July 21 — Day 14 — Harraseeket R to Pemaquid Harbor —36 NM

This morning’s pleasant sunlight gave way to poor weather during the day, including fog again, though not as bad as on prior passages. First after exiting the river we saw Scott’s “Annie J”  a 49’ green custom ketch described by Scott, who drove us to Portland yesterday.

But we motored the entire way with the main sail up. Which ever way we went: first south out of Casco Bay, then east, along the coast and finally north in John Bay to our mooring in Pemaquid Harbor, the wind was in our face because the wind was so light that the engine’s speed drew the apparent wind to our bow. Here was a fun part on the way out of Casco Bay.

The zig-zag pink line from left to lower right is part of the track we made. When we got near that collection of red and green buoys I called upon Lene to spot them using binoculars. In fact the water was never less than 27 feet deep, but it was flowing sideways across the channel. (The red dots connected by black lines are part of a former “Route” that I plotted several years ago— I do not use Routes any more.)

In the fog we were traveling on the main coastal route of Maine, the route used by most sailors and power boats going up or down the coast. It is a well travelled highway so ILENE’s VHF radio got some use in calling other boats that appeared on AIS to let them know that I was approaching and if each of us would steer slightly to starboard, we wouldn’t hit each other. No one argues with such advice. Here is the lighthouse on the Cuckolds. Fog not too bad at this point.

At one point I saw a bush growing out of the ocean directly in front of us, and dodged it sharply with a wide margin. No, not a burning bush, but a bush. Well actually, not a bush, but several branches of a huge former now submerged tree sticking about 6 feet up into the air. Later someone else called it in to the Coast Guard and they broadcast a warning for mariners in the area to be on the lookout for it. Later we got an email from PC Mark, of the Harlem, informing all sailors of large amounts of debris in LI Sound — the result of the recent heavy rains.

I’ve written of my longstanding repeated efforts to stop the leak that occurred through the mast boot onto the salon dining table in heavy rains. Well during our Boston day we did get a bit of water,  nothing like in the past, and yesterday’s rains were not strong enough to break through. The boat was snug. And a good thing because it was cold in the cockpit— I wore gloves. 

Here’s my mate, putting a brave face on an unpleasant afternoon.

During the passage, before the fog got too heavy, while she was at the helm, I took our bedding apart to get under it to the water maker to turn it on and it ran for an hour, but then it flashed a maintenance reminder to “Service Pre Filters” which I will do. Also, the radar would not turn on. Always something.