Off Fisherman Island Maine (Click)

Javelin 2014 Maine Cruise July 27 - August 13

For the fourteenth time, Steve Blecher's 53' J-160, Javelin takes a tried and true, mostly Dartmouth grad, crew on a cruise to Maine. The Crew:
Steve (Dartmouth '64) boat Javelin, home port Westbrook, CT
Rick Van Mell ('63), boat Vanishing Animal, home port San Francisco Bay
Mel Converse ('60), boat Whim, home port Galesville, MD, Chesapeake Bay
Paul Wharton (Duke '64), boat Golden Eye, home port Stamford, CT,
Michael Luskin, (Harvard '73), boat Turtleheart, home port Scarsdale, NY
the above boarding at Westbrook, CT, plus
Brian Klinger ('62), boat Special K, home port Portsmouth, NH, boarded at Northeast Harbor, ME.

With a nod to father time, we're avoiding overnight runs this year while still stretching our legs to get down east. We'll start heading east from Javelin's home port of Westbrook, CT, traversing Long Island Sound, Narragansett Bay, Buzzards Bay, through the Cape Cod Canal to Sandwich for the first night. Then on past Gloucester and Cape Ann to Wentworth Marina, in Portsmouth, NH where we will spend the night and have dinner with Brian & Lise. After that it's up for grabs depending on weather and whim. We've got reservations in Northeast Harbor for Monday, August 4th, and Sebasco on Saturday, August 9th to pick up Karin McIlvaine for a day sail followed by dinner. Then it's back through Wentworth on the 10th, Sandwich on the 11th, and a stop somewhere before returning to Westbrook on Wednesday, August 13th.

That was The Plan, and Shopping List, but you'll just have to read on to see what happened when the wind hit the plan! Note: "Plan" destinations shown below are Rick's choices to facilitate meal planning (like local lobsters!), and generally fit Steve's original targets to get at least as far east as Cross Island.

Pictures by Mel Converse, Michael Luskin, and Rick Van Mell, and are grouped between days. There may be even be a few movie clips too.

The table below summarizes daily runs and the date is a link to that day's log. Elasped time is generally time under way and has sometimes been adjusted for lunch stops. Cells with a darker background color represent changes from the original Plan.

Saturday, July 26th

Rick landed at JFK 50 minutes early and Rick and Mel almost collided using cell phones to find each other. Taking the Van Wyk out of JFK proved to be a mistake as it took almost 40 minutes to go 5 miles, but then it was mostly speed limit for the remaining 100 miles to Westbrook, arriving at Javelin about 1815.

Clothes got stowed and systems turned on to air out the boat. The air conditioning worked just fine and had us down to 70 degrees in short order. The water and propane came on as usual. With all under control, Rick and Mel headed out to the Fish Tale restaurant about a mile west down route 1 and enjoyed a heaping platter of Fish & Chips.

Returning as dusk and humid clouds dimmed the light, they filled the water tanks, checked the navigation systems and computers, and, of course, the weather. The forecast was for both a warm front and a cold front to pass in the next 48 hours - each with the potential for severe thunderstorms, including a 5% chance of a tornado!

With that good news, we turned in to our bunks a little after 2200.

Go To Log Summary

Sunday, July 27th

The warm aroma of Mel's Polcari coffee filled the cabin at 0620, just right for a simple breakfast of oatmeal and cranberry juice. We were at the Super Stop & Shop by 7:20, back on the road at 0839 with 16 bags of goodies. Using the dock cart and a chain gang approach, they were passed on board and then down below where they were quickly stowed.

Steve, Paul and Mike arrived at 1040 and hauled more food and gear on board. Just as predicted, at 1108 it started raining. Strong lines of storms showed up on the computer weather radar, but so far they were mostly just north and south of Westbrook.

Between the drops, the inflatable dinghy was blown up and lashed on deck and the electric outboard clamped to its home on the stern pulpit. By 1130 it was time for the giant sandwich lunch that Steve brought aboard. Then time to take the last of the boxes and bags ashore, stop in the head, and get under way. One last check of radar suggested that it would be prudent to wait about an hour for both the northern and southern active areas to pass east of us.

Forty minutes later the air conditioning suddenly went off. Steve had turned off the 110 volt shore power signaling we were getting under way. Rick's report that a last bit of rain was still upwind didn't slow down departure plans. The heavy shore power cord was carefully coiled and, for a first time, lashed to the stern pulpit rather than its usual position in the starbord aft lazarette. His reasoning is that he didn't want to have to move it every time we wanted the anchor sail or the grill, both of which would be beneath the heavy coil. The call came to cast off; we did; the rain drops started.

Just enough to scurry around for wet gear tops on the way out of the harbor and maybe 15 more minutes before the rain stopped and sun breaks appeared. Just like the old addage, "Wind before the rain, soon set sail again; rain before the wind (pronounce like wind a clock), sheets and topsails mind," the wind began to increase from the southwest and soon we set main and jib and were racing east at over 10 knots. Our planned destination is West Harbor at the western end of Fisher's Island. This short 22 mile jaunt shortens Monday's long push to Sandwich from 97 miles to "only" 75.

When just five miles out, the nav gear suggested 22 minutes remaining. but then the wind slowly backed off and it stayed "22 minutes" for at least 22 minutes. On went the engine, down came the sails and we slipped into /West Harbor and found a good anchorage spot behind two boats that were already there.

Paul's lasagna is always a hit, and often the signature meal for the first night out. Again it was, and though it had been placed in the cold oven when it came aboard at 1000, at 1600 it still was solid. the oven was lit and slowly came up to almost 300 degrees. Two hours later, it was starting to bubble, so we enjoyed a quick 30 minute cocktail hour and then tucked into a great lasagna and salad, topped off with some cookies.

As the sun sank, we ran the engine to cool the freezer and fridge, charge batteries, and heat hot water. Paul introduced Mike to the finer points of dish washing, and all relaxed as things cooled off with the setting sun. So what if the forecast called for thunderstorms by sunrise -- and more in the afternoon.

Mel settles in ...	Rick checks new camera.	Nav gear sleeps	Emergency sextant!	Sunday shopping ...
lots of bags ...	where to stow?	some here ...	some here ...	and some here.
Time to take off ...	the sail cover.	Javelin's ready ...	Steve is happy ...	so is the crew.
Rain around us.	Steve goes anyway ...	this way Steve ...	Water?	I'm tough ...
I'm patriotic.	Great sailing ...	fine afternoon.	Time to relax ...	and kick back ...
Dartmouth team.	Harvard Hats!	Anchor sail.	Time for ...	Paul's lasagna ...
with salad ...	cheers!	Dish duty.	Sunday sunset

Go To Log Summary

Monday, July 28th

As promised, thunder rolled the skies around 0500, with rain both light and heavy. A quick cereal breakfast with fruit readies the crew as we waited for the radar image of rain to slowly march past.

With the last little drops falling, and patches of clearing to the west, we dropped and stowed the riding sail and prepared to weigh anchor. Things started smoothly at first with the 50 feet of line to the chain coming aboard. Then the system stopped. The circuit breaker was OK, and the connections seemed OK, but pushing the controller buttons brought no response. So, with heavy gloves on, Steve and Mike hauled in chain while Paul hosed off the dirt, and Rick steered the boat gently ahead. With the anchor safely aboard, we headed east at 0659.

