When you live on a boat and are cruising — meaning that you are moving from place to place — a lot happens in just a few weeks time. When we published our last blog entry we had just left Acadia National Park and had done the 180 degree turn to head back to Connecticut with the goal of arriving around September 5. Our plan was to take it slow and linger in some new places that are special to us — particularly Cuttyhunk — while also spending more time in new places we enjoyed like Newburyport, MA. With that in mind we developed an awesome itinerary covering every day of the return journey and even advance booked moorings and slips for every leg when a marina was part of the plan. What were we thinking (spoiler alert)! By now we should know that the best way to taunt the weather gods is to proceed through our sailing life as if the weather is not a part of our planning. So, of course, we crossed paths with both Henri and Ida and had to alter course to stay out of harms way. But more on that in a moment!
But first a reflection on our positive experience in Maine and a funny story that created a stark contrast. We’ve already talked about the beauty (and the lobster pots) but we didn’t really talk about the people. Sometimes, when people move to a place like Maine — and here we are talking about the “year rounders” — they often have a love/hate relationship with those, like us, that descend upon them in the summer months. They know that tourists, and the dollars they bring into the local economy, are what helps to cover off season expenses but they bemoan the lost tranquility as the hoards arrive. We can say this with some authority because we both lived in places like that (Zack growing up in Northern, Michigan and Jill spending her summers in Upstate NY) and we have had those feelings ourselves during the summer months. Well, if the people in Maine feel that way, they do a really good job not showing it. Everyone in every town we visited was friendly, welcoming and warm. They wanted to know where we were from and share with us their favorite hikes, watering holes and points of interest. They would tell us their stories — many have lived in Maine for generations — and proudly talked about their jobs (and their parent’s and grandparent’s jobs) and families. To give just one example of the graciousness we experienced, we had a restaurant owner offer to open her restaurant for us and prepare Fish & Chips on a day her restaurant was closed. We had wandered into the outdoor patio just to take a peek really and the owner was there meeting with a couple planning their wedding. She let us know that the restaurant was closed (not enough help to keep the restaurant opened more than 4 days a week — unfortunately, a common refrain this summer) but when she heard we were living on our boat and only in town for one night she offered to serve us a meal and bring us a bottle of wine. Given that Jill is vegan and there were no vegan options, we very politely — and with great appreciation — declined the incredibly kind offer but how nice was that!
Which is why we were so shocked by the run in we had with a long time resident when we anchored in the outer harbor in Christmas Cove. Christmas Cove is a lovely little setting — quintessential Maine really — off Rutherford Island in the Damariscotta River. Several different people recommended that spot as a must do for an overnight. So we reserved a mooring at Coveside Restaurant and Marina which is in the heart of Christmas Cove. Unfortunately, there was a mix up with our reservation (probably on our end) and they had us coming in the next day. The day we arrived there was a big group arriving (from Darien CT — close to our hailing port of Black Rock, CT) so the marina was fully booked and the restaurant was closed for a private function. The owners suggested though that we anchor out in the outer harbor. They mentioned that a few of the larger boats from the visiting fleet would be doing that as well. Since we weren’t planning on dining out, anchoring suited us just fine and we quickly settled in so we could take a walk around town. Town, by the way, consisted of one general store — a one stop shop — which had a single gas pump, some fishing bait and supplies, a few provisions and a couple of tables with chairs where you could order off their small menu of local delicacies including, their speciality, fried Haddock and chips. Oh, there was an ice cream parlor too — in a local’s backyard. This is our kind of town!
