Mona NOBO 2017

[ralay]

The Bahamas may have sand beaches and cheap rum, but I get more excited about this!  We could see all the way to Deer Isle and back to our anchorage at Rockland from the top of Mt Megunticook in Camden Hills State Park.

[ralay]

Some friendly lobstermen came to talk to us this morning while taking respite from the weather in our nook.  I told them how impressed I was at the navigational skill involved in finding all those lobster pots in the fog.  They laughed at me and told me it's all done with electronics.  They know where the pots are to within 3 feet.  That's what I get for assuming that a couple of grizzled old fellas in Grundens must be using some arcane traditional knowledge. 

[Norman]

 :)GPS is great, no matter what the weather, and I personally miss the old primitive LORAN.  Either one, used within its limitations is incredibly accurate.  20 years ago, I set a waypoint on a handheld LORAN as I passed within 2 feet of a day mark.  8 hours later, sitting on the foot well and steering blind, and using the LORAN, the owner of the boat took the tiller from me, as he was concerned we would rub the mark.

The weather down east is changeable.  We were there the last week of August one year, at Rockport, and had a frost the 2 days before we left.  It was a very light frost, but the maples started changing the next day.  We flew into Owls Head Airport, using the aircraft LORAN for primary navigation, and broke out of the clouds 2 miles out, perfectly aligned with the runway.  That is a nasty runway to use in poor weather, and the actual approach was non directional beacon, so the added information the LORAN provided was a big boost to my confidence.

We rented a small sailboat and sailed all day one fine sunny day, with very light wind.  the "sealed" plastic envelope with the Coast Guard re

[Norman]

Obviously hit the wrong button!

The flares were in an envelope, with some holes, and it was full of water.

We canoed around the point at Rockland on a dead calm day, and admired the rugged shore on the seaward side.  Another day, climbed the small mountain behind Camden for a picnic, and later that day, supper at a lobster house.  Fog was absent while we were there.

The weather cooperated on our scheduled departure, and clear skies were the rule all the way to Rehoboth Delaware.

Shirley and I have been to Mount Deseret Island on a very small cruise ship, about 200 passengers.  We started from Baltimore, cruised to Montreal, and return.  Different ports of call each way.  The climb to the top of Mount Deseret was well worth the time, as the day was severe clear, and the views astounding.

There was a small group of dedicated sailors on board, and we convened on the after deck following meals.  We had a paper chart and a GPS, and estimated what time the next landmarks and towns would be passed.

Maine is a very pleasant place to be in the summer months.

[ralay]

Sounds like a good trip, Norman.  I can see Mt Desert Island, but we're reluctant to make the dash.  The wind is so loud and our nook is so calm.

[CharlieJ]

Nice shots Jim

[ralay]

Pics from Boothbay up to Mt Desert Island and back to Belfast: https://imgur.com/a/YwH4v

[Bob J (ex-misfits)]

Yea, Maine is a pretty awesome place.
We were hanging out in Belfast for the day couple of weeks ago.
I have a mooring application sitting on my desk   ;D

[ralay]

For Belfast?  The town is definitely charming.  The harbor is pretty open.  We sprung for a city mooring to get a little farther up into the river (by R6), but we're still bouncing even though there's very little wind.  I guess bouncing is no big deal if you don't live aboard, though.  It's certainly a beautiful area.

[Norman]

I Have also stood on those bare rocks and gazed out across Camden, Rockport, and Rockland on a similarly clear day.  We ate a picnic lunch right on top.  We spent a week with friends who lived in Rockport.  While we were there an impressive yacht, about 70 feet, was tied stern to the rock wall at the head of the harbor, and the crew had lowered the Volkswagen station wagon to the pavement with the davits.  After a supply run to the local stores, they left.  They were there only one night.  I visited with the skipper while he waited for the crew to return.

By pure chance, the skipper of the yacht visited my Church in Washington DC, and we had an interesting conversation.  Basically, it is not a yacht, but rather a portable luxurious condominium.  It is corporate owned, and the owners of the company schedule it for a few days, a week, or sometimes a month, at a port where they wish to be.  At the port, it rarely moves, except for sunset or moonlight cruises.  From port to port, the crew runs at whatever power setting is required to arrive on time.

From Rockport, he went to Miami, then the French Riviera, then Greece.  The owners were in Washington to see, wine  and dine government officials for the benefit of the company when I met him that second time.

