Update 7/08/2009 Cumberland to Hilton and Portland to Grand Mannan

Hello to all

We are presently sitting on trader in Northeast Harbor, Maine waiting for the weather to improve before heading further east. It has been very cold and rainy for most of June and July but nonetheless we’ve found lots to do!

Boardwalk on Cumberland Island

Going back to my last update we were on Sun Cat in Cocoa, Fl. We traveled the rest of the way to Hilton Head with Sue and Larry on Sue Sea Q. From Cocoa we traveled to Daytona where we again had a nice beach walk and a good visit with our friends Bruce and Ellie. After a couple days there, we spent a night at the pine island anchorage just north of St Augustine, followed by another at the Kingsley Plantation where we walked the grounds of the remaining parts of the Plantation. Unfortunately the buildings were not open. After that we were off to St Mary’s where we had a nice walk and an interesting happy hour at the bar hosted by Cindy the bartender. Sue & Larry got a good introduction!

Ranger giving a tour of Dungeness - Cumberland Island

After that we visited Tom & Gerry (sea Knight) in Fernadina Beach where we enjoyed a nice dinner at their home. Then it was off to Cumberland Island for several days during which George on Time Out was able to join us for an evening on his trip north. I’ve mentioned Cumberland Island before and it has to be one of our favorite stops because of the great beach and wonderful hiking trails. It also has an interesting history and we learn a bit more about it each time we go.

From there we went to Jeckyll Island. We toured on the loaner bikes, and did something different, taking a guided tour through the historic district. While the tour can be easily walked (or biked) the tour permitted entry into some of the historic houses and we learned a bit more about those properties and the men who built them.

Jeckyll Island Club

From Jeckyll, we again went to Fort Frederica where we anchored off of the fort. We were disappointed to find that the dinghy dock was still unusable so we were not able to do another tour of the park. Maybe in the fall! After Frederica it was on to two more anchorages, Lincoln Creek and Bull Creek and then into Hilton Head arriving on May 1.

Our time at Hilton Head was fun. We enjoyed showing the place to Sue and Larry and had a good visit from Tim and Jan (Lamb Chop) as they headed north by car. We played many games of Mexican Train Dominos on Sue Sea Q, took in the Shannon Tanner show a number of times and of course enjoyed the beach and pool. All too soon it was time to return to Maine.

On our return to Maine (May 13), we found the house in good order but the weather cold and rainy. We did a few projects on our house, worked when possible to get Trader in the water, spent several days and evenings helping Steve with a project at his house and a week helping Bill clean and organize his house. Bill also took us on a good tour of Baxter State Park, a wilderness park in Northern Maine. Part of Baxter includes Mt Katahdin which is the highest mountain in Maine. We didn’t try to hike it and there was still snow on it.

Trader finally hit the water on June 2 at 6:15 in the morning and later that day we put the mast up at the yacht club assisted by Steve and a whole bunch of our friends. We had a couple of weekend trips to Jewell Island with Steve on his boat Nette and our friends Larry and Cathy on their new (to them) sailboat Katahdin. These were sandwiched around another trip to Bill’s, several days spent buying Bill a truck, and a visit from Sue and Larry from Sue Sea Q.

Sue and Larry had just purchased a land yacht and spent a couple of days visiting us, parking it where Trader had been. This was the inaugural trip for them. While they were here we got two good days and went sailing, spending the first day hiking on Jewell Island and the second visiting Admiral Peary’s house on Eagle Island after a stop at the Dolphin Marina for their famous lobster stew and blueberry muffin lunch. They helped us celebrate Jean’s birthday and lucked out by finding the twin lobster special at DeMillo’s floating restaurant. We also were able to introduce them to the Great Lost Bear with its offering of over 50 beers on tap. On that Thursday evening we went to a sea dogs baseball game but left after 3 plus innings because of the rain. All in all it was a fun visit.

Sue & Larry left on Friday and on Sunday we took off on a trip of our own. Our first stop was Montpelier, Vt. where we had lunch with Jean’s niece Lynnette. The next stop was at Bill and Jill’s home in Grand Isle, Vt. Bill & Jill own a Krogen 42 named Transition and did part of the loop with us. We had a pleasant evening catching up with them.

Dock at Tim and Jan's

The next day we headed further west to Fenelon Falls, Ontario to visit Tim & Jan of Lamb Chop. We spent a couple of fun days with them, touring Fenelon Falls, Lindsay and Orillia, Ontario. We also had a nice dinner at their friend Jane’s house in Lindsay one evening. The weather was good most of the time so Tim was able to borrow a boat and we took a long ride up the river they live on to see some more of the countryside. That afternoon we went out on Balsam lake, rafted to their friends Al & Monica and went for a swim. It was great to be able to jump off the boat and swim in warm water! In all we had a great visit with Tim & Jan.

Jean and Tim ready for a boat ride

On the way back, we again stopped at Bill & Jill’s who took us on an expedition to Burlington for dinner. There was a food festival, the Burlington Chew Chew taking place on the waterfront and we tried a few appetizers there. Bill had been involved in the planning of the revitalization of the Burlington downtown and showed us some of the changes and made and the background and history of some of the decisions leading to those changes. Bill was understandably proud of what had been accomplished there. We had a good walk on the Church Street pedestrian mall and a nice dinner at one of the restaurants.

Back in Maine, we made a quick trip to deliver Bill the truck we had bought for him and then got ready for the sailing trip we are on now. Bad weather forced a day’s delay in getting going and we finally got moving Friday morning (7/3). We spent that evening at Jewell having happy hour with Tim and Kathy on Cordillia and later joined by Larry and Cathy on Katahdin and Steve and Kim on Nette.

The next day started out nice and we had a good sail toward Boothbay. Nette was headed for Boothbay and Trader and Katahdin were planning to go a lot further, hoping to get across Muscongus Bay that afternoon. However, in mid afternoon a strong thunderstorm hit us. We had heard warnings on the radio and had gotten our sails down so other than a good soaking we weren’t seriously affected. However, the winds were strong enough to heel the boats substantially with no sails up and the rain was practically horizontal. Nette continued on to Boothbay where she found a good mooring and had a great fireworks show. Katahdin and Trader changed plans and proceeded up the Damariscotta River to Seal Cove where we anchored for the night.

The next day was a wonderful sailing day. We motored an hour or so out of the river and then set sail. We passed through Muscongus Bay, Port Clyde, up Muscle ridge Channel, through the Fox Island Thoroughfare that separates North Haven and Vinalhaven and over to Merchants row where we anchored in Merchants Harbor for the night. 54 miles, almost all under sail though some on the nicest scenery one will find anywhere.

Katahdin at Northeast Harbor

Monday started out warm and sunny with light winds and we headed across Jerrico Bay and through Casco Passage to Blue Hill Bay. The wind came up from the southeast and brought the fog in with it. We also passed on of the small cruise ships heading west across the bay as we were going east. At Bass Harbor Bar, the fog lifted again and we sailed through the western way and into Cranberry Harbor where we picked up one of the free town moorings. We then took a walk with the crew of Katahdin on the island, finding a woods road we hadn’t taken before. Unfortunately it ended in a swamp, not a beach so we backtracked to the boat and had a nice dinner on Katahdin.

The next morning we awoke to a strong NE wind and a rough anchorage, so we motored into NE Harbor ( a whole 7 miles) and picked up a mooring.

Steve & Jean

Waiting for summer to come to Maine!