Rock Hall to Chesapeake City

June 22, 2015

Cape May and Atlantic City

June 23-24

2nd day. Chesapeake City to Cape May; 70 nautical miles in 11 hours. Some motoring, some sailing, some motor sailing. Riding the ebb current for part of the Delaware River I was steadily over 9 knots. Two C&D Canal bridges, Miah Maull Shoal light, and Brandywine Shoal light. Violent, scary thunderstorm last night in Cape May, complete with boats dragging through the anchorage, gave way to cooler, less humid conditions today. Had to don a sweatshirt for the sail up here this AM. View of the Atlantic City sky line from where I am anchored today.

The East River and Hell Gate

June 26

Thursday's 13 hour motor sailing run from Atlantic City produced no scenery worth photographing. Today, on the other hand, produced many opportunities. A little lighthouse in the lower bay of NY harbor. The VA hospital in Brooklyn where my grandfather Admiral William Burns (USNR) died. One of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge towers. The Manhattan skyline. Statue of Liberty. Two Staten Island ferries. Brooklyn Bridge. Manhattan Bridge. Williamsburg Bridge. Queens pro Bridge with o...ne of the cable car towers for pedestrian transit to Roosevelt Island. A little cottage near the Throgs Neck Bridge. The lighthouse at Stepping Stones near the beginning of Long Island Sound. New York is a special place. Even from the water you can feel the frenetic pace. The number of high speed water taxis and ferries around Manhattan made the East River feel like the inside of a washing machine

Manhassat Bay (Port Washington) to Port Jefferson

June 29

80 feet ketch in Manhassat Bay. They were sharing their taste in music with all the boats in the anchorage

Schooner in Manhassat Bay

A modest summer house overlooking Manhassat Bay. Actually Port Washington is close enough to Manhattan that this house probably belongs to a titan of Wall Street.

Another modest summer cottage in Manhassat. Count the windows to get a sense of size

The same schooner passing the lighthouse outside Manhassat Bay on LI Sound. He sailed the CT shoreline and I chose the LI coast. He was smart and beat me out to Port Jefferson even though he had to sail more miles

Bye-bye Manhattan skyline as seen from LI Sound

Cocktail hour on Andante in Manhassat Bay on a cold rainy day.

Fischer's Island to Newport, RI

July 1

Fisher's Island,CT to Newport, RI today. A little slow for the first two hours until the wind filled in from the SE: 16-18 knots with gusts over 20. It was OK since I sailed a broad reach all the way. The confused seas left over from last night's storm meant hand steering all day. Just as I came up on Pt Judith, RI I found s/v Onward on my heels. I hadn't seen Joe for more than a year when I was last in the Bahamas.

The little lighthouse that could in Fisher's Island Sound

The White House over the stone retaining wall is a private residence on Watch Hill, CT. Does this guy really think that a few stones will hold back the fury of a real North Atlantic storm?

The lighthouse and a small summer cottage on Castle Hill over looking the entrance to Newport, RI

There are 1000 moorings in Newport harbor with no rationality to the numbering system (pun intended). Good luck finding your assigned mooring

Summer cottage 1

Summer cottage 2

Summer cottage 3

Cuttyhunk

July 2 - 3

With almost no wind, an adverse current and an incessant quartering ocean swell from the southwest I gave up trying to reach the west end of the Cape Cod Canal and turned in to the quaint summer town on Cuttyhunk on the Elizabeth Islands. Summer population maybe a few hundred souls. There are a few more house but is otherwise unchanged from when I was here 24 years ago.

The little community overlooking the anchorage and mooring field

An eccentric driveway to a private home

Established in 1604 the town has a long history

Elementary school and town library.

The church in which to do penance when you are caught for wrongdoing by the town policeman

This walled road with cuts for driveways is reminiscent of grandiose failed development projects in the Bahamas.

Looking up the islands toward the cape. On a clear day Matha's Vineyard would be onthe right edge of the picture.

As in the Bahamas building cairns must be a popular pastime in lightly populated islands.

A parade? I am afraid I'll miss it

The power plant and The Avalon, a hotel cum B&B.

