trishlaplaca Originally posted September 24, 2022
What a whirlwind these past weeks have been – both literally and figuratively!
It started when Jeff and I had to spend an extra night in Tenant’s Cove, Maine to escape the wrath of Hurricane Fiona as it swept up the coast to make a devastating landfall above us in Novia Scotia. The storm’s remnant gale force winds and rain thankfully only managed to affect us only slightly there, and boy, it was nice to know that our trusty ol’ Oyster could keep us safe and comfy!
We pushed out of the Tenants Harbor by 7am the next morning to keep our course towards Rhode Island. Jeff and I felt like savvy sailors now, having prepared well by marking out three alternative harbors to choose from depending on how far we’d decide to go that day. But just as Oyster took us around the bend away from the peaceful protection of Tenants, we were met with unexpectedly harsh winds and choppy waters. Should we do this? we thought. Yes, of course, we decided, knowing that the forecast for the rest of the day promised sunny skies and smoother waters. Before us lay two patches of dark skies bearing squalls of light rain down upon us, but soon we were delivered into pristine weather for the rest of the way.
Jeff and I proudly cruised 38 nautical miles that day, and finally came into a harbor at the end of a large spit of land called Harpswell at the southern end of Maine. The plan was to anchor deeper into Basin Cove, a site that older waterway guides and charts indicated would provide great protection.
As we approached, Basin looked tighter than we’d expected – and packed with lobster boats. We anchored out, but threatening winds picked up so we moved on to a mooring ball at a a marina across the way. As newbies moorings feel more secure than anchoring because you’re tethered to something very large down there strong enough to hold large boats steady.
It still turned out to be a rocky-roll-y night, but the forecast for the next day looked great so were soon on our way again. This time the destination was Portsmouth, New Hampshire, although we ended up stopping just short of it and sailed into a wonderful little cove called Wood Island at the foot of the Saco river from Biddeford, Maine. A handful of boats were there to share it with, and later that afternoon a Monk trawler similar to ours named the Willie Dawes cruised in. We connected quickly with its owners just long enough to say hello.
FRESH LOBSTAHS! Wood Island, Biddeford, Maine
By sunset a few lobster boats trickled into port for the night. I was on the phone with a friend on the flybridge when I noticed one turning in toward our boat. But of course! Jeff being Jeff, he had dared to flag one in. He put out the fenders and the Lilly C pulled up beside us. Her Captain turned out to be as much of a delight as we’d found every Mainer we’d met to be, and he graciously served us up four beautiful “bugs”for $25. What a treat! The pork chops I’d planned on for dinner were immediately put away and we savored our freshest- of-fresh catch by candlelight. Woohoo!
A JOYFUL CRUISE TO GLOUCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS
The next morning the Willie Dawes stopped by as we prepared to depart. It turns out that Dan and Kathy are veteran sailors, and were heading on to Gloucester, Massachusetts 59 miles away. Could we do it, too? Jeff and I decided to take advantage of having a buddy boat, and decided to follow them all the way unless something made us hold back. And what a wonderful trip it turned out to be!
Our boats first met with a strong chop, but by now we’d learned that Oyster likes to go through waves head-on rather than having them slap at its side. We gladly turned into them. The worst part as always was having to be alert to all the dastardly lobster pots. No way did we want to get hooked up with one of those, for sure.
The breeze settled down, and the better part of the trip was actually relaxing. It was fun texting back and forth to Dan and Kathy along the way as we got to know one another. “Whale!” Dan wrote at one point. Sure enough, we spotted the spray shooting up of its spout a distance away. Bummer – it never came closer.
Being from Rhode Island and Connecticut, Jeff and I are familiar with Gloucester. But when Dan asked if we wanted to follow them into the harbor by back way of the Annisquam River and Blynman Canal, we were intrigued. Together we passed through hidden gems of boating communities along its marshes and banks. We cruised under a high-traffic bridge above; through a narrow passageway train bridge that Dan requested being lifted for us; and finally, an incredibly intimidating narrow passageway that spat us out into Gloucester harbor. What an exciting way to arrive!
Dan and Kathy anchored, but Jeff and I once again decided to get a mooring. I immediately went online to our app called Dockwa which allows you to reserve moorings and slips easily. I plugged us in for a couple of days, got the confirmation, and the Harbormaster called us within minutes by phone to get us onto Mooring ball #1.
In the meantime I’d been in touch with our friends Nick and Lorraine from Connecticut who would be coming to Gloucester in their RV. We settled in for the night and planned to meet up with them the next day. Always an adventure!!!
