Happy 4th of July!

A few days ago we finally left Rockport, fittingly in dense fog and light misty rain. We will sorely miss the crew at Rockport Marine. Charlie Conlan, the excellent Yard Manager, had shared a few nautical gems with us during our recent stay there. Can't resist repeating some:

Charlie's Pearls of Cruising Wisdom

• Stay away from the edges of the water
• Travel no faster than the speed you’d want to hit something

Favorite Questions to Charlie From Landlubbers

• Do the islands go all the way to the bottom?
•  How do you get all the boats in the harbor to point in the same direction?
•  Why did you make the ramp to the dock so steep?
•  I was here yesterday – where did all the water go?

The last boat we saw launched at Rockport Marine was "Sisyphus", a Concordia (I think) that had already been launched twice but continued to take on so much water, despite the wooden hull swelling, that they finally lifted her out again and caulked the entire bottom before trying a third time. Those classic wooden boats are gorgeous, but I wouldn't want to own one for anything.

On our way to North Haven and beautiful Pulpit Harbor, we experienced lifting fog but heavier rain. Parts of the morning were magical, like this shot of islands shrouded in fog

 
On the 3-hour trip (going very slowly in the fog and sounding our horn at short intervals)  we got to test the radar and chart plotter - both in good working order, we're happy to report. We also saw loons, very friendly-looking seals and a porpoise or two. Around noon we anchored in the harbor in teeming rain, changed into dry clothes, made a lunch of soup and grilled cheese, and settled in for an afternoon of reading. The following morning was foggy too, but it was wonderful to have the harbor revealed as the fog lifted for good.

That evening we were treated to a sunset over the Camden Hills. It's too small in the photo below to see very well, but there's a little island that marks the entrance to Pulpit Harbor that's actually mostly an ancient and still-used osprey nest.  It's immense - like a dozen feet high - and very messy.

In the morning we walked 3 miles to the village of North Haven. Cruisers beware - we carried a bag of trash all the way to town as instructed by a sign at the public landing, only to find NO trash is accepted anywhere in North Haven. A very kind fellow in a little boatyard took pity on us and took the trash bag to add to his own. Sort of a crazy policy for a whole island, no?

We bought a few groceries at the little market and took a couple of photos along the way back:

The next day we sailed a while just to test out the new rig (took down the genoa and replaced it with the yankee and staysail just to compare how the boat handles and performs). Then we motored through the Fox Islands Thoroughfare to a little place called Perry Creek. We were glad to be sheltered from the wind, which had really piped up. We had a lot of rain through the night, but luckily the work Jim has done to replace the 2 hatch gaskets and the old caulk in those hatches has paid off. No leaks! There's nothing quite as disgusting as having it rain right on your head through the night.

Yesterday we sailed in very brisk wind to Buck's Harbor, another favorite spot from previous trips to Maine. Buck's Harbor is under new ownership - coincidentally a wonderful family named Buck with their 4 kids helping out to get things reorganized.

Red, white and blue

Fourth of July at Buck's Harbor Marina

Rustic outdoor showers!!

Morning coffee and muffins at the nearby Buck's Harbor Market - notice swinging screen door in background. A perfect summer day! They bake superb baguettes, focaccia, muffins, apple cake and other goodies on the premises. 

After coffee, we strolled over to the Buck's Harbor Yacht Club.  You could sit here all day and watch the goings on in the harbor...

BHYC fireplace

This yacht club is a classic - ancient rafters, dark wood floor, awesome views of the harbor

Photo of the first Commodore on his yacht "Elfin"

Yacht Club docks and view of the harbor

Since it's July 4th the BHYC was hosting a brunch on the porch for members. Check out the star-shaped red sunglasses on the little guy in the middle. The kids were doing the same stuff this club has probably been doing for decades - who counts closest to how many candies are in a jar, having a tug of war, playing tetherball, etc.  

  

Blue water, blue sky, pine scented breeze - life doesn't get better than this!!

We are here until tomorrow then moving on to more isolated spots, so I thought I'd take advantage of the wifi to send this post.  Hope you liked the photos!