Signage for the Cuttyhunk Fishing Club B&B and the structure itself

The island's power plant

This morning the wind is out of the north, exactly where I want to go, and the tide is running against the wind making Buzzards Bay an unpleasant place. Can see a couple of boats that left this morning out there bashing their brains out. This afternoon wind and tide will both shift 180 degrees. Give me a break! Guess I'll stay where I am until tomorrow

Buzzards Bay

July 4

Transited Buzzards Bay today going to Onset, MA. Thought the architecture of the RC church was noteworthy. Cleveland Ledges light house in Buzzards Bay. Schooner William Barrett anchored in Onset Bay. Yesterday evening someone in Cuttyhunk told me that Buzzards Bay is also fondly referred to as Bastards Bay.

Onset, MA

July 4

I was treated to fireworks displays by all the surrounding communties. It all lasted well over an hour.

Day's end. Onset, MA. Fireworks to start shortly

Plymouth, MA

July 5

Spent a couple of hours walking around Plymouth. It was very busy with tourists longing for a look at where the Pilgrims landed (not) and 4th of July revelers.

The fabled rock, at least what is left after being split in half, moved around and reassembled in its final resting place

Massasoit. The native Americans kindnesses were rewarded with disease and massive genocide perpetrated by our paranoid forefathers

200 people crowded onto this slow and awkward tub. They were taking their lives in their hands

Aahh, religion in America. Kind of like the conservative justices who claim to know the intent of the writers of the constitution. This church and the stone church in the album both claim to be keeping the true faith of the pilgrims alive. They are right next to one another.

Seeker of religious freedom or seeker of wealth and power denied to him in England?

A mill was essential to all early communities

A monument to all the immigrants that have come to Plymouth since the Pilgrims

Mile marker

This is the church to be paired with the white clapboard church posted earlier. It also claims to be 'first church.'

Plymouth to Lynn, MA

July 6

Motored from Plymouth to Lynn today. Diana Buck will be arriving tomorrow to do a bit of sailing, visit with her brother, Christopher Buck, and sister-in-law, Tara buck, and her nieces. Two lighthouses along the way: Stellwagen Ledges and The Graves.

Salem to Gloucester

July 9, 2015

On 7/9/2015 Diana Buckand I spent the morning exploring Salem. In the afternoon we sailed a beat across Salem Sound toward Gloucester until we had to pas between Great Misery Island and Bakers Island. The second half the trip was under motor; we didn't have the patience to sail a beat dead to windward against the 1+ knot current.

Figurehead on the replica East Indies trading ship Friendship

During the heyday of the age of sail Salem was an international seaport. During the early years of the republic most federal government revenue came from import duties

East Indies merchantman replica Friendship

On the waterfront this building was a warehouse and store for goods from around the world

The Hawkes House. Begun by Derby as a planned 5000 sq ft home. Instead Derby bought a mansion in town. Hawkes bought it and finished it at 3000 sq ft. That's a lot of house for the early 19th century

We need more Puritans

John Ward house built 1684-1723. Within a generation Salem was a wealthy town.

They are really into the witch thing.

Witches Memorial. This is a recent build. There are 20 benches for the 19 women and 1 man put to death for practicing witchcraft

Duh. 19th century town hall being restored

Federalist House on Chestnut Street

Diana Buck in front of Pickering House, the oldest frame home in Salem

Federalist Home on Chestnut Street in the McIntyre District

The Witch House. 17th century home of judge Jonathan Corwin, who presided over the infamous trials

When Salem was a major international seaport the merchants built this for their trade association's use

Anyone know this guy? An outdoor sculpture at the Peabody Museum

The House of the Seven Gables. A necessary stop for Diana the young literature scholar

Gloucester

July 10

On Friday (710/2015) we did a walking tour of Gloucester. What a contrast to Salem. The city of Salem does not welcome visiting boaters, Gloucester welcomes them. Salem is an up-market tourist town, Gloucester is a real working sea port that happens to be of interest to tourists. At the end of the day Diana Buck found a reference to an artists' colony on the other side of the harbor. This has to be the best kept secret of a wonderful town

Gaff rigged schooner Adventure. Part of the Gloucester Maritime Center exhibit

A sail assisted ocean going tug from yesteryear with an old schooner behind it. Both are tied up at the Gloucester Marine Railway waiting their turn to be hauled for restoration.

