Lots to catch up on tonight…sorry I’ve been so negligent, but I have been concentrating on lining up routes and marinas for my homebound trip.

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First, let’s talk about my return visit to Boothbay Harbor. Like Rockland, it was even better the second time. I loved my marina, and Kim, the owner, was a great guide to the many restaurants scattered along the waterfront. The view from one of the restaurant decks was as beautiful as Southwest Harbor. And that’s saying something. Classic Maine…dozens of boats on moorings and two lighthouses on the bluffs.

And harbor seals. I love harbor seals! Their heads look like dogs as they swim along.

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Today, we left for Kennebunkport at 7 and tied up in Kennebunkport at noon. Gorgeous sailing conditions. Did the whole trip on autopilot and hardly touched the wheel.

K is different from every other stop we’ve made…it has beautiful beaches on the coast, but the town is several miles up a very narrow river, lined with homes, rocky banks, marinas, and moored boats. The town itself is very cute, and the shops are much more upscale versus Boothbay Harbor.

The only problem is that my waste tank is full, and no one offers pumpouts. “Oh, yeah. The pumpout boat sank 5 years ago, and the town never replaced it.” That has GOT to be in violation of some state or EPA statute. We are not allowed to discharge waste overboard, but there are no pompous stations. Usually, every marina with a fuel dock also does pumpouts.

It is a nuisance just to explain this, because the spellcheck insists on calling them pompous instead of pumpouts. LOL!

No worries…the marina has a very nice restroom. It’s just a minor inconvenience. Although I AM drinking a LOT of water!

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Meanwhile, Guinness is amazing: he walks everywhere off the leash, and he has learned to wait for the “Cross” command before he crosses a street! He creates a lot of interest wherever he goes. People get a big kick out of watching us share an ice cream cone.

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Tomorrow, we sail for Salem, MA, so we are leaving Maine behind…many fond memories. This has been a very good trip so far: we only got beat upon day, and that was our leg up the Jersey Coast. Every other day has been smooth seas!

We woke up today to 63 degrees, blinding sun, and glassy seas in the harbor.

It made me realize that I haven’t said much about the weather, except for the two days we encountered some rain. It’s amusing that I haven’t, because – if you recall – that was the primary reason we undertook this trip.

It is typically so hot and humid in the Chesapeake from mid-July to mid-August, that Cathy and I would sometimes not go to the boat for four weekends straight. In contrast, I remembered how pleasant it was last July when we bought the boat up in Massachusetts.

Well, the plan seems to have worked. At least on this end.

Frankly, I haven”t spent a moment following the weather on the Chesapeake, so you all will have to tell me how it was. But up here, it has been perfect. Mornings in the 60’s, highs in the mid 70’s.. And every day except two has been sunny. And I’ve been traveling for three weeks at this point. Very lucky.

Because it’s cooler, and because the water is colder, I haven’t even been swimming. You rarely see anyone swimming up here. And no water sports…no water skiing. No one pulling inflatable tube full of screaming kids. Just beautiful stately boats, beautiful stately homes, and mountainous terrain covered with evergreens.

As we were running down the Eggemoggen Reach, I said to Connie that I felt we were running down Sir Francis Drake Passage in the BVI’s. Because the land on either side was so mountainous/hilly.

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One thing is very different today, however…Guinnes and I are back to our old bachelor life…just the two of us. And Alexa, of course.

Connie left yesterday for a long trip back to Aspen, requiring two connections. Ouch. As luck would have it, she got stuck in Denver because of weather in Aspen. Sheesh.

It was very nice to have company for a week.

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The weather today is so perfect that I wish we were traveling today. But I really need one more day to rest and clean the boat. Maybe we’ll just take a little ride today – maybe to one of the little harbors around here.

Then tomorrow, we’ll get an early start and ZOOOM! The boat is really running well, so if we leave at 7, and if the seas are as glassy as they are today, at this point (8:30 AM) we’ll have been underway for 1-1/2 hours, so we’ll already be halfway to Boothbay Harbor. Wow! maybe I get to sleep late again tomorrow.