Rolls of fog draped across the mainland shore with 12 knots of southerly breeze topping Fishers Island to starboard. By 0754, going against the flood tide, we cleared Watch Hill into Block Island Sound and felt the heave of several days of southern Atlantic swells. Seas of 3 to 4 feet rolling in dead abeam made for considerable rolling. We set the jib to provide some stability, and revved the engine until we were making over 9 knots through the water.

The wind went light and aft so the jib flapped and we rolled it back in about 0840. But wind returned with a vengeance at 20-22 Knots by 0915 so the jib was set again. About half way to Pt. Judith the cloud shield slipped far enough east to give us sunshine and we roared past Pt. Judith at 0945, hitting over 10 knots through the water. 22 Miles farther we entered Buzzards Bay at 1221 as a cloud bank leaking light rain moved overhead.

The remains of Paul's lasagna made a delicious lunch -- made even better by the ship being flat as we slipped into the protection of Cuttyhunk Island at the western end of the Elizabeth Islands chain. This is the group of Islands starting off the Cape Cod mainland at the famous Woods Hole, then cradleing Tarpaulin Cove (once the site of a brothel for returning whaling ships), Robinson's Hole, Quicks Hole, and then Cuttyhunk Harbor - all delightful cruising destinations in the right weather. Paralleling them to the south, separated by Vineyard Sound, is Martha's Vineyard. But these are destinations of past or future cruises, as we are aimed for Sandwich at the eastern end of the Cape Cod Canal.

Traditional Buzzards Bay southwest winds were aided by the southerly warm front gradient and slowly increased into the 20 knot range as we slipped into the channel leading to the canal itself. From the lighthouse at Cleveland Ledge, there are 12 pairs of channel marks, or 24 marks, before entering the canal at the railroad bridge. Even if you hadn't read Eldridge to find out the direction of the canal current, it was immediately obvious by the standing wave breakers that we were fighting against the tide. The observation was confirmed by the boat speed being about 9 knots with speed over ground (GPS speed) under 7 knots.

We passed Wings Neck at the second pair of channel marks at 1500, and cleared under the railroad bridge at 1545. The Massachusetts Maritime Academy sits just before the canal entrance, with their big black merchant ship, the Kennedy, tied to the dock. Three old square riggers were also tied up ready for the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Canal on Sunday. They were the Mystic, Charles W. Morgan, and an even older ship of 1500s design. Paul had the helm and played the left shore as we went through the canal to minimize the current against us, and we arrived at Sandwich and hour later at 1644.

We filled the port fuel tank with 31.3 gallons, and moved from the fuel dock into our berth. Paul hosed off the day's accumulation of salt, Rick trued up the log, and all hands generally tidied ship. Jay & Hasty Evans arrived by land yacht at 1830, just in time for a short cocktail hour, and we all walked up to the Pilot House restaurant just beyond the docks for our 1900 reservation. Paul had his eyes on the broiled scrod entree, and four of us did the same - it was exceptionally good. It was after 2100 when we said goodnight to Jay & Hasty and returned to the boat for an early sack time.

Monday departure	Stowing riding sail	Hauling anchor by hand	Checking for rain	Paul's on watch ...
Captian Steve is framed!	We're OK.	Sloppy seas.	round two.	Cape Cod Canal approach

Approaching the Cape Cod Canal

Outbound schooner	Heavy current	seen here too	Mass Maritime ...	training ship
Square riggers ...	Mystic ...	broadside ...	foredeck crew.	Real old!
working aloft	crazy bow.	Charles W Morgan	looking good ...	long boats ...
flags fly.	Railroad Bridge ...	cool tower.	Shoreside homes	Control house ...
Corps sign	Bourne bridge	Fenders ready ...	approaching Sandwich ...	small harbor ...
entrance and ...	fishing fleet ...	more of, and ...	Coast Guard.	Javelin is ...
looking great.

Go To Log Summary

Tuesday, July 29th

Noises were heard as the morning twilight filled the clear eastern sky. Mel had not even finished making coffee when Simon of ... err, Steve, started the engine at 0600 and we cleared Sandwich at 0603. Coffee, juices, and oatmeal were passed on deck while under way as the sun topped the horizon. The cold front had gone through overnight and it was visible away to the southeast, leaving a sparkling morning with 10-12 knots of wind a bit north of west. With an 80 mile run to Wentworth in The Plan, we added jib to engine to keep boat speed above 9 knots, and SOG (speed over ground) in the 8.6-8.8 range. Expecting bright sun all day, we also set the cockpit awning to provide shade once the sun got higher in the sky. In all, a perfect passage making morning.

The wind held as we approached the cross of the shipping lanes into Boston, now 20 miles to the west of us. As predicted, the wind quickly began to fade and by the time we reached the waypoint off Cape Ann, it was down to 3 knots and we'd rolled up the jib. A hearty 5-Bean soup constituted lunch - and easy, at-sea, one-bowl, meal. Turning 15 degrees left at Cape Ann at 1244, we were aimed for Wentworth, another 22 miles up the Atlantic coast of Massachussetts.

We knew we were approaching Maine waters at 1448 as Otto (our affectionate name for the Autopilot) caught the first lobster pot of the trip. Now we're not altogether sure of the details, but something about Mel shouting from the bow and Michael being a touch too far from the "Stand By" button, but the avoidance dodge didn't happen fast enough and the sickeningly familiar "thunk" of a lobster pot buoy banging against the bottom of the hull confirmed we had caught one. Steve delicately nudged reverse and with a short twist the pot floated clear and we were again on our way.

Our uneventful arrival at Wentworth Marina at 1553, though technically still in Portsmouth, NH, can be declared arrival in Maine, as the lush green shore of Kittery, ME, was glowing across the harbor. We waited about 20 minutes to access the fuel dock for fuel and to pump the holding tanks, then made our way to slip A-28 for the night.

Brian and Lise Klinger came aboard at 1745 for a short cocktail before we all headed into Portsmouth for dinner at the Rosa restaurant. Rosa is an old Italian restaurant in a building first built in 1857, run as a restaurant from 1927, that cateres to families and locals. Their pasta dishes were very good, very large and reasonably priced. We could tell by Steve looking at his watch that it was time to head back to Javelin, so we thanked Brian and Lise for a wonderful dinner, returned to the boat, and all hands were in their bunks before 2200.

Departing Cape Cod Canal	On watch at 0627	Set sun shade ...	Michael approves.	Waypoint time calc.
Approaching Cape Ann	Time for ...	5-Bean soup.	Cape Ann towers.	Steve does dishes ...
checking new course.	Isles of Shoals	Smuttynose	Fishing boat	With Brian, Lise ...
and Rick.

Go To Log Summary

Wednesday, July 30th

Call it the "double flush alarm system." First Steve flushed the forward head, then Mel followed five minutes later with the main cabin head -- it was now 0505. All hands were doing their morning ablutions by 0515, stowing the shore power electrical cord, and, as Michael stepped back aboard from going to the shower on shore, the engine purred to life at 0535. We cleared the slip at 0539, and were flushed out of Little Harbor with the ebb tide.

