Windjammer Cruise Memories

Good Morning everyone. 0 degrees out in the dooryard. Yahoo! The cold is my friend. For one, the cold of winter makes the heat of the summer sailing all that much sweeter. And the skating is great. The kids and I played hockey on our home made skating rink yesterday. Sawyer’s Zamboni efforts with the garden hose paid off big! Today we are back in to the office, the kids are off to school, I am on call on the ambulance, and we are in for clear sunny skies. These are the days I dread the office and just want to play outside.

But I remember July 14, 2005. Another beautiful day windjamming on Penobscot Bay:

Thursday morning the fog broke in the Eggemoggin Reach as it often does. We visited the Wooden Boat School ashore before getting under way. We had a wonderful sail down the Reach passing under the Deer Isle Bridge; a tricky feat when the schooner is 100’ tall and the bridge is only 85’. How do we do it, you ask? The taller windjammer in the Maine Windjammer fleet have permanently arranged “housing” tackle allowing us to lower the topmasts about the 20’ or so necessary to safely pass under. Any miscalculation on the spring tides would have serious consequences. We cheered as we passed under the bridge and back into Penobscot Bay. The wind and tide carried us up to the Holbrook Island Sanctuary off Cape Rosier where we got ashore before dinner. That night in Holbrook Harbor an anticipated cold front passed over bringing a few light showers. We were dry and cozy under the awnings and enjoyed an unexpected sunset. Our deckhand Seth took time that evening to teach our guests to tie Turks head bracelets, a fancy piece of knot work that kept many of us busy through Friday.

We wish you all a great day. Be well. Do good.

Hail Mary

My heart is heavy with sadness as I write this particular blog. Since the beginning of August our dear friend and cook for the last 12 years, Mary Barney, had been struggling with cancer. I have intentionally respected Mary’s privacy and I apologize to you for not sharing any news about Mary’s health sooner. On Monday afternoon Mary passed away very peacefully at home, surrounded by friends and “family”. Her departure was as graceful as the rest of her life. Many people, including Jen, have been doing heroic work to support Mary these last few weeks. Oddly enough Mary was never very excited about transitions though this was about the fastest transition she ever made. And as I struggle to let go of Mary I realize I am terrible with transitions as well. We used to joke about how we liked things just the way they are, thank you very much, so why change what is working already even if it might be less labor intensive. Hard works is its own reward. I used to joke about getting Mary a Cui...

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