The owners would not consider cruising from one port to another, as there might be waves, and discomfort.  Out and back on a perfect night, that is fine.  They did not use the Volkswagen ashore, it was only for the crew to run errands.  A Lincoln Town car was driven by their chauffer to stateside ports for shore travel, and equivalent rented cars with chauffer's were used in foreign ports.

A very different experience of the ports and routes than yours and Woodies

Terrific pictures, enjoyed all of them.  The house boat with a Sunfish dinghy struck me just right, the main hull is as slow as they get, the dinghy is fast!

Norman

[Bob J (ex-misfits)]

For Belfast?  The town is definitely charming.  The harbor is pretty open.  We sprung for a city mooring to get a little farther up into the river (by R6), but we're still bouncing even though there's very little wind.  I guess bouncing is no big deal if you don't live aboard, though.  It's certainly a beautiful area.

Well places that allow new moorings are far & few between. You can get on a waiting list but I think you'd need to be placed there upon birth for any chance of getting one.

For not much more than what it would cost me for a seasonal mooring down this way ($1500.00), I can purchase the ground tackle & have it set. After that I'd be looking at less than $200.00 a season to keep my boat up there.
I'm starting to look at the disposal income side of things seeing how I'm now 62 & thinking about retirement.

It also gives me a homeport to go north or south to some the best cruising grounds on the east coast.

That's what I'm thinking.

[Norman]

Ralay, on the ripped stay sail, do you plan to put the vertical patch on one side, and horizontal one on the opposite side, to give double thickness at the point of greatest stress?  That appears to be an older sail, but sails used for actual cruising age faster than others, so harder to tell from a picture.

Having a sewing machine certainly reduces the economic impact of such tears.

Shirley will allow me to sew spinnaker weight material on her 60 year old Singer, but all heavier clothe is sewn by hand, tedious work.

You and Woody are certainly having some of the adventures that I dreamed of at an earlier age.  My family was active in hiking and camping, and as teenagers, my brother and I went out on our own many times.  As you and Woody have, we picked wild blueberries, and also found abandoned orchards with ancient apple trees.  The apples were genuine organic, meaning they had insect damage, unattractive to eat as picked, but quartered, sliced, and fried, delicious.  May apples, pawpaws, wild plums, and grapes, at various times of the year supplemented our backpack foods.

When Shirley and I climbed Cadilac mountain on Mt. Deseret Island, there were a few late blueberries to pick, but they were very small.

A question on your sail among the rocks and lodges.  Would you have attempted that without GPS charts showing safe water?  Or did you do it with lead line and bow lookout?

Norman

[ralay]

On Sail Repair

Like the main we just replaced, the staysail is probably an original 30+ year-old sail.  They tend to fold in the same spots where the number of layers changes.  Those spots get thinner and thinner with age and eventually the fabric fails at the perforations in the seams.  I probably exacerbated this a little when I restitched it last year.  I learned (halfway through) that it's better to offset the new stitches rather than stitch along the old seams.  I switched methods, but only after I finished this seam. 

For short term repairs I marked out a 9" wide patch that will run the full width of the sail.  I removed the luff and leech tapes in that section.  I'll stitch the patch on so it overhangs the whole damaged area, then reattach the luff and leech tapes.  I need a calm day to take the sail cloth out on deck and and work with the torch and knife to cut out the patch and clean up the tear without any wild flapping.  I should be able to sew it up no problem with my new hand crank balance wheel. 

Unfortunately, we should probably buy a new staysail soon if we want to be able to count on it.  I've got used sail alerts set up from Bacon and Second Wind.  Sailrite also quoted me for a kit, but it would be about $600 in materials even after I deduct the thread, hanks, and materials I already have.  Maybe we'll just beat this one to death first.

[ralay]

On Tight Squiggles

Yes, I think it's doable without a GPS. It's probably hard to tell looking at a photo of a chart, but it was as narrow as the ICW or many channels.  Tacking out was like tacking in any other marked channel.  Most people don't tack through jetties looking at the GPS.  They look at the jetties themselves and tack when the feel uncomfortably close.  Likewise, I wasn't tacking because the water was getting shallow or because of my position on the chart plotter.  I tacked when I was uncomfortable with what I saw.  Judging from the behavior of local boaters, I seem to lose my nerve early, having started sailing in areas where the water is shallow and the bottom shoals gradually. 

