August 2 - 24

August 2    Met S2 in Boston at Boston Yacht Haven on the North End.  A nice new marina, but very rolly during the day due to ferry and boat traffic and the lack of a breakwater, at $3/foot a rather poor price performer, although it is within walking distance of a great number of Italian restaurants and the Boston aquarium.  We had dinner at Ristorante Saraceno where we ran into a couple from Longboat Key who lived at Sea Place.  Food was very good, but Nora got a bit of an allergic reaction, apparently to some mold in the basement dining area.

August 3  Departed at 0930 and motored to Rockport, MA.  The harbor at Rockport is small and filled with boats on moorings, they only had one dock that would accommodate us which is on pilings at the Sandy Bay Yacht Club.  They have only 30 amp power at the dock so we had to run the genset, also it was difficult to get ashore due to the tide height so we had to have the harbor tender pick us up off the swim platform and carry us to and from the dock.  Joyce and Sherman Cooper joined us for lunch aboard and we had dinner that evening at My Seafood Place in the harbor.  (For future trips Gloucester would be a better option for berth or anchoring).

August 4-5 Backed out of the rather tight fit at the dock and headed for Portsmouth, NH.  Portsmouth adjoins Kittery, Maine with the Piscataqua River dividing them.  The river is the one of the fastest flowing tidal rivers in the US with currents of up to 9 knots, which required some planning for docking.  We berthed at a long dock at Harbor Place Marina.  The "marina" is very well located within an easy walk of the historic section of the town, but is exposed to a lot of current and does not have adequate power available.  Also there is no protection from wakes generated by numerous river traffic.  Not a place where I would want to stay again.  We spent 2 nights here, did some shopping and sightseeing, including a trolley ride and a walk through the historic waterfront.  Dinner at The Wellington Room was excellent.

August 6  Departed at noon at slack water and made a short one hour trip to anchorage at Isles de Shoals.  Dingied ashore on Star Island which is home to a facility owned by the Unitarians and Church of Christ and which conducts weekly camps for kids and families.  The facilities are old and could use some fixing up.  Walked the island then visited Appledore Is. home of the Shoals Marine Laboratory and hundreds of gulls (Blackback and Herring).  This is a truly beautiful anchorage with a number of moorings which apparently are available on a first come first served basis, although they are owned by the Portsmouth and Kittery Point Yacht Clubs.  It was good that we arrived early as the harbor filled up by late afternoon.

August 7  Planned to anchor in the small Stage Harbor, just north of Kennebunkport, however we found it a bit full so elected to move to the next harbor south, Cape Porpoise.  We picked up a mooring ball only to be chased off it later in the day by someone who mistook it for his, which as it turned out was about a hundred feet away.  After moving over to that one he decided that he wanted us to move back, such is life.  The highlight of the day was that George Bush (Sr).  came by driving his Fountain speedboat "Fidelity III" with the twins, other family members and secret service escort.  He came within 10 feet of the boat, waved and said hello.  T Jeb's son, Geo. P., got married in Kennebunkport that evening, so the clan was in town for the festivities.  We didn't get an invite.

August 8

Cape Porpoise to Sebasco Harbor  Nice weather for the days cruise of 4 1/2 hours.  Luke spotted one whale in route.  We anchored in the Harbor which was crowded with no moorings available that were heavy enough to hold us and no dockage.  The harbor had a good bit of roll so we wound up moving a few hundred yards to a calmer area.  There is one inn in the harbor which had no reservations available for their Sunday buffet so we ate on board.  Not a spot to revisit.

August 9-10 A short one hour run to Booth Bay for a two night stay. 

August 11  Based upon the weather forecast we decided to get closer to Rockland so sailed to an anchorage in Home Harbor at Pleasant Island.  Very Foggy and 4-5 foot seas on the beam which exercised the stabilizers a bit.  The anchorage was very nice and secluded, we were the only boat there, however there was a ground swell during the night that made it a bit rolly.  The anchorage is also in the path of a number of lobster boats that use the channel between the islands for a thoroughfare, which made for a rather early morning awakening. 