In addition to Fitz Hugh Lane, the water colorist Winslow Homer, to whom I am related, also painted in Gloucester. This is Homer's rendering of the fishing fleet

Diana waiting to be fitted for her hard hat diving equipment. There was a time when her uncle Paul Buck dreamt of being a hard hat diver

A few of the rowing gigs at the Maritime Center

A building on the waterfront that has been repurposed from its time as a warehouse. Note the oversize doors and beam for block and tackle to get stuff to the upper floors

The home of Fitz Hugh Lane, a local artist from the age of sail, overlooking the inner harbor

Fitz Hugh Lane at work

The iconic sculpture of the Gloucester fisherman at the helm

The memorial to the wives and children of the fishermen

This describes how a statue of Jeam d'Arc found its way to Gloucester

A statue of Jean d'Arc done by a woman in an era when it was thought that it was impossible for a woman to cast a bronze of monumental proportions

Legion Hall, on the square with the Jean d'Arc statue

One of the first churches in Gloucester

Just a pretty house in town.

The Sargent House. 1782. Built for Judith Sargent Murray, an early feminist writer and social activist. Now a museum. Houses works by Fitz Hugh Lane and John Singer Sargent

Sculpture in front of the public library

Town Hall

Sculpture in front of Cape Ann Museum of Art

Also at the Cape Ann Museum. Meant to make those of you suffering the heat further south a wee bit envious

For those of you who think a seafood dinner is found in the frozen food case of the local grocery store

The dock behind Rocky Neck where we tied the dinghy so we could visit the art galleries

Our Lady of Good Voyage Church, Gloucester, MA

The schooner and tug tied up at the marine railway mentioned in an earlier shot.

A restaurant in Rocky Neck, home of the substantial artists colony

Pretty house in Rocky Neck, opposite Gloucester, across the harbor

 A few tuna tales on the wharf at Rocky Neck

Looking down the street filled with art galleries in Rocky Neck

A sculpture in the garden of one of the Rocky Neck galleries

On coming into the inner harbour of Gloucester this building is on the starboard side and stands at the beginning of Rocky Neck. Just an interesting old waterfront warehouse.

Provincetown with the family

July 12

Another boatload of Pilgrims. This one out of Lewes, Delaware

The Pilgrim Memorial. Really hideous. The Pilgrims first landed on the Cape but immediately got off on the wrong foot with the native Americans and decamped for Plymouth

Sculpture outside the public library

While Mom and Dad and Olivia had breakfast big sister was napping

How fitting that the library, a temple of learning and knowledge should look like a church

Sculpture on the grounds of the art alliance

Street scene in Provincetown

Big sister awake and demonstrating the proper use of a shovel.

The girls after a long day at the beach

OMG, it's shark week and there are now seals living on the Cape and attracting Great Whites

Diana, Jaiden, D, Christopher, Olivia, Tara and Stephen. D and Stephen have rented a house in Truro and made it possible for me and Diana to see Christopher, Tara and the girls

Diana reading to Jaiden while waiting for food, glorious food.

This morning as I was leaving Provincetown they were taking the tall ship out for spin

Gloucester to the waters of Maine

July 17

An addendum that FB wonT allow me to put at the end of the original text: Star Island was settled as a fishing community shortly after Capt John Smith stumbled on the place. In 1873 the Oceanis Hotel, in the photos, was built. In 1916 the hotel and island was acquired by a consortium of universalist, Unitarian and Congregationalist churches. It remains in their hands and hosts many retreats during the summer months. En route from Gloucester around Cape Ann to Plymouth I decided to stop in Isles of Shoals to wait out tomorrow's nasty weather. Technically I have crossed into the waters of Maine.

