27 Sep 15
Another cold morning - 39F - when we got up at 06:00 to finish the run to Mount Desert Island before the wind got up too much. We had the anchor up by 07:00 and motored SW along the coast, fighting a 1 kn current for part of the morning, except when I could find back eddies and of course the wind was on the nose (W 8 at the start and WSW 16 by the time we got to NE Harbor) all the way. But it was a beautiful, clear day and not too choppy; which is good, as we had to dodge lobster pots every mile of the way. We pulled into Northeast Harbor about 12:30 and filled up with diesel before moving on to the NE Harbor Marina, where we tied up at 13:10.
“c’est le bon” (Beneteau 423 sailboat) has officially completed our circuit of the Downeast Loop; i.e., we have crossed our wake at Northeast Harbor, ME (on Mount Desert Island), having traveled all the way around the NE of the USA and the Canadian Maritimes (stopping in 6 US states and 5 Canadian provinces), via the Hudson River, Erie/Oswego Canals, Lake Ontario, St. Lawrence Seaway, Gulf of St. Lawrence, Northumberland Strait, Canso Strait, Bras d’Or Lakes, east coast of Nova Scotia, Bay of Fundy and east coast of the USA between Maine and New York. According to my calculations, we have traveled 3130 Nautical miles, transited 42 locks, burned 400 gallons of diesel, run the engine for 427 hours (i.e., averaging 7.33 N-m/hr of run time, or 7.825 N-m/gallon (both of which numbers include the times we were sailing and burning no fuel), or 0.937 gallons per hour fuel usage rate), between 14 Sep 2014 and 27 Sep 2015 (including 6 months and 9 days during which “c’est le bon” was stored on the hard at Jamestown, RI during the winter of ’14/’15), or 189 days of cruising (which also translates to an average of 16.6 N-m/day of cruising). Favorite stops along the way are too numerous to list completely, but the absolute highlights include Kingston,ON, Gananoque, ON, Montreal, Quebec City, Miramitchi, NB, Charlottetown, PEI, Baddeck, NS, Halifax, NS, Brooklin, ME, Bath, ME, Portsmouth, NH, Block Island, NY and Port Washington, NY.
We draw 5’-9” and only touched the bottom 1 or 2 times, both times at dead slow speed during approach to an anchorage or marina, and otherwise without incident. We anchored whenever we could on all sorts of bottoms in depths ranging from 7’ to 28’ and never dragged once, using a 55# Manson anchor and 165 ft of 3/8” BBB chain. We unstepped the mast at Catskill, NY (to transit the Erie/Oswego canals) and re-stepped it at Oswego, NY, without incident. The only problem we had along the way, other than “routine maintenance" type issue, were 1) a damaged/destroyed damper plate (on the reverse gear) as the result of tangling with a lobster pot line in Maine and 2) a catastrophic failure of the #2 holding tank (fortunately, we have 2 holding tanks, so this was more of a nuisance than a disaster).
During these cruising days, we did not watch TV once (we do not have one on board), unless it happened to be on at a bar or restaurant we visited. Nor did we miss it, but we did listen to some excellent radio programs on NPR and CBC and played a lot of guitar and watched a lot of beautiful sunsets, sunrises and nature displays. We also met a number of incredibly friendly people along the way, who showed us great kindness and offered assistance and guidance. If anyone wants any more stats or details, I’ll be happy to work them up, or they are all available on our blog.
https://youtu.be/XV2PQkeWibU
44-17.721’N, 068-17.045’W
28 Sep 15
We stayed up late last night watching the total lunar eclipse/blood moon. It was absolutely clear here and we had a good view of the first half, but neither of us could stay awake long enough to see the whole thing. After last night’s excitement, we slept in a bit, but were up and headed to the laundry by 09:00. After laundry, we walked up into town and found someone who would refill my “old” propane tank, without bothering to look at the date too closely. We also found a nice restaurant for lunch and did a bit of grocery shopping. Back to the boat for a few routine chores and I decided to park the boat for this winter at Journey’s End Marina, in Rockland, which is conveniently just 45 N-miles from here, if we head there directly. So, we are waiting for them to give us a haul-out date. The next few days look nasty as there is a huge cold front due in late tomorrow. We had happy hour and dinner aboard.
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29 Sep 15
Kind of a lazy day. We finalized the plans for parking the boat for the winter (haul-out on 9 Oct), then booked cars, hotels and plane flights home. After lunch, we moved the boat off of the (very expensive) slip and out to a float to weather the coming bout of foul weather; the next few days look pretty grim. Then, we rowed into town and walked around for a while looking for bargains. At the end, we stopped into Colonel’s for a beer and watched last night’s Boston Red Sox v NY Yankees ball game on the TV. Then, it was back to the boat for happy hour and dinner aboard.
