Due to rain from the approaching yet unpredictable remnants of hurricane Debbie, the after-festival lobster bake and picnic was moved inside and held in Florian’s barn. The barn was decorated with lights and canvas murals by legendary Maine artist Buckley Smith. Rows of chairs were set up theater style, and although warm greetings and conversation […]
Archive | Captain and First Mate’s Log 2024
RSS feed for this sectionDay 19: The After-Party
Categories: Blog, Captain and First Mate's Log 2024
We caught up on some repairs and Bryan worked on the leaks in the deck, only to find it still dripping when the rain started in the evening. After the last concert, we sold a couple “Sailing Dreams” board games in which Swans’s island is depicted with a treasure chest on it—the treasure being this very […]
Day 18 Shanty Singing on Sloop
Categories: Blog, Captain and First Mate's Log 2024
To kick off the Sweet Chariot Music Festival, Bryan was requested to be the skipper to take a dozen shanty singers on our boat, Avocet, to serenade the schooners and other boats in the harbor. From the dock I could hear their voices wafting across the water. One of the sailing instructors took me out […]
Day 17 Monday Live from Sweet Chariot kickoff party
Categories: Blog, Captain and First Mate's Log 2024, Monday Live
Live from Swans Island Maine. Geoff Kaufman, who sang on my Sailing Dreams album, sings a rousing Santy Anno with David Littlefied joining in. I play the Old Man and the Sea on my mango wood guitar.
Day 16 Wash-Up-Squash at Pell Island
Categories: Blog, Captain and First Mate's Log 2024
We anchored at one of the lobstering harbors at Stonington, the site of an old granite quarry that supplied stones for some of the historic buildings in NY and Boston. We loaded into the dinghy the two folding bicycles lent to us by Pamela and Wallace in Woods Hole. Our annoyance at the awkwardness of […]
Day 15 Foggy Wheat Island
Categories: Blog, Captain and First Mate's Log 2024
We were invited to attend the wooden boat festival about a 3 hour sail from here, with Rob and Marcia who we met at Swan’s Island a few years ago. However, a morning thunderstorm gave way to fog. Rather than trying to negotiate lobster pots and boats in varying degrees of fog, we decided instead […]
Day 14 Three Anchorages and Two Lobsters
Categories: Blog, Captain and First Mate's Log 2024
The morning brought a lobster boat pulling traps. I motioned for him to come over and asked if we could buy 2 lobsters from him. He said, Ok, “How about $15.” I gave him $20 plus a Sailing Dreams CD for our first lobster dinner onboard in Maine. After one last search for the AWOL […]
Day 13 Seal Trap Cove
Categories: Blog, Captain and First Mate's Log 2024
Bryan sent his drone up above the layer of fog so we could see the island, Isle au Haut and nearby islands. In the early evening after having a margarita he decided to see how high and how far the drone could go. Well, the low battery light flashed on the control panel, and the […]
Day 12 Land Ho! Ragged Island
Categories: Blog, Captain and First Mate's Log 2024
We were both tired and glad to see the coast of ragged island where we could anchor, have a hot meal, and rest before continuing on to Seal Trap Cove. I was surprised to be ready to sail again so soon, but we were blessed with fair winds and tides in our favor. Also a […]
Day 11 Seals of Cape Cod and The Crossing
Categories: Blog, Captain and First Mate's Log 2024
We had rowed the dinghy to shore and walked to the strip of beach that is the very tip of Cape Cod. When we left to cross over to Maine at 6 am, that tip of beach was covered with seals who sang an energetic farewell as we departed Cape Cod. The 30-hour crossing from […]