August 24 and 25 -- Five Islands to Jewell Island to Portsmouht YC, 22 and 50 Miles

We are really homeward bound these days with longer passages to eat up the miles. We had planned to stop in Portland. Lene loves the vibe of that city and I like it too. The Centerboard YC in South Portland, with launch service across the harbor to the heart of downtown could not accomodate us. We next tried for a mooring at Peaks Island, nearby, but $65 per night with no showers or launch service. Yes, we can aford it but I don't like to pay it. Portland is pricing itself out of reach for middle class sailors. It seems that whenever a port becomes known as a place for $uper Yacht$, it means that the people with big money have bought the place to the detriment of others. While we were enroute, toward Portland,with winds from the south predicted, we thought of anchoring in Jewell Island and cancelled at Peaks. The sail started as a motor passage but eventually the wind came up.
We have been to Jewell about six times with various guests and it is a great and convenient spot, with great hikes to interesting spots. We entered from the west, for the first time and were the second sailboat present. We put out 50 feet of chain The air was so quiet that though the hook of the snubber line fell off the anchor chain, we did not notice until hauling anchor in the morning.
This visit we did not even lower the dink to hike ashore. As we were getting comfortable a dink was  floating past us to the other boat, a Sabre 362 named "Sea Quester" (Nice pun in there!). Jamie and Lori were in it. Almost home from a one month cruise to New Brunswick with four other boats from their Club.. They spent the last fourteen summers before 2018 cruising Newfoundland. We asked if they wanted to hang with a line on ILENE and later if they wanted to come aboard. Yes. But they had to board from the side because the dink blocked access to the swim platform.

They knew the Saga 43 because they had also made friends with Liz and Mark of "Saving Grace" who we met in Baddeck and who stayed in our apartment for a few days last fall while heading south. Jamie and Lori are nice folks with interesting professions, who live outside Boston and keep their boat at the Manchester YC in the tiny harbor of Manchester by the Sea. They declined libations but invited us to visit their Club and break bread with them two days later.
In the morning the air was so light that we put up the main while still on the anchor. Once clear of  Jewell, it was a one waypoint straight shot to the entrance to The Piscatawa River, in which Portsmouth, NH is located. The wind was almost sailable on a closehauled port reach, but not quite. The sails helped a bit but it was a motoring day. Lobster pots are not dense here but a vigilant lookout for them was required. Along the way, the shackle holding the block of the mainsheet to its traveler track gave way. I replaced it with a spare. This last happened in much heavier wind off Hyannisport in 2016 and should not happen! I have to get a more heavy duty shackle. Also, the Velcro strap that secures the starboard side long tube-batten at the top of the stack pack slid off and I shoved the tube back in and resecured it.
Once we got to the waypoint we turned to starboard we had a brief sail. But the water's in the river were ebbing strongly against the incoming wind creating very rough waves and with the course being a run, after one controlled jibe, we stowed the sails and motored the last two miles to the Portsmouth YC. Grabbing the mooring meant that Lene had to maintain a speed of about three knots in the water to inch forward while I tried to grab the bridle by boat hook-- no pickup stick. Third try did it. The Club is small and its $32 fee quite reasonable. We took in the launch, took showers, filled our four one gallon drinking water bottles and walked the few blocks to the store which was closed for a catering engagement.

The fuel dock opened early and we got to is earlier and fueled up before departing at 8 the next morning.