Using one of our past routes, we activated the Wentworth - Linekin Bay route to get us out past the shoals around Portsmouth Harbor. That included Phillips Rock, West Sister, York Ledge and, eventually, Boone Island. Our target destination is Meadow Cove on the Damariscotta River, so about 6 miles out, we changed our waypoint from Seguin Island to Bantam Rock - 57 miles of open ocean ahead across the Gulf of Maine. Though Bantam is 3 miles farther east of Seguin, our course changed 2 degrees, demonstrating the importance of careful steering (or the great value of GPS and an autopilot!)

Light wind, but a long period southeast swell of 2-3 feet made for a gentle, undulating ride. Our weather luck has held so far: showers mostly crossed us at night back at West Harbor and we followed the front in clear skies for the next day to Sandwich. Then the 20+ knots winds blew through overnight and we had an easy run to Wentworth. Today we can see weather out to sea and ashore, and even took some pictures. But, Rick made the mistake of mentioning how lucky we had been and not twenty minutes later, at 1217, we were in fog with the radar on, standing our "radar watch" routine.

With only 7 miles left to go to Bantam Rock, the 3-mile range circle on the chartplotter crossed the buoy south of Seguin, and it showed up on the radar screen. About 8 minutes later both picked up the returns from Seguin Island itself. By 1304 the fog lifted enough that we could see Seguin, now just over 3 miles away aft the beam. Beyond Bantam Rock is Damariscove Island with its narrow harbor facing due south. Quoting now from The Cruising Guide To The Maine Coast, "Long before Plymouth and Jamestown, Damariscove was a bustling harbor filled with as many as 30 ships, and a major trade center. 'Here was the chief maritime port of New England,' according to historian Charles Bolton. The earliest years are unrecorded, but it's clear that fishermen have known Damariscove for at least 400 years. There was a year-round fishing community here in 1622 under the ownership of Sir Ferdinando Georges. ... When the first Indian War broke out in 1676, settlers in Maine fled to the safety of the outlying islands. Some 300 went first to Damariscove and then to Monhegan. Damariscove was attacked by Indians in 1676 and again in 1689.

As every local child has heard by the fire on a winter's night, that was the year that Captain Richard Pattishall, owner of Damariscove, was killed by Indians aboard his sloop at Pemaquid and thrown into the sea. His body came ashore on Damariscove, and to this day the lonely traveler walking on the foggy headlands may encounter the headless Captain Pattishall, or hear the howling of his faithful dog.

... In 1966, Damariscove was given to The Nature Conservancy, and it has reverted to the remote and uninhabited spot it was before the Europeans came. For the cruising yachtsman with a sense of history, it is an extraordinary experience to visit what may well have been the first permanent settlement in the New World and find only a few fish shacks and a crumbling granite pier."

We lined up at the buoy at the entrance to Damariscove Harbor and headed in between the waves crashing on the headland to starboard and the breakers over the rocks called "The Motions" on port. Once between the narrow headlands it was calm, with the large old Coast Guard Station on the port bank, a tower on the starboard hill, and the tiny harbor dead ahead. We had arrived at almost high tide so we had 9 feet of water above chart datum. When we were over the 11 foot spot at the narrows, the depth sounder read 20 feet - that was far enough for us as there was almost no room to turn around farther in. We could see the remains of the old granite pier mentioned above, and an old fishing shack. It was a fun diversion.

Light fog returned as we continued north into the Damariscotta River, passing the tiny, crowded Christmas Cove harbor along the way. We continued past our eventual destination of Meadow Cove and followed the channel all the way to the town of Damariscotta. The bridge between Damariscotta and Newcastle marks the end of navigation on the river. Having captured a picture, we turned back down-river and made our way to the mooring in front of Barbara Eldridge's house in Meadow Cove at 1720.

With a rather late arrival, we stowed gear, made the last log entries, and relaxed for brief cocktail hour followed by a delicious dinner with Steve doing a yeoman job with the steaks on the grill and a nice green salad.

Wednesday at 0604	The crew is ...	on watch.	Checking tides at 0730.	Bright for us ...
but clouds ashore ...	maybe some thunder ...	clouds and fog ...	quite impressive.	Approaching Bantam Rock
Aerial of Damariscove I.	Guide book of same ...	chart view.	Damariscove buoy ...	rocky entrance ...
Cormorants, gulls and seal	Old Coast Guard station ...	looks good but...	has rough edges.	Welcome sign ...
lobster shed ...	old granite dock ...	getting shallow ...	time to leave ...	Into the fog ...
aimed for Damariscotta ...	East Boothbay ...	up the river ...	a tricky spot ...	but looks open ...
wiggled through ...	lots of pots ...	just pick a color!	Damariscotta ...	and the bridge.
Local heads home.	12 miles in and back.	Heading down ...	Mel's relaxed ...	so is Michael.
Lots of ebb current.	At Meadow Cove ...	thanks Barbara Eldridge ...	the rest of the cove.	Steve at the grill
Padlin' Madelin home	You get the idea.

Go To Log Summary

Thursday, July 31st

Fog. Dense, white, can't-see-the-shore fog held Javelin in its silent grip, squeezing moisture from the air and raining it down in a slow-motion patter of big drops on the deck. Despite a determination to "sleep in," the crew was up around 0600, and Rick made eggs, Little Smokies and fresh baked biscuits for Breakfast. We called out Brian's name in vain, for it was he who requested Ketchup to go with eggs. We had the Ketchup this trip, but yet no Brian.

With only slightly more visibility we departed at the relatively late hour of 0747. In standard fog mode, Rick was below at the nav station with the PC and chartplotter posting our position, and the radar finding the hard stuff around us. Using range circles on the PC, the image can be easily compared with the radar screen to see which returns are rock or buoys, and which are likely to be vessels. This was communicated to Mel who was watching the cockpit radar repeater, with Paul and Michael as port and starboard lookouts and Steve at the helm. That way everyone knew what we were looking for and reporting anything seen.

We saw several vessels that passed close aboard as we headed out the river and turned east heading for Penobscot Bay and Castine. It was Steve's intention to show Michael the beautiful and oft-noted landmarks of the Maine Coast on this his first trip east. Alas, the beautiful, narrow, rocky passage between the Damariscotta River and Johns Bay called the Thread Of Life was lost in fog. So too the majestic Pemaquid Neck of which we barely saw the buoy at Pemaquid Ledge a mile off the end of the point. Neither could we see well known Allen and Burnt Islands as we passed Old Man Ledge 9 miles east. Ditto Mosquito Island and the southern end of Muscle Ridge Channel as we turned northeast for the 13 mile run to Two Bush Island and the entrance to Penobscot Bay.

VHF Channel 16, the calling and emergency channel, is usually quiet on the open waters. Today there are frequent "Security" calls as vessels announce their position, direction and occasionally speed to alert others of their presence and intentions. Steve had made a call for Javelin when we were approaching the PA Gong buoy at the mouth of the Bay. The Alice Winslow made a similar call. Steve called them on channel 16, and switched to 13 to disucss and it turned out Alice Windslow was a sea-going tug towing a barge 1000' astern. She (and it was a woman) confirmed that we would clear on a two-whistle (starboard to starboard) pass. We heard her several times later as she passed other vessels near the channel.

