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September 1st - 4th, 2003 Nick invited us to his house for a family BBQ late Monday afternoon. It’s so nice being in a place where you have friends, especially during a Holiday. We felt right at home cutting up with Nick and his family. We found out that the alternator part was sent out Tuesday and probably wouldn’t arrive until Wednesday or Thursday. This meant we probably wouldn’t be able to leave Portsmouth until Friday. We were enjoying our time here but were also anxious to get up to Acadia National Park, Maine before it gets too cold. On Tuesday we decided to drive to the L. L. Bean store in Freeport, Maine, about an hour and a half from here. We stopped in Portland along the way and the boys got to ride the narrow gauge railroad train which runs along the waterfront. They love trains so this was extra special for them. Portland is a neat town. It is the second largest shipping port in the country. The town has preserved many of its historic buildings and has a nice feel about it. It was nice to be able to spend the day in Maine. We loved having the luxury of a car again. You really learn to appreciate things when you go so long without something. Our alternator bracket arrived and we brought the boat back to Nick’s dock so Todd could install it. To our dismay, the new bracket arrived broken, in the same location as ours. Todd suggested taking it to a good machine shop and they said they could effect a repair to the bracket that would be as strong or stronger than the original. Only time will tell. Friday, September 5th, 2003 We discussed our options about our cruise to Mount Desert in the NE harbor at Acadia National Park. It’s about 120 miles from Portsmouth which we could accomplish with a 24 hour sail. Our other choice would be to take it easy and go to Portland and then work our way “down east” stopping at different anchorages along the way. This would enable us to see more of the neat coves and coastline while making our way to Acadia. We decided to take it easy and left Portsmouth at noon and headed for Portland. As we sailed north, every sailboat we saw was heading south. We may be a little late getting up here but at least we may have missed the fog. The cruisers we talked to said that the fog was terrible this year and was present for most of July and August. Several said September was a nice time to cruise – it’s cooler and most of the crowds are gone. The hardcore cruisers will typically stay up here until the first part of October. Saturday, September 6th, 2003 We got into Portland last night after dark and spent the morning cleaning up the boat. Pierre took the boys to town with him to do laundry. I spent most of the afternoon sitting in the cockpit under a brilliant blue, sunny sky watching the boats sail by as I worked on the journal. We went to town for dinner with plans of leaving Portland tomorrow. Sunday, September 7th, 2003 I thought I would be able to get up early and finish the journal before noon so we could leave for our new anchorage but finishing this journal took longer than expected. We wanted to get it done before we left Portland because most of Maine is pretty remote and we don’t know when we’ll find a chance to connect to the internet. We were also told that they have very few cell towers and even ParticipationGuidelines.htmlike Verizon and Sprint have trouble connecting. We elected to spend another night and get an early start in the morning. Monday, September 8th, 2003 So much for leaving Portland. We had intentions to leave today but it didn’t happen. We decided to get haircuts instead. It is my experience that women are pickier about who cuts their hair than men. I’ve had the same person cut my hair in Atlanta for several years. Now I’m in the situation were I’ve got to trust someone I don’t know to do their best to not make me look ridiculous. I’m walking on the main drag in Portland and ask a lady in a store where I can get a decent hair cut. She recommends a place a couple miles from downtown. A taxi delivers us to the destination. I learn that the cost of a haircut is $14 and a dollar more if you want a shampoo. I’ve never had a $14 haircut and I’m a little nervous. Pierre walks off with the male hair dresser and a woman guides me towards the sink. I decided before arriving that I wanted to cut my hair short. It’s the only way to go when you’re on a boat where we get to shower every other or third day if we’re lucky and using a blow dryer is out of the question. I’m amazed at the speed at which she cuts my hair. Within minutes she’s done and within a few more minutes I realize why I’ve never had a $14 haircut. Pierre got a military buzz and looks good. I look like I have a bird nest on top of my head. The sides are short and the top is too long. I can tell by the look on Pierre’s face that I’m not the only one who thinks I look goofy. Maybe the hair is just in shock from the new cut. I’ll wait a day or two to see if it improves. Besides our haircut we were able to grocery shop and stock up on marine supplies at Hamilton Marine. We splurged and bought a Magma propane gas grill which can attach to the aft or side rails of the boat. It will be nice to cook outdoors. There is a scenic bike/running path that wraps around the coast just off of where we are anchored. It is perfect for the boys and their Razor scooters. The only thing that slows them down is when the narrow gauge railroad train comes by along the track that parallels the running path. I’m not sure what it is about boys and trains but they are transfixed at the site of a train. Tuesday, September 9th, 2003 Portland reminds us of the Puget Sound area in Seattle. The historic town is bounded by water on all sides. To the