The lighthouses on Thatcher Island off the SE corner of Cape Ann en route from Gloucester to Isles of Shoals then on to Biddefored Pool

The hotel at Isles of Shoals. There are a few houses here, but this is NOT Cuttyhunk. The latter is a thriving metropolis by comparison

A Portsmouth tour boat with the Gosport Ferry in the background

Appledore Island; Sounds like it should be a place in a Harry Potter novel.

Isles of Shoals Lighthouse

The two residences on Smuttynose Island. They are available to people who volunteer to help with the upkeep of the sanctuary.

The Tuck Monument and the solar array that provides 60% of the island's electricity needs

The chapel dates from the 19th century.

A birch bark wigwam. Part of a kid's project. The Native AMericans came out here for the summer fishing.

New Englanders know about stones. Sometimes you put steps in the stone wall to make it easier to get over it.

There has been a resident population of fishermen on the island since just after John Smith stumbled on the islands

The turnstile keeps the cows on their side of the stone wall while allowing people to pass through

At the Biddeford Pool anchorage: This is what comes to mind when you think of Maine: a cluster of houses perched on an island with no road access. This is in Biddeford Pool. Oh, and by the way, a seal just swam by to say hello. And one more thing: good luck to all my cycling buddies at Masters' Track Nationals at the Giordana Velodrome in Rock Hill, SC

Coastal Maine: Biddeford Pool to Boothbay Harbor

July 19

Yesterday when I arrived at Biddeford Pool, after yet another day of motoring with the sail set in order to get a little lift from the insipid wind, the weather forecast for 07/18 was rain and no wind. This morning there was less rain in the forecast and, shockingly, wind! Decided to man-up and brave the rain, after all, I've come a long way in order to sail. The alternative was to wait a day and motor in the forecasted dead calm. Great beam reach in 16-18 knots true out of the south. Along the way I caught sight of the tall ships Oliver Hazard Perry and Picton Castle. USCG Eagle was in the mist somewhere. They were on Casco Bay for a tall ships parade

Remains of a lobster dinner on Andante while anchored in Boothbay Harbor

Lighthouse at the end of Southport Island on the way into Boothbay

In Maine they have conifers right down to the water's edge, then park their boats out front

Tall ship Oliver Hazzard Perry, on the left. Heard this ship and Picton Castle, on the right, on the VHF radio while sailing acrosss Casco Bay

06 Private island in Boothbay Harbor

The opera house. And, yes, it is a functioning venue in a place with more t-shirts shops than winter time residents

Every little town up,here has the obligatory wooden schooner for taking out the tourists

Boothbay Harbor is made up of art galleries, clothing boutiques, restaurants, and t-shirt shops. And one hardware store to round things out

The sailors in the crowd will scratch their heads over the mixed rig on this boat.

Sculpture of seed heads?

There is a footbridge across one end of the harbor. At one time it had a swing segment in it so boats could get past the bridge. This was the bride tender's house. It is now for sale for a mere $700k

Every town so far has had a marine railway with wooden boat in the ways that is being rescued; oops, restored

See the lighthouse picture

I have been known to feel this way about my own kids. Now I feel this way about people who bring their dogs on their boat with them and anchor next to me

Always wanted to have a house with a weather vane on it.

Damariscove Island: A remote place on the edge of the Atlantic

July 22

The fog on the day I came into Damariscove. The boat is only a couple of hundred yards away

The cottage for the preserve caretaker and the stone wharf built during the heyday of the island. It is reported that at the height of the fishing season there would be 20 - 30 boats in here, anchored fore and aft so they wouldn't swing on the wind and get on the rocks on either side of this very narrow channel

The ledges on the side exposed to the Atlantic

Lobster-Zilla has stalked these waters

One of two towers on the headlands at the mouth of the Damaeiscove Harbor.

The storms wash the lobster traps up on the rocks

Rose hip tea anyone?

The life saving station is now privately owned

Little Damariscove Harbor. Maybe at one time the residents of the island brought their canoes and dories in here.

