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Maine Cruise 2004
Week 2 (Continued)


Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4


Thursday, August 5, 2004
Somesville

NOAA.  Yesterday, they had been calling for rain today, which was one reason we came to Somesville when we did.  Needless to say, the morning dawned bright and clear--my kind of rainy day.  It seemed the supposed system that was to bring us rain had stayed further south than expected, or something.  In any event, it was beautiful, and we looked forward to enjoying our bonus day.

somesvillepond.jpg (59829 bytes)After a  relaxing morning aboard, Heidi and I headed ashore around 1030 or so for an adventure.  Our first stop:  the Port in a Storm Bookstore nearby in Somesville, where not only could we pick up a new island explorer (sic) schedule (island explorer being the free buses that run all over Mt. Desert and Acadia National Park, which are a boon to cruisers looking to see the sights), but also browse the book selection and possibly add to our collection.  (We did.)


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At 1150, we picked up the bus passing through Somesville, our first of three different buses we needed to catch in order to get to our destination:  Jordan Pond House, for popovers.  The bus was full, with only one seat, so I stood in the aisle for the relatively short ride to a stop where we could transfer buses, at Mt. Desert High School.  We were dropped unceremoniously in the empty parking lot there, where we could wait for several minutes for the next bus--one heading to Northeast Harbor--to arrive.  When it did, we boarded and then debarked at the town dock in Northeast, where, once more, we waited a few minutes for our next connection, which eventually dropped us at the Jordan Pond House.

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JPH is renowned for popovers and tea, in a beautiful setting overlooking The Bubbles (a pair of the many mountains at Acadia).  Eventually, we were directed to the information window, where we could make a reservation for seating.  In only a very few minutes (perhaps 5), our little pager thing glowed with red lights, so off we went to be seated by the amiable Abraham.  We ordered lobster stew and popovers, accompanied by iced tea (me) and lemonade (Heidi).  All was delicious, and the stew impressed us not only with its taste, but with the amount of lobster meat--and for a not-over-the-top price, all things considered.  Yum.  Popovers rock!  What a pleasant diversion.

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Meal complete, we reversed our course and rode the buses back to the boat.  While waiting at MDI High School once again, I had time to inspect the sculpture class project, erected on a nearby rocky outcropping.  Not quite ready for the Louvre...

The remains of the afternoon aboard--we got back about 1500--were typical cruising.  Reading, rubbernecking, chores, etc.  I added 5 gallons of diesel to the tank.  Later in the evening, while we were enjoying cocktails, a small Hunter sailboat with young couple and two small children aboard passed us by to ask about the holding ground and depths; they had a huge, brightly colored parrot on board as well, resting comfortably on a gnarled stick/post mounted to the transom!  That's a first for me.  The poor people fought with their anchors several boats distant from us, setting two anchors (who knows why) but still ending up way too close to one of the featureless white anchored sailboats nearer the mouth of the harbor.  Eventually, they departed for anchorages unknown.  We sympathized with them--they had seemed nice, and were obviously just starting out.


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The sunset was spectacular.

 


Friday, August 6, 2004
Somesville

Inertia.  No other word could describe our decision to remain in Somesville for another day.  I woke up late (for me), and after enjoying coffee in the cockpit for an hour or so, I headed ashore to hike about a mile up the street to a convenience store for ice--Tim the Ice Hoarder.  They had no blocks, but I bought four bags of cubes and returned to the boat.  Round trip, boat-store-boat:  40 minutes.

Back on the boat, I stowed the ice and then relaxed in the cockpit, soaking in the day.  It was clear and beautiful, once again.  Heidi had just gotten up, and we decided, after some discussion and justification, to stay put for the day.  We had missed the fair, outgoing tide by this point (not critical, but still...), and the winds were light to nonexistent.  It seemed that it would not hurt to stay another day, so that's what we did.  

computerwork.jpg (36757 bytes)Little of note occurred this day.  It was clear and sunny till about lunchtime, when it clouded over with the thin sort of clouds that allow you to still see the sun (and probably get burned by it), but it was definitely cooler and less pleasant afterwards.  I caught up on photo work and logs, and realized, once again, the futility of trying to work on the laptop in the cockpit:  the screen just is too dim to see in the light.  After stubbornly working in the cockpit just long enough to permanently damage my eyesight, I finally gave in and went below to finish my logs and photos.


Saturday, August 7, 2004
Somesville - Burnt Coat Harbor (19.0 NM Plotted)

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Route Chart

We departed on a beautiful morning under clear skies and light winds, leaving at about 0900 to take advantage of the outgoing tide through Somes Sound, Western Way, and anywhere else we could.  And indeed:  we saw speeds over ground as high as 7 knots in a few places.  It's always nice to get a push when you can.

greatgott.jpg (35139 bytes) At the outer end of Western Way, there was an unexpected--pleasantly so--breeze, so we were able to sail for a while as we headed more or less south past beautiful Great Gott, Little Gott, and Black Islands.  Unfortunately, though, after about a half hour of excellent sailing (70° apparent and about 12 knots--good for about 5+ knots), the wind died again, so it was back to motoring.  

Starting just before I left on the cruise, I had noticed that sometimes when I would push the starter button on the engine, there'd be no response; pushing again, and harder, always succeeded.  During my first week of the cruise, I had dismantled the engine panel, looking for loose connections or corrosion.  I found nothing obvious, other than the trim ring that secured the button in place from the inside was a little loose.   I tightened it, and it seemed better.  Today, again, though, it failed to work properly, though I easily got the engine started by, once again, pressing the button a couple extra times and harder.  Later, I took the panel out again and played with the wiring connections behind the start button--there was one push-together connector that might have been a little loose, but I wasn't sure.  In any event, all seemed well, so I hoped that the problem was licked.

blackisland.jpg (28814 bytes) It was such a pleasant day, and the air was so clear that we could see forever.  It was so beautiful.  I noted with interest as we passed Green Islands, just seaward of Black Island, that the depths were nearly 300'--astonishing, since we were close to the islands.  Obviously, the terrain beneath the sea here must be similar to the fjords and mountains of Mt. Desert Island, except (duh) submerged beneath the water.

passintoburnt3.jpg (41104 bytes) We entered Burnt Coat Harbor through the "back door"--a narrow, lobster pot-filled (with toggles) channel to the east of the harbor.  We did this a couple years ago, and it was pretty and interesting.  I love narrow, winding channels such as this.

passintoburnt1.jpg (45469 bytes) Inside the harbor, we decided to pick up one of the Boathouse moorings, which proceeds go to the fisherman on Swans Island.  It was our first pay mooring of the cruise, so I had no qualms.  The mooring pendant was about 2" diameter.

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glisburnt807.jpg (29881 bytes)There was lots to watch through the afternoon, as Burnt Coat is a busy fishing harbor.  The galley sink had been draining slowly, so I took apart the drain and hose and cleaned everything out.  The sump seemed to be working well despite it all.

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Glissando, Pearson  Triton #381
www.triton381.com 

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