Day 178 - Mon 21 Sep 2015
Moored - Kennebunkport, ME

[photo: an example of some of the smaller, older homes here]

We were comfortable and secure last night, even when the wind gusted a bit throughout the night. The sky was clear except for a quarter moon and the stars were pretty. Upon awakening just before 0600, I noted that the temperature in the cabin was only 52F. I have hardy friends still living in northern climes that think nothing of keeping their house at that temperature (they are all bachelors, by the way), but that is a bit too cool for me and way too cold for Diane. On went the generator and the heat (plus the hot water heater, battery charger, and microwave).

After what were probably our last veggie omelets and home fries aboard this year (we are eating up all our perishable food, remember), we weighed anchor and took off at 0705. The wind was a bit stronger than forecast, but it was at our stern so we it was a comfortable ride with the waves behind us. The only thing challenging was that the following seas cause the boat to steer port and starboard quite a bit and using the autopilot to maneuver around the numerous lobster buoys proved impractical. I steered manually for about 3 hours, but it was good exercise.

As we neared Kennebunkport, we could see the large while buoys marking the security zone for former President George H.W. Bush. The home is quite large and very attractive and right on the water. With no patrol boats in sight, it is unlikely anyone was in residence. It was just about dead low tide as we turned up, but as my friend Jack likes to say, that is the best time to see where the hazards are. In this case, we just followed up the line of mooring buoys in the narrow river to find the one and only red one that is the town rents for $25 per night.

Before we picked up the buoy, however, we needed water badly so we stopped at Chick's marina, gave the dockhand a $5 tip and he allowed us to get water and he took our 2 trash bags. Once on the mooring, I tried calling the yard manager where we will leave the boat in MA but he is obviously a very busy guy. After a light lunch we got the dinghy down and readied to take a little tour and then walk ashore for a while. As we were getting ready, the nearly slack tide and shifting winds were causing the boats to move in all different directions. The small, pretty wooden hulled yawl on the mooring N of us (at or stern at the moment) hit us twice in 15 minutes. It wasn't more than a gentle tap, but their long bowsprit could easily have become tangled with something on our boat and caused a problem.

Diane was not willing to leave the boat in this situation, although I admit I thought the probability of something significant happening was pretty small. I called the harbormaster, who was sympathetic and apologetic. He said there was another mooring he knew we could use for the night (not a town-owned mooring) so we decided to move. It was a much better situation.

With that resolved, we finally got in the dinghy and first headed S down the river to check it out. We headed N to the bridge at Route 9 and tied up at the Clam Shack. It was a tiny, dilapidated dock with no easy way to get ashore, but we did it. We were immediately amongst the hustle and bustle of a tourist town. There were numerous boutiques, fancy restaurants, casual eateries, art galleries, ice cream shops, etc. We enjoyed our long walk first to the S and then back a different way to the N. We looked in a few shops but Diane did not want to buy anything.

I would have been in the mood for a simple meal out, but nothing appealed to us at the very touristy prices they were charging, so we agreed to eat onboard again. We got back in the dinghy and wanted to visit the museum but it was closed. There was a crew painting the outside and we never found out if it was closed for the season or just for the maintenance.

About 1600, the yard manager called me and we had a long chat to address the numerous questions we had about the winterizing process and what we could and could not leave aboard. It is not a trivial thing, as you can imagine, so we need to get it right. Diane awoke from her long nap and I served the last of the pasta, sausage and veggies with some fresh garlic bread.

It is getting dark much earlier now. Clyde wanted some time on deck, and when I joined him, I was amazed at how loud the roar of the surf against the shore was, even though we are almost a half mile away. The weather forecast has a small craft warning for tomorrow due to high seas. With the wind out of the ENE, that means the waves will be building across many hundreds of miles before reaching the Maine coast. I suspect it won't be a comfortable day to travel, so I will consider the situation again in the morning.