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Gotta run. Guinness just put his paws on the keyboard – I guess he needs a walk!

Connie is off on a LOOOONG flight back to Aspen, and Guinness and I are cleaning and re-provisioning the boat. We will lay over here tomorrow, as well. R&R. Then, it looks like we’ll be heading home. Lots of new ports left to visit, but we’ll be heading west, not east.

It has been a GREAT Maine cruise: Portland, Boothbay Harbor, Bar Harbor, Northeast Harbor, Southwest Harbor (the best), Camden, Castine, Pulpit Harbor, Belfast.

On Monday, we’ll head back to Booth Bay, then Kennebunkport. The rest is TBD.

Today, we went to the Farnsworth Museum, which has an excellent collection of Wyeth paintings. The Wyeths had studios on several islands p here (and they owned at least one island). Fabulous!

Tonight, we had dinner in an outdoor BBQ joint called Up In Smoke, with a live Cuban band. Lots of fun. Lots of dogs, people sitting in the grass, people dancing. Lovely.

Last Sunday, when we arrived in Rockland, it was raining, and the ENTIRE town was closed. Quite a difference today!

We probably won’t post tomorrow, because it’s just a layover day (and the town will again be closed).

I expect that we’ll take off early Monday AM!

Love to all from me ad Guinness.

This post is really out of sequence, but I want to ensure that I write it, if belatedly, because it was one of the high points of the Maine trip.

Pulpit Harbor is located on North Haven Island, one of the several large islands in the heart of Penobscot Bay. These islands are formed from solid granite, so the harbor entrances are often marked by rock cliffs, and the views from their heights are dramatic.

Here’s Freedom in Pulpit Harbor. See how dramatic the scenery looks?

Sailing through these islands reminded us of sailing in the British Virgin Islands, because the passages are so manageable, and because you are surrounded by mountainous/hilly islands.

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Anyway, back to Pulpit Harbor…Here’s the backstory:

Guinness’ Veterinarian is a woman named Clarissa (nicknamed Cooey), and she has taught me most of what I know about raising Guinness. She is married to one of my business partners, Jeff, and they have both become personal friends of mine.

As I began to talk about my plans for Maine, I learned that Cooey’s family has had a generational home on Pulpit Harbor, and she encouraged me to visit. At first, we hoped to meet them there, but it didn’t work out.

BUT, we visited anyway, and I’m so glad we did! We were met by Cooey’s sister Cathy, who gave us a road tour of the entire island, which is just 8 miles long and 3 miles wide. Just 355 year-round residents. The drive offers spectacular views, and we had lunch together in the small town on the other side of the island.

Here are a couple of pictures that give you a sense of what the views were like…wildflowers, granite outcroppings, clear blue waters, forested hills, and clear blue skies. It was quite an experience.

Cathy was so lovely, and so kind to us. It was a very memorable visit!

We left Souhwest Harbor with a repaired thruster. On the hard for 24 hours.. Very amusing…we lived on the boat, but it was on dry land. Pulled out Wednesday at noon – had to wait for the high tide. Remember, there are 10-foot tides in Maine.

So, I am telling the Service Manager, “I have to have Connie in an Uber on Saturday morning, so I have to be in Rockland by Friday, so we have to diagnose the problem today (Wednesday), and order parts if necessary, and make repairs Thursday.

The yard analyzed the problem, ordered the part, and had it repaired by 7:45 Thursday morning. Ready to launch on the next tide. Meanwhile, the water pump that feeds everything: Sinks, toilet, windshield washers, shower, etc. also broke. What are the odds that two critical systems break at once?

Actually, it was a good thing, because we were laid up anyway. So I worked on the water pump. I had a spare, but as I assessed the problem, I realized it was a clogged filter. The pump was difficult to reach, and it took two days – I felt like a contortionist, but I did it.

