The Goslings and Falmouth, Maine

We arrived in Falmouth, Maine, on Tuesday, June 19, after spending a night anchored at the Goslings on Monday and exploring those little islands on Tuesday morning. The cloudy skies and rain had disappeared by the time we woke up on Tuesday, and the brilliant blue of the sky and sea accentuated the shades of green on the islands around us. 

The Goslings on a bright blue morning

Peter testing the wires on the autopilot

After breakfast, Peter spent a couple hours continuing to work on the new auto-pilot, which is a beautiful piece of engineering, but he has not yet been able to get it hooked up successfully with the existing wiring in the aft lazarette. After the electrical tests with the multimeter did not produce the correct results, he put it away, and we took the dinghy to the beach on the northwest side of the eastern Gosling. The tide was rising, but when we landed, the two main islands were still connected by an arc of sand, pebbles and shells. We walked this dry path to the western of the two islands and walked around its perimeter. The connection was more narrow when we returned and then circled the first island, and by the time we were ready to go back to Mantra, the islands were no longer linked by land. 

The Goslings

Slender connection between two islands

Drying kelp draped over rocks on the islands

There was enough wind for sailing but unfortunately, we were heading directly into it as we made our way to Falmouth, so the iron ginny (the engine) had to work again. The 20 knot wind was gusting to 25, and we were skeptical that we could get on to the dock to pump out the holding tank and take on fuel and fresh water, but the wind lessened as we came into the lee of the hills of the mainland, and docking was easy. We pumped out, and just as we finished, the power in the area went out. We moved to the fuel and water dock and filled up with water, but the staff at Handy Boat could not pump diesel without electricity. Hoping that it would be restored soon, we stayed on the dock and delayed picking up our assigned mooring ball. However, it was a few hours until power was back; after taking on 50 gallons of fuel, we cast off and went down the fairway of the mooring field. Peter had assumed that the numbered balls would be in sequential order, but they are not. Darkness was descending and still we slowly puttered around looking for our spot. At 9:00, we finally picked up the pennant. 

Moored boats at Falmouth

We were positioned right next to a catamaran where a party was going on. "Ahoy, Mantra, do you want to come over for a nightcap?" we heard. We told them maybe later, but we were not planning on putting our dinghy in the water, so we weren't committed. However, within a few minutes, they had lowered their dinghy from their davits and came to collect us. We had missed the wine tasting part of the party but we were in plenty of time to join the dozen people for wine, hors d'oeuvre, socializing and dancing. Everyone was middle-aged or older, so the party did not last until the wee hours of the morning.

Surprisingly, I woke up and got up at 6 a.m. on Wednesday. We had no cereal, no fruit and no bread (although we had eggs), so breakfast consisted of granola bars. After doing some tidying, I went to shore in the launch and did a couple loads of laundry. Then I walked about a mile to a small grocery store and deli where there was not much available but I was able to buy bread, milk and chips. I passed many lovely and well-maintained houses and yards; most of the homes sat on at least a couple acres of land, and a few were almost small estates.

I was able to make a spicy bean and rice dish with the canned and dried food that we had. Yesterday evening, we had dinner at the Dockside Grille, a restaurant that is part of Handy Boat. Peter could not finish the large platter of spare ribs with blueberry barbecue sauce that he ordered. It was his lunch today; I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, actually one of my favorite foods. 

Today, Peter has been doing various small jobs, trying to shorten his extensive list, while I spent the entire morning cleaning the boat and organizing items to take to the Rodgers family beach vacation in Ocean City, Maryland, which starts on Saturday. After lunch, I went to shore and got a Lyft ride to the Portland airport to pick up a rental car. From there, I drove to Trader Joe's to get provisions. I happened to notice a man whom I had met yesterday by the laundry room, and we exchanged greetings. A mintue later, I started to wonder how Joel had arrived at Trader Joe's so I found him in the next aisle to ask. He was using Uber, so I offered to give him a ride to Falmouth and he happily accepted. After each of us had about eight bags of groceries, we drove to the dock, watching as a thunderstorm was approaching from the west. Luckily, the dock hands and the launch driver were on hand and eager to assist us. We loaded everything into dock carts and they got everything on the boat as I drove the car to the parking lot. I made it to Mantra without getting wet and Joel reached his boat before the rain. I think that even the launch driver and the dock hand made it back to shore before the very brief shower started. 

Our daughter Katya is arriving at the airport at 10 p.m. Our friend Enis, who will be living on our boat during out 10-day land vacation, is supposed to arrive even later, but his plane out of Minneapolis has been delayed, so he may not make it until tomorrow. 

I am excited to be making ravioli with pesto sauce and fresh tomatoes tonight--something different.