Skip to main content

Crescendo

Image
By

Good morning everyone. We had an amazing day yesterday. Anchored at Isle Au Haut for the morning we were able to get ashore for a good
long walk. Isle Au Haut is a magical place for me. I have camped
there on several occasions. I have hiked and sailed around almost all
of nooks and crannies. The first pencil sketch I ever made was of the
Robinson Point Light. We saw several bald eagles while we were
anchored and a coyote (we had heard them yipping away during the
night) swam across the Thorofare and shook itself on the Kimball Island shore before disappearing into the woods.

Underway we started the sunny day with a deep reef in the main which
we shook out after about an hour of going 2 knots with nothing more
than 5 knots of wind. The forecast was for gusts to 30 knots but
that sure wasn't what we found when we peaked out from behind Kimball Island. With all sails set flying we beat our way up to Eagle Island
before we took in the topsails and began to beat into a stiff NNW
wind up to Hog Island and then across to our final anchorage in
Islesboro Harbor. We have put down 100 great miles in these last few
days. We really have seen it all. We saw dozens of migrating hawks,
a lone goose, as well as flocks of white winged scoters arriving for
winter.

Sunrise this morning was just stunning and their is even a touch of
maple foliage in this quiet cove. Today will be a very busy day. By
days end we should have sails and mattresses, life jackets and
blankets all dry and safely stowed in mothball back at home. I am
sorry to see the sailing season come to an end. I will miss the bay
and all that it is about. I will miss the focus and intensity of the
crew (you should have seen them yesterday as we were tearing around
the bay!). I will especially miss the diversity of guests that make
this schooner come to life. But a winters rest is well deserved by
all and by evening this captain will be having a toast to the season,
the guests, the crew, the bay.

Have a great day. Be well. Do good.

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hail Mary

By
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...
28 comments
Read more

Swimming Anyone?

By
Good morning everyone. Winter is still here in New England though it seems to be taking a rest these days. We have enjoyed a little bit of a thaw. We still have snow covering our field but it is thinning out in the sunny patches. Mary Day rests comfortably in the harbor, bilges dry, cover intact, waiting for the crew to return. Another busy week has passed so I will get you up to speed on everything that is happening here at the global headquarters. Jen is putting the finishing touches on year end taxes. Blockfest 2008 is finally finished. The blocks have received quite the massaging. And while we have the off-white paint out we are starting in on the lifeline stanchions, the davits, and a few other miscellaneous parts. Alex asked me last night how we were doing with our pace. We are doing great but in the back of my mind I know that there is never enough time to do it all. Having perfectionist tendencies is a curse. I want to do it all and know we will never have enough time. There se...
6 comments
Read more

Black Dots Make Me Smile

By
Good morning everyone. Happy Ground Hogs Day to all. If today’s forecast comes true folklore tells us we will see an early spring here in our neighborhood. What does the groundhog say about your weather forecast? We start a new month, albeit a short one but a month in which we gain an emotionally crucial 1 hour and 13 minutes of light. By months end the sunrise will be at 0620, a full 37 minutes ahead of this morning. Jen and I were shocked how light it was so early yesterday even though it was overcast. So while the weather is one thing we spend much time talking about the light is what really makes the psychic difference here. One of the things you will find me talking about in blogs, especially in summer, is seals. We have more lousy, unfocused pictures of little black dots on the ledges and every one of them makes me smile. Each picture reminds us how delighted we are to see seals. Harbor seals (phoca vitulina) are the most common seal here in Maine and their numbers have gr...
6 comments
Read more