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Day 14 Wed Aug 5 Fog

The previous night’s tropical storm left us with some cool weather and a fine sailing breeze. From Long Cove we went to North Haven, and snaked through the lobster pots and lobster boats on the Fox Island thoroughfare. We had a beautiful sail to Stonington at 6.5 knots and were heading towards Coombs islands when […]

While Bryan moved the boat from our borrowed tie-up and anchored, I joined in a weekly jam session in front of the Sail, Steam & Power Museum. It was hosted by Captain Jim Sharp, a true salt who sang and played charming old tunes and shanties. We bought his book on his sailing adventures. Gordon Bok returned to his floating dock where we had tied up, and we had a short visit on the deck of his houseboat that he designed to accommodate his wife who has lost the use of her left side due to a stroke. He’s 80 years old and still plays the occasional show with his wife on harp. It was poetic because we ended up visiting Rockland through a series of circumstances beginning with a guitar student, Bob, who who only wanted to learn Gordon Bok tunes. 

We are following the progress of hurricane Isaias, so we set off to find a hole in the long cove in Vinilhaven, where there are many islands to break the wind. I sat on the bow to direct around the many lobster pots while Bryan took the tiller. When we sailed into Bryan’s chosen spot, we found another boat had also taken anchor there, a beautiful 1871 wind-jammer charter schooner, the Stephen Taber. It seemed like a lively crew onboard, so after anchoring nearby we rowed over with guitar on back and announced we were taking over the ship. Captain Noah seemed happy to be relieved of his duties temporarily, so invited us onboard. I gave him a CD as a ship-warming gift, and after playing a couple tunes, he divulged that he is a player also. He took out his guitar and we jammed on blues and old jazz tunes, well spaced apart on the breezy deck. We rowed back, cooked a late spaghetti dinner with a glass of wine, and slept well.

Day 13 Tue Aug 4 Gentle Storm

In the morning I rowed out to the wider bay where we had been previously anchored, to see if any texts had come in about the progress of the hurricane as it moved up the east coast. In the center of the bay I can occasionally get a few seconds fo signal, enough to receive […]

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Day 10 Sat 8/1 Small World

Bryan and I went for a short walk along the road by the harbor where there were vey few cars. Someone in a pickup truck motioned to us, and as we approached Bryan recognized that it was a neighbor, Bill Froehlich, from his little town in Long Island. In our conversation I asked if he […]

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Day 9 Fri 7/31 Jam in Rockport ME

Our only contact in central Maine was a luthier, Nicholas Apollonio, who had built an instrument for my friend and my former student Bob Peterson. We sailed into Rockland, docking on a slip graciously loaned to us by fellow musician Gordon Bok, just outside the Steam Power & Sail Museum. Nicholas met us at the […]

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Day 8 Thu 7/30 Pleasant Island

We met some sailors the previous evening who told us we could use the Port Clyde ferry mooring for the night, but were politely chased off the following morning as the ferry made her entrance. So, we sailed towards mussel ridge, and ended up dropping anchor at Pleasant Island, a beautiful rocky cove with only […]

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Day 7 Wed 7/29 Arrival and Fin Whales

Bryan and I took turns manning the helm for about 4 hour shifts through the night. Fortunately for the one at the helm, there was a moderate wind which meant we could use the jib & mainsail and string up the self-steering, an ingenious apparatus which adjusts for the wind and tiller, requiring only occasional […]

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Day 6 Tue 7/28 Humpback Whales

We started sailing from Provincetown across to the central coast of Maine. A few hours out, we were in an area with a natural shelf from the 80 foot seafloor to several hundred feet, called stellwagen bank, and spotted a humpback whale. As we got closer, it’s pouted and then dove underneath the boat, to rise […]

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Day 5 Mon 7/27 The Rescue Operation

We were sailing towards Provincetown, Cape Ann, when I spotted a small inflatable boat. When I checked with the binoculars, I noticed there was a motor on the boat, but someone was rowing against choppy waves. I told Bryan to sail in that direction, and saw that it was a lady. I threw her a […]