Skip to main content

One Last Hurrah

Good morning everyone. Well, here we are on our last windjammer trip
of the season. Can you believe it? I will not do a whole lot of
reflecting here but it has been a good summer. This is a very
bittersweet time. I am looking forward to so much ashore but I will
miss the bay.

This last trip seems to be cramming an entire season of highlights in
to 4 days. We left on Thursday morning with beautiful sunshine and
temps in the 80s onshore. Within the hour that quickly became a
series of thunderstorms. One passed right over our heads with a
crack of lightning that couldn't have been 1/4 mile away. That storm
passed off uneventfully and others passed just a few miles south and
north of us. Miraculously we were in a slot between much of the bad
weather. The rest of the day we drifted lazily up to anchor in Bucks
harbor in a light breeze.

Early yesterday morning the rain poured down as a cold front
approached the coast. By breakfast time the rains had moved off and
we took time to walk ashore while the thickest fog I have seen in a
while blanketed the harbor. Underway we sailed the clearing westerly
down the Eggemmoggin Reach for one last pass under the bridge. The
outgoing tide carried us out of Jericho Bay (huge tides here in the
wake of the full moon) and down to the village at Isle Au Haut . The
wind is NW at the moment and is supposed to get quite gusty this
afternoon. But first we will get ashore at this magical place.

Have great day. Be well. Do good.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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...

Swimming Anyone?

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...

Black Dots Make Me Smile

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...