Back from Maine

[Mark S]

Hi folks.

We took Weetamoe to Maine for three weeks and returned today. We left Marblehead August 1 and made stops at Rockport, Mass., Isles of Shoals, N.H., Wood Island, Maine, Sebasco, Boothbay, Long Cove at Tenants Harbor, Long Cove on Vinalhaven Island, McGlathery Island in Merchants Row, Southwest Harbor for three days, Prettymarsh Harbor, Bucks Harbor, Pulpit Harbor, Rockland, Christmas Cove, Jewell Island, Wood Island again, Isles of Shoals again, Rockport again, and back home today.

The boat performed excellently, particularly during a hard beat against wind and current down Penobscot Bay from Eggemoggin Reach to Pulpit Harbor, in which we dueled with schooners and evaded a freighter. On other days we spent a lot of time running downwind and got really good at sailing wing on wing. We had to power much more than I wanted, particularly from Rockland west due to there being no wind or to us being headed right on the nose. With Hurricane Bill approaching, we decided to get home rather than risk getting stuck somewhere waiting out the weather and not getting back to work on time, expensive all around, so we ran on the engine from Rockland all the way to Marblehead, excepting an exciting sail in Casco Bay and a run from the Isles of Shoals to Rockport. I hope I haven't done any damage to my over-cooled engine from so much powering. We'll see in the off season when I tackle the engine temperature issues.

Oil pressure was 40 lbs. consistently; 1500 RPM gave us at least 4.0 knots and as many as 5.8 depending on wind and current. We got out of Biddeford Pool easily against the full onslaught of the rising tide's mid-rise current in the narrows. We went just as easily two miles up the Saco River in search of gasoline against the river's current. On one leg I calculated 0.80 gallons per hour, a little higher than I would like, and probably due to being over-propped and my having the throttle set slightly higher than necessary for maximum efficiency. On another, I calculated 0.75, much more in line with my expectations.

A4 saved our bacon in a sudden squall in Muscle Ridge Channel in which we sought shelter between Dix Island, High Island, and Birch Island, the only place we thought suitable to anchor, and against a granite lee shore. Had it struck five minutes earlier, we would have stayed in the Channel and fought it out there. Or had we been five minutes earlier at the anchorage, we would have gotten the anchor set. But we tried to set the anchor at exactly the same time as the squall's fury hit us with a wall of wind. I don't know how much it blew but it was a lot, substantially in excess of 20 knots. In consequence, the anchor never set and we dragged toward the granite lee shore of Birch Island. My wife put it all into perspective for me. While I was thinking of the order of procedures as they might arise, she said, "Your job is to keep us off the rocks." I thought, "right," and concentrated my efforts to that end. Remembering the old weather addage, "Long fortold, long last; Short notice, soon past," between A4, which responded superbly, and the anchor, I was able to keep us off the rocks and we easily waited out the squall. Lesson learned: look a little harder at the weather shore for a place to anchor.

That we had no A4 malfunctions, misfunctions, or non-functions, was due entirely to the care I have given the engine under the guidance of Don's publications, with the fine products we purchased from him, and, especially, with the kindess and generosity of the members of this community who are eager to share their knowledge and experience and to collaborate to find solutions to any problem which one might propose.

One last note: friends who joined us for most of the trip on their own boat had their cruise largely dictated by pump out locations. With our composting toilet, we had no such concerns and were free as birds. Speaking of birds, we saw so many osprey they became common place. We saw gannets, petrels, shearwaters, terns, bonaparte gulls, laughing gulls, and a bald eagle up close on Jewell Island, and we circumnavigated Eastern Egg Rock in Muscongus Bay and saw hundreds of puffins and razorbills. To say nothing of the dolphins, seals and a pair of whales.

A fine cruise all around, brought to us by the A4 and all of you. Thanks!

Mark S

[roadnsky]

Wow, Mark!
Great log and sounds like a wonderful cruise...

[blackdove]

Hi Mark,

Sounds perfect!!! Next time, let us all know and we'll join you. Thanks for sharing.

Blackdove

[Dana Mace]

What a trip!
I'm jealous
Dana
next door in Salem harbor

[gfatula]

Nice trip! Thanks for sharing.

George

[sastanley]

Woo hoo - GO the A-4!

How do you like your composting head? Do you ever need to empty it?

[Mark S]

Shawn,

We like the composting toilet very much. Go to www.airheadtoilet.com for the manufacturer's brochure. We haven't emptied it all summer but we're getting to the point where we will have to empty it soon. It's hard not to like it: no through hulls, no hoses, no tanks, no smells, no broken Y valves, no pump outs, no Lectra-San. Installation was a breeze. The hardest part was dismantling the old system. I'm a true believer now.

Mark