Just as we crossed the entrance of the very busy Fox Islands Thorofare at the north end of Vinalhaven Island, Steve freaked out as he saw islands to port where there shouldn't have been any -- and with the land to port just visible half a mile away in the fog. Frantic double checking our position on both PC and chartplotter and two hand-helds said we were where we thought we were, but the nearest land in the direction we saw it was four miles away! Sure enough the fog lifted in a very strange way and we were seeing under it. Ten minutes later we had miles and miles of visibility! Twenty minutes later we were back in radar soup! Then ten minutes later the fog vanished again and we saw a classic tourist schooner that we had been tracking on radar.

Fianlly we broke free of all fog and there was the Castine Classic boat regatta, with gaff rigged sloops, ywals and ketches and even boats towing dinghies. White cumulus against deep blue over the verdant green of the conifer covered islands were all classic Maine. Michael finally got to see what the posters advertised.

We docked at Eatons in Castine, a familiar haunt and they remember Steve well. A hose down, a short walk to the Sea Breeze for some ice cream, then Paul took Michael on a walking tour of this historic town, while Rick & Steve topped off the provisions, and Mel checked out the nooks and crannies of Castine. Castine goes back before the American revolution and was a loyalist hotbed during the revolution. So much so that a number of houses were moved onto barges and towed to Canada!

The Plan called for a lobster dinner - always right from the pound on Eaton's docks. Michael asked if he could invite some old friends to join us and we said sure. But, horrors, Eaton's lobsters had been cleaned out yesterday. It turned out that Michael was able to contact his friends to grab some lobsters on their way to Javelin.

Kathleen & Jesse Liebman stepped aboard just before 1800 with a cooler full of 7 perfectly beautiful, 1.5 pound, hard-shell lobsters, and a home-baked Maine blueberry pie. Obviously, they were welcomed aboard with open arms. Kathleen also brought a wealth of garden-fresh tomatoes and cucumbers from their daughters farm-garden, Introductions made, we settled down for a lively conversation on the merits of sailing on boats of every size. We swapped a fresh green salad for the planned corn, and the two big pots on the stove were set to boil. Working as a team, Rick held up the lids as Paul tucked each lobster into the pot and the lid went down to hold them in. Twenty minutes of steaming later they emerged bright red and delicious. With garlic-butter bowls for dipping, and tupperware for collecting shells, we enjoyed a great repast, using the salad as the next course, topped off with blueberry pie and whipped cream. A delightful evening and thanks to Michael for bringing both Kathleen & Jesse and the lobsters.

Foggy off the mooring	Range circles ...	match radar.	Finally land!	Much nicer
Tourist Schooner	Approaching Castine ...	nice sloop ...	nice house ...	and another.
Outer mooring field.	Maine Maritime ...	is based here.	Castine waterfront	Dockside restaurant
Famous Eaton's	Javelin is ...	sleek, ...	bright, and ...	fast.
Steaming hot lobsters ...	hide Steve ...	they think it's funny ...	Good eats!	Now for dessert ...
blueberry pie.	Good Night, Kathleen, ...	Good Night, Kathleen!

Go To Log Summary

Friday, August 1st

"OK, Cookie, time to get up," Mel exhorted Rick as he stepped into Rick's cabin and plunked down a wonderfully aromatic, fresh-brewed mug of coffee. It was 0615.

The Plan called for a long day's run down east past Northeast Harbor and Schoodic Point to Dyer Bay, 56 miles down the pike. The forecast for almost the next week however, is for light winds and the usual "patchy fog." Though this morning was sparklingly beautiful, the light wind part rang true with total calm at the dock in Castine. So Steve made the command decision that French Toast was better than oatmeal, and we enjoyed that while waiting for the pump-out station at the town dock to open at 0800.

Under way at 0842, the wind was under 5 knots as we started out. So for openers, we'll hug the coast of Cape Rosier, then detour a bit to show Michael Bucks Harbor before continuing down Eggemoggin Reach. We toured Bucks Harbor and then ran down under Eggemoggin Bridge by 1035.

Teasing wind from the south kicked the meter up to 6, 7 , 8 then even 10 knots from the south. Steve declared it was time to sail and at 1140 we hoisted sail and killed the engine for the first sailing of the cruise. Perhpas we offended the marine engine gods, or failed in suplications to the wind gods, but after reaching close to 7 knots of boat speed, the wind slowly died and went southwest as Michael nicely sailed us through the buoys of the Casco Passage into lower Blue Hill Bay. Not even holding on while we had our sandwiches for lunch helped the breeze and with boat speed under 2 knots, we kicked on the engine and headed east for the Bass Harbor Bar passage. So far, 1 hour and 18 minutes of sailing. But, it's at least sunny with lots of islands and boats to look at.

Just after powering across the Bass Harbor Bar, the wind read 10 knots and far enough aft to set the chute. At 1332 we turned off the engine and started sailing. In the time it took to rig and hoist the spinnaker in its sock, the wind went to 1 knot and the boat just stopped. 1348 engine back on. 16 more minutes of sailing.

1402 the wind was back at 10 knots. Started to hoist the chute again, but it was too far forward. So lowered chute and set the jib -- touched 8.4 knots of boat speed! Yea. 1420, fog rolled in; tumred on radar. 1432, fog gone. 1440 wind says 8 knots but only at the very top of the mast. Sails down engine on. Another 38 minutes of sailing. Total for the day: 2 hours and 12 minutes.

Fog back as we closed with Schoodic Point and just picked up the buoy in the fog at 1543. Using the electronic eyes we headed for the bottom end of Dyer Bay and threaded past the (unseen) Bonny Chess Ledge and powered through the thick carpet of lobster pots for 3.5 miles up the Bay. Though there was now land on each side of us less than a quarter mile away, we saw nothing as we followed the electronic chart up the bay. Fortunately, just where we wanted to anchor, there was a clearing of lobster pots - most likely because the bottom was soft mud while lobsters prefer rocks.

Not ten minutes after we were anchored, the fog started to lift and we could show Michael the beauty of a down-east bay. This is the land beyond most all tourists and very few "summer cottages." This land is for Mainers, and when we could see, it was clear the entire bay was a lobster fishery with numerous clusters of lobster boats at various docks. Michael celebrated our good fortune with a quick plunge off the stern and a hasty swimming lap around the boat.

Spaghetti and Meatballs, one of Steve's cruise favorites, finished off with blueberries and whipped cream ended the day.

Castine morning ...	to town dock pumpout.	No wind.	Cape Rosier ...	rocky shore.
Looking down ...	Eggemoggin Reach.	Coming into ...	Bucks Harbor ...	fast and slow...
classic Maine ...	all sizes ...	the chart ...	town dock ...
Head boat ...	American Eagle ...	Another one.	Lighthouse on Pumpkin Island.	Under the bridge.
Sailing in Casco Passage	Black Island	Bass Harbor Light	Bar channel mark	Schoodic buoy in fog
On to Dyer Bay ...	3.25 miles in ...	where we anchored ...	checking tide ...	At anchor, first time ...
seeing land ...	not here ...	clearing a little ...	look what's here!	Sheep I. appears ...
far side ...	Eagle Hill 235' high	Fog still down bay.	Never saw them!	Michael gets ...
ready for ...	a swim ...	WOW ...	let me out!	Fogset.
Dessert!

