Log of the ELISSA II

9/5: An absolutely lovely morning (clear, cool and calm); underway at 0830, riding the ebbing tide about 13 miles downstream on the Kennebec R. to Casco Bay. We were comfortably established in a slip at a most delightful Marina in Potts Cove Harbor, Casco Bay 31 miles and four hours later. About half way down the river we encountered a trio of full size tugs bound upstream towards Bath, with a huge barge (one tug towing and one on each side, pushing). The day before, on our tour of the Bath Iron Works (described in yesterdays log) we were introduced to the newest class of US Navy Destroyers – the Zumwalt Class. The ships (currently 3 at Bath in various stages of completion) are built partly in Portland – 3 huge sections (each about 1/3 of the ships 600 foot length) and then assembled and fitted out at the Bath facility. On the barge was one of these sections, on its way from Portland to Bath. Was a unique experience that Bonnie will compliment with additional text and pictures. Bonnie: Our cruise down the Kennebec was lovely. Made more intriguing when we sighted the barge way downstream— initially looked like a navigational mark on shore. We had been cautioned re: the potential turbulent waters at the mouth of the Kennebec as the river current meets incoming tides-can be as much as 10ft high waves. With a couple secondary plans in mind, we cruised through the opening into the Bay on smooth waters! Due to forecasted storms beginning tomorrow, we chose to “duck” into Dolphin Restaurant and Marina at the tip of Harpeswell Island in Casco Bay. What a great choice-realized afterwards that it was one of the Betty L’s many great recommendations! We arrived at lunchtime and the boat traffic for the Restaurant and Erica’s Lobster Shack was impressive. Someone had even arrived by helicopter! Reminded us of Frying Pan Island’s Henry’s Restaurant’s traffic! We had read that this was a very dog friendly marina—no leash law—and this was so true. “Puppies” everywhere and all just very friendly. Jada really would have loved to have joined them however, I was afraid to let her as she’d probably decide they needed to be under better control and would try to herd them into a group!! Hmmm, what to do for dinner with a 5star restaurant just steps away? This was an easy choice and we enjoyed a wonderful fish chowder and Lobster Tortellini in a Beurre Blanc sauce-this was literally to die for! Everything is freshly made onsite. The restaurant, and marina, has been family run for nearly 50 years. I can see why so many arrive by water as the crow flies it can only be a quick trip from a neighboring island or cove. By car it’s @25 min from Brunswick down Harpswell Neck.

Headed for a US Destroyer Completion

Enjoying the Breeze

HMMMMMM, does the bend have meaning?

Monument Island-so called when a monument replace a light on the rock that did not prevent "run a grounds"

9/6: Lay Day: Bonnie: Oh my, around 0930 we were greeted by a “dockhand” with complementary coffee AND the best Blueberry Muffins I have ever had! Am not much of a muffin person but this were so light and fluffy and chock full of blueberries. Forget our planned yogurt and fruit! The morning was beautiful..enabling a nice walk up the road past farms, cottages and coves. We had considered kayaking to The Basin where one can see waterfalls from 2 directions depending upon the tide’s direction. But by the time we used the AM to catch up on tasks, laundry, etc. the winds had picked up to a point it was just easier to remain on the Elissa II and enjoy a true “lay day”. We were veryvery tempted to return to the restaurant for a repeat of Friday’s dinner but chose instead to borrow the Marina truck and drive to find ice (after Labor Day the Marina no longer carries any), which turned out to be all the way to Brunswick! The moment we chose to leave the Elissa II to go to the truck, the skies finally opened and every part of us not covered with a foul weather jacket was absolutely drenched. Waited it out at the Restaurant and were treated to a double rainbow! Beautiful. Was a nice drive and even got to drive around Bowdoin College (Gettysberg’s MG Joshua Chamberlain was professor and President there; ADM Robert Peary’s Bowdoin College diploma was signed by Chamberlain!).

Blueberry Muffin Man

The Harbor Hosts!!!!

