Penobscot Bay to Mount Desert Island

It has been more than a month since we started our cruise from Yarmouth.  We have had generally good weather, and the first three days out were perfect allowing us to reach Tenants Harbor in Penobscot Bay.  Since then we have been visiting favorite anchorages and towns between Rockland and Mt. Desert Island.  We have also enjoyed meeting old cruising friends, and spending a week with friends who drove here from Houston.  A verbal recounting of the details would be boring (to write as well as read) so a few photos here instead give a feeling for our cruise.   (If you are interested in bird photos from Maine check out our Birding Blog also.)

South Island Light at Tenants Harbor, ME in the early morning.

Lobster boats at sunset in Tenants Harbor, ME.

"Windjammers" (passenger cruise schooners) on parade off the jetty at Rockland, ME.

Sunset in Pulpit Harbor, North Haven, ME. 

Cloud formations in Seal Bay, Vinalhaven, ME

"Windjammer"  "J&E Riggin" sailing through Casco Passage.

Rainbow at sunset from the anchorage at Devil Island near Stonington, ME

The other end of the rainbow lands on Devil Island.  The complete arc was to large to get in a single photo.

Goose Rocks Light at the east end of the Fox Island Thorofare.

Private schooner with immaculate brightwork (varnished wood) in Northeast Harbor, ME, one of many beautiful old wooden boats we see in Maine.

Anchorage at Somesville.  The closer boat was from Argyle, Scotland, and the further one from Victoria, BC, Canada.

Tropicbird a few days ago in one of our favorite anchorages, Seal Bay on Vinalhaven Island, ME.

Boat Work Times Two

As many of you know the time and energy any boat project takes is at least twice the amount originally estimated.

[If you could care less about boat work, scroll down now to the scenic video at the bottom of this blog.]

Along with the usual spring commissioning work, we finally had to do something about the paint on the hull topsides.  The 15-year old Awlgrip (paint) was cracked and peeling in places, and it had to be extensively sanded before painting.  

The first photo shows part of the hull near the starboard bow.  The "blotches" are where the old paint had to be completely sanded off.  (After holding a 20-lb. industrial sander over my head all day, I definitely did not need to go to the gym for a workout.) 

Portion of the starboard side of the hull showing areas where old paint was sanded off.  The whole surface was sanded at least lightly

The first error may have been deciding to do it ourselves, but the biggest error was definitely deciding to do it in the open yard from a ladder.   I didn't count how many trips I made up and down the ladder, but I sure feel it now in my knees and feet.  I will have it moved under cover and get a stage [scaffold] set up "next time" (if I am not too old for anther time).

After sanding, two coats of two-part polyurethane (Interlux Perfection) was applied with a roller.  The red stripes and white hull sides were done on separate days (4 days total). 

Starboard side from the stern after painting.  Note the reflection of the ladder in the glossy surface.  (The transom was not repainted as it had been repainted a few years ago due to some storm damage.)

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It's not quite like a professional spray painted job (~$9K), but it passes the 20-foot test (you can't see the blemishes from more than 20' away). 

This job extended our time in the yard, but we enjoy Yarmouth, and the Royal River Boatyard is a great place to work (try the video below shot at the yard in the morning quiet just before work begins).

 

Now only a few small jobs remain and we plan to launch on Monday morning (3 days).

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Photos and video shot with my iPhone4, and edited using iMovie.  This video is reduced resolution from the original HD.  Music clip from "Morning Has Broken" in Rowan Tynan's Album  "Dawning of the Day" available on iTunes.

I am still experimenting with video.  This low resolution version does not appear to be very good in full screen mode, but better versions are too large to download in a reasonable time. )

Back "home" in Maine

We arrived in Yarmouth three days ago, and took the winter shrink-wrapping off, and got electricity and the plumbing connected.  Now we are living aboard again, but blocked up ashore while working on various projects before launching.  It is like living in an RV except for having to climb a 12' ladder to get aboard.  

Tropicbird under the winter cover when we arrived.

It is great to be back in Maine.  The best part is the friends we have here.  The day we arrived two couples we know came by in the late afternoon, climbed up the ladder to visit.  We enjoyed refreshments and conversation in our cockpit as if we were afloat.   

However, we are having to adjust our thin southern blood to the temperature - 43° F this morning. 