A Swim at Brich Pt., Dyer Bay

Go To Log Summary

Saturday, August 2nd

The fog played cat and mouse as we hauled anchor at 0743 and headed out of Dyer Bay. Our choices were either to continue on down-east to stretch for Cross & Mink Islands, or declare victory and turn back west. With zero visibility when we reached the open ocean, the choice was easy if not preferred: turn west.

Fog held thick until we rounded Schoodic Point, and then, as if to say, "now stay our of my territory," the fog lifted. We took advantage of the visibility and turned north into Winter Harbor, mostly a working lobster harbor with a fleet of lobster boats tucked into a cove, and the old massive stone dock at the head of the harbor getting some work done. A short detour into another deep cove swept us past the Winter Harbor Yacht Club with a new dock (or at least new since the last time Steve was in here about 15 years ago.)

Mel's cellphone's radar image showed rain along the coast. Steve asked if it was coming ashore and should we put on wet gear. Mel paused, and then opined, with some hesitancy, that it was likely to stay offshore. We looked at Mel and said. "OK, if it rains, you can steer." Five minutes later it started raining. But it lasted mostly long enough for the crew to put on wet gear, which was at least nice and warm in the chill air.

At the entrance to Winter Harbor the wind picked up to 8 - 9 knots and Steve ordered all hands to make sail. For the next two hours we enjoyed a nice wind and smooth sea as we sailed across the bottom of Frenchman Bay to the passage at the south end of Mt. Desert Island. Continuing on through that passage, known as Eastern Way, touching 8 and 9 knots of boat speed at times, we sailed through Southwest Harbor. Our intention was to sail on up Somes Sound, but our wind luck faded at that point and we motored back around Greening Island to try to find wind.

After sailing out Western Way, we declared victory at 1411 and headed for a harbor we've talked about many time, but never made: Burnt Coat Harbor on Swan Island. This is a major port for offshore lobster boats, and the working nature of the buildings and docks reflects the rugged life of lobstering. We briefly stopped at the Coop Lobster dock and picked up five 1.5 pound, hard shell lobsters, then picked up a mooring among the many lobster boats. There was one other cruising boat in the mooring field. Afternoon chores included resplicing the anchorline to chain splice. Then celebrated by chasing the chill of a cloudy afternoon with a cup of hot chocolate.

It was all worth while as we prepared our dinner of fresh lobsters and corn, complete with bowls of garlic-butter for dipping. As the sun set, there was that "million dollar light" photographers lust for. All came on deck to catch snaps of the spectrum of colors fading over the hills as the sun went down. Made an otherwise long, colorless, day just perfect.

Mark I. light ...	back view.	On to Winter Harbor	Pulpit Ledge passage	old inner harbor ...
marina building ...	shore house ...	Lobster fleet ...	old can ...	Winter Harbor YC
Steve is ...	determined to sail.	Seal Harbor	Sailing again	Southwest Harbor ...
Hinckley boat yard	Burnt Coat Hbr light ...	up close.	Entrance gong	Big boat!
The town ...	Our lobsters ...	came from here.	Working dock ...	big lobsters boats ...
coming in.	The harbor.	Time for hot chocolate.	Lobsters ...	ready for dinner ...
team work ...	full stove ...	full plates.	Sun set ...	many ways ...
a touch of clouds ...	moonshine ...	tall rig ...	take a deep breath ...	once more ...
mooring fee collected	good night!

Go To Log Summary

Sunday, August 3rd

Now this is more like it! Beautiful sunshine, crisp colors of a lobster port in Maine and unlimited choices of where to go for the day. Though there was no wind yet, the forecast called for 5 - 10 knots, which often build first up the bays that reach up into the land. We were right at the bottom of Blue Hill Bay, on the west side of Mt. Desert Island, so we thought we'd motor up and see if we could find wind.

The plan worked. At 0952, an hour and a half after we'd left Burnt Coat Harbor, a gentle southwest wind settled in and we killed the engine and set main and spinnaker. Our lunch destination was, appropriately, Galley Cove on Bartlett Island near the top of Blue Hill Bay. But to keep our speed up going essentially straight down wind, we tack down wind with the spinnaker. That took us first to port, approaching Harriman Pt. and Allen Cove, then gybing to starboard tack to aim at the lower end of Bartlett, then a second gybe to port back toward Long Island, and finally gybing back for the run to the top of Bartlett. We dropped the sails and motored into tiny Galley Cove, picked up a mooring, and enjoyed lunch.

We motored for 27 minutes into the wind down the narrow east side of Bartlett, then set sail and began beating our way back toward the bottom of Blue Hill Bay and Bass Harbor Bar. The wind varied in strength and direction between 4 - 9 knots and over about 20 degrees around southwest. We slowly worked our way toward the bar. At times it was slow going and tempting to turn on the engine, but Steve was determined to keep sailing, and, except for 9 minutes between 1445 and 1454, sail we did.

By the time we reached Bass Harbor Bar it was blowing 10 knots and we were contemplating heading for Stave Harbor up Frenchman Bay, on the east side of Mt. Desert Island. We sailed wing-on-wing with the main to port and the jib wung out to starboard past the entrance buoy to Western Way. Then we hoisted the spinnaker again and sailed a little high to gain speed. Then we gybed to starboard at R 8 gong, and headed east above Sutton Island making over 9 knots. Once past Lewis Rock, our course again would have been dead down wind. Again, a lively discussion between sail and power, the daily time limits in the crew's union contract, and Steve's insistence that all hands were required to sail until at least 1800, finally prevailed as we set a course to tack downwind into Frenchman Bay. When we gybed at Rick's waypoint, we had a blazing 9+ knot run up the Bay past (yet another) Egg Rock and Ironbound Island. There we dropped sail and motored the last mile into Stave Harbor where we dropped the anchor at 1759. All in a day's work!

Morning at Burnt Coat	Old house ...	new docks.	Starting with ...	no wind.
Now Rick Steers ...	with chute set ...	very pretty!	Stand by for ...	gybe to starboard tack
Ahead is ...	Bartlett Island ...	great speed!	Fun ride	Heading into ...
Galley Cove ...	great rocks ...	to pick up ...	a mooring.	Lunch time.

Spinnaker Run Up Frenchman Bay

Now spinnaker set ...	in Frenchman Bay ...	everyone's happy ...	doing 9.8 knots!	Michael takes a pic ...
of Egg Rock light.

Go To Log Summary

Monday, August 4th

A dull start to the day as we departed Stave Harbor at 0734 with no wind and cloudy sky. The best part was that the anchor windlass was working again. Rick and Paul had removed and cleaned the connections on the hand-held control cord yesterday afternoon. The acid test was this morning, and, though the push buttons were a little sensitive, the Chain Gang was not required.

A hazy sun appeared as we motored past Bar Harbor for Michael to take a look, then powered on the short 15 miles to Northeast Harbor. NE Hbr, as we often abbreviate it, is our transition and work stop, as well as some fun stuff.

First, Brian Klinger arrived from his home in Rye, NH to replace Michael, who will take the rental car Brian arrived in to the Bangor airport to fly home. A quick side trip with the car replaced the one propane tank that ran out on Friday.

