We arrived in Portland harbor Monday morning in thick fog. We had to rely heavily on radar as we could just barely see our bow. I stood at the helm, completely saturated by the fog and manned the helm, trying to avoid lobster buoys and boats, while Otis manned the radar and chart nav. We could hear boats passing us on either side by no more than two hundred feet but could not see them. The radar was littered with boats, traps, land and channel bells so it was hard to tell what was what. O and I were tagging off information and I was just trying to stay calm. The one thing that kept running through my mind was the Maine state slogan "Maine, the way life should be". Yeah, I guess, if you are a glutton for punishment.
ANYWAY, we had decided before coming to Portland that we would dock as we had to equalize the batteries and it was a nice reprieve from six weeks at anchor. I cannot tell you how relieved I was once we were tied up. New England has proven to be a great training ground weather wise.
Hey, come cruise New England where it's foggy, windy, rainy and damp......the stuff true dreams are made of. Okay, okay, it should be said that when you CAN see the Maine coast it is breathtakingly beautiful but she makes you pay a price for it.
The last time I wrote, and I apologize for not being more diligent, my mom and grandmother were coming.
Mom and Gram arrived in Martha's Vineyard on Tuesday, July 24. We had an amazing time. Wednesday went to the farmers market, which was a little pricey but the produce is second to none and the flowers are stunning. Afterwards we went back to the boat, pulled anchor and went for a sail. It was a crystal clear day with a nice light fifteen knot breeze. We had a wonderful sail. Later we anchored in Edgartown. I made lobster/arugula sushi rolls for an appetizer which were delicious. We just hung out and chatted the night away.
The following day Mom, Gram and I went to town while O and the boys spent the day together at the beach. We had a blast. We shopped, Mom got some great new clothes and Grandma got two BEAUTIFUL, unique handpainted rugs plus a wonderful handhooked Claire Murray strawberry rug. We had lunch at a colonial era inn with beamed ceilings, exposed brick walls and stone fireplaces. Lots of laughs were had and it felt wonderful to hang out and just have girl time. The weather was great the whole time they were with us.
It must be said that this is not the first sailboat I have been on that my grandmother, Marilyn, who lives in Iowa, has been to see. She visited me with her girlfriends while we were on Sea Angel in Seattle. Last summer Otis and I were looking at a Tayana 52 that was up on the hard (out of the water), Gram came with us to the boatyard to check it out. She had to climb a tall rickety old ladder to get onboard which she just bounded up. Meanwhile, it took me about ten minutes to coach myself up. So it goes without saying that my Grandmother is adventurous. While onboard Indy she climbed in and out of the dinghy like a pro and adapted to boat life easily. It meant a great deal to Otis and I that she and Mom made the time and effort to visit. I enjoyed every minute that they were onboard.
After Mom and Gram left Friday morning I was a little depressed so Otis and I decided to make our way to Maine. We pulled anchor and headed for the Cape Cod Canal. It was uneventful, other than the cheesy go fast boats that slam by you, on the wrong side and leave a monstrous wake. Why is it that these boats are always named something equally as cheesy like Big Dog II???? Anyway, I am digressing. We pulled into Provincetown that evening around 7. Sunday we checked out Ptown which is a wonderfully festive, vibrant, mad, gay seaside town. It was nice to be back to reality after being in Nantucket and the Vineyard for a month. On a side note, you know you look like a parent when you no longer get handed fliers or approached about buying tickets to the Cabaret. Which totally bums me out!!! I'm not sure when that started happening.
Sunday night we pulled anchor in Ptown and made our way to Maine. We devised a watch schedule of three hours on three off which didn't allow either of us much sleep but it was nice that we were not at the helm too long either. The fog rolled in around 12:30 so the fact that we had a full noon unfortunately meant nothing.
I am working on the Portland entry which I will post tomorrow.