Anyway, we left Thursday at 1PM, and headed straight up the Eggemoggen Reach for Castine. Castine was a bit of a letdown after SW Harbor (what wouldn’t be?), and Connie said, “Lets go to Belfast. I remember it is cute.” So we took off in a threatening storm, and made it to Belfast in less than an hour. Belfast IS cute, and very dog friendly.

That set us up to enjoy the whole day Friday. Rockport would be an easy trip. We waited for the fog and rain to lift, and set off under clearing skies for Pulpit Harbor on North Haven lsland. Pulpit Harbor is the site of the ancestral home of one of my favorite couples, Jeff and Cooey. Jeff is my business partner, and his wife Cooey is Guinness’s Veterinarian.

Jeff and Cooey were still in PA, but Cooey’s sister Cathy met us at the dock, picked us up in the Whaler, and drove us all over the island. Spectacular views! A beautiful home and a beautiful setting. So happy we took the time to visit! We love Cathy!

Then a sprint to Camden to see the “Classic” yacht races, and safely home in Rockland by 5PM. The entire trip reminded me of a sail in the British Virgin Islands, because the land masses and the islands here are so mountainous. Plus, we saw dolphins and seals swimming near the boat as we sped past.

What a great day!

I’m sorry we haven’t posted in several days. We’re on a Mooring, and connectivity is spotty, to say the least. I just got a notice saying I was offline. I don’t even know if this post will get posted.

anyway, breaking news! When we left Rockland, we did not head for Camden as we had planned, we decided to go keep on going east and make it all the way up to Bar Harbor. The entire trip was foggy, but not rough. We had to use radar the entire way, and follow the charts and buoys carefully.

but now we’re on a mooring in Southwest Harbor, and it is spectacular!

This is the quintessential Maine cruising experience. We are moored at the Hinckley yard, and we are surrounded by gorgeous Hinckley‘s, both sail and power. There’s a brisk breeze today, and the sun on the water Is shattered into a million prismatic pieces. Off to our port are two antique schooners and one of the crewmembers working up at the top of the ratlines end all the way at the top of the mast. Authentic stuff!.

The view here is absolutely spectacular. Right now I am looking due North straight up a body of water called Soames Sound. it is 4 miles long 150 feet deep and is surrounded by 850 foot mountains. It was cut by a glacier and until sometime ago it WAS a glacier. It is now a fjord, and may be the only one, in America, at least on the East Coast. This will save me a trip to Norway. I’ve seen a fjord, right here in Maine

we will be here a day longer than I expected, because I need to have the bow thruster repaired something may have gotten lodged in there and either broken the sheer pin or broken a blade. We will know later today. Hinckley is going to haul us out of the water just after lunchtime. We have to wait for the tide to come in, because the tides here are about 10 feet, and we can’t get into the travel lift until high tide.
if we have to get stuck somewhere, this is absolutely the most spectacular place I can imagine. And once again, I am so lucky! Whenever anything breaks, I am near a full-service yard where I can get it repaired, and they are able to make a hole in their work schedule to service me.

I’m going to try to post this now, and I’ll try to post again once we know our schedule going forward.

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More photos from Southwest Harbor…spoiler alert: this, along with Pulpit Harbor (which will follow) were the high points of the trip.

We had a short trip today – Boothbay Harbor to Rockland (I am correcting this post, because I keep confusing the names!), but we left early, since the weather was supposed to deteriorate as the day progressed.

We had a fairly good ride, and made very good time. Connie is a seasoned boater and didn’t complain. We pulled up to the dock just as the skies opened! We walked into town in our foul weather gear and stood in line under an awning to have lunch at the ONLY restaurant open on Sunday! Sub-par but sustaining. Good blueberry cobbler, though. Maine blueberries…Yummy!

On the way back to the boat, we visited the Maine Lighthouse Museum. Fascinating. Especially the technology behind the Fresnel Lens. Also the fact that Maine has 67 lighthouses along its coast! We should start to keep count…

When we got back to the boat, the entire harbor was enshrouded in fog. I am SOOO glad we didn’t have to travel in that. So glad we left early!

