Log of Saturday, June 7

Saturday June 7th. Holbrook Is. Sanct. (Tom Cod Cove)

7:30--Betsy + George up for the day, tending to morning chores and a first batch of coffee.

It had been a rainy and cold night, and it was still drizzly in the morning. The forecast is for some clearing during the day so we didn't see any reason to get going too quickly. In Tom Cod Cove we had picked up a mooring for the night so it was easy to just slip it and go when we were ready.

8:15--Lynn + Marcia, up for the day. Lynn, George + Marcia are treated to blueberry pancakes by Betsy - who had some as well. The morning is cool + overcast with a light southerly breeze.

1000ish--underway under sail for Castine. Light Southerly. Sailed in behind Holbrook & out around Nautilus, then up to Castine Town Dock.

It was great fun to sail in past the ledge with confidence, having marked it the night before. We gave the ledges on the East side of Ram Island a good berth, gybed and headed out the channel North of Holbrook. I always love going into Castine where I spent summers as a child. The grand houses on the waterfront are as elegant as ever and it is always a treat to round in past the State of Maine and open up the waterfront with the Town Dock, Eaton's Boatyard, the CYC and the mooring field. The tide runs hard along the pier faces and through the anchorage, so maneuvering often has more to do with that than with the wind.

We came along side the town dock and walked around from there. The showers at the Yacht Club have become a happy routine for Betsy and me. For several summers when I was a young teen my family summered on a boat in the mooring field off the CYC pier and that was my shower. For a couple of those years I was the assistant sailing instructor and spent days sailing off that dock. The junior program is evidently much larger now and the building, while still in good repair, has seen a lot of use. It was built when I was a teen. Its always fun to be back.

1110 Moored at the town dock. Betsy & George took advantage of the CYC's showers while Marcia & Lynn explored the town. Our plan for lobster rolls from the Castine Variety store was stymied when we found that it was closed with the "business" for sale. Luckily, the Sea Breeze snack bar on the dock stepped up with lobster rolls which we enjoyed. Phew!

By midday it was quite warm in town. The forecast for the next few days was for unsettled weather, nothing extreme, but cold and cloudy with possible showers. In fact, the unsettled conditions extended for the first half of the summer, with lots of rain and fog. We were lucky in that we never were seriously inconvenienced by the weather.

Cast off at about 1:00 pm heading out East Penob. Bay. Will choose a nice island harbor for the night. Sun is peeking thru the clouds, warm front is arriving it seems. Med. 60s on land, cooler on sea. (B)

1315 Off Castine bell, sail set & finished with the engine. Making 270 on port tack.

We had a nice three hour sail out around Cape Rosier and east across to Pickering Island. Tacking South out the Bay from Castine is fun because the shore is so bold that one can sail right up to it. Houses along the way range from 60s era motor homes to mansions.

1615 Anchored in the western cove of Pickering Island. The highlight of the afternoon sail was a close pass of the schooner 'American Eagle.' Tea and gingerbread cookies were also served. With winds out of the SW we tacked over from Castine over the course of 3 hours. Sightings of numerous fancy homes and 'Two Bush Isl' spiced up our trip. The afternoon has been cool and overcast with 'pa-tchy sun' trying to fight through. Fog rolled in as we approached Pickering Isl.

After a nice sail along the shore of Pond and Hog Islands, with American Eagle coming West towards us, we slipped over to Pickering. The visibility closed down at about the same rate as we closed the island, if we had been any later it would have been a cold damp and foggy end. As it was, we slipped along the shore of the island and into the cove and it seemed really cozy to be there. There was a singlehander anchored in about 15 feet just outside the mouth of the cove, so we went deeper into the cove. I did a bit of crisscrossing the area to see how far in we could go. It shoals quickly, so we ended up just about at the mouth in six feet of water at low.

Plans of reading, fire building, etc. are set to fill the afternoon. A choice between cheese + crackers and chips + salsa is now looming over us.

17:30--George + Betsy went for a joy ride in the Zodiac and explored the shore. Betsy returned with several 'treasures'. After they went ashore, a delicious chili dinner was served at around 18:30. By 20:00 dinner was cleaned up and Lynn and Marcia sat on the bowsprit, while Betsy and George addressed the 'trash debacle'. Fruit salad was consumed at 21:05 and everyone went to bed shortly thereafter.

Happily, I don't remember the "trash debacle", but the trip to shore was great. Marcia took a nice photo out one of the cabin ports of us bundled up in the Zodiac.