After a good walk we headed back to Che Figata to prepare dinner and enjoy a quiet evening under the stars. As the night got dark we noticed someone in one of the houses along the shore shining a large spotlight in our direction. Of course, we did not assume they were shining it on us. We assumed they were looking for something. Shortly after, around 9:45 PM, we heard a dinghy engine start and the sound of a dinghy — with no lights — approaching our boat. Zack assumed they were going out to retrieve whatever they were looking for with the spotlight but Jill had a suspicion that they were coming for us! She kept saying to Zack “they are coming to our boat” and he kept blowing her off — that is until the dinghy was broadside and the occupant demanded that we turn off the bright light on the top of our mast because it was shining right into his bedroom window. Zack tried to explain that the light he was referring to is our anchor light and that we are required, by law, to keep it on while at anchor. This only got our land based neighbor more angry, telling us that we are not allowed to anchor there (despite the fact that the area is a designated anchorage on the navigation charts) and yelling that if we didn’t turn off our “showboat” light, he would “turn it off” for us. At this point, Zack (with some less than gentle encouragement from Jill) agreed to turn off our anchor light. Of course, Jill decided that this individual had anger management issues — what mentally stable person zooms out in his dinghy in the pitch black with no lights to demand that the owners of an anchored sailboat turn off their showboat lights. Simply closing the bedroom curtains would seem to have been a better solutions for a single night. Needless to say, while Zack slept soundly, Jill was up all night worried that this guy would come back out a second time to inflict damage on Che Figata. (He did not.). So, apparently, whatever screening tool or process they use in Maine to ensure that only the nicest of people become full time Maine residents, this guy slipped through the cracks! A totally anomaly but, on the bright side, it gave us what we now view as a funny story to remember and share with others.
Following Christmas Cove our next planned stop was Dolphin Marina & Restaurant. Dolphin Marina, which has been family owned and operated for more than 50 years, was another recommended “must” stop. In addition to being situated in a gorgeous waterfront location — on the tip of Basin Point, South Harpswell, providing unrivaled views of Casco Bay and its many islands — the marina is known for its highly regarded restaurant featuring Maine coastal fare, hospitality and, perhaps most importantly, the “morning wake up call” which involves the delivery of freshly baked blueberry muffins and coffee right to your boat. And, if you are nice (and even if you aren’t) they will give you extras for the freezer so you can savor the Dolphin morning experience long after you are gone. Coincidentally, while we were there, we were joined by two other Hylas 56 sailboats (Bliss and Glass Slipper), as well as a Hylas 49 and two Hylas 46s. To put this in perspective, there were only about 28 or 29 Hylas 56 sailboats built so to have 3 of those in one place was quite remarkable. We had met the owners of these other H56 sailboats at boat shows and a Hylas rendezvous so it was fun to run into them again and share our cruising experiences.
And, an added bonus, we were able to compare our hurricane preparation plans. You see, while we were at Dolphin Marina we were closely watching the track of Henri through the various models. While the track was changing over time, the consensus was that it was going to hit landfall at Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts as a category 1 hurricane or tropical storm right when we were scheduled to be there as we continued our travels West towards Connecticut. For those not familiar, even a tropical storm brings winds that reach 39 to 73 MPH. While we have a very seaworthy boat, if you can avoid those winds you are advised to do so. So, rather than a return visit to Newburyport, MA, after consultation with the Dolphin Marina staff, several Maine locals and our Hylas friends, we decided to spend one extra day at Dolphin Marina (Zack was beyond disappointed to have to eat warm, just out of the oven, blueberry muffins for a 3rd straight day) and then motor a short distance North from Casco Bay to Quahog Bay which is well protected by several of the many fingers along the Maine coast.
We arrived in Quahog Bay on August 21, anchored south of snow Island and prepared for the worst — which, thankfully, never happened! Henri ended up changing paths and weakened to make landfall further north than expected. Once over land and continuing to veer north, Henri’s force dropped dramatically. So the crew of Che Figata, Bliss and Stellina (yet another Hylas 56) enjoyed the beauty of Quahog Bay and several cocktail hours and dinners together. Living on a boat means always making the most of every situation!
