Maine at last
From Gloucester we joined a convoy of three yachts on an easy day sail to the Isle of Shoals, an isolated group of small islands and the site of a religious retreat.
From there, it was an overnight trip to Penobscot Bay in Maine. We had a good sail to the entrance of the bay then just after midnight the fog came in, visibility dropped from 14 miles to less than ¼ mile, and the wind slowly died away to nothing. Daylight saw us motoring up the huge bay relying solely on GPS and radar, neither bank being visible. We saw nothing but the odd lobster pot and a ferry looming out of the mist until land hazily appeared 30 miles up the bay.
We spent two days in the town of Belfast, with Ros Ailither aground on a slip and leaning against the harbour wall. We checked the bottom (luckily no sign of worm attack), touched up some bare patches of paint and installed a new seacock for the watermaker. Dave also took the brave step of chopping two inches off each propeller blade with his angle-grinder. Amazingly, it seemed well balanced after!
Our boat attracted lots of interested spectators in Belfast. One English resident came to say hi after seeing our English flag and turned out to be from Woodbury, Devon. He drove Dave to the chandlery and his wife took me to the supermarket. Here I had the bizarre experience of the staff refusing to sell me a crate of beer with my shopping. Apparently a UK driving licence (even with a photo) isn’t proof of age, and they won’t sell to anyone who looks like they may be under 30 years old!
The past ten days have been spent at Seal Harbour, on the lovely island of Islesboro.
This is the home town of sailing friends who we first met in Portugal and have bumped into several times since - in the Canaries and up through the Caribbean. They run a classic charter boat called ‘Bonnie Lynn’ and we have been able to accompany them on some of their charters - day trips around the neighbouring islands and lobster dinners on board.
From there, it was an overnight trip to Penobscot Bay in Maine. We had a good sail to the entrance of the bay then just after midnight the fog came in, visibility dropped from 14 miles to less than ¼ mile, and the wind slowly died away to nothing. Daylight saw us motoring up the huge bay relying solely on GPS and radar, neither bank being visible. We saw nothing but the odd lobster pot and a ferry looming out of the mist until land hazily appeared 30 miles up the bay.
We spent two days in the town of Belfast, with Ros Ailither aground on a slip and leaning against the harbour wall. We checked the bottom (luckily no sign of worm attack), touched up some bare patches of paint and installed a new seacock for the watermaker. Dave also took the brave step of chopping two inches off each propeller blade with his angle-grinder. Amazingly, it seemed well balanced after!
Our boat attracted lots of interested spectators in Belfast. One English resident came to say hi after seeing our English flag and turned out to be from Woodbury, Devon. He drove Dave to the chandlery and his wife took me to the supermarket. Here I had the bizarre experience of the staff refusing to sell me a crate of beer with my shopping. Apparently a UK driving licence (even with a photo) isn’t proof of age, and they won’t sell to anyone who looks like they may be under 30 years old!
The past ten days have been spent at Seal Harbour, on the lovely island of Islesboro.
This is the home town of sailing friends who we first met in Portugal and have bumped into several times since - in the Canaries and up through the Caribbean. They run a classic charter boat called ‘Bonnie Lynn’ and we have been able to accompany them on some of their charters - day trips around the neighbouring islands and lobster dinners on board.
posted by Katie at 7:16 PM
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