July 15 -- Rockport to Winter Harbor

I had to dink in to pay for the mooring this morning and saw these other great wooden boats. It seems that Rockport Marine specializes in the TLC of wooden boats, I saw two guys on one of them and hailed them. They said we don't own her, we only work on her. "What, it takes two guys to maintain one of these?” The reply: “More’n that!” And with the price of talented labor, my estimate is that it takes more per year to maintain one of these beauties than it did to buy one when they were new. And if someone drops a winch handle on that varnished brightwork, forget about it!

Lene got us underway while I was talking with Bryan from Headsync who sold and installed our Spectra Ventura water maker. A very well run organization. When I get stuck I call Bryan and he gives me the answer. And I write down the answers so I won’t have to call next time. Some of my friends are mechanical geniuses and can install their own and understand how they work. For me, a step by step checklist with all parts accurately named is needed for the watermaker. The bottom line is that restarting after winterizing is now easy and we made our first ten gallons today.
Passing one of those passenger schooners under full sail.

The trip east across Penobscot Bay, once we cleared the Rockport Light

, was easy but by motor, very little wind and too close to the bow.  We were able to put up the Genoa (the lazy man’s sail configuration) near the end of this six mile stretch and then crossed between North Haven and Vinalhaven, two large islands that fill in the eastern side of western Penobscot Bay via the Fox Island Thoroughfare. This well travelled well marked east-west passage is lined with homes, each with a boat in front, like this one.

It reminded Lene of the Intercoastal, except for rocks, height and pines instead of mangroves, low and sand.

The cruising guide said that it is a challenge to sail the entire seven plus miles of the Fox  Island Thoroughfare. Once in the thoroughfare the winds were diminished by the land and our course required us to sail with the wind off the starboard quarter, not our most favorable point of sail in light winds. And we were handicapped by having only one sail. But we made it, without the engine, though its availability as a safety device was comforting. We made speeds of 1.8 to 4.8 knots, mostly somewhere in the middle. Then we sailed south along the east coast of Vinalhaven to the mouth of Winter Harbor and motored in.

Winter Harbor is about two miles long and 100 yards wide, not a river but a narrow bay, beautifully unspoiled and serene

with no services, restaurants, and only two other boats and of course, lobster boats. We are on 70 feet of chain in 18 feet of water at high tide; as little as eight feet of water when low tide arrives. Here I am setting the snubber.

 At high tide the straight shot to our nearest neighbor, half a mile away, is water covered; only the tiny white tops of the rocks at the extreme right are above water. You have to pass to the right of those rocks, with the sand bar to the left.

 These cliffs are on our north side.  

There is nothing to do here but work on the boat, explore by dink,

play on the computer (except it is so remote that the internet can’t get to us), read and oh yeah, eat! I polished up the ship’s clock and remounted it. Not as shiny as I’d like, but good enough for now.

Winter Harbor is not a haven for lobsters, however. They are fair game everywhere. We saw our first lady lobsterman, or I suppose she should be called lobsterwoman or better yet for the cause of gender neutral language: lobster catcher.

I also plotted out our trip to Canada here. Actually we are not going to stop in Canada as such, and thereby will avoid two customs stops. Here is the planned logical route, up and back, starting in the other Winter Harbor, the one on Schoodic Point, on the eastern side of Frenchman Bay (which has Bar Harbor on its western shore). Roque Island (37.4 miles), Cutler (17.4 miles) and then (going around Campobello Island - -which is Canadian) Eastport (30.3 miles). No overnight passages; Lene is happy. We will plan for about eight to ten days for this to provide time for weather delays and to explore the nice spots. Some of these, like Winter Harbor, will not permit posting.