east is Casco Bay which is home to hundreds of islands, some inhabited, some not. On weekends the area is filled with recreational boaters cruising the bay and exploring the islands. Besides recreational boaters, the harbor is bustling with cargo ships, ferries, water taxi’s and lobster boats. While we were there, two large cruise ships were detoured to Portland because of Hurricane Isabel which was still well offshore. The nice thing about this place is it doesn’t have all the tourist souvenir shops like most busy coastal towns. It is a blue collar town with a touch of granola. There are a couple of neat pubs, nice restaurants and many specialty shops, including an L. L. Bean outlet. We’re anchored just off of Portland Yacht Services which is a couple blocks from downtown. Their moorings are $35 but the holding ground is good so we elected to anchor instead. The anchorage is bumpy most of the time since it is just off the main channel. Whenever we arrive at a new town there are usually a couple things we look for initially. On Saturday’s it’s finding a place to watch Georgia football for Pierre. On all other days it’s a search for the library and an internet hookup site for our laptop. Libraries have become our second home. The boys go straight to the children’s area, Pierre to the periodicals and I to the internet computers. It’s nice to be able to check email and do some surfing for free versus using the overpriced internet café’s. Having a laptop is nice but it is hard to find places to plug in to the internet. While in Portland I took advantage of a Hilton hotel’s business area just off their lobby. Luckily they didn’t realize I wasn’t a guest. Sometimes marina’s will have an area where we can hook up. If I’m real lucky, I’ll find a Wi-Fi zone which is the ultimate connection. My brother-in-law Scott told me to make sure I get a Wi-Fi setup on my laptop. Now I know why. For those who don’t know, if your laptop is equipped with Wi-Fi it allows you to connect to the internet without any phone lines if you are in an area that is a Wi-Fi zone. I just ask around when I get to a town to see if there are any around. Most people don’t have a clue as to what I’m talking about but occasionally someone, usually a high school or college kid, will point me in the right direction. I was able to use Wi-Fi outside a library in Provincetown on Cape Cod and also at a Red Hook Ale brewery in Portsmouth , NH. The advantage of this is that it is super fast and is available 24 hours a day. There is usually an invisible dome extending over the Wi-Fi site so you can be outside the building and connect. Major hotels, airports, Starbucks, libraries are just a few sites that may have Wi-Fi. It was afternoon by the time we pulled up anchor to head to Potts Harbor. Pierre had heard this was a quaint, protected harbor a few hours east of Portland. The views cruising between the islands dotting the bay were spectacular. Occasionally we’d come to an island with just one house on a rocky bluff hidden amongst pine trees and wondered who was lucky enough to live in a place like that. There were areas of the bay that were filled with lobster pots. When the engine’s on it is crucial to avoid the pots because they can get tangled in the propeller. When you pass through areas that are covered with these pots it’s like an obstacle course. I’m very focused when at the helm in these areas because our rule is whoever gets one tangled in the prop gets to go overboard to untangle it. This water is cold and I definitely don’t want to go swimming. I couldn’t stand looking at the bird’s nest on my head any longer. Once we were anchored at Potts, I got out the scissors and attempted to cut my hair. Cutting your own hair in a mirror is very awkward but in the end, my hair looked much better than when I started. I sure do miss Cheri, my hairdresser. Wednesday, September 10th, 2003 We woke up early in Potts Harbor (South Harpswell Island) with plans to have a nice breakfast in shore only to find that the restaurant we could see from our anchorage no longer served breakfast. A man said “they used to serve breakfast but the girl’s got lazy.” We were out of luck because there wasn’t anything nearby except residential houses. We bypassed breakfast and took a long walk instead. It was a warm, sunny morning as we strolled along the two lane road which offered incredible views of Casco Bay. We could see Eagle Island just off Potts Harbor. This island, which was given to Admiral Peary in recognition of his discovery of the North Pole, is now a State Park and home to the Peary museum. When we returned from our walk we met a nice young guy named Hank and his boxer puppy Shackleton. He and his new fiancée Jill were on their way back to Boston after cruising for a couple weeks on the Maine coast. Hank was a sailing enthusiast and had a lot of good information on nice anchorages and marina’s. We exchanged information and hoped to catch up with them again if we stopped in Boston. Pierre was still obsessing on the fact that our engine seemed to vibrate more than usual. The water was crystal clear and we could see some debris around the prop but it didn’t seem to free itself when we put the engine in reverse so Pierre felt it was necessary to go underwater and remove the debris by hand. We thought it was a long shot but maybe it might help stop the vibration. Pierre tried to bribe me into going in by offering me six back massages but there was no way I was going to go in 57 degree water. He had a 3 mm wetsuit but people up here wear wetsuits as thick as tires. Pierre stayed in the water about 10 minutes. He began to hyperventilate as soon as he hit the water and said he could barely hold his breath long enough get the debris off the prop.