As lovely as Quahog Bay was, and as much as we enjoy the company of our Hylas friends, the unplanned Hurricane detour meant that we added 4 days to our itinerary. If we wanted to arrive in Connecticut on our target date we needed to adjust our carefully planned — even if ill advised — itinerary. To do this we decided to make tracks to Boston through two long distance days which would get us back on our original schedule. We stayed in Boston for two nights (one full day) — just long enough to do a ton of laundry and provision for the rest of our trip back to Connecticut. In other words, we really lived it up in Boston! A little different that our last stay in Boston on our way to Maine which included visits with two sets of friends, dinners out, a visit to the aquarium and a walk to the Public Gardens.
Getting back on our original itinerary though meant that we would be able to return to our beloved Cuttyhunk and spend three nights there. As you know from being a dutiful reader of our blog entries — yes, all 4 of you, counting our parents — Cuttyhunk is our special place. Getting back to enjoy 3 days there with nothing on the agenda other than some hikes around the island, reading and, for Zack, visits to the raw bar, sounded blissful to us and was worth the early morning departures to get from point A to point B. And, on our final day approaching Cuttyhunk we were rewarded with a wonderful treat. As we motored down Buzzard’s Bay we came across hundreds (no exaggeration) of large Bottlenose dolphins in several different pods swimming together. To propel themselves forward with less frictions, dolphins move up and down rhythmically close to the water’s surface — sometimes spectacularly so with what looks like large arched leaps. Frequent tail slapping by individuals was also observed. We watched as they swam all around the bay, often changing direction, slapping their tails in the water and taking an occasional high jump as if they were putting on a show for us. We have never seen so many dolphins in one place and were curious what was going on. A quick Google search revealed that most pods range from two to 30 individuals (definitely consistent with what we have observed in the past), but on some occasions superpods or megapods form, which contain hundreds or even thousands of dolphins. Superpods occur when multiple groups of dolphins converge during times of mating or hunting opportunities. Apparently, these giant groupings don’t last very long and are very rare to spot. Once activity has died down, dolphins will return back to their smaller pods. How fortunate were we to be able to witness a megapod! Though Cuttyhunk always puts a big smile on our faces, we arrived that day with ear to ear dolphin inspired smiles already firmly in place.
Of course, just when you think you are settled in at Cuttyhunk for three glorious days, you get a message from friends that they are headed to Edgartown (Martha’s Vineyard) and won’t we join them. So, despite how much we were looking forward to stay in Cuttyhunk for 3 nights we agreed to take a short detour one night detour to Edgartown. In the end, we had a blast with our friends, finding a dive (very un-Edgartown) taco restaurant for dinner and enjoying after dinner cocktails on Che Figata long into the night. We felt like kids! But the next day we were back in Cuttyhunk to savor the island for what would be the last time this year.
Meanwhile, there was another hurricane brewing. This time is was Ida. We weren’t in Ida’s path but the remnants of Ida, producing some heavy wind (up to 30 MPH) and heavy rains were predicted for Southern New England. Though not awful conditions for a boat like Che Figata, we wanted to be someplace protected from the wind so we chose Dutch Harbor which is located along the West Passage of Jamestown, RI. Nestled between Dutch Island and Jamestown, RI, it is well protected from most severe weather, earning it the reputation as “the best night’s sleep on the Bay.” Unlike Henri, however, Ida was not a much ado about nothing. To the contrary the winds and rain were much heavier than expected and we woke up at about 2 AM on September 2 to the sound of our radio alarm, wind gusts of up to 45 mph, buckets and buckets of rain, some lightening and, just to make things more interesting, a tornado watch. We knew we were safe in Che Figata (unless a tornado touched down on our boat — in which case all bets were off!), so we weren’t really worried but neither of us slept during the height of the storm which lasted until about 5 AM. The news reported that eight inches of rain fell in three hours in Jamestown that night!