High bush blueberries sustained me on my trek around the island

Peas I found alongside the trail

Raspberries. Oh, did I say there was a farming and fishing settlement here in 1602? There was also Timothy and Rye grass in the open areas, testifying to the island's days when had an operating dairy. The motto of Boothbay and Damariscove is "We fed the starving pilgrims

This area of the island is known as Flat Ledges. The granite was quarried to build the wharf and foundations for buildings on the island

Just liked the shapes in these rocks

The eastern tower and the lifesaving station on the west at the mouth to Damariscove Harbor

Monhegan Island

July 23

A resort off the coast. Captain John Smith was here. Kind of like 'Washington slept here' in the middle Atlantic region, Capt John Smith stumbled across many coastal Islands. Each of them is proud to claim that heritage. Monhegan is filled with summer tourists and art galleries. This was not a planned stop for me, but the weather and and wind were just right.

2 contented Monhegan residents

Captain John Smith plaque

Monhegan lighthouse and museum

Food store. Not as big as either the Red or Blue Stores on Staniel Cay, Bahamas

Remains of a ship that came to grief on the southwest coast of Monhegan

A little agricultural ecological program done with the summer kids

Public library. Quite a contrast to the one in Salem

Early morning in Monhegan Harbor.

Rock bound southern coast of Monhegan

Not as catchy as the sign on Ocean Cabin. Restaurant on Little Farmers Cay, Bahamas which reads:

MOST DAYS ABOUT 9 OR 10
OCCASIONALLY AS EARLY AS 7 BUT SOME DAYS AS LATE AS 12 OR 1
WE CLOSE ABOUT 5 OR 6
OR MAYBE ABOUT 4 OR 5
SOME DAYS OR AFTERNOONS
WE AREN'T HERE AT ALL
AND LATELY WE'VE BEEN HERE ABOUT ALL THE TIME,
EXCEPT WHEN WE'RE
SOMEPLACE ELSE.......
BUT WE MIGHT BE HERE THEN, TOO

God's house undergoing some repairs

A sampler at Monhegan Brewery. That was a lot of beer for one young man, but I did my best to get through it

The older houses on Monhegan have naturally weathered gray cedar shingles. The come lately stain their shingles with an awful blue-gray product. Patience is a virtue

The harbor at Monhegan

Island Inn. Don't know the room rate, but I saw many small cottages available for $1100 per week. Forget Nantucket and the Vineyard, come here!

The one room school house. Shared a picnic table at the fish market with a woman who has just spent a year here with her kids: 11, 9,9,6. They attended this school. They are ready to go home

Monhegan is filled with art galleries. Just a small taste.

Islesboro

July 25

Islesboro is at the upper end of Penobscot Bay, right in the middle. This is a place for the wealthy to remain anonymous during their summer vacation. I came here to see Diana and Stanley Pendleton, owners of Pendleton Yacht Yard, who I met in the Bahamas.

Came across Picton Castle again. This time in Penobscot Bay

Heritage came into Gilkey Harbor and anchored about 200 feet from me

These fishermen's shacks are reminiscent of the way things were done on the Eastern Shore of Maryland years ago

The church in Dark Harbor

Bustling downtown Dark Harbor

Met these two characters while walking in the woods

Summer bungalow belonging to the man who sold US Cellular. Diana Roberts tells me that I got the story wrong: Not quite. He worked at IBM. Stan gets overexcited in his who-did-what stories. Whatever, it's a helluva house.

The boat on the left is an L. France's Herreshoff (I got that wrong too. It's Sparkman and Stephens) design built in 1935 and restored by Pendleton Yacht Yard. The one on the right was just built by PYY from the original drawings. It was finished with the mast and hardware from another 1935 boat that couldn't be restored.

Schooner Mary Day

The third big sailboat to come in while I was at Gilkeu Harbor

Bucksport

July 26

Six generations ago Jonathan Buck was part of a group that founded Bucksport. In the naval debacle known as the battle of Penobscot Bay he lost his ships and the British burned the town. After the war people returned and rebuilt the town. A couple of generations later his progeny founded Bucksport, SC. both parts of the family traded up and down the east coast and the Bahamas.