Thursday, September 11th, 2003 Even though we are in this spectacular place, it is hard not to forget about the victims of 9-11. A doctor I worked with at Kaiser lost a sister in 9-11 and my thoughts were of her and what she and her family were doing today. We were able to watch a little of the remembrance ceremony on TV at the resort lounge. It was a sunny, warm day and the boys had fun riding their scooters around the resort and playing at the playground. Pierre and I got in a game of tennis before having lunch at a restaurant that overlooked the harbor. In the evening we went to the game room where they had an old time candlepin bowling alley. The place was packed with men at a conference but they opened up a lane for us and even paid for our games. The balls were slightly larger than softballs which were perfect for the boys. Friday, September 12th, 2003 We motor sailed about seven hours to Port Clyde, a small blue collar fishing town in a harbor filled with working boats and a general store at the base of the town dock. The general store has a good supply of groceries and even makes their own pizza. We made it easy on ourselves and brought a pizza back to the boat for dinner. Our meals on the boat resemble that of a college student. We tend to eat things that are relatively simple to cook. Basics like spaghetti and hamburgers frequent our menu. Breakfasts are usually cereal or oatmeal and lunch consists of sandwiches most of the time. Mac and Cheese and Spaghetti O’s keep the boy’s happy. I would love to have elaborate meals but we tend to get lazy after a full day of sailing and take the easy way out. I’ve been trolling when we are sailing but so far I haven’t caught any fish. I was told that blue fish and mackerel are prevalent here but I troll for hours and come up empty every time. I ran into a local man at the dock who said he was going fishing in the morning. I asked him for some tips on catching fish and he informed me that I needed a “Big Mac” lure. He tried to explain what it was and then told me he would leave one for me on the dock in the morning.
It was close to 4 p.m. when we arrived in Camden. The 1,385 foot Mount Megunticook provides a dramatic backdrop to this picturesque harbor which is home to a windjammer fleet and several luxury boats. We picked up a Wayfarer Marine mooring for $24 and immediately headed to shore. Pierre wanted to catch the second half of the Georgia football game. We found a nice restaurant with a TV and a flexible bartender who agreed to change the channel. We met with Brad after the game at the local bar/restaurant. The boys became an instant hit the locals playing pool. They kept giving the boy’s quarters to play a race car arcade game which kept them entertained while Pierre and I visited with Brad. Brad and Pierre used to work for the same yacht delivery service in Connecticut and they’ve kept up with each other over the years. Brad’s the skipper of a 1.2 million dollar Hinckley 57 called Bandera. He’s captained Bandera for almost 7 years. He moves the boat to the Caribbean in the winter and back to New England in the spring and does approximately 15-20 charters a year, both in the Caribbean and New England. Must be a really great gig for Brad, as he’s good with people and lives the free, easy life of a bachelor. It was about 9 p.m. when we left the restaurant. Brad is full of energy and had fun running around with the boys in a park overlooking the harbor. We played hide-n-seek before taking the dinghy back to our boat. Sunday, September 14th, 2003 We were surprised to find that the Camden library was open on Sunday. The library is on a hill that overlooks the harbor and has a wonderful children’s area, equipped with puppets, fish tank, Thomas the Tank Engine trains and track and a play lighthouse. We spent a couple hours there. We haven’t had access to a cell phone since leaving Portsmouth, N.H. We have calling cards and spent part of the day making calls to family and friends. I’m sure many people would envy not having a phone. There are definite advantages, such as not having your dinner interrupted by telemarketers. Monday, September 15th, 2003 We left Camden this AM in the fog. It’s scary when you know there are rocky ledges around and you can’t see them. Luckily the fog cleared up after a couple hours. Pierre is worried about Hurricane Isabel. It is a category five storm now and forecasters are saying it could hit as far north as New Jersey. If it did come ashore that far north then we would definitely have some serious weather to deal with here. Most marina’s kick boaters off the docks and moorings when a hurricane approaches so we would have to find a hole and anchor somewhere. Pierre is concerned because we don’t know the area and we don’t want to have to go through a storm like that with the boy’s on board. We decided to go to Billings Diesel and Marine Services in Stonington. We heard this was a good, honest boatyard and wanted to check out the possibility of being hauled if we needed to escape the wrath of Isabel. Billing’s is a busy boatyard and we were told that if we wanted to be hauled, they could squeeze us in tomorrow afternoon but after that they probably couldn’t accommodate us, especially if the hurricane got closer. We picked up a mooring off the boatyard that night weighed the pros and cons of getting hauled. We were only 20 miles from our destination of Acadia National Park, but if we continued on, where could we go if the hurricane did hit farther north? In the end, we decided to get the boat out of the water, not only from a safety aspect, but to take advantage of being in a good yard to get some things done.