Jane still in her sleeping bag warming up with a cup of coffee.

2011 Maine Cruising Calendar

If you need a 2011 Calendar, or would just like to see some more of my pictures of Maine,
download my "2011 Maine Cruising Calendar" as a 2MB PDF .  Best wishes for 2011.

Sunset at Merchant's Harbor, ME.

Tropicbird Set for the Winter

The boat is on the hard in Royal River Boatyard, Yarmouth, ME. We are back in Seabrook, TX. No more blog posts on Tropicbird Sailing until we head north again in May. Take a look at the older posts (see "Blog Archive" in the right hand sidebar), or try our birding blog.

Exploring the Archipelago

There is an archipelago of numerous small granitic islands, largely uninhabited, between Stonington, Deer Isle and Isle au Haut, ME. Most cruisers in a hurry to get to Mount Desert Island or back to Penobscot Bay, sail through the Deer Isle Thorofare, or the Merchant's Row channel (photo 1). In fact, we also did so in years past. This year we decided to explore some of the islands and anchorages in this archipelago.











Some of the Islands, like Crotch Island (photo 2 to left) were quarried for granite.












One of our favorites was McGlathery Island. Uninhabited and state-owned, cruisers are welcome to explore ashore on its sandy beach. (photo 3)...








... and shoreline of granite slabs.











Unfortunately, even such a seemingly unspoiled area shows signs of man-made pollution. Tar balls like these (photo 4) probably washed ashore years ago and are now baked hard as asphalt in the sun.











There are rough trail into the spruce forest of the interior (photo 5). We did not see much bird or other animal life there.
















There were, however, insects - many mosquitoes and a few butterflies like this Red Admiral (photo 6).













There was also a cattail marsh.

















Two Least Sandpipers, were the most interesting birds (photo 7). On their migration south, they were foraging for small invertebrates on an exposed bar. Intent on feeding they approached within about 10' while I stood still.









We even got a photo (8) of ourselves with TROPICBIRD in the background at McGlathery Island.













These islands are a favorite with sea kayakers. Several such as Harbor Island (photo 9) have primitive camping sites for kayakers. In the fog, I am sure they are hard to see and must have a very poor radar return. The lobstermen refer to them as "speed bumps".








As usual, there were some spectacular sunsets such as this from Merchant Harbor, looking toward the Camden Hills in the far distance (photo 10).










There were also foggy mornings (Photo 11).












The prevalence of fog amongst these rocky islets makes it imperative to know where you are quite precisely. This boat (photo 12) apparently had some difficulty with position. When we passed, it was high and nearly dry under the keel as it sat on the rocks adjacent to the (aptly named) Wreck Island anchorage.













There are some interesting names for some of the islands and coves. This sunrise photo was taken at "Hells-Half-Acre" (photo 12). Despite the name, it is a very pleasant anchorage.

Maine Boat Show

We returned to Rockland for the Maine Boats, Homes and Harbors Show. Our primary motivation was to meet friends we have known since graduate school at Berkeley (40 years ago).

We have become tired of most boat shows where one sees the same production boats and array of products. However, the Maine Boat show is unique in our experience. It has none of the mass market boats, instead names like Sabre, Hinkley, Morris, and other custom builders.

In some respects the photo to the left looks like any boat show, until you notice that the first boat on the right is a well kept wooden Concordia yawl. The boat ahead (hard to see) is a Morris sailing yacht, and the one to the left is a custom wood powerboat by a Maine builder.


The boat in the photo to the left is a small powerboat built by Richard Pulsifer. He cuts the wood from his own land, saws and mills it himself and turns out these great little inboard launches (Yanmar 4-cyl diesel). He is a friend of our friends, so later we got a ride around the harbor in this boat.









There are displays of historic boats such as this Downeast Peapod built around 1935.











The Aprenticeshop "a school for traditional boat building" put on a demonstration spiling and fitting a plank on a cedar lapstrake hull fastened with copper rivets.









The local passenger schooner fleet put on a "Parade of Sail". The photo is the AMERICAN EAGLE, Capt. John Foss.










Even the entertainment is unique. The Univ. of Maine at Machais, Ukelele Band played all afternoon from a book of several hundred songs covering virtually all genres.