Course Change

We just finished getting the dinghy in the water and Eric yelled Steve! It was Steve Stone the editor from Off Center Harbor that Eric has corresponded with. It’s a subscription vlog targeted to wooden boat building and traditional maritime skills. Absolutely recommend!

Steve was sailing a Caledonia Yawl which is a 19 foot double ended open boat. He was beginning a trip from the southern border of Maine to the northern border. It’s an ambitious voyage in an open boat on the Maine coast.

Due to COVID stopping everyone from sailing last year – Maine’s harbors are packed. The modern reservation system (Dockwa) for moorings and a lousy weather forecast for the following week was putting us in a stressful situation that was taking all the fun out. With a late start and a desire to truly see all that Maine has to offer, we have decided to back burner this part of the adventure for another season.

It’s interesting that Steve Stone on a small boat has an easier time dealing with this situation because of his shoal draft and ability to tuck into any harbor or cove to hide from bad weather. Thistle draws 5 feet so we have to compete for legitimate anchorages in low tide. Our lack of experience anchoring in tidal currents is a detriment and we have a step learning curve.

Eric is humbled by what Steve is doing. If interested, Google camp cruising. It’s a hearty, adventurous group that are real sailors!

In light of all that, we headed south to see places we skipped on our way north. We headed back to Newburyport because of the weather that was predicted. Newburyport had their Yankee Festival during our recent visit. Food trucks, art fair, and live music was everywhere in town. Without knowing for sure we could find a secure anchorage in Maine, we retreated from a bad storm which turned out to be the correct decision.

Leaving Newburyport we had a perfect down wind sail. At Rockport, we jibed to a beam reach to Gloucester with 20 knots of breeze. This was a marvelous day of sailing. Best one in two years. I sat on the bow for awhile – my favorite spot. The rocky shoreline was dotted with lighthouses, beautiful homes, working lobsterman. It was iconic New England.

Gloucester is one of our favorite harbors. Times have changed but Gloucester is an industrial lobster and fishing port welcoming to transient sailors. The harbor master, launch operator, and locals are making a tremendous effort to share their heritage. The Dory Shop builds lunnenburg style dories that would have fished on the Grand Banks. Eric’s visit to the Dory Shop was a chance for him to talk with Yankee Boat Builders. The guys were boat builders, lobstermen, and fishermen. They were as fascinated about the Great Lakes as he is with the ocean.

They told Eric about a family from Charlevoix, Michigan that brought their boats and fishing techniques to Gloucester and did well for themselves. He felt privileged to answer questions they had regarding epoxy since he knew and raced against the Gougeon brothers from West Epoxy. As a result, he was invited to sit and have a few beers. Some the topics were boat building, Great Lakes, fishing and making of the movie the Perfect Storm. These men had fished with the men lost on The Andrea Gail. They felt the movie did not portray their friends fairly.

The launch operators told us to check out Rocky Neck in Gloucester. It was full of art galleries we explored.

Sharon is ready for wind!

Going into Gloucester Harbor

Sharon’s books:

Here’s to All Elin Hilderbrand – fun beach read.

Flight Girls by Noelle Salazar – loved the historic information. 4.5/5

Eric’s books: Space Man by Mike Massimino

He flew two missions to repair and service The Hubble telescope. Fascinating account of the space shuttle era NASA. 5 stars for sure.

Finished a little knitting

Stay safe and fair winds. Eric and Sharon