Long day

We awoke to thick fog in the anchorage at Long Cove, so we went back to sleep. (I had a poor night’s sleep anyway because I had a dream that Ellen and Moss were supposed to meet me for dinner and a movie but instead decided to have dinner with our rabbi without telling me. I was halfway through the film before I realized they weren’t sitting with me. Also my seat at the theater had an obstructed view and I got a stiff neck. Ugh.)

When the fog cleared we set out from Vinalhaven on the first big leg of our way back home.

Well the day ended up being a longer one than anticipated. At first we thought we would just scoot across West Penobscot Bay and enjoy a night at Dix Island. But when we checked last night, the weather for tomorrow made us think it would be rainy and nasty, not great for that anchorage. So we rerouted to Harbor Island in Muscongus Bay. It’s a lovely spot and is safe and protected.

But as we were trucking along today (motorsailing at 6+ knots with a boost from the tide really helps Cupcake cover ground) we thought it might be better to be in a harbor where we could walk around if Thursday is going to be a no-travel rain-day. Headed to New Harbor. We had been to New Harbor years ago on our first Cupcake, a 27’ Pearson Renegade. But over the intervening years the harbor seems to have shrunk. When we pulled in this afternoon with this Cupcake, nearly 10’ longer, the harbor looked tiny and crowded. Absolutely no room to anchor. We had a surreal encounter with a scuba diver in a drysuit who was bobbing in the little harbor, he told us there was only one free mooring, right next to a dock. Even if that mooring was available, we weren’t sure there was swing room for the big girl.

So we aborted that plan and went to plan C which was to push on to Damariscove Island. Damariscove has long been a favorite stop of ours. It’s remote, lonely, beautiful, and has pretty cool history. It was a fishing outpost for the cod fishery in the 1600s, had full-time residents as recently as the 1930s, and boasts the largest poison ivy patch we have ever seen.

It’s a super duper tight harbor. When we picked up the mooring (also no room to anchor here) we had to shorten the pennant so we wouldn’t hit the wharf with our stern. I’m not even exaggerating.

In any event, today’s trip was long but not particularly tedious. Moss asked if we could teleport, would we. Ellen and I both said “no” because even a dull day at sea is a great day. The engine ran like a Swiss watch, and now we’ve got lots of hot water for showers this evening.

Damariscove Harbor and the abandoned Coast Guard station.

Friday and the wharf.

Can you have too many cute-cat-on-a-boat pictures? No you can’t.