The fun part...

Ok, so I never really thought of myself as someone who would look forward to varnishing, I hate doing it on board Cupcake. In fact, someone came to look at Cupcake, glanced at the grey, raw toe rail and asked if I’d never heard of Cetol. (Cetol, for the uninitiated, is a coating that is a cross between varnish and a self-tanner.) I responded that we are believers in the adage that grey is gorgeous, that a boat with shiny exterior teak is a boat that doesn’t get sailed enough.

But on a dinghy I can varnish in the comfort of my shop when sailing season is over…well that’s a different story.

So here’s Skimmer, with the first of at least five coats on her new rail. Mmmm.

Fall projects

This weekend it occurred to me that although the international cruising part of Cupcake’s adventures are over for the time being, there’s no reason not to bore you all with other boat-related activity.

Moss’ little Dyer dinghy named Moon Cracker served very well as tender this summer. When I rebuilt Moon Cracker several years ago I replaced the thwarts, centerboard trunk, and rails with cedar in an effort to make her as lightweight as possible.

The plan was to make Moon Cracker into a tender that one person could easily manage launching at the beach. Mission accomplished: Ellen can get the dinghy off her little cradle, down the beach, and back singlehandedly. The dinghy’s light-weight means Ellen can go for a row or a sail whenever she wants, even if her big, muscular man is not home but is instead working his fingers to the bone at the sweat shop in an effort to support the lifestyle.

Unfortunately, the tail end of one of this fall’s hurricanes brought an unusually high tide that swept Moon Cracker and her companions (two kayaks) off their cradles and bashed them around on the rocks for a few hours. Now that the sailing season is a distant memory, it’s time to repair the indignities these boats endured. (Side note: Moon Cracker sustained more damage from a not-even-tropical-storm than Cupcake did from Hurricane Florence. Cupcake chafed through one line. Moon Cracker got chewed up.)

I neglected to take pictures before I started the repairs. Here’s MC with her epoxy repairs.

Anyway, I patched the raw spots, primed, and painted the dinghy. Now she is ready to hibernate until next summer.

Skimmer with her rails clamped in place. A woodworker can never have too many clamps.

We’ve also made great progress in our restoration of Skimmer, the Dyer belonging to our friends Jim and Sherry. They bought Skimmer two summers ago and we’ve been slowly restoring her in my barn. This weekend Jim and I finished riveting the new oak rails. Earlier this summer we steam bent the rails. From this point on, it’s just sanding, varnishing, and reassembly.

Skimmer ready for reassembly.

Look at that fresh oak and those sexy copper rivets!

Fresh paint.

Two happy Dyers at the spa, getting their beauty treatments.

Since Moon Cracker is getting a new paint job, I might not be able to control myself and will likely give her oars the business as well. Moss and I are thinking sapphire blue would look nice alongside MC’s bikini blue insides.

New neighbor

Cupcake and her new neighbor. No name on the green boat.

Still waiting for Cupcake’s as-yet unidentified new owner to find our ad, call us up, and buy the boat.

In the meantime we are visiting Cupcake several times a week to run the water maker and ensure everything is in tip-top shape. Probably go for an overnight this weekend.

She looks like a Muscongus Bay Sloop but isn’t one.

But last weekend Ellen and I sailed around the anchorage on Marmalade, the catboat. Cupcake has a new neighbor – this sweet little wooden sloop. Welcome to the neighborhood, little sloop.

Lately we’ve been thinking that if Trump steals the election again we may want to keep Cupcake so we can flee the country. Ellen is lobbying for Vancouver, but I think the climate in Costa Rica would suit me much better.

And here’s sweet little Marmalade on a gloomy day. This day provided rains from the tail end of Hurricane Laura. Fortunately all we got was lots of rain and a bit of wind.

August cruise

Last week we took what’s likely our last long cruise of the season aboard Cupcake. It occurred to me as we were at anchor in lovely Quahog Bay (east of Snow Island, for those of you keeping score) that we have taken for granted how easily we can access these magnificent places. When Cupcake sells, we won’t be able to spend a week floating in paradise. So the trip was a little bittersweet.

Ellen hoisted me up the mast so I could replace the Wind Dex (turns out it’s not spelled “Windex” after all) that the osprey destroyed. I got the model with the bird spike on top. The idea behind the bird spike is it should deter the birds from sitting on the mast. I sharpened our spike and am hoping it gets the osprey right in the cloaca. Look that one up yourself.

We also realized that although we covered around 5,000 miles in 2018-2019, this year we haven’t got the interest in going much farther than 15 miles or so. Our wanderlust has waned. But the pleasure we get from parking for a week in a delightful anchorage will never.