While part of the crew scrubbed down, Rick headed for the Pine Tree Market and returned an hour later with two big boxes of replenished provisions. With all that stowed, it was time for a transition lunch of sandwiches to send Michael on his way and welcome Brian aboard.

The after lunch chore was doing laundry. So Steve, Paul, Mel and Rick trudged up Sea Street to the laundramat in the basement of the Pine Tree Market. Lots of quarters later, five washed loads were set to drying and eventually five neatly folded piles of clean laundry were carried back down Sea Street to Javelin. We certainly looked a sight with "sea bags" of laundry slung over our shoulders.

A screeching sound announced a problem with the electrical (as opposed to the mechanical) refrigeration system. Steve and Rick checked and cleaned the cooling water strainer to no avail. Then we took the hose off the output side of the pump and blew through it to try to clear any blockage. That seemed to do the trick as cooling water again trickled out of the stern, the screeching went away, and the fridge and freezer temperatures began to come down.

The shoreside facilities at NE Harbor have been significantly upgraded in the last two years. Two new buildings set back from the water provide a new Tourist Information Center for signing up for cruises and ferry rides out to the Cranberry Islands, and general information about NE Harbor and Acadia National Park which makes up most of Mt. Desert Island. The other building is the Harbormaster office. A third building at the northeast corner of the harbor is the Yachtsmen's Center with bathrooms and showers for the many cruisers who stop at NE Harbor.

An old tradition is a lobster dinner at The Docksider, so we respected tradition and trekked half way up Sea Street once again for the homey repast. A rustic diner might be a good description. The pithy sayings, assorted pictures, exposed wood rafters, a required old lobster pot and a float or two describes the scene. The booths and tables were full, and the various forms of lobster, clams, and corn present in abundance. Even their signature Maine blueberry pie and ice cream was almost ubiquitous. Their sense of humor is clearly evident - check the last picture!

A Post Script from Michael:

ML Remarks For Javelin’s Log:

12:50 Departed NE Harbor by Kia for Bangor Int’l, with a stop at Enterprise to drop the car off.

14:30 Arrived at waypoint but discovered it had moved; new waypoint five miles closer to airport. (I followed Enterprise’s official chart, but Enterprise hasn’t updated it in several years.)

14:50 Arrived at new waypoint, returned car, and following standard procedure, left my share of the car rental in a plastic bottle tied to the front bumper for Brian to retrieve.

15:00 Arrived airport. Good wifi. Caught up on work, photos, etc. Arranged for airport pickup on arrival. 17:00 Departed Bangor for LGA, expecting crudites; none served. 18:00 Still in the air, no scotch, all expectations dashed. Only redeeming feature: our course took us over Stamford (could not pick out Goldeneye) and the coast all the way to LGA; directly over Turtleheart; beautiful view.

18:20 Landed early, retrieved baggage. 18:30 Picked up by uxorial (Harvard word) dinghy.

19:30 Pizza dinner. Discretion and marital peace prevent a truthful comparison to the cuisine chez Javelin. However, I did not wash dishes.

Thanks again for having me.

Michael

At Clifton Dock,	NE Harbor for ...	fuel ...	looking good ...	our crew too.
Moving to NE docks ...	Ticonderoga ...	approaching our slip ...	tucked in and ...	looking tall.
Brian's aboard!	A Dark & Stormy	1800 Cranberry I. ferry	White boats ...	Black boats ...
Red & green owned by 1 person	Javelin is queen	Rest of marina	New shore buildings ...	Visitor Center ...
NE Hbr map ...	Harbormaster building ...	Yachtsmen's Center.	Paul at Docksider ...	says it all ...
pure rustic ...	filling up fast ...	Steve moved ...	table rules ...	Lobster sautee ...
"Frankly sacllop, I don't give a clam."

Go To Log Summary

Tuesday, August 5th

An easy, or should we say, late, 0830 start followed a pancake breakfast. Bright sun and sky, but no wind called for engine time, and Steve thought the fun way to get the 36 miles to Long Cove, off Hurricane Sound, Vinalhaven, was to go back up Eggemoggin Reach to Cape Rosier, hoping for an afternoon thermal wind to sail against for the 20 miles back down Penobscot Bay to Long Cove.

There was a touch of wind as we turned northwest up Eggemoggin and all hands were directed to set sail. 1048 main and jib set, engine off. 1103 the wind vanished, jib rolled in, engine on. We approached the top of Eggemoggin just before noon, and Steve just barely agreed to lunch before setting sail. 1230 engine off and jib set with 7 knots of wind and Javelin practically sailing upwind at wind speed.

In pure racing mode, Steve and Rick strategized the best way south to find the strongest wind and shortest course. Out into the open upper reaches of Penobscot Bay the wind looked lighter, so we favored the eastern passage. This however required navigating among the 22 named islands along the route. Initially it was between Fiddle Head and Two Bush (yes, a different one) islands. Then the choice between Beach and Great Spruce islands to the west and Pickering and Bradbury to the east. We chose the eastern side, then had to deal with Butter and Eagle islands. Our goal was to beat to windward, tacking between port and starboard tacks, without having to change course away from close hauled which would lengthen the miles sailed. Having comitted to the eastern side we knew it wasn't quite compleatly possible, but Rick picked a course between Butter and Eagle that skinned between rocks off of Eagle to port and starboard, headed straight for Fiddle Island where there was only 3 feet of water, plotted a quick tack to starboard, before tacking back to port and running on through above Oak Island back into Western Penobscot Bay.

The red line in the pictures is our track through the water; the blue was the planned route through the narrowest part. While some might wonder, it was a fun challenge to complete 13 tacks over a straight line distance of 9 miles, averaging five to ten minutes per tack. The wind was 7 to 11 knots and boat speed varied between 6 and 8 knots. We cleared into the Western Bay at 1413, and continued to beat the remaining 13 miles toward Long Cove.

Engine on at 1544; sails down; navigate the last two miles into the Fox Island Thorofare and then south along the north Vinalhaven shore through Leadbetter Narrows into the top of Hurricane Sound and the short turn into Long Cove. Our friend Hank Jonas had a mooring installed there after we discoverd it many years ago and today there are perhaps ten moorings. It was a beautiful afternoon to pick up the mooring, do the chores, and relax for a pork chop with applesauce and mixed vegetables dinner.

Leaving NE Hbr ...	quiet morning.	Rick grew up on one of these!	Working lobster boat	Steve starts sailing ...
7 knots wind and speed!	More wind, more happy	Tourist boat	Our track to windward ...	the tricky part.
Rick is happy ...	sailing in shade.	Front row seat ...	Leadbetter Narrows ahead	Approach to Long cove
narrow entrance ...	farm on shore ...	mooring field ...	picking up mooring ...	view at anchor.

Go To Log Summary

Wednesday, August 6th

Thunder fog! Desnse fog, so thick you could not see the water when looking out the ports from below, alternated with rolling rumbles of thunder starting around 0500. It was a perfect morning to stay in your bunk and catch some extra winks. It was most unusual for Rick to be the first one up at 0645. The wind had shifted to the north, a very light drizzle speckled the still water, there was no wind. The towering 100' conifers rising from the rock shore around the cove still looked black except for their verigated tops against the gray clouds.