August 12 On to Rockland, again in the fog.  The Navtec, GPS, auto foghorn and radar took the edge off of the navigation however.  We overnighted at Knights Marine a small marina with inadequate power, had to run the genset to suplement shore power.  John and Kathy MacDonald joined us for the next weeks cruise.  Dinner that night at ? was good.  Our first choice, Pinos, was booked. Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane Charlie are bearing down on Florida's west coast.

August 13-14   Camden  A short cruise of two hours for a two night stay.  Foggy enroute and for the first day, but the following day was sunny and warm. Went for a hike in Camden State Park which was very nice followed by dinner at the Atlantica, which was excellent.  Docked at city dock which was overpriced considering that they again did not have power, although it was very convenient to town. Got the word that Charley has missed Longboat and had hit Captiva and Punta Gorda as a category 4 storm.  Whew!

August 15   20nm trip to Stonington on Deer Island.  Overnghted at Billings Marine and walked to town for lunch at Maritime Cafe, which got mixed reviews.  Dinner on board.  A small fishing village (dry-BYOB).

August 16-19  Southwest Harbor (Bar Harbor)  Docked at Great Harbor Marina for what turned out to be 4 days.  Hiked in Acadia Park for two days. Picnic on shore of Eagle lake one day and lunch of lobster rolls at Jordan Pond House the following day.  SWH is a 45 minute bus ride from Village Green in Bar Harbor, busses run once each hour and are on time.  NE Harbor and Bar Harbor did not have space to accommodate us, nor did Seal Harbor.  Dinner at Carlos was fairly good, appetizer of squid and octopus was excellent.  Red Sky was good on second try at cooking halibut.  Thrumbcap was again excellent.  For and rain delayed our departure by a day.  Bob and Linda Madrell joined us for lunch on board on the 19th.

August 20-21 Winter Harbor in dense fog all day.  Stopped fur lunch in Pond Cove, visibility about 50 yards at times.  A a couple of close encounters with lobster boats and one sailboat.  The lobstermen don't always pay much attention and often seem to run too fast for conditions, with no radar use in evidence.  Got a mooring from Winter Harbor Yacht Club in Sands Cove which was a quite nice location, quiet and protected.  A good place to wait out two days of rain and fog.  Moorings are $35/night.  Mama's Boy restaurant was highly recommended by everyone, including the Politis. Debbie left on Sunday for a 6 week stint teaching spinal therapy at USF.  Dooley is filling in in her absence.  

August 22 Motored to Great Wass Island, about 45 nm north of Winter Harbor.  During the trip we noticed a bit of vibration and when we entered the harbor we also noticed that we were trailing the ground tackle and float from a lobster pot.  A  passerby offered help in the way of a wet suit after leading us through a maze of lobster traps to an area near their dock.  I donned the suit and endeavored (in 54 degree water)  to cut the lines loose only to discover that there were too many lines and that it was going to be a job for a diver with a tank. The good samaratin who lived nearby then began calling all the local divers he and his wife knew. Fortunately one of them came over and freed us from the traps, after about 20 minutes of underwater work.  The pile of line was remarkable and was obviously from more than one trap, this despite our best efforts to avoid them.  There are over 2 million lobster traps in Maine and no rules as to where they can be placed which makes for a real hazzard.  The diver said that a few days ago he dove on six boats also to clear traps

The anchorage at Great Wass is beautiful, the islands are very sparsely populated and thick with dolphin and seals.

August 23 Headed south from Great Wass to Lemoine Beach in good weather and with clean props.  Moored on the Madrell's mooring in front of their house and dingied ashore for dinner at their home.

August 24 - Drove to Bangor for flight back to KC.  Cruise will resume on Sept. 6th from Boston.