On the way north to Bucksport, the lighthouse at Fort Point. The waters off Fort Point was the site of the worst naval defeat in U.S. history

The bridge from the mainland to Verona Island. Almost a bridge to nowhere. This replaces a bridge built in the 1930s that won many award for its aesthetics and engneering innovations.

The Bucksport waterfront

A bird taking flight or a whale's pectoral flippers? There is now a waterfront park and walkway along the Bucksport waterfront. When I was here more than a decade ago the town was just a tired paper mill town. Now it is quite attractive

Even the stoutest seat of learning needs attention. The stone masons are hard at work. The head librarian, Gerri Spooner, has done a lot to document the history of Bucksport. It was through her efforts that a roadside historical marker (now missing) was installed and our family visited Bucksport as part of the dedication ceremony.

The Johnathan Buck grave is on the other side of the fence. Not long after the stone was put up a stain in the shape of a leg and foot appeared. Naturally a myth soon developed. The short version is that the witch Buck condemned to be burned put a curse on him and the stain is the manifestation. Of course no one had been put to death for witchcraft since the Salem trials. Moreover, Buck was not a judge.

Bucksport Museum. In the old railroad station

Pretty house on the waterfront

This paper plant in town has just closed recently. 500 jobs gone overnight. Devastating loss to the towns tax base. Local wisdom is that it will be demolished and sold for scrap metal. Then what?

Guildive came in for the festival. She is 90 years old. I knew her as Sixpence when she was owned by Dmitri B. When he found her in Puerto Rico she was a near wreck. He meticulously restored her to her present state.

On the grounds of Fort Knox.

Enlisted men's quarters

Officer's quarters

Arnold's brick ovens for making bread to feed the troops

Looking across the top of Fort Knox toward Bucksport. Andante is a speck on the water to the left of the flag pole.

Fort Knox overlooking the river and Bucksport. It was begun in 1844 and never completed.

Belfast

July 28

Alex and Ann Jervis (s/v Raven) at Young's Lobster Pound

American Cruise Line "Independence"

Young's Lobster Pound. The ordering counter and kitchen are mayhem, but it all seems to work out. See the picture below.

One of the local rowing gigs. These boats are a far cry from the boats folks like Darrell Vreugdenhil and Rob Lea rowed in the Olympics

Tanks of lobsters, the price list, and customers waiting to pick up their dinner.

The sort of thing you can take out of the water with your 440 ton lift. See the picture of the lift in tomorrow's post.

Something else to put in your ginormous lift

Belfast Museum

Photo bomb. Me sporting my new Pendleton Yacht Yard t-shirt in front of the museum.

Annie and Alex Jervis came to First Church to renew their vows. LOL!

One of the early commercial banks in Belfast

Public library, old and new. Built by a single benefactor rather than by the municipal government.

19th century commercial hub

Odd Fellows Building. Commercial and residential 19th century building

Something else to put in the slings of that 440 tons lift

Then of course you could pick these out of the water also. Notice the size of the ten wheeler truck in the background

And you wondered what happened to the soup-nazi after Seinfeld came to a close

State of Maine training ship out of Castine. Owned by Maine Maritime Academy

Belfast, Maine

July 29, 2015

Apparently there was a sculpture contest for the design of public seating. Below are examples of the entries.

440 ton lift at a First Street Shipyard. This lift has a capacity about nine times as great as anything to be found in Rock Hall.

Heading out to the course.

The switchback approach to Thuya a Cottage and Gardens. The approach is called Asticou Ledges.

Climbing the ledges to Thuya Lodge and Gardens there are three overlooks. When I was there the fog completely shrouded Northeast a Harbor. There was nothing to over look.

An unusual fog event: the sun is trying to peak under the clouds while the fog is obscuring the lower elevations and harbor. Note the silhouettes of the tree tops.

In the opening frame you can see the north end of Somes Sound; about as close as we get to a fjord in North America. In the following frames you get Parkman and Sargent Mtns

A moose and lobster claws as decorative motifs. Actually this did not seem to be atypical of the design sense in the little bit of Bar Harbor that I saw

A panoramic video of the anchorage at Little Cranberry