Morning Swim

Father Daughter Lobsterteam

9/7: This was the shortest day’s trip, by time and distance, than any other day on the Loop; it was also one of the richest in terms of neat stuff, seen and learned. We left Potts Cove at 1000 fore the 15 minute run to Eagle Island, the home of Admiral Peary (North Pole fame) and his family from the late 1800s until the early 1970s. The house was also a museum and a tribute to the Admiral’s MANY accomplishments. I was aware, in a bare bones sort of way, of his passion/obsession with reaching the pole and general details of his achievement. What I did not know was the breadth of his interests/accomplishments outside of mushing dog teams and Innuits across arctic ice. Check him out on Google. At 1130 we left Eagle for a 45 minute trip to Jewell Island’s Cocktail Cove, a location noted for its vast quantities of sea glass (glass fragments that end up in the ocean and are polished smooth by wave/sand action). The anchorage, yet again, was magnificent; well protected, remote (despite being near to civilization, and pristine in its beauty. We shared it with 5 sailboats (sail rules in Maine) and, except for not finding much sea glass, had a great day. Bonnie: All the information on Eagle stated that it closed for the season on Labor Day. ….even per phone call to Maine’s State Parks office in Augusta. As luck would have it, the Park Ranger works out of Dolphin Marina and as he cruised by informed us it’s open the 1^st 2 weekends after Labor Day-woohoo!. Was a quick cruise to one of the Park’s mooring balls and the Ranger came by, picked us up and delivered us to the dock. We’ve all heard about Peary’s North Pole feat but visiting his home opened up a whole new picture of the man and his family. His skills as an engineer are what really were his strengths in planning his Pole expeditions-size of boat and accessories for job at hand, adjustments for the weather and ice, calculated amount of food needed by everyone onboard per the weather and their weight…..could go on and on-google the man. He also was a strong family man with a wife who accompanied him on several expeditions, including one in 1898 where they got frozen in the ice in Greenland and she gave birth to their daughter, Marie, on board! The home has been well maintained with Peary memorabilia, incl a player piano that accompanied him on his voyages north—was a player piano he personally selected for the lower extremity exercise everyone would get by working the pedals. A requirement he set for his crew to remain fit during long periods at sea. The setting is beautiful, many hiking trails-is a good trip to make if visiting Portland Maine. As Bill has said, Jewell was lovely. We hiked over to Punchbowl Bay and found nary a piece of sea glass but found a vast array of rocks and stones, perfect additions to Meridian, Ember and Iris’s gardens at home. Not being able to sit still in these surroundings, we got my kayak down and I paddled around the cove, which seemed to shrink in size by 2x’s as the tide went out. What a delightful last anchorage in Maine.

9/8: Left our super neat anchorage at 0845 for a short (30 minutes, 10 miles) to Marina in Portland to pick up fuel, ice and walk the dog. Left at 1025 on way to the Isles of Shoals. The state lines of Maine and New Hampshire run between the Islands, a small piece of New Hampshire’s very small piece (about 12 miles of coastline) that fronts the Atlantic Ocean. We were on a mooring ball (free, courtesy of the Portsmouth Yacht Club) after 4.5 hours and 64 miles .The collection of several small islands is about 6 miles off the coast of Portsmouth and were discovered by Captain John Smith (of Pocahontas fame) in 1614. They have both a long and colorful history and a collage of scenic beauty found in few other locales. Bonnie: These islands are pretty barren except for bushes of sea roses and scrub bushes. Historically the islands were occupied by a small number of hardy fishermen and their families—lived here but needed to go to Portsmouth to sell their daily catches. We anchored off Star Island. which was largely settled by an ecumenical group for religious retreats. These have evolved to retreat – like seminars varying from spiritual, environmental, art, music, and dance. Day trippers, like us, are not invited ashore until after 10 AM. Multiple generations of families return every year. Wandering around the island was done so quietly so as not to interrupt the reflective atmosphere of those participating in the seminars of the week. The Oceanic Hotel is the largest building and is surrounded mostly by small stone cottages. Dogs were only permitted on uninhabited Malaga Island so we dingied over there with Jada—is very small and very rocky…and quite lovely. Bill stayed with the dinghy to watch the tide, which was coming in quite fast! Beautiful sunset this evening.

