“The time to prepare for your next expedition is when you have just returned from a successful trip.”
– Admiral Robert Peary
To see all photos from this post, please see the google photo album HERE
The season started just around the first of June this year, getting in the water at Aspasia Marina in South Portland, and planning to spend the summer on my mooring in Rockland.
While I’ve been grateful to have Aspasia, I am happy to leave because I don’t actually love being on the dock, and frankly Aspasia was a bunch of money for a pretty short season and zero services, and veeerrrryyy sketchy docks. So, off to Rockland we go!
The northward journey passes a LOT of lighthouses, but my very favorite is Seguin, and I had to pull in and spend the night and go ashore.
I arrived the day the seasonal keepers did, and chatted with them for a few. Seguin is overseen each summer by a volunteer keeper or keepers, who come from all over the country, but often from the Maine area. (One year they happened to be related to High School friends of my partner Eliska.. small world!)
The journey north was easy, but COLD. The early June water is chilly, and I wrapped up tight more than once.
Mum came up to spend a few days with me, and to give me a ride back to Portland so I could go back later with my car.
Once north, I decided to explore in Penobscott Bay, a place I’ve not done much sailing. Across the bay from Rockland Harbor is a lovely pair of islands, Vinylhaven to the south and Northaven to the… well, north. Between the two is a sailing channel called the Fox Island Thoroughfare, and a number of smaller islands here and there.
The north end of the passage includes lovely Burnt Island, a meandering trail filled island with an Eagle nest, mossy exploring trails, and beautiful coves.
I stayed around Burnt for a few days, and took my friend Megan back there in September at the other end of the season.
This summer included the first time I’ve followed through on the idea to sail to the Audiofile Lobster Bake, which is an audiobook industry networking and general community building event in Boothbay Harbor, one of my old stomping grounds.
So, I sailed through wild fog, south from Rockland to Boothbay, and had a lovely time playing tourist in a place where I grew up.
I got in to Linekin bay after spending one night off Mosquito Island in fog so thick I never actually SAW the island.
Went ashore and enjoyed myself and my colleagues immensely, and took a couple of my colleagues out for a sunset sail the night before the lobster bake. Thank you for coming Elizabeth and Allison!!
August is often too busy for much sailing, but I got back out later in the month, and sailed the heck out of September. BUT, before you know it, the time had come to sail back to Portland.
This winter, instead of hauling out, I will keep the boat at DiMillo’s marina in Portland, and work on a bunch of projects. (This also means I can sail well into October and even November if the weather holds.)
One last hurrah with my friend Julianna, we spent a couple of days exploring the outer islands, and Jewell island… and coped with the cold pretty well!
Now it’s time to go tie up at DiMillo’s and get to work on the winter projects! This winter? A new dodger and a “stack pack” … I hope!
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