The sea monster is identified!

Rincewind was followed for several minutes by a very large creature when we were about 80 miles SE of Nantucket. It was swimming in the wake of the boat, about a foot below the surface of the water - only the fin and the tail were visible. The outline of the creature was sort of visible to the eye, but did not come out on camera images. However, I found a You Tube video that looks exactly the same as our beast - so, it was a "basking shark" - the second largest fish in the world (behind the whale shark). It eats plankton, so there was no danger of Rincewind and crew being eaten. They frequently grow to more that 20 ft. long and this looked like a fully-grown specimen! Here is the URL of the You Tube video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-fEUaS21ds

For the want of a "threaded-ended pin"........

As we were organizing the deck in Northeast Harbor, Rick found a nut with the threads of a bolt still in it near the stem fitting. Not a good thing...... Upon investigation, one end of a threaded pin which holds the tangs of the rolling furler onto the forestay and then holds the forestay onto the stem fitting (read REALLY IMPORTANT PART OF THE RIGGING!!!) had corroded and fallen off. Unfortunately, being Saturday afternoon, there was not much that could be done, but we sorted out what part was needed and then this morning (Monday) I called the Profurl company and got a pin on order (a 2 inch piece for $45 - never fun buying boat parts). It should arrive on Tuesday morning. Actually installing the pin will just be a 20 minute job and then I will take off for other places around Mt. Desert Island. Spent the day today doing laundry, sending postcards, showering, and doing a thorough boat cleaning and straightening. I made a simple bungy-cord holder for the hot-water thermos. Last night, I fired up the kerosene heater to take the chill off of the cabin and keep things dry - felt very nice!

A foggy day in Northeast Harbor

Today has been completely socked in with fog, but not a problem for me because I am waiting for the "threaded-ended pin" to arrive for my furler from Pyacht. It should be here tomorrow morning and I will head out. It has been a wonderful stay in Northeast Harbor - more details to follow. The log of the ocean passage and the landfall at Roque Island and the anchorage at Mistake Island will be posted shortly.