On Friday we moved from Quahog Bay to Long Cove so Simon and our buddy Matthew could meet us for dinner. Moss rowed to pick them up at shore, and after dinner we took Simon back to the car. Matthew stayed with us for the sail home, which turned out to be a delightful run where we got to fly the asymmetrical for a while before the wind shifted and we were able to tack our way out of Harpswell Sound, sail through the twisty passage to Potts Harbor, and then sail a delightful beam reach past the Goslings, Lower Goose Island, Upper Goose Island, and finally Sister and Williams Islands to home.

Moss has really taken charge of her little boat Moon Cracker. She insisted on rowing everyone everywhere and is becoming a skilled oars-person.

Moon Cracker is painted Bikini Blue inside. Note the red line. Moss decided her boat was too valuable for her to trust the single pennant. Or pendant. I’m unclear which is correct. Each denotes a line on a ship hanging from the mast. In any event, Moon Cracker has an attentive captain.

Simon and I are about two hours of work away from finishing his little Dyer. No name for her yet but doesn’t she look fabulous in Kelly Green? We built new forward and mid thwarts from scrap mahogany I had lying around the shop. Moon Cracker is a lightweight because I built her using cedar (except for the teak transom) so she would be easier to carry up and down the beach. Simon’s boat is more of a heavyweight.

Update

It is clear that fans of cupcakeafloat have been pining for the good feelings they get from this blog. The election season is depressing and exhausting. Coronavirus is depressing and exhausting. I could go on, but you don’t need more depression and exhaustion.

So instead, here’s the update: Cupcake is at her mooring in Freeport. She has been bullied by a group of wily osprey. They started their nasty tricks by perching on the lower spreaders and feasting on fish. Osprey are not tidy. They are messy and disgusting. We found fish heads, fish tails, fish spines scales eyes guts gills blood EVERYWHERE. Yuck yuck yuck.

The osprey left this on deck, and left another fish, twice as big, up on the spreader dripping blood. Moss volunteered to go up the mast to retrieve it. Yuck.

We managed to stop the birds from perching on the spreaders by stringing fishing line in a web above the spreaders. Now they don’t eat on the boat any more. But they have taken to perching on the top of the mast.

Last night we ate dinner aboard and found the windex broken and lying on the deck because the osprey knocked it off. I guess it was in the way and made it difficult to poop all over the deck and sail cover. When I picked the windex up to see if it could be salvaged, one of the ends caught on the lifeline and the windex slipped out of my hand and flipped into the water. Now we can add windexes to the list of items that sink.

We are planning to sail away for a little while next week. That means I get to head to Hamilton Marine for a new windex this weekend because I am unable to sail without something to tell me which way the wind is blowing. Thank goodness a part broke on the boat so I have something to putter with. Lately I’ve just been going out to Cupcake every few days to run the water maker.

The boat formerly known as Squander in the spa getting her beauty treatment. The hull in the background is Skimmer and we are slowly restoring her as well.

Simon and I have (slowly) been restoring his Dyer dinghy. It escaped a few years ago, fetched up on an island, got towed to a nearby town landing, and sat neglected all summer, We were reunited with the Dyer in October 2017 and are just now getting around to fixing her up to her former glory.

Moss also has a Dyer. Her boat, Moon Cracker, is super lightweight. I rebuilt her with all cedar so she is easy to put in a truck, drag up a beach, hoist onto deck. She has been our tender this season.

Cute little Moon Cracker.

The other big news about Cupcake is that we’ve listed her for sale. The Craigslist link is here: https://maine.craigslist.org/boa/d/bustins-island-fabulous-pearson-cruiser/7171333615.html if you know anyone who wants a big old girl let them know Cupcake is available.

Our reasons for selling her are pretty predictable: we have a boat outfitted for living aboard but we no longer live aboard. Don’t worry, we have plans, BIG plans, for further live aboard cruising. Just not right now.

Here’s a little bit of spring-commissioning boat porn: look at that paint job!

Ellen and I sanded the entire hull with 80 grit then laid down three coats of paint. Mmmmm.

Foggy morning

Cupcake and crew are still living aboard in Freeport harbor. Having one foot on the water and the other on land (metaphorically speaking) is a bit challenging. It can be tough getting showered and dressed in a suit in time for court in the mornings, but strangely, nobody seems inclined to show me any sympathy.

To be fair, it is pretty excellent living on a boat anywhere.

This morning we woke up to a beautiful calm foggy day.

It is lovely living on the water. The boats, the birds, the fish, the scenery are all magnificent here in Maine. We’ve managed to get off the mooring and sail each weekend. Last weekend, in fact, we were out in gustier winds than we have seen for the past year.

