On Sunday, June 29, the fog lifted about noon, and we basked in sunlight, with the temperature in the mid-70s and a nippy breeze making it seem cooler. Suddenly, all the surrounding mooring balls were in use by locals in small power boats, who were taking advantage of a day of what they call summer weather here, I think. Amazingly, people were jumping into the 60 degree water, although no one but a couple of swimmers, probably training for a triathlon, stayed in long.
Enis worked on splicing and whipping lines, Peter kept busy with his endless tasks, and I made templates for block covers to cut out leather. Around 4 p.m., first Peter and then Enis jumped in the cold water. Peter swam around the boat, so Enis, even though he was wearing jeans and a hoody on deck, decided to put on his swimsuit and leap in also. The look on his face was all I needed to see to convince me that I did not want to join in the fun, although I did take a shower in the shelter of the stern.
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| Enis on the foredeck working on lines while locals are playing |
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| Peter swimming around the boat |
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| Peter before and Enis after a swim |
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| Enis' reaction to the water |
Monday passed by with various tasks as we slowly improve things on the boat. It was a quiet day with an orange, yellow and navy blue sunset view from the boat.
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| Quiet sunset |
This morning, we woke up to pea-soup fog, almost unable to discern the shoreline about 300 feet away or anything other the mooring balls close to us. The fog and mist gradually dissipated, revealing other boats, and by the time we dropped the pennant on the mooring ball before 11 a.m., it was almost clear.
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| The shore barely visible |
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| Mooring balls on a calm sea |
We used the mainsail to drift off the mooring, but with a variable SE wind of only 4-8 knots, it was not possible to sail to Portland. The iron jenny (also known as the engine) was fired up, and we were tied up at DiMillo's in less than an hour, having passed by a collection of small racing sailboats juxtaposed with an enormous cruise ship, the Island Princess.
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| The Island Princess and small boats racing |
We had sandwiches for lunch on board, and now we are busy with our various tasks. Enis is off to an appointment with a notary and to shop for food at Trader Joe's, hardware at West Marine, and slippers. A man has come and gone, having inspected and passed the fire extinguishers, including the halon one in the engine room, which needed to be done before we could get new insurance. Peter is busy with various small tasks and putting things away. I will be going on land in a few minutes to do some shopping also. Peter and Enis are going to see the movie F1 this evening, and I will enjoy rare alone time on board.
Tomorrow, we continue north. We plan to stop at one or two islands in Casco Bay before sailing (or perhaps, sadly, motoring) to Nova Scotia.
