a price to view. It's scary to think about what could happen in the future, after military cloaking technology migrates to the private sector. You are cruising the coast and note dark gray hummocks sitting in the water to starboard, only navigation marks visible. Your charts confirm these are the Isle of Shoals, a beautiful vista. In order to see them you pull down your viewer and press connect. A few bucks leave your e-bank account and the dark hummock disappear revealing beautiful rock cliffs and and old fishing village. Shortly a message appears, the Shoreline Conservatory Society thanking you for your contribution - noting you need to press connect again to prolong your view... the screen darkens and the hummock reappear. Finally, a way to pay to preserve the views. Okay, enough of that. Time to take Ruth to the beach. Ruthie had a good day glassing. Some colors she hadn't seen before, reds and blues. Small pieces, ideal for jewelry. 8/21/07 - At 8:30 I hoisted anchor and we set off for Portland. The Maine coast is well protected against invasion by millions of Lobsta pots... we caught one in the prop - luckily it was cut on the first pass and didn't wind on the shaft. A little later we had a whale sighting, then another and a third. They were Minke whales, weighing in at 5-8 tons, 15-25' feet long. About half the size of Another Adventure. Minke are the most common whale with a population of about 1 million worldwide. We motored 37 miles to Portland's Casco Bay, seeking anchorage in a small inlet by Jewel Island. Supposedly a deserted island with old fortifications but in reality a collection of family campsites. A Loon greeted us as we entered the inlet while Cormorants stood guard on the ledges around us. We were surprised to see Ariel at anchor... okay, different boat but great folks who welcomed us to Maine. 8/22/07 - A cool day, 60's in the morning to high 60's in the afternoon. We moved from Jewel Island to the SW corner of Peaks Island... we can see Portland to the SW. Tanker, ferries, and the city skyline. Tomorrow AM we'll move to a mooring and grab a ferry to Portland. I need a chip for navigation system and Ruth wants to see the waterfront. It should be a great visit. It's a little rocky rolly where we're anchored... ferries, cruisers and all... but it's a cool place to view the goings on in Portland. 8/23/07 - We took the ferry in mid-morning, arriving in the old downtown area net to DiMilio's, a great floating restaurant built out of an old ferry boat (she's on her second hull). We walked the cobblestone streets, visiting marine salvage stores, bookstores and any other retailer you can imagine. We found a great discount marine supplier and picked up the C-Map navigation chip we needed, new crocs for Ruth and a couple of miscellaneous pieces of hardware. Great prices! Lunch was wharf-side in a neat little shop. After more touristing we decided Portland was a great stop... a viable city with a portside downtown. Sure glad we got to see it. The ferry brought us back to Peaks and Ruth did a little beach glassing. She bought a book in Portland and is learning a lot about the history of sea glass. At dusk the curtain fell, literally. Fog materialized in a flash, blanketing the Island and Portland. The foghorns started their bass symphony, calling to each other through the wooly blanket. Ships passed but we heard only the throb of the engines and felt the buffeting of their wakes. 8/24/07 - The wind rose during the night and the fog was gone when we awoke Friday morning. We moved to Falmouth (about 4 miles) to get closer to the boat I need to prep for shipping. Enroute Ruth bought and sold a railcar - major high, only to learn that the mill decided not to sell it but to re-pulp it instead - major low. The business is killing her - however it's what she knows best. She's working on 3 other cars... got our fingers crossed. Took her to the beach on Clapboard Island to scratch sand and regenerate. 8/25/07 - Foghorns again this morning... warm front moving over the the cold (57F) water. Bright sunny day above the fog. We moved to a day anchorage off a couple of small islands with sand/gravel beaches so Ruth could do a little glassing while I read and prepared for the boat packing job I have to do. It was a nice quiet day, warm and hazy. We're just east of Falmouth, ME. The islands here are rock with a crown of vegetation - pines and leafy varieties. We've seen lots of gulls, some terns and other birds we don't recognize. 8/26/07 - Hazy morning with a strong sun rising. We had a short (1 bolt of lightning) thunderstorm last night. Lots of heavy rain - a good free boat rinse. It's supposed to get into the 80's today. I'm working on the Mumm 36 I getting ready to ship. I spent about 5.5 hours on the Mumm, getting her ready to haul Tuesday at high tide (noon). Wednesday the truck arrives and we find out what we need to do to load her. Ruth and I found a grocery store at the top of a steep hill in Falmouth and picked up a few things for the next couple of days. Once the boat is loaded we will head "down east" (meaning east and north to Camden). 