An English Muffin breakfast improved spirits and the weather. Mostly cloudy, with no rain but whisps of fog here and there. We all agreed that the charm of Long cove, once being isolated and wilderness, has been changed with the addition of moorings and 5 other boats around us. Duly fortified, we stowed dishes and gear and got under way at 0834.

With radar on and about 3/8 mile visibility we followed our waypoints out of Hurricane Sound and aimed for Metinic Ledge, 14 miles across the bottom of Penobscot Bay. Light wind, scattered lobster pots and boats made following the course a routine ride.

Our target for the day is Muscongus Bay. This broad expanse, stretching about 15 miles from the bottom of Owls Head, Tenants Harbor and Port Clyde marking the western eadge of Penobscot Bay, southwest to Allen and Burnt Islands, and Old Man Ledge, then west to the bottom of Pemequid Neck. Three major rivers empty into Muscongus Bay: the St. George, Meduncook, and Medomak Rivers. The bay has over 66 named islands, an equal number of named rocks and ledges, and uncounted "*" symbols for just plain rocks. Port Clyde is a major commercial lobster and fishing port.

Several of our favorite anchorages are in Muscongus Bay. The large and open Maple Juice and Turkey Coves on opposite sides of the St. George River have lots of room for anchoring and keep us off the shore and away from mosquitos. The jewel of Hornbarn Cove on the Meduncook is slipped between long rocky islands and gave us a sparkling night where the stars reflecting on the water were as bright as those in the sky. The chosen anchorage to explore this time is Greenland Cove at the very northeast corner, alongside Pemaquid Neck. Javelin has not been there, though Steve remembers exploring it with Jim Fulton over 20 years ago and finding it "unremarkable."

Well, it certainly wore well with age. A delightful, lobster-pot-free, open cove with scattered shore houses and small boats moored here and there. We arrived at 1301 in time for lunch, with a thought of then "going sailing" somewhere for the afternoon. A check of weather radar however, showed a line of thunderstorms headed our way. So we enjoyed some sunny weather for a while, then watched clouds grow to the north, and black clouds arrive from the northwest. All cushions stowed and hatches closed as rain arrived at 1359.

Our early-to-bed evenings precluded evening movies, but with our early arrival, there was hope tonight would fill the bill. Brian dug out his portable hard drive and was going to set it up on Rick's computer as we had done twice already. However, once connected Rick discovered that in his efforts gain disk space on his computer by removing old programs on his laptop, he also disabled Quicktime, and wiped out the sound system! Thanks to a hot spot from Paul's iPhone, he was able to connect to the Internet and find and download both Quicktime and a working sound system.

Alas, the second of Paul's delicious lasaganas was only slowly defrosting and heating in the oven, and though it was as satisfying as ever, there were no movies this night.

Morning in Long Cove	very peaceful, but ...	too many ...	boats!	Happily under way
Working lobster family	Old Cilly Ledge	Burnt I. house ...	Allen I. houses ...	Benner I. houses and ...
end of Benner.	Franklin I. light	At anchor ...	Greenland Cove ...	nice place ...
Outward Bound boat	Clouds form ...	getting darker ...	here comes ...	rain and thunder.
Cozy below.	End of rain ...	heading home.

Go To Log Summary

Thursday, August 7th

Bright, crisp, clear and a fine breeze started a perfect morning. Sparkling ripples on the water danced in the light northwest wind. Even with a fritatta breakfast we were under way at 0819, making 6 - 7 knots heading south from Greenland Cove.

Our adventure for the day was to rendezvous with Bob and Maryann Miller aboard their Mason 44 Mast Transit. On our way south to Pemaquid Point we had two dolphin at our stern at 0936. We rounded Pemaquid at 1030 and turned west toward Boothbay Harbor - with Mast Transit coming the other way toward us. We rendezvoued east of Fisherman Island, tacked astern of them and caught up for some great picture snapping and chatting.

We sailed on ahead, going east again past Pemaquit Point and then northeast up across Muscongus Bay to the St. George River and Maple Juice Cove. The forecast was for afternoon thunderstorms, and both boats were watching smartphones continuously. There was even the chance for hail. When the wind went light near Western Egg Rock, we dropped sail and motored the rest of the way. Large cumulus clouds built both astern and ahead of us. Cell phone radar showed heavy rains astern over Portland and ahead inland near Bangor, but so far none where we were.

Anchor down, earlier than usual, in Maple Juice Cove at 1408. The dark clouds astern much closer, but still in sunshine. Mast Transit arrived about forty minutes later and tied alongside. Bob & Maryann came aboard and we traded stories about their cruise and ours. Radar still showed heavy rains around us, but the closest we got was some dark stratus overhead for about half an hour.

Bob got a seawater temperature reading of 70 on his boat, so he declared it was time for a swim. With a big splash he dove off the stern, then swam around both boats and their dinghy for a 3-boat swim. Not to be outdone, Marry Ann followed suit and did two laps. The Javelin crew smiled, watched and took pictures - our temperature read 67.3.

A hearty array of nibbles was spread for cocktail hour, followed by Steve's superb job of grilling steaks at the stern. All washed down with Bob's fine red wine and topped off with an Oreo crumble, blueberry and whipped cream dessert. A few rounds of song finished off the evening.

Houses on ...	Pemaquid Pt. ...	the lighthouse ...	the point.	Mast Transit ahead ...
light going ...	let's talk ...	good morning ...	click pic ...	well done.
Javelin from Mast Transit	Ready about ...	coming back ...	click pic ...	ready to chat ...
long gone.	In Maple Juice Cove ...	anchor set ...	other boats.	Clouds building.
Mast Transit alongside ...	riding sail set ...	looking good.	Relaxing	Bob goes for ...
a swim ...	burr!	Chilly	Once around ...	long way ...
that was nice!	OK Maryann ...	your turn ...	going in slowly ...	we'll watch ...
off for two laps.	All refreshed.	Time to ...	set up ...	the grill.
Our rig ...	at sunset.

Go To Log Summary

Friday, August 8th

Another picture perfect morning. The wind had hauled to the northwest and it was crisp and clear. After a French Toast breakfast, we cast off Mast Transit. As Bob got clear with lines and fenders stowed, he came by taking pictures of Javelin and our crew, and we got a picture of him taking pictures of us. (Long story short, Bob's pics are shown below in a separte section, not part of the overall sequence.)

Then we got under way ourselves at 0848. Retracing our track down Muscongus Bay to Pemaquid Point, we are headed for an anchorage west of Cape Small, possibly The Basin, if we can get in before, or after, low tide.

Even before we got to Pemaquid, the wind went light. Hoping for a sea breeze to develop, we altered course to pass south of Damariscove Island to be in open water and easier to sail west on a southwest breeze. At 1048 we had breeze, turned off the engine and set sail. We beat west in 8 knots of wind, making between 5 and 6 knots over the bottom. The wind increased and we had a delightful sail for 4 hours down to Cape Small and around to go into Sebasco at 1438 to empty the holding tanks and take on water.

We were delightfully surprised to see Karin McIlvaine walking down the ramp to the dock - she was scheduled to sail with us tomorrow. Steve had emailed her this morning saying we might be stopping in at Sebasco today and she had just arrived as we came in. Holding tanks empty and water tanks full, we kidnapped Karin and went back out for an hour's sail in the now 13 knot sea breeze. It was delightful, and the various rain clouds all seemed to be drifting by ashore from us. Karin assurred us that the rain would stay away. And it did while she was aboard. We dropped her off back at the Sebasco dock at 1653 and headed back out and up the New Meadows River.

