We swung south to Mackerel cove, where we grabbed a mooring in front of Mike Wilson’s house. He had hosted a picking party both this year and last. Unfortunately Mike and his wife weren’t home, but Doug Day appeared in a motorboat at the floating dock where we had tied our dinghy, towing his son Jackson in his newly rebuilt antique sloop. Jackson bailed water regularly as the wood drank until the boards would swell and eventually become seaworthy.

In Mike’s garden I planted a scrawny basil plant, still with healthy roots. We had started it in Nashville, brought to NY, and had harvested on the boat all the past month. I hope it will spring forth new leaves and give them a nice Caprese salad or two before the winter sets upon them in Maine.