Home again

It took only 3 days for Dennis, Riggs, and I to cruise from Gloucester MA to Spray's home port of Castine ME:

On Thursday, Dennis and I started the day in Gloucester with breakfast ashore. The locals at the restaurant were entertaining, and the food was good. We left our rented mooring at about 0800 and entered the Annisquam River with a slight following current. We had to wait at a RR drawbridge for a train to pass, and after we passed through, the current had shifted against us. But we had an easy cruise inside Cape Anne, and probably shaved 5 miles off the trip by taking this route.

Once out in the Atlantic, we beelined towards Portsmouth NH, which we reached by noon, with a building following sea. We pressed on up the coast and pulled in to anchor near Biddeford Pool. It was an interesting anchorage, like a lagoon surrounded by beaches.

Friday presented calmer conditions, and we were able to make an early start and cook fried eggs while under way. We made it up to Tenants Harbor by 3 pm, and tied to a rental mooring. Sheila and Katie drove down to meet us and Katie and Riggs had an energetic reunion. Later we 3 had a nice supper at the East Wind Inn.

Sheila slept aboard Spray and accompanied us on Saturday's final leg to Castine. After an oatmeal breakfast we were cruising by 0800, and rounded Owls Head by 0900, to enter Penobscot Bay - familiar waters! There were building NW winds so when we reach Isleboro Island we hugged its lee shore until we angled off towards the Castine bell buoy. It got a bit bouncy there which was no surprise as that area is often the roughest in the bay. By 1230 we were tied to a friend's mooring in Hatch Cove, and a few minutes later Dave Wyman and Don Small arrived aboard Dove to welcome us back.

Still aboard Spray, we had grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch, with a couple beers to celebrate. The we loaded some gear, two dogs, and 3 crew on Spray's dinghy and made for the Hatch Cove dock. Home.

Sheila had earlier tried without success to get the lawnmower going so the lawn was a tall field of dandelions. Dennis and I got the mower to start and I did a quick pass at its highest setting. My sister Marsha arrived from Ellington CT and Sheila made us a nice supper.

On Sunday Dennis and Marsha headed back to CT, with Sheila & I and 2 dogs riding along. They routed to Tenants Harbor so we could get Sheila's car and return it to Castine.

Yesterday morning Dave Wyman and I resurrected Spray's mooring, which she is now safely tied to (below). I've been slowly moving some gear to shore, and getting going on a long list of chores.

I have several projects planned for Spray, and we hope to do some coast-of-Maine cruising this summer. I'll post some blog entries on these activities as they occur, so I hope you will check back now and then.

Its good to be home!