Twenty-five knots of wind is one thing when it’s a steady trade wind, but when the weather is squally inshore winds it can make for a much more challenging sail. We met up with our buddies on Econo Win at lovely Long Cove in Harpswell last weekend. On the way there we only experienced a near broach (well, not that near) and a couple of thunderstorms. Econo Win got hail and lashing rain (they also claim sleet, but come on…)

In the maintenance world, I replaced the leaking Westerbeke coolant overflow tank with a design of my own. It’s cheaper ($8 instead of $30) and it probably won’t crack in a year like the last one. I used a bike water bottle and cage. Pretty pleased with the results, but I have no illusions…it’ll leak eventually.

Although it looks like the bottle holds a sports drink, don’t be fooled. It is coolant for the engine.

Freeport, Maine

Just because we are in our home waters doesn’t mean there’s nothing going on with Cupcake and crew.

We are moored on the Harraseeket River for the access this location gives us to the showers, WiFi, parking, and dinghy dock at Brewer South Freeport Marine. This weekend we went for a sail so we could get off the river, shake the cobwebs off the sails, and anchor at one of the loveliest spots in Casco Bay…the Goslings.

Met up with friends there and generally had a nice time.

But most days we are on the river because I need the marina facilities to get myself presentable for work. Today, for instance, I get to go to the county jail to represent individuals who were arrested over the weekend but couldn’t make bail.

That's enough words for now. How about some pictures of the lovely boats we are surrounded by in Freeport?

Hinckley, of course.

Three Concordia yachts in a row.

Don’t forget: it’s a working harbor.

Home

Today we had a long, uneventful motorsail from Ipswich Bay home. Awoke at 5, had the anchor up and were underway by 5:30. Had the anchor down 76 miles and 12.5 hours later.

It is good to be home. Maine is beautiful, our local waters are familiar and spectacular…rugged, wooded islands ringed with granite shores. Fortunately the lobster season is not in full swing so we dint have to dodge too many floats today.

When the anchor was set, Moss blew the conch horn to announce our arrival. The tenants cheered from shore. We launched Mr. Flowerpot and drove to our beach. Met up with Simon and visited with some neighbors. It is good to be home. Now everyone is back aboard and sleeping.

Annisquam

Ok, so last night was a pretty cold one aboard the good old boat. And although the day began raw and damp and gray, this morning we spotted the Gloucester Harbor Launch and realized we could get to shore without launching the dinghy (which has been strapped on deck since Pocasset) and getting splashed and wet.

Gloucester is a pretty neat place with a rich maritime history. We knew we would be able to find warm clothing for tomorrow’s passage. After all, Gloucester has been sending men to sea for centuries. Pretty quickly after getting ashore we found Nelson’s, a store whose facade reads “Keeping Gloucester’s Fleet Warm & Dry Since 1874.” Perfect.

Ellen and I got long underwear and warm gloves, I got a wool hat and a thick Carhartt sweatshirt, Moss got new boots and socks. We are ready for business.

After getting ready for tomorrow’s long run to Freeport (76 miles of open ocean) we found an Italian bakery/sandwich shop where we had a great lunch. It was fun watching all the locals come in for their sandwiches. I even spotted a guy wearing a “Goodwin Marine Services - Hull, MA” sweatshirt. He had already left the shop when I realized a former student of mine from when I taught high school in Hull, MA was a Goodwin who was definitely a waterman.

We clomped around town in our sea boots, checked out the shops on Main Street, paid our respects at the monument to Gloucester sailors and fishermen lost at sea (more than 5,200 since the 1600s…some years more than 150 men were lost), and ended the afternoon with coffee/hot chocolate and WiFi in a The Lone Gull coffee shop.

Back aboard, we decided to run up the Annisquam River to Ipswich Bay to save ourselves about seven miles tomorrow when we make the long run home to Maine. tonight we are anchored near the Annisquam Yacht Club. Saw a lovely Herreshoff yawl sail in just after we got ourselves hooked. The boats in New England are without a doubt the most lovely we have seen on the trip.

Trapped in Gloucester

This morning we left Scituate early so we could get across Boston Harbor before the afternoon rain set in. Now we are securely anchored in the inner harbor at Gloucester. We are less than 90 miles from home, but we are trapped.

The weather is abysmal. There is a cold driving rain and raw wind this afternoon. Doesn’t look like it will let up until morning. Currently temperature is 46 with a wind chill of 44. Wind. Chill.

Tomorrow the wind will be out of the north so we are not going anywhere. Thursday we get a south wind but it’s not a warm one. The projected high is 56 degrees. And on the open water it’ll be colder than that. But we intend to get up early and tough it out for the long long ride to Freeport.

In the meantime, we have sailed from the heatwave in the south into this weather nightmare. I can see my breath, Cupcake has no cabin heater.