Owl's Head Light says it is time to go....

Well, the day has come for Karen to go back to Maryland. Owl's Head Light is at the entrance to Rockland Harbor and announces the end of a super week of sailing.

No more bare feet.

The boot goes back on to protect the ankle surgery,

and the bus finally arrives.

Rincewind, Twoflower, and the Cap'n will miss her!

A foggy sail to Rockland

It is finally time for Karen to head back to Rockland. We wait for the fog for awhile at Warren Island so that we can enjoy the rocky vistas sailing down Gilkey Harbor, but the fog does not lift. We do get some neat views of islands shrouded in fog.

.....and a good portrait of the cap'n with an island called Thrumcap! Bill is trying to act as stern as an island named Thrumcap would.

Finally, the fog lifts and we have a dream sail through the late afternoon!

Black Bart plays with Karen!

Black Bart came out to play with Karen and had several thrilling escapades!

He joined forces with Karen....

Got a kiss.....

Had some snacks.......

Took a nap.....

Had drinks.......

And stole some Fritos......

A windy sail to Warren Island

The wind blew pretty hard all day on the 13th and made for a lumpy, but fast, (oh, and cold) sail to Warren Island. We arrived to find a bunch of boats from the Boothbay Harbor Yacht Club having a party ashore - but this did not affect us, since we did not plan on going ashore that night. We were able to pick up a free State-owned mooring.

There is hiking and camping on the island - it is a pretty place!

Camden - nice town, bad mooring

Camden is one of those harbors where one really has to rent a mooring. This was the most expensive mooring we have seen in Maine ($40) and absolutely the worst nights sleep - there was a steady swell from the south and it kept the boat rocking all night! Fortunately, we had come to Camden to meet our friends Jean and Jake (from our days at Kingsley Pines!) - that made it a really special day for us! Bill finally ate lobster!

Camden Bound!

The Captain is always happy to be underway.

Some crewmembers can sleep anywhere, anytime.

And, in case you were thinking that the bright sunshine implies that it is warm all the time.....

It was a great sail down the east side of Job Island, Lime Island, and Lasell Island. We saw a race with boats from the Dark Harbor Yacht Club.

Approaching Camden, we saw a lot of the big windjammers, since Camden is a center for these cruises.

That Wickedly Good Dyer Dinghy

We have been really happy with "Twoflower", Rincewind's tender. It is a Dyer Dhow, 7'9" long and can be sailed or rowed. Offshore, it sits up on the foredeck, but in more protected waters is towed behind Rincewind. It provides all of our transport to and from shore. Here is Karen thinking deep thoughts -

Then she's done thinkin'!

Beautiful sunsets!

Almost every day has scenes that are remarkably beautiful. Here are few nice pictures from Pickering Cove.

We Picked Pickering Island

With the continued strong SW winds, we wanted a nice, secure anchorage and found Pickering Island. This beautiful place, a little south of Bucks Harbor has a great cove on the western end of the north side that has lots of protection from the south and a big beach.

We found wee, dead crabs, some scary pod-plants, and

beautiful "Flag Blue Iris". Bill dove in to take a look at the prop, bearings, and bottom. Other than a little grass around the prop shaft, everything looked great.

Sabbathday Harbor

Sabbathday Harbor is only 7 miles from Castine. We had a great sail! With the west wind, this was a very protected anchorage and we were the only cruising boat there.

Electronic communication didn't work this far from town, but it was worth a try anyway.

At one point coming in to Sabbathday Harbor, our speed and depth meters looked the same - 135 ft. depth and 1.35 kt speed.

A day in Castine

We arrived in Castine at low tide - to a very friendly dockmaster and an easy-going attitude at the dock. We washed the salt off the decks and filled the water tanks. The dockmaster was from Maryland - his parents had moved out of the Silver Spring area to Maine because they thought the area was becoming unsafe for their kids!

There are some old buildings and a lot of history - Rev. War and War of 1812. Paul Revere was even in Castine!

Rincewind's mast was a fitting background for the open-air dining at the wharf. There was even special handicapped parking for her!

Castine is the home of the Maine Maritime Institute and their training boat was at dock - sort of towered over Rincewind and Twoflower!

We purchased 15 six-packs of beer since the store was so close to the docks - the newest find is Geary's Summer Ale. While shopping, we met three people with Maryland connections. Waving goodbye to the beautiful town of Castine and set sail for Sabbathday harbor on Islesford Island.

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