Sailing Vacations
A Maine Windjammer

Good morning everyone. Hope you folks all had a great Thanksgiving surrounded by family and good friends or if you wish spent more quietly without much fanfare. Both have their virtues. The “gift” of the holiday season is upon us and I think Thanksgiving is just a good warm up for the next few weeks. Seems like keeping the expectations in check is the real trick, one I have not yet mastered by any stretch. It is good to see the inlaws and outlaws alike around the holidays but what is it about having family around that triggers all the old stuff? The cold hard truth is that I have yet to gain the maturity to realize that the “old tapes” are just that, old tapes that I can chose or not. Easy enough to say, wicked hard to do. So we managed Thanksgiving complete with turkey and homemade table (scrap lumber and sawhorses). We did the required stuffing of the bird and then stuffing of ourselves. Good eats! The guests have departed and we begin re-entry into the “normal” lives we lea...

Good morning everyone. A whopping 16 degrees here this morning. We had a busy weekend around here and at the boat. Frankly we are feeling a little overwhelmed by it all. We just can't seem to keep up with it (read our expectations). I spent Saturday down at schooner taking advantage of a few more hours aboard. I am happy to report that the bilges are dry. The cover needed a little tightening in places after all the windy weather we have had. Sawyer and I winterized the miscellaneous gasoline engines by changing the oil, fogging the cylinders, and draining the saltwater intake lines for the fire pump, and putting fuel stabilizer in the tanks. I am trying a new old trick by pouring molasses in a few of the drain lines. I have heard the old timers did this years ago to keep the thru-hull fittings from weeping saltwater back in to the lines. This technique should make our annual overhaul of the thru-hull fittings a little more sweet. We have not seen ice on the harbor yet but i...

Good morning everyone. Well old man winter came knocking yesterday. The dock hauling was cancelled on account of heavy rain which turned to snow flurries. At the immediate coast there was no visible accumulation but just 5 miles inland from the coast we had a 1/2" of new snow and up in the mountains even more. Sawyer, of course, was ready to go sledding and tried one warm up run down the drive way. Hope is not reserved for spring. Even before the snow came we could see the telltale signs. Frost was heavy in the field yesterday and early morning ice has been lingering on the ponds. On the bay you would hardly recogize the guillemots in their winter garb. Each winter we also get a host of ducks that guests normally don't get a chance to see unless you come on one of our early or late cruises. Golden eyes, pintail, and buffleheads will hang out in the inner harbor all winter long. They are just beautiful and give me thoughts of wilder places farther north where they breed in t...

Good morning everyone. On this day in 1851 Melville first published Moby Dick. I know here in New England we were pushed through that book by knowing school marms. At the time it looked like just another long book to me, my simple mind just not able to grasp the fullness in the pages. Interestingly I was not alone. Seems as though the readers of Melville's era had a tough time with its social and personal searchings as well. It wasn't until the 1920's, 30 years after his death, that folks began to take a longer look at what Herman Melville had to say. Have you ever felt misunderstood? I guess there is hope after all. Yesterday we drained down the water lines at the docks and began the process of taking things apart. Mary, Jen, and Elisa made one last big painting push to finish the galley and main cabin. All that is left is the water tank above Mary's sink and that will be done today. We will be down there again today in the bright sunshine. Have a great day. Be...

Good morning everyone. Finally, I am back from Texas and have survived a weekend at the local EMT seminars. I am ready to get up and stir after three straight days of sitting still. There is no lack of job security here. The kids are back to school after a long weekend. Even Gussie is heading for the vets today for her greatly appreciated annual boosters. The list is endless and now we just race the weather and the removal of the docks. A gentle rain is falling. The thermometer is at 36. High tide is at 1230 in Camden. As you know, Jen and the crew have been painting out the main cabin and it looks fabulous. We are having to run heaters to keep things warm enough to paint. The nights have been quite chilly so a balmy 55 degrees in the main cabin is good enough for us. Most of the sandtone overheads and walls are done and today the off-white will be painted. This is the home stretch as far as the docks are concerned. Time to launch the winter skiff and begin thinking about the 7 co...

Good morning everyone. Barry here, reporting in from Galveston after our trip back from Corpus Christi. With an impending cold front approaching the Texas coast on Tuesday morning and winds forecast to come NE we "beat feet" back to Galveston. I stood the mid to 4 watch. The trip back was largely uneventful. A light southerly tailwind was welcome but the apparent wind was not enough to give us the easting we desired so the 450 hp power plant gave us the boost we needed to keep a 7-8 knot pace through the night. The big excitement came while traveling in the fairway, the channel that passes 10 or so miles off the coast with occasional intersection leading to major harbors. At 0200 we came across 4 seismic research vessels working cables across the bottom in the fairway. A few radio calls established the idea that small floats across the fairway were connected to the seismic cables with wire rope and that wrapping one of these up in Elissa's propeller would hinder o...

Good Morning. The sanders have finally been put to rest for a short while.It's been endless days and hours with Mr. Makita. Time for him to take a break and bring out the ole Mrs. Chinabristle to let her play. Today's the day we start to paint the galley and main saloon. A welcoming job (one of Mary's favorite places to paint!)as this is our last for this season on the boat. The temps are getting chilly on the boat, only getting up into the 40's. The shop with the woodstove seems to be calling us from afar... Every year when I, and I'm sure this goes for Mary as well, work at an endless sanding task (which there are many!) my mind keeps me occupied with flashbacks from the summer. I remember the beautiful sunsets, the whales that graced us with their beauty, the eagles that soared overhead, the smell of the pine forests on shore, the mossy fairy houses found, the list goes on and on. And with the sights I'm seeing I can still hear the laughter ringing...

Good morning everyone. Noel blew through New England last night reminding us that although the official hurricane season is over nature minds no calendar. Mary and I were down at the boat putting on a few extra mooring lines and checking the chafe gear when the first of the rain and wind came in just after noon time. It's good to know all the gear and small boats are safe and sound. It amazes me that the Tropical Prediction Center dropped mention of Noel after 5 PM on Friday. When I checked the Gulf of Maine Ocean Observing System (aka GoMOOS) website last nite the wind was gusting on Nantucket at 69 miles per hour with 39.7 foot seas on the Georges Bank. Here in our modest little neighborhood the Penobscot Bay buoy recorded gusts at 50 knots. The cover was still on the schooner last I knew but Jen will have to give you a more precise report on Tuesday. I am off to Texas once again this morning. As you may recall we left the tallship Elissa in Corpus Christi for ...