WWII Coastal Observation Tower

Oceanic Hotel/Star Island--site of retreats and seminars

Unloading supplies for Oceanic Hotel

CPT John Smith Memorial

Art Studio

Malaga Island--only one of the 9 Isles that is dog friendly!

9/9: We dropped our mooring ball at 0830, leaving a most interesting and historically prominent Isles of Shoal – Boston here we come. Was a pretty lumpy ride with beam seas, some in excess of 6’ coming at our port side every 7 or so seconds. Boat seemed to enjoy the rock 7 roll but it was more “physical” than we would prefer. Other that the waves though it was a lovely day on the water with light blue skies, dark blue sea and plenty of sun. Five and a half hours and 60 miles later we arrived at the Constitution Marina, right next door to the USS Constitution (AKA “Old Ironsides”) in the heart of downtown Boston. Bonnie: As usual, I got to scope the neighborhood by walking Jada up Bunker Hill—5 min from the marina which happened to be in Charlestown—where Paul Revere rowed to view the “one if by land and 2 if by sea “ lights from North Church across the river. We had walked over to visit the USS Constitution BUT Bill failed the security check—no ID on him as he left his wallet aboard! The boat is still in active serve with the US Navy and is in the former Charleston Navy Yard. The “docents” are active duty sailors, thus the security. Ah, tomorrow!

A Coastal home enroute to Boston

Coastal home->Boutique Hotel

Boston, here we are!

Bunker Hill Monument

9/10: LAY DAY: Began the day with a Jada walk to the adjacent Paul Revere Park. The entrance has a mosaic wall with Paul Revere’s own words describing his “midnight ride”—all in tiles, including a map. Quite lovely and interesting. We retraced our steps to the USS Constitution-with appropriate ID. The frigate has been, not surprising, extremely well maintained and even will all the maritime museums we’ve visited recently, unique and interesting. Was interesting to read the list of commanders from its first to present, an Active Duty Commander-what an assignment. There also was a brass plaque with the names of babies of sailors assigned to the Frigate who have been Baptized on board, the most recent being 6 mos ago. The Baptismal font is an inverted ships bell. We then hopped on a trolley to the Boston Commons. Here we picked up the Freedon Trail , a red brick trail which winds through historic Boston. Was a lovely day for walking, touring, reliving our Country's history. Continuing to be the tourists we are, we had Fish and Chips at a restaurant at Quincy Market—touristy or not, they were delicious! All in all a very nice day.

On the "Constitutions" foredeck -the "head"

Captain's Quarters

Quincy Market Street Performer

Paul Revere's Home

Norht Church

Dog Tags representing deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq

9/11: Departed Boston at 0800 under partly/mostly cloudy skies, & stiff breeze from South. Once we cleared the outer harbor (about 10 miles) we set a straight course to the southeast aiming for the tip of Cape Cod and the town of Provincetown, MA. Was the lumpiest passage Bonnie has experienced (lumpy means waves 4 – 6 feet coming at us from an angle of about 30 degrees of our starboard (right) Bow. Was just the right angle to ensure maximum roll AND maximum pitch. Boat did fine (it can go places where I would rather not accompany it) but we were physically batted about enough to make me at least feel sore. Some 60 miles and six hours later we were snug in the Provincetown Marina. Bonnie: I don’t care for roller coasters; nor did I care for major heeling in sloops we sailed. Thus when my side of the boat dipped low into the water, I’d squeal , “Bill”, who didn’t fix the situation and would say it wasn’t his fault—duh. Poor Mr. Fixit, couldn’t change the unexpected! I was relieved to see the Provincetown Light! Ptown is veryveryvery dog friendly—they were everywhere; water bowls and treats everywhere; open invitation to all outside dining! Jada and I walked around and up to the Pilgrim Monument---this was the first landing site of the Pilgrims. They left for Plymouth upon learning there was no fresh water on the Cape!

CLEVER=Rubber runners!