The Basin is one of Steve's favorite places to spend a night, but it is reached by a narrow, shallow channel that Javelin's 7 foot draft would scrape at low water. In fact we'd have gone out sailing even if Karin hadn't showed up because we had to wait until at least 1730 for the tide to rise high enough for us to clear the 7' rock ledge in the entrance. The tide chart said there was 2' of water above low tide at 1719 as we headed in. Almost as a bad omen, it started raining lightly as we entered the narrow channel. At the critical spot - right where we have to make a sharp left turn, the fathometer read 8.4 feet. Sure glad we had those "extra" two feet.

But the gods were with us as the rain stopped even before we dropped anchor at 1736. Paul & Steve did a great job grilling the chicken and we clicked a few last pictures as the sun slipped below the ring of trees around The Basin.

Much to Brian's delight, we made one last attempt to have an evening movie using Rick's computer with restored Quicktime and audio. This time we copied the movie file from Brian's portable hard drive onto Rick's computer to try to get it to run smoothly. The chosen movie was the black and white, original, Casablanca with Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Claud Raines, and Peter Laurie. It worked, and Brian, Paul, and Rick managed to stay awake for the whole movie. What more to say than, "Play it again Sam."

Friday morning ...	Bob clicks.	Javelin sparkles ...	time to ...	muster the crew ...
get it together ...	click pics ...	all smiles.	Time for the anchor crew.	Approaching Sebasco
Afternoon clouds	Sebasco dock	Karin going out ...	and coming in.	Would you believe ...
there's a harbor in here?	Close going ...	have to turn left ...	too shallow!	Rain to boot ...
we're in ...	anchor going down ...	cloud passed by ...	peaceful spot ...	this is it, now ...
time to relax.	Things are quiet ...	boats at anchor ...	very little wind ...	just in time for ...
sunset at The Basin.

Go To Log Summary

Saturday, August 9th

Brilliant sun, still water and a leisurely breakfast started off the day. With a high tide of 9.5 feet at 10:14 we have little to fret about getting out of The Basin to pick up Karin McIlvaine at Sebasco for a day sail at 1100.

With Karin safe aboard we headed out to sea. As always, Steve's great faith in Javelin's light air capabilities, we made sail at 1111 with just 3 knots of wind. True to form, Javelin, sailed close hauled at over 2 knots, and helped by the ebb tide, was making 3 over the bottom. As it did the past several days, the sea breeze slowly grew stronger, and by noon we had 5 knots of wind and were doing 4.3 over the bottom.

An hour and a half later we had 9 knots of wind and worked our way south off Cape Small, then back toward Ragged Island. All the while we kept an eye on rainstorms ashore and on radar. Karin hoped to see a friend on a small boat near Ragged Island, and as we slowly drifted around the northwest corner, there was Charlie with eight people aboard. We waved and accelerated as we rounded Ragged and came up on the wind. The big shower slid past to the southwest, and we enjoyed some 13 knot winds on the way back in to Sebasco.

Karin went ashore to spruce up while the crew cleaned ship and prepared for a festive cocktail hour. We had been playing cruise tag with friends Rick & Sherry Tonge, aboard Juliet, from the first days we arrived in Maine, but our schedules had not matched. But today was our lucky day as they drove to Sebasco to join us for cocktails aboard and dinner ashore. As you can see from the pictures, a good time was had by all. Our rain luck faltered a bit as a light shower dampened us just as we were getting into the launch from Javelin to shore for dinner. but the food was great and the friendship even better.

Since the launch service ended at 2000, we had towed the inflatable dinghy ashore when we came. We had also discovered that the Torqeedo electric outboard batteries were dead, so oars were to be the motive power. When dinner was over about 2030, it was now up to Steve and Paul to row the dinghy out to Javelin and then come get the rest of the crew. Luckily they got a friendly couple to tow them the short distance out to the mooring, said goodnight to Karin, Rick & Sherry and were back on the mooring by 2100. Straight to bed for a "zero dark thirty" departure tomorrow.

Morning light.	Heading out ...	shallow area ...	channel out.	Karin's aboard ...
Ragged Island ...	Brian holds jib ...	Steve is pleased ...	Karin's friend Charlie ...	makes her happy.
In charge.	Dodged this one.	Back at the dock ...	Rick, Sherry & Karin ...	aboard for cocktails ...
Lucky Mel ...	Lucky Steve ...	Lucky ?????

Go To Log Summary

Sunday, August 10th

Forward flush alarm sounded at 0500. All hands dressed, served juice and cereal, and under way by 0525. Today is the start of the long push home. There is something special about a perfect pre-sunrise departure. This was one of the best. Clear sky, unusually, no sea running on the ocean, and a favorable 9 knot wind from just west of north had us tracking at over 9 knots through the water and almost 9 over the bottom. The sun rose clear and sharp over the horizon of mixed land and water astern of us as we headed west. It's about 58 miles to Wentworth Marina at Portsmouth, NH, and with our early start and great pace, the navigation system has us arriving shortly after noon.

Arrived Wentworth, uneventfully, at 1224, refueled, topped off water and settled into the slip. A first chore was to check the starboard running light which had not worked last night in Sebasco. A quick tap and it was working again!

Rick & Brian did a short shopping run and brought Lise Klinger aboard for a short cocktail hour before a delightful dinner at the Latitude restaurant just up the dock. As planned, Brian and Lise headed home for their home next door in Rye, NH. Unplanned for this trip, Rick is also getting off to catch a flight out of Boston on Monday morning back to California to help care for their very loved, but failing rapidly, 17 year-old Golden Retriever, Teak.

Sunday morning 0540.

Go To Log Summary



Monday, August 11th / Tuesday, August 12th

Mel, Steve, and Paul rousted out of their bunks at 0500, made their ablutions, got the coffee going, collected the power cord, and were underway at first light at 0520 from Wentworth. At dead low tide, we slowly exited Little Harbor by 0530 and headed along 177 degrees for the 23 miles to Cape Ann.

Rounding buoy #1 at Cape Ann at 0829 we started down the 53 mile 192 degree course to the Cape Cod Canal. Listening to the adverse weather forecasts for Tuesday and Wednesday, the crew decided that the best choice was to push all the way through to Westbrook tonight with an ETA of 0300. So we caught some catnaps during the day, prepared the boat for an overnight run, rearranged the menu plan, charged the searchlight, and plowed on.

We entered the Cape Cod Canal at 1455, finished the refueling in Sandwich Marina by 1505, and rode the current to exit the west end of the Canal by 1535. Following a dinner of Paul's secret recipe tuna and pasta casserole, we were off Point Judith Rhode Island by 2145 in the dark. It was a night of a full moon and no breeze, so the rest of the run to Westbrook was uneventful.

We arrived at Pilots Point at 0245. We temporarily secured to the fuel dock while we walked down to Javelin's slip to set up the dock lines, then put her in the slip and were secure and asleep by 0330.

The end of another successful Javelin Maine Cruise.



Go To Log Summary

Clear Sailing.

Rick Van Mell vanmells@ix.netcom.com

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