Down East

Well, a lot of water has passed under our keel since the last posting.

We left Rockland and headed out to North Haven Island. Anchored in a deep cove in Pulpit Harbor where we were amazed at the scenery and the unspoiled beauty of this island. On the second day we put the bikes ashore and rode around to a small town on the South side. Later, we biked out to the North Haven Oyster Company and purchased a dozen. The owner explained how he raises the oysters in pens, and how pure the water must be in order for them to be good to eat. Aquaculture is rising in Maine. We had oysters on the half shell on the next two evenings.

After a couple of days we sadly had to decide to forego our plans to visit Mt. Desert Island. It's just too far. We headed down to Allen Island for one night and then to Linekin Bay. Finally we sailed to Cundy's Harbor on the New Meadow River where we were able to meet friends and go ashore for dinner at a coop. waterfront seafood restaurant and grocery store. Very rustic and fun. The coop was formed to save the family docks, that would otherwise go to Condo's.

From Cundy's Harbor we sailed south on what was forecast to be strong north winds. we left at 1030 and arrived in Gloucester, Ma around 0630 the following morning, bleary-eyed and glad to get off the boat. The ovenight sail was taxing, but we had favorable winds and wave height of only one foot. Our GPS stopped working and we had to rely on the back-up at the nav. desk. The compass light went out, so we had to use a small flashlight to tell if we were on course. We lost the wind around 2300 and had to motor for a few hours. But we arrived with the sun and found a convenient anchorage. We slept first, then swam and showered, then went ashore. Gloucester has such a seafaring history, it's great to walk around and see the historic sites. The Fishermen's Memorial was impressive, honoring over 5,200 Gloucester fishermen lost at sea.

Well, now that we're back in Massachusetts, it's time we got into some warm water to swim and do some spearfishing. We'll head for the Cape and then the canal soon. We should be back home in about a week.

RSB