September 16th - 15th 2003 Isabel Is Coming!
Early in the morning I make my way down the ladder, carrying our pee bucket and my shower gear and make my way across the boatyard. I’m sleepy-eyed with a bad case of bed head and have to face all the workers at the yard as I make my way to the showers. These guys are always so cheerful to me in the morning. My biggest fear is that someone is going to ask me “What’s in the bucket?” The guys in the boatyard have an incredible work ethic. Many of them work from 6 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the yard and then head out to haul lobster traps. One man and his wife haul 100 traps every day after work. I saw them coming back to the dock around 7 p.m. one cold, foggy night wondered how they could do this everyday. We spent the first few days in the yard without a car. I needed a few groceries and road about 2 miles on a Razor scooter to the only food store in Stonington. I didn’t realize this place was so hilly. The ride on the narrow, two lane road was strenuous but my reward was the breathtaking views of the rocky coast, quaint harbors and scallops for dinner. We were not the only ones living here. There were a couple luxury motor yachts tied up to the dock at the marina. We were fortunate enough to have met Larry and Edda, a couple in their early 60’s, on the 70-foot yacht Pelagial. They were extremely friendly to us. Edda cooked two delicious meals for us and Larry helped me with some electrical problems I was having on our boat. Larry, an former Navy officer, is the captain for Pelagial which is owned by the heir to a pharmaceutical company. He said there is always work to be done on a boat like this so they spend several months here each year. Larry is a whiz with computers and electronics and has this boat equipped like none I’d ever seen. He has large two large computer screens on the bridge which show him anything he needs to know about the systems of the boat. He has satellite TV with TiVo and recorded a Georgia football game for Pierre. The boat even has a Jacuzzi on deck. Edda’s jovial personality and big hugs made her a favorite with Thomas and Patrick. She invited them over to watch cartoons, took them on walks and even offered to watch the boys one morning for four hours while Pierre and I participated in a round robin tennis outing. This was the first time we had been away from the boys since we left South Carolina. It was a real treat for us and we met some neat people at the tennis club. Most of the people we met summered in Maine and lived somewhere warm (usually Florida) in the winter. Pierre and I were amazed at one older gentleman who played great tennis with a Jack Kramer wooden racquet. He said he’s been waiting for it to wear out before he gets a new racquet but it never wears out. We rented a car to explore the area since it would take at least a week to finish the boat repairs. We met up with Pierre’s friend Brad at the Maine Organic Growers and Farmer’s festival in Unity, a rural town northwest of Camden. We rode from the parking lot to the festival site on a large wooden wagon pulled by a tractor. The festival featured a back to nature theme with border collie herding sheep demonstrations, large farm animals, lectures on agriculture, women hand spinning yarn and house building to name a few. Thomas and Patrick got to milk a cow, jump off hay bails, paint and participate in a children’s costume parade made up of kids dressed as veggies and farm animals. Thomas was a pig and Patrick a frog. We were told that people from all over the state and even from neighboring states attend this festival. We spent the night at a hotel in Ellsworth, a town half way between Stonington and Acadia National Park. It was nice to take long showers and watch college football. We met Brad at his hotel in SW Harbor the next morning. After a big breakfast at Brad’s we hit the hiking trail. We hiked Acacia’s Flying Mountain trail which gave us spectacular views of Some’s Sound and the Cranberry Islands. We have been so impressed with the residents of Maine. They are the most friendly and unpretentious people. When we were driving back to Stonington from Ellsworth, on a dark two lane road, an old pickup truck appeared behind us flashing his lights. My first thought was that Pierre must have cut him off. He continued to flash his lights so we pulled over. The older gentleman informed us that we didn’t have any tail lights. He then turned around and went on his way. Not all the drivers are that friendly though. We heard about a case a road rage reported on the radio. A man armed with a rake got into a scuffle with another driver with a hammer in the parking lot of a Wal-Mart. In Georgia shotguns would probably be the weapon of choice. The boys were a big hit at the boat yard. Richard, who works in the