I don't think a lead line (or a depth sounder) is as helpful up here. The contours are too close.  The time it would take to haul in 60' ft of lead line and release it again would be plenty of time to run into something.  Jim told us about the traditional potato navigation method for Maine:  throw a potato.  If it splashes, you're good.  If it doesn't, tack.  That seems like it's about right.  ;D     

It helped that we came in at low tide.  I could see all the rocks on the chart and we were only going 1-2kts.  We left at high tide, but I knew at that point that there weren't going to be any surprises in the channel.  The only rock far from shore had a can to mark it.  Even that rock was probably safe to go over once the water rose 10'.  I don't think it was more than 1-2' above the water at low tide. 

The GPS was most helpful in telling me when we had the minimum speed necessary to tack and to tell me our actual course with leeway/current so that I knew how many more times I'd need to tack before we were clear. 

[ralay]

@misfits

A mooring sounds like a great value. We've considered the same thing.  The cost of a mooring vs dockage in Boston, for example was extreme.  There you're required to pay a use tax on your vessel to get a mooring permit, but it would still be much cheaper than paying to use someone else's.  The wave action in Belfast may not be a very big deal if you're not living aboard anyways.  We learned yesterday that the little pedestrian bridge opens.  There are some interesting shantyboats back there on moorings.  Depending on how many times you want to go in and out, it might be worth checking out. Certainly a sweet spot to hang out.

Rockland was also an awesome, boat friendly town.  Not sure if they still give out mooring permits.  Don't see why they wouldn't - there's a ton of room.  They have a good town dock that you can tie up at to get water, ice, showers, internet, etc.for a few dollars.  Makes it real convenient if you don't have a home base nearby. 

[Bob J (ex-misfits)]

Most places charge a use or excise tax up here whether you have mooring or a slip. If you keep your boat at a marina it's usually rolled in with the slip/mooring fee.

A friend of mine keeps his 33 footer at Constitution Marina in Boston. Last time I talked to him it was close to 10 K a year....

Rockland, now that is a lumpy harbor. I heard so many people say that over the years, they avoid it.. It wouldn't surprise me if they had room.

[ralay]

Woody volunteered to float around in the dinghy in Penobscot Bay to finally get some photos of Mona under sail.  I think they came out pretty good.  Other boaters must have wondered what the heck I was doing sailing circles around a loose dinghy. 

From Belfast, we stopped in Isleboro where a schooner captain invited us to take his extra mooring and have dinner.  We went to Warren Island State Park and then back to Rockland to pick up our autopilot.  Sailed on to Portland with overnight stops in Port Clyde, Cape Small, and Jewell Is. 

Portland seems like a wonderfully weird place, but the harbor is pretty darn exposed.  We had hardly a breath of wind all week but were rolled unmercifully by wake.  We were jarred awake at 6am this morning by the fog horn of a cruise ship the size of a few city blocks creeping into it's berth just beside the anchored boats.  Too much excitement for us. 

We didn't want to stick around and wait for the effects of Jose in such an open anchorage, but we've also had dense fog for 3-4 days.  Today we went out anyway in 1/10nm visibility and sailed to the Saco.  There are 3 free municipal moorings several miles up the narrow river.  So we're all ready for a gale but it seems like Jose is prolonging our wait by dancing around out there.  If we want to work, we need to fly out of Boston 10/4.  It would be nice if this tropical weather would calm down!

Also, after talking to Bubba about the origin of his Westsail, I put in some extra effort and finally found the fella who built Mona from a bare hull back in the 70s/80s.  He seemed excited to be updated and it was fun to hear more about the history of the boat.  Good stuff.

[Norman]

Congratulate Woody on three great pictures!  Fascinating clouds, in the various directions, add to the nautical feel of the day, and sailing conditions. 

Very neat that you have found the first owner, I can imagine his excitement at finding that his old love is out there cruising!

How many days can you stay at the free moorings at Saco?  As the season ends, hopefully, long periods.  The cruise ship coming through would be more excitement than I would want, definitely a good reason to move someplace quieter.

[Frank]

Nice!!
It is hard to get "undersail" pics of your own boat!!
They turned out well!!
Very pretty!!

[ralay]

Norman,

I think Active Captain said they're "by donation." There are 3 at the inlet and 3 a few miles upriver.  I'm yet to see another boat on any of them.  There's nowhere to put a donation and I can't get ahold of a harbormaster, therefore they're free. 

I rowed a mile and a half upriver to Saco today.  It was very beautiful.  Saw lots of birds and got followed by curious seals.  Woody motored up in the afternoon and found a spot to squeeze Mona in right in town. 

I'm not sure why Saco doesn't seem popular.  I guess it's because there aren't any marinas and it requires motoring a few miles upriver.  I think it's quite pretty.