Homeward Bound
15 August 2015 | Harraseeket River, South Freeport Maine
CH/ HOT day, then Thunderstorms and sprinkles upon arrival
This last day was somewhat anticlimatic. After a very slow start, drinking coffee, swimming, drinking more coffee, and having fresh baked muffins, we finally motivated ourselves to head out at around 10:00. We went to Cundy’s Harbor to a self-serve Pumpout float, and motored past the Cribstone bridge to Jaquish Gut. Going through it brought even the boys to Haskell Island and other places of familiarity. We zigzagged our way avoiding the rocks to Potts Harbor and had a GREAT meal at the Dophin Marina Restaurant for lunch. Mussels were out of this world good, but all the food was perfect for our mood. We really wanted to sail in to the Harraseeket Harbor, and we made our best effort with Rusty doing an expert job at catching the light breeze and rounding Whaleboat to the Green Island Ledges. We were texting the Bouchers who were in front of us somewhere, but eventually we had to pay attention to the thunder and lightning (which seemed to be in Yarmouth) roll up the sails and continue our motoring home. When we arrived Michael was waving his arms in a welcome, and Elizabeth was onshore when we arrived. What great friends they are. We were a bit out of it, and were wet with a few sprinkles, but they were a welcome relief from the scortching sun we had had during the trip. We grabbed Rusty and Christo’s bags, a few toiletries, and left everything aboard to clean out the next day.
What a wonderful final week to a once in a life-time 10 week trip. At one point Peter asked me what the most significant part of the trip was for me. For him, it was crossing the Gulf of Maine -- all that water, no land, the potential weather, all that planning and preparation and then the success of it all. For me, it was getting to know the water, the boat, and sailing each day. Growing up in Ohio meant I have had a lot of learning to do as an adult, and having lots of consistent TIME on the water has been very meaningful to me. How lucky we were to share the end of this experience with the other two people who mean the most to us in the world. We are so thankful that Rusty and Christo made the enormous effort to join us and bring us home.