yard’s marine store, invited us to the Deer Isle fire station. He’s the former fire chief of Deer Isle. The station was manned by volunteer fireman. The boys had quite a time climbing in and out of the fire trucks. While David our mechanic worked on the propeller shaft, Pierre and I did some teak deck repair work. Jim, the chief carpenter of the yard, came over and gave us some great advice on the fine points of teak deck repair. Pierre offered to pay Jim for his time and he said “just leave some beer in our refrigerator.” Pierre wanted to leave an import beer and he said “We drink Bud around here.” We were also able to get our home port of Port Royal, SC painted on our stern for a very reasonable price. Everyone here was so helpful and we felt good about getting things done on the boat which we had put off for so long. Harlen Billings, the owner of the boatyard, was as nice as his crew. We needed to return our rental car to Ellsworth, approximately 45 minutes from Stonington , and he offered to give us a ride back to the yard. On the ride back he gave the boys lunch and bought them chocolate milk. It was refreshing being around so many friendly and helpful people. I really enjoyed our time in the yard and hope we will be able to make it back here again someday. Friday September 26th, 2003 It was early afternoon by the time we set sail for SW harbor, approximately 20 miles to the east. Our route took us through Deer Isle thoroughfare, then over to Mt. Desert Island. We picked up a mooring in SW harbor, home of the Hinckley yacht boat yard. We had spectacular views of the mountains of Acadia National Park. We came here because we needed to get our mail. Susie Flach, a friend of a friend, has a home right on the harbor and let us send mail to her house. When I called Susie she was on her way out the door but agreed to meet me with our packages at a marina dock. It was dark by the time I headed back to our boat in the dinghy loaded with our packages. It’s always exciting when we get a mail shipment in. It had been 3 or 4 weeks since we last had mail so we had a lot to go through. My Mom and sister had sent care packages for the boys which included some warm pajamas, books, sparklers and other neat things. The boys were as excited tonight as they were on their birthday. Saturday September 27th, 2003 We took the dinghy to shore and the boys and I went to the Oceanarium and Pierre went to browse the shops around town. The Oceanarium was small but had a nice touch tank with many neat creatures that the boys could pick up such as starfish, horseshoe crabs and sea cucumbers. We met Pierre for lunch, made some phone calls and wore the boys out on the local playground. Sunday September 28th, 2003 It was a cool, windy and rainy day. We spent the day doing odd jobs on the boat, reading and listening to the radio. We never left the boat. Monday September 29th, 2003 We woke up to a brilliant blue sky with lots of sunshine and decided to head over to NE Harbor, just over a mile away. This harbor is very scenic with luxury homes nestled on hills of pines overlooking the water. NE harbor is home to some prominent names such as the Rockefeller’s, Mellon’s and Martha Stewart. We picked up a mooring for $20 a night and learned that on Oct. 1st the price will drop to $5 since it is the off season. They had shower facilities but once again it was a timed deal - $1.50 for 3 ½ minutes. The city also has two tennis courts adjacent to the marina but the charge is $10 an hour if you aren’t a resident. The advantage of this harbor is that a free Acadia National Park shuttle stops right at the marina and will take us to the hiking trails in the Park and also Bar Harbor . Tuesday September 30th, 2003 After our quick showers, we caught the 10 a.m. shuttle to Jordan Pond, a 3.5 mile hike around a blue-green mountain lake. The boys hiked the trail unassisted and had a great time. We went to Bar Harbor for lunch. Bar Harbor is a popular stop for cruise ships and while we were there, two large ships were in the harbor. The streets were filled with tourists. Boy, back to civilization. We returned to the dock by 5 p.m. We were walking on the dock toward the dinghy when I heard a splash and a scream. Patrick was in the water, his arms churning as fast as he could as he belted out screams that could puncture an eardrum. Luckily, he had his lifejacket on and Pierre was able to pull him out of the 58 degree water within a half a minute. The poor boy was cold and wet on the dinghy ride back to the boat. We stripped him in the cockpit, warmed him up and put him in his new fleece pajamas. I think that incident really showed us the importance of having lifejackets on them at all times. Patrick said he tripped when he went to look at something in the water. |
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