Here’s a photo ofGuinness enjoying the foggy harbor:

Fortunately, we are looking at sunny weather for the next three days. Tomorrow, we begin our exploration of Penobscot Bay: we sail just 6 miles to Camden. I think we’ll stop for lunch in Pulpit Harbor, where Guinness’ Vet, Clarissa, has a family home. Too bad they are not here now.

No clue where we’ll have supper tonight; maybe onboard.

Decent Internet for a change; looking forward to an evening of Netflix!

A GREAT ride today. Three hours, plus time to exit and enter the harbors. Tied up by 12:45.

Walked around and had lunch overlooking the harbor.

Tomorrow we are leaving early for Rockland, because the wind and waves are expected to build as the day progresses.

We’ll swing out to take a close look at the lighthouse on Monhegn Island, and then we navigate a path through some of Maine’s rocky coast. Our waypoints are loaded, and we’re ready to go.

All good so far.

It’s often good to stay a second day – more time to explore these towns we’re visiting. Portland is a very cute city…brick sidewalks, cobblestone streets, and repurposed commercial buildings. Lots of restaurants.

This marina has a floating restaurant: a converted ferry – huge, but elegant, with outdoor seating offering lovely harbor views. The harbor is full of beautiful modern yachts and historic sailboats. Last night, an antique schooner was ghosting by under the full moon. Lovely.

We’ll eat there again tonight: the food is excellent (surprisingly). Last night, I had crispy oysters in a lettuce wrap, and they were sensational.

In contrast, my lunch today was week-old deli on week-old bread. Yummy.

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Connie arrives in a few hours, so I spent the entire morning cleaning the boat to ensure that it’s “girl clean” as opposed to “guy clean”. Freedom looks pretty good. It will last about one day, but that’s OK. Drinking lots of water!

The Internet here SUCKS, so we’ve spent the time listening to Joni Mitchel’s “Blue” album. Not a bad way to pass an hour or two.

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Connie is here! Her Uber driver delivered her to the restaurant door, just as they called our table. What planning!

Here’s a photo of her enjoying DiMillo’s famous Double Lobster Dinner (one steamed and one stuffed). And a shot of us enjoying the (still) full moon.

Tomorrow, we are off to Boothbay Harbor, ME

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BTW, apropos of nothing, I forgot to mention that Boston was MASKED UP! Not everyone, but probably 30%. And out of nowhere, an app appears on your phone offering to tell you if you are near a Covid “hot spot”. They are really freaking out about the variant(s).

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ANOTHER great day on the water. As we have traveled East, though CT, MA, HN, and ME, I would comment on the nice weather, and people would respond, “Yes, finally!” So apparently, we are coming in right behind a stretch of gray, cloudy skies. LUCKY! I hope it keeps up!

I had a wonderful surprise today: my friend Brad joined me for today’s leg, and Renee’ drove here to pick him up. It was a real pleasure to have a navigator and companion.

We’ve already passed at least a half-dozen scenic lighthouses; we must really be in Maine!

Just after lunch, Guinness and I rode a charming narrow-track railroad train that runs all along the harbor. The tracks are just 24″ apart. These narrow-gauge trains were used to carry freight from the harbor towns to those with no port access. It now runs on the Grand Trunk right-of-way… the railroad that used to connect Maine and Canada!Lots of fun, and beautiful views.

This afternoon, we explored Portland and did some chores. More required tomorrow to get the boat “girl-ready” because Connie flies in tomorrow night. “Guy Clean” is one thing; “Girl Clean” is quite another matter.

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We’re staying at a marina in Portland called DiMillo’s, which is famous because right next door is DiMillo’s floating restaurant, formerly a gigantic ferry boat. It sounds like the kind of tourist trap that would have terrible food, but I had a crispy oysters lettuce-wrap that was fabulous.

I ate outdoors on the back deck; Here’s a photo of an antique sloop that ghosted past as the full moon rose.