30 Sep 15
It was cold again last night, so we were a bit slow crawling out from under the nice, warm duvet. And then it started to rain and blow, so, in the end, we never left the boat. Actually, we got out of the boat twice: once to double up the dock lines to feel better during the SW 35 kn gusts and later, when the wind died completely to turn the boat around in anticipation of the predicted wind direction change. Not long after we completed this maneuver, the wind went rapidly round to the NE and blew 20 - 25 kn all night long. But, we got a lot of reading done and enjoyed just chillin’ on board.
1 Oct 15
We were up late again today, but although the northerly wind has reduced the temperature a bit, it was at least dry when we got up. I started the generator and put the heat on at 07:00 and we actually crawled out from under the covers at about 07:45. And then the fun began. (Full disclosure: you may not wish to continue if you have a sensitive stomach or are about to sit down to a meal.) About half way through breakfast, the Admiral made a routine visit to the head (our last remaining head, as you will recall) and shortly reported back that effluent was spilling down the side of the panel from the holding tank into the floor of the head; not good. I pulled the panel off and, sure enough, nasty brown stuff was bubbling out around the observation cap at the top of the tank and dripping down the side of the tank into the bilge and the floor of the head. Nothing we could do but head into the marina for a pump-out. We got up to the dock without incident and unscrewed the cap on the pump-out port, and then it really got fun. Turns out the holding tank was not so much full as over-pressured; i.e., the vent was plugged. So, as soon as one opens the pump out port, the system immediately seeks equilibrium by venting the excess pressure from the bottom of the tank, where the pump-out tube is plumbed in. So, a couple of gallons of fresh, raw sewage vented somewhat explosively out onto the deck of the boat and yours truly, who was foolishly removing the cap. The young chap from the marina who had come down to operate the pump-out machine immediately headed out of range and upwind. After about 15 minutes of hosing down the boat and myself and swabbing the aforementioned 2 gallons of raw sewage into the bay, we proceeded with and completed the pump-out. Then, I spent two hours finding and clearing the source of the plug, which was (naturally) in the most inaccessible part of the vent hose and through-hull fitting. Up to my elbows in deep $h1t was NOT how I thought I would be spending my morning, for sure. But it is all part of the joy of cruising. After we showered and moved the boat back to the float, we went into town and took care of some banking business, did a bit of grocery shopping and had a couple of beers in Colonel’s to calm down and take the edge off the day’s excitement. Then back to the boat for happy hour and dinner aboard. NE Harbor is filling up with boats from the neighboring area as the threat of Hurricane Joaquin looms nearer. Should be an interesting weekend.
2 Oct 15
Fall has arrived with a vengeance, at least for a couple of southerners like us; i.e., it is cold here, especially with 20 kn of wind in an uninsulated boat. After a late breakfast, we spent the morning cleaning the bilges (after yesterday’s fun) and tidying up the boat. After lunch, we spent most of the afternoon doing laundry in the nice, warm laundry room at the Yachtsman’s Hut. When we got back to the boat, I decided to trim the (hand) ends of the oars so they do not clash on the back-stroke when sitting in the forward rowing position; i.e., I sawed 1” off of each oar, then rounded and sanded the ends and applied the first coat of varnish. Happy hour and dinner aboard. Early to bed as it is the only warm place on the boat.
3 Oct 15
Dang, it was COLD this morning. We are turning into a couple of bears trying to hibernate; it is getting harder and harder to get out of bed in the morning. The wind is still howling out of the NE as well. We spent all day long on the boat huddling together for warmth although it cleared off mid-morning and the sun warmed up the solarium very nicely. I put another couple more coats of varnish on the oars and we read and tidied up the boat a bit more and worked on our pre-departure and haul-out lists. And then it was time for happy hour and dinner. The Astros need one win to secure at least one game of extra-season play, so we watched the Twitter feed on the Astros v Diamondbacks game until 22:00 (Astros were up 3 - 0 at that time) and then I could no longer stay awake.
4 Oct 15
Cold again this morning, but the wind was down and the sun was already shining brightly when we got up. They actually had a bit of frost on the mainland just across the bridge from the north end of MDI. The Astros won last night (6 - 2), so they are now in the hunt for the AL West title, since the Rangers lost to the Angels; it is very interesting in the AL West, as we head into the last day of regular season. I finally kicked the Admiral out of bed at 07:45 to start the generator and put the heat on. We whittled away at the pre-haul out list and did a bit of packing in the morning, then went for showers and a bit of grocery shopping after lunch. As this is the last day of regular season baseball, we went up to Colonel’s for a beer and watched the Texas Rangers clinch the AL West championship by trouncing LA Angels 9 - 2. Since it did not matter, Houston lost to the Diamondbacks 5 - 3. Now, Houston goes to NY to play the Yankees for the Wild Card playoff berth on Tuesday. Go Astros! We had dinner at the bar at Colonel’s, then came home to the boat and put the heat on before going to bed. I did get the 4th and final coat of varnish on the ends of the modified oars before bed. We played Triominos after dinner; I wisely let the Admiral win, again.