Stonington Connection
09 August 2015 | Old Quarry Ocean Adventures, Stonington, ME
CH/Sunny, Windy 5-15 SW
Today was a day of chores getting ready to meet our two sons in Webb Cove on Deer Isle who are traveling from Utah & Tennessee to join us for our last week of explorations.
Due to a little rowdiness last night from the natives (20 something's partying on a Saturday night) on Kimball and Isle Au Haut we didn't get much sleep. To add to the noise were a howling wind, gunfire, trucks with no mufflers zipping back and forth on the main drag near the town landing. To top it off we got the occasional "bonk bonk" of the mooring ball on the hull as the tide turned, or in this case a "crash crash" as though you were tied to a giant log that would wait until you fell asleep then ran you as if playing a joke on us.
We decided the night before to get up early and take advantage of the 7:00 am high tide at Billings Marine to get a pumpout. The pumpout system at Billings is rather old and lacks sufficient suction unless you are at high tide. We experienced this last year when out tank was super full and we arrived at dead low only to pump and pump with little success. Billings is the only game in town in the Stonington region which is a crime given this area of Penobscot Bay is the most visited by cruisers from New England and around the world.
After a successful pumpout, fuel, water and trash removal we were exhausted but hungry for breakfast so we anchored off Stonigton and headed for The Harbor Cafe.
With full bellies and lack of sleep we happily dosed off while at anchor while we waited to meet our sons at 2:30. As the day progressed our rendezvous with the boys got later and later with the new ETA of 8:30 PM.
It took superhuman effort, time, money and determination, but somehow Rusty made it from Utah, and Christo from GA. Rusty traveled through the night on a red- eye, and Christo had a two day drive from Tennessee/Georgia area before picking Rusty up in Portland and driving up to Deer Isle, so all three of us were wiped out. We ate a late supper, chatted and laughed, and caught up enough before falling into bed maybe around 11:00. We were on a mooring at the Old Quarry Ocean Adventures, which has many lobster boats up Web Cove. At about 4:30 am we had quite a parade of wakes zooming by us. We were happy to be on our way to the Saddleback Cabin in the morning.