9/12: LAY DAY- Happy Anniversary to my best friend of 44 years!! Bonnie: And the same to you, Bill Sweeney! We began our day on a Whale Boat Tour off the Cape. May would be a much better time to see whales in all their glory—like the photos flipping in the air. But, here we are and there are not any whales in Indiana in May! We did have about 12 sightings, some with more body exposed than others. Was enjoyable seeing what we did and was a lovely morning. Following lunch, I took a trolley tour and walked around town, which consists of the usual touristy shops but also lots of art galleries as this continues to be an active “artist colony”. The homes are traditional New England, white or grey clapboard or shingled with white picket fences. The winds were gusting to 25 mph so we declined biking out to the National Seashore. Enjoyed a delicious dinner: spicy lobster corn chowder, scallops in a citrus beurre blanc sauce over orzo and peppered filet with truffled mashed potatoes—sharing created a surf and turf! We enjoyed the 2 mile round trip walk from Marina to the Red Inn’s restaurant.

Ready to go A-Whalin'

LOW TIDE

Provincetown garden tour

Pilgrim Monument

9/13: Left Provincetown at 0900 with a blustery east wind of @15, gusting higher, a pale sun and waves 1-3 feet. Arrived at the Sandwich Marina at east end of the Cape Cod Canal for a fuel, ice, pump out and to return a Cruising Guide we had borrowed from the Vreeland’s as well as a magnetic access card belonging to the Marina. We were back in the canal at 1215 for the 1.5 hour transit, then off to Cuttyhunk, arriving there at 1530, some 71 miles from Provincetown. Bonnie: Our New England cruise is drawing to a close. Cuttyhunk is the westernmost of the Elizabeth Islands-made familiar to me by Beve Gracia as they sailed here regularly, just spent a Family week here and is across from Buzzards Bay from their home in Mattapoisett. A significant rainstorm is headed our way tonight so will explore the Island tomorrow.

9/14: Spent the AM soaking up the ambience of a super harbor, had a big, late breakfast and embarked on a walking tour of Cuttyhunk on the way to high point of Island (with a very neat “eagle eye” perspective of land, harbor and surrounding waters. Actually, we were stalling, delaying as long as possible that this was it: the end of the season’s cruise. We finally left the anchorage at 1300 for the 26 mile, 3 hour run up Buzzards bay to a Marina just across the Bay (8 miles) from the Mattapoisett Boat Yard where tomorrow morning the Elissa II will be hauled out and placed into winter storage. L Bonnie: As Bill says, it was a lovely morning to explore a small part of Cuttyhunk—look forward to exploring more when we resume the Loop in May. As we cruised into the Marina who do we see but the moored Betty-L-our friends the Vreelands we met on the Illinois River 2 years ago-as well as sharing time last month as we passed through Sandwich MA. They were in Glacier National Park so we just fondly gazed on their representative!

Seen better days!

The Betty-L!!!! She just keeps reappearing!

Our last "on the water" sunset for 2014

9/15: Away on our final bittersweet day of the season, it was an all too short 9 miles. One hour 10 min later we were tied to the float at Mattapoisett Boatyard. As Bonnie will explain, while we were on time, the Boatyard missed the boat. Facing us now is prepping the Elissa II for storage and the 940-mile back to Indy. On the brightside, we can now build castles in the air, dreaming of the 2015 possible completion of the Great American Loop!! Bonnie: It was a short, and calm, cruise across Buzzard’s Bay to Mattapoisett. The Ned Point Light, one of the most picturesque Lights, marks the entrance to the Harbor. Maybe I am partial as when visiting Beve in the past we did aland visit. We arrived at 1015 hrs for the 1030 haul out. Beve and 3 y/o grandson Jack were waiting to see the action. Well, after 2 hours, I decided to help Beve provide Jack with maybe a better diversion at home and lunch. If a boatyard ever does a job as scheduled, we’ll probably miss it as we’d not be planning on it. I returned with the truck—which had be left at Beve and Joe’s- and we were finally hauled out at 1630! In the Yard’s defense they did everything to perform an emergency repair on a sloop’s prop. Farewell Elissa II-thanks for being such a wonderful “home” for the past 4 months. It’s been awesome! See ya in May 2015.