8/27/07 - Northerly winds brought crystal clear skies overnight. Ruthie was sitting in the cockpit having her morning coffee when she called to me "come up here quick". I did and was rewarded with a view of a seal that was swimming around our boat. Can't remember the last time I saw one in WI... oh yah, Easter Seals. I spent most of the day on paperwork related to surveying the Mumm and getting it ready to ship. Ruth worked on the phone and computer, then went off to the beach for glassing. Actually 2 beaches as we moved mid-day to a second anchorage. While she was there I did an oil change on the engine... oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! We watched a couple try to get their boat off the rocks. They finally gave up and waited 6 hours for the tide... luckily they grounded mid-tide and not high. 8/28/07 - We had a several seal morning. Ruth and I were up at 7:30 for coffee and to watch their antics as they searched for breakfast. some chased fish and other dove for clams... bringing them up and floating on their backs while they opened and ate them. I worked most of the day surveying and preparing the Mumm for shipment. Surprise, the truck showed up at 1pm today instead of 8am tomorrow. We busted our tails but we got it on the road before dusk (he can only travel in daylight - wide load. The new owner will get his boat a day early! Ruth had a sale! Whoopie! Way to go Ruth! The ice is broken and we're looking forward to getting back on track. Full moon  last night and a lunar eclipse. We can see it in the above normal tides - 10'. Tomorrow we head for Camden! 8/29/07 - Miles & Laureen head back home - have a safe trip! We departed Falmouth at 11:30, full fuel, full water, full holding tank (their pump-out was out of service -  doesn't that suck? I guess it doesn't). We sailed and motor sailed 24 miles as the crow flies. With all the shoal, rocks and islands we traveled XX nautical miles. It was an ideal day for the trip. Ruth had another sale and I billed out the boat packing and survey. We'll eat another few weeks  ;-> This is lobsta pot country. The camera doesn't really capture it. Everywhere you look we are surrounded by colored floats - sometimes only 5-10' apart. We passed Bath, ME and Sheepscot Bay, entering Booth Bay and finally Christmas Cove. We are on a mooring tonight - the only way to settle in this small cove as there is no room to swing on an anchor. We find this to be the case in most of this area. We learned that the seals we saw were probably Harbor Seals. There are reputedly 4 varieties of seals in this area. Hope to get a photo but the little buggers are really shy - and quick. 8/30/07 - Another beautiful morning, mid-60's and sunny with enough wind to motor sail and later to sail as we worked our way toward Penobscot Bay. We spent the day dodging lobster pots. They are in depths from 40' to 200' and in numbers beyond belief. I'm surprised there are any lobsters left. We saw very few power boats other than the fishermen. Sailboats were evident everywhere. I saw another Harbor Seal today. He popped up right next to us as we were sailing... saw us and disappeared in a flash. We decided to anchor for the night in Rockland Harbor, just a few miles from Camden. We are in a mountainous area of Maine. It's stunning to see the foothills stretching back from Rockland toward central Maine. NOAA has issued severe thunderstorm watches all around us for the evening. We've backed down hard on our anchor and have 150' of chain out in 15'/26' water depth. It's interesting calculating scope with the tides. We are at 5:1 during high tide. Good news - Ruth has had sales each of the last 3 days. Way to go Ruthie! We had an internet connection and received our e-mail so I tried to publish the web update. Noooah, the connection wasn't strong enough and the server kept timing out. As we get closer to Portland we should be able to get the site updated. By then it will be time to put most of this page to history.

Laureen stakes out oldest candy store in US Snow covered mountain (okay birds... covered rock) Why kids shouldn't sail - they have too much fun! Small harbor at Jewel Island, Casco Bay, Portland A few of the 3 million Maine lobsta pots Walking downtown Portland Portland fresh fish market, nice prices! Ruth glassing at Peaks Island AA moored off Peaks Island Mumm 36 at Falmouth, ME Sailboat on the rocks, big whoopsie Christmas Cove at low tide Whitehead I. light, the boat is in 90' of water Light at North end of Owl's Head Bay Chuck, Lady Lynn's new dinghy? (Rockport)

Visit earlier portions of our east coast travels...