With our second tropical storm in as many weeks under our belt we were ready to arrive home in Connecticut. Still, we decided to make one more stop before reaching our final destination — Fishers Island, NY, where we enjoyed a brief but lovely one night stay at the start of our trip out East. The day we departed Dutch Harbor for Fishers Island (September 3) was beautiful. Sunny skies and, to our great delight, good wind to actually hoist the sails. Days like that have been a rarity this summer. So we truly set sail! While underway we noticed someone in a blue center console boat taking photos of our boat. We didn’t think anything of it because people often take pictures of Che Figata, particularly when she is under sail. The next day, however, we received the loveliest email from Mike Kelly out of Charlestown, RI. He said that he thought our boat was “impressive” and that photography is a hobby of his so he took shots of Che Figata when he was out on his boat on his way to shoot around Block Island. He found our blog (loved our story) and got our contact info from there. He then shared a link to the folder with the pictures and, later, sent a link, with to a file with the pictures in high resolution. We now have some wonderful pictures of Che Figata at her best! Our feature photo for this blog entry is one of our favorites from what will now be known as the Mike Kelly collection. A BIG shout out and thank you to Mike Kelly for not only shooting the pictures but taking the initiative to track us down and share them with us! We are so grateful.
We had another wonderful stay anchored off Fishers Island. With some additional island exploration, we found a lovely market filled with fresh fruits, vegetables and seafood. Jill couldn’t deny Zack the opportunity to bring fresh sea scallops back to Che Figata and with a little bit of white wine, lemon juice, freshly minced garlic and a touch of cashew cream Jill served Zack a side of beautifully prepared scallops (“best” he ever had according to Zack — but then, we don’t eat out much anymore!), along with the leftover pasta that was on the menu for the evening.
We arrived in Connecticut at the Pilot’s Point Marina in Westbrook the next day, September 4. A day earlier that we originally planned but we were ready. One thing about living on a boat full time for a year now is that we have learned what patterns of movement we enjoy and what starts to zap our energy. Very fortunately for us, we have remained very aligned in how we like to travel aboard Che Figata. We find that we love being nomads for about 6 – 8 weeks at a time, visiting lots of different locations where we can stay for short bursts. After that we are ready to re-charge, in one location, for 3 – 4 weeks. That period of time in one place really allows us to decompress. We can rent a car, take care of errands difficult to do when you are on the move, receive Amazon packages (!!!!), connect to WiFi and re-provision with ease at a grocery store well known to us. Cruising isn’t stressful (certainly not compared to working full time), but it does take a lot of planning because there are simple day-to-day activities (like buying your weekly groceries) that you take for granted when you live on land that you can’t easily do from a boat that is moving every couple of days. We need to think about where we will be, whether those locations have restaurants and/or grocery stores, what those grocery stores carry (e.g., large store or more of a small market), and how close the store option(s) are to where we can anchor our boat or pick up a mooring. Then we need to plan our meals accordingly.
So here we are in Connecticut. We will remain here through the end of the month, with a brief hiatus to attend our niece’s wedding in Michigan. Then it’s on to Annapolis in early October and Hampton, VA by late October to get ready for the Salty Dawg Rally to Antigua!
If you are still reading this rather lengthy blog entry you are either a glutten for punishment, really bored, really interested in every detail of our cruising life or, possibly, all of the above (in which case our hearts go out to you). For you we will end this entry with our detailed itinerary picking up from where we left off in our last entry. We like to save these because, otherwise, we can’t remember where we’ve been!
The sail from Maine back to Westbrook, CT:
— August 17: Christmas Cove, ME
— August 18 thru August 20: Dolphin Marina, South Harpswell, ME
— August 21 thru 23: Quahog Bay, ME
— August 24: Kittery, ME
— August 25 & 26: Boston, Waterboat Marina
— August 27: Provincetown, MA
— August 28: Marion, MA
— August 29: Cuttyhunk, MA
— August 30: Edgartown. MA
— August 31: Cuttyhunk. MA
— September 1 & 2: Dutch Harbor, RI
— September 3: Fishers Island, NY
— September 4: Westbrook, CT (Home Sweet Home)
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