Eugene and Florence Rossiter

July 6, 2006
When I got up (at 7:00 am. I seem to be getting up earlier and earlier. Yesterday I was up by 6:00 am for no reason) this morning, the English boat had already left. And by 8:00 am about 6 others were away, leaving us the last of the visitors to leave, except a large (120' ) motor yacht. After a leisurely breakfast in the cockpit, we started motoring towards Castine in a flat calm. High cloud and about 20C. We picked up a mooring at the Castine Yacht Club, went ashore to register and walk around the beautiful historic town. We made reservations for dinner at the Pentagoet Dinner where we ate on the verandah in a beautiful evening.

July 7, 2006

We went ashore for breakfast at a great little cafe, bought some papers and by 11:30 am we were away, sailing off the mooring in very light airs under a warm sun. We sailed for about an hour until the wind died completely, so began motoring our way to Bucks Harbor. It is a small harbor with excellent protection, and ashore has a small marina, a Yacht Club (where we stay and occasionally play tennis) and a great store with excellent meat, fish, cheese & wine. That's the sum total of Bucks Harbor. It's at the head of Eggemoggin Reach, which is, as the name suggests, a northwest-southeast run that in the prevailing winds usually provides a beautiful reach in protected waters.
As we rounded Head of the Cape, the wind returned enough so that we could sail again. When we entered the reach, we hoisted the spinnaker and ran down the reach as far as the Deer Island Bridge where we dropped the spinnaker and turned back to Bucks Harbor where we picked up the mooring of a friend who was away. We went ashore, bought a few supplies, including some fresh crab meat, and had crab cakes (excellent!!!) for dinner in the cockpit.
The next morning we went ashore. Eugene decided to have a shower at Bucks Marine, which provided us with some entertainment, as they only allow people renting a mooring from them to use the showers (for a $2 fee). After a few minutes of arguing, he appeared on the verge of defeat and retreated out of the office. Then he returned and said he wanted to rent a mooring. "how big is your boat?" she asked. "Never mind the boat." replied Eugene. He paid, and then said "Now I' d like the key to the shower!" which she happily handed over. Then we all had showers and carried on.
It was just about noon by the time we left Bucks Harbor and set sail down Eggemoggin Reach, after which we sailed down Jericho Bay, through Toothacher Bay past Burnt Coat Harbor and into Frenchboro, where we went ashore for a lobster dinner on the wharf.
On the way back to the boat we were invited aboard a New York 32, Falcon, built in 1937, and owned by Bob Scott from Castine. We had a few glasses of wine and learned about the long history of the famous fleet designed as a one-design class for the New York Yacht Club' s Bermuda race. This beautiful wooden (Mahogany on Oak) boat is 32' on the waterline, but with long overhangs, is probably 47' overall. Designed by the famous firm of Sparkman & Stevens, Olin Stevens still races on Falcon at 99 years old! All boats were built on City Island in one winter by the same builder, and all but two that have been lost still sail.

July 9, 2006

Today Eugene & Florence had to leave, so we left Frenchboro about 10:00 am and motor-sailed over to Mount Desert Island and up Somes Sound to Williams Boatyard, where we had left our car. We then drove down to Camden, where we picked them up last week. Their car was safe and sound where we had left it parked on a side street. Our return trip to the boatyard took just over an hour, less than half the time of the drive down, with lighter traffic.
From the boatyard we motored up to Somesville, a snug harbor where we picked up a vacant mooring for the night. Leftover crabcakes, coleslaw and baked beans for supper. Then a quiet night.

July 10, 2006

The weather forecast is for strong south-west winds, meaning that for us to go anywhere, our trip would begin with a two hour beat up Somes Sound. So we stayed put, spending the morning (after banana & raisin pancakes for breakfast) cleaning up and doing some chores. I installed a new motor hoist for the dinghy outboard to mount it on the stern rail when not in use. I also switched the motor over to the starboard fuel tank (requiring emptying the cockpit locker and climbing in, removing some panels, and then reversing it all). Then we went ashore to an excellent bookstore, bought a few books, and returned to the boat for lunch.
After lunch we headed off to catch the free shuttle bus and go for a hike. The service is quite good, and is an attempt to reduce the traffic in the park. Acadia National Park, which covers about half of Mt Desert Island, is second only to Yellowstone National Park in the number of visitors. It was donated to the government by the Rockerfeller family who had much of the existing park system of carriage roads and hiking trails built. We have done many of the hikes over the years, and they range from an easy walk in the woods to strenuous rock climbs over rough terrain.
Today we chose a 3.5 mile hike that wound around the southern end of Eagle Lake, then ascended to a rocky outcrop called Connors Knubble. From the top we could see about ten miles across Frenchmans Bay. Of course we forgot the camera, so no pictures! Our hike took about an hour and a half, so we returned to where the bus dropped us off to wait for its return, the last run of the day. While sitting reading about the park, we watched the bus speed by (they run once every hour). Apparently the return stop is not exactly where the drop is on the way out, and seeing no one at the stop, the driver carried on. After fuming for a few minutes, we got a ride from a couple of hikers from Quebec, so made it back safe and sound, just as a thunderstorm began.