Dulcinea

So here is a piece of useless but interesting information.  There is a small mountain (big hill) on Mount Desert Island and it is the highest mountain on this side of the Atlantic north of Brazil.  Amazing what you find out when you read the guidebook.

Dulcinea continues to perform well although we are thinking about the work which needs to be done when we get back to Newport.  We will have to take the boat out of the water again to fix the damage to the keel.  This in itself should not be a major issue and it will give us an opportunity to carry out some other bits and pieces.  There is no one specific item which needs fixed but a few niggling problems with some of the systems which would be good to get looked at.   One of the most critical aspects of life onboard is the constant vigilance of the systems to try and spot any minor deviations from the normal operations in order to foresee any potential problems.  Hence any small niggling issues need to be dealt with to ensure they do not expand into bigger problems.  Must admit that I had grand ideas about roaming the boat with a toolbox in hand fixing anything that broke down but in reality most of the systems are way beyond my ability and comprehension so that instead we will look at stopping every 6 months or so to get systems looked at as required.  Newport presents a good place to get the next round of work done before we push on South after which the next work destination will probably be Florida before X-mas.  Currently we are looking at a week long program for Newport where apart from the keel we will finish off some outstanding electrical work tidying up wiring and systems, finish off the servicing of the rigging hardware, service the hot water heaters and look at troubleshooting the sewage system again.  There are also decisions which need to be taken for ugrading such as do we get a new watermaker or a new headsail - always with a view to maintaining some kind of budget. 

Its great to see Claire and Peter again and although we enjoy being just the four of us on the boat its refreshing to have some different company.  Peter brought some supplies over from Australia including a couple of power tools for Scott (as the boat is wired 240V and everything in the US is 110V), vegimite for the kids and Nic and Tim Tams and Cherry Ripes for everyone.  In addition Peter and Claire gave Nic a stove top espresso machine so our coffee problems have been alleviated.  

We all enjoyed visiting in Camden which is a beautiful little town.  In the morning Claire and Peter climbed the local hill behind the town while the rest of us did some more schoolwork.  We then all met up and had a look around town.  This is a tourist town now but like many places here it has a working background based in boat building and fishing.  The town is built around a small narrow inner harbour with a stream cascading into it off the rocks at one end.  On one side of the harbour is the town and on the other is the local marine yard but the harbour is only about 150m to 200m across and it is crammed full of pleasure boats.  Even with the harbour so narrow there is additional mooring in the centre along pontoons which have been permanently moored to provide more parking space .  To make the harbour even more congested there are at least a half dozen working schooners which constantly manoeuvre around the harbour either returning from or departing with a load of tourists out for short day sails.  And of course there are a few lobster boats.  Onshore there are primarily craft shops. art galleries and eating places to look at.  The weather was sunny and it was great wandering the streets. 

Camden Inner Harbour

Camden Street

Peter and Claire took the kids for an hour or two and it was the first time we had been away from them for the last month - it was great for just the two of us to be alone even if it was just for an hour or so.  We all met up in the late afternoon and went back to the boat for the dinner.

Nic and Claire on the launch back to the boat

Camden Harbour

The following day we headed off towards Mount Desert Island.  We had picked an Island to stop at enroute called Swans Island and sailed most of the way into an anchorage on the South in a place called Burnt Coat Harbour.  Great sail in beautiful weather.  Could not get Peter off the wheel.  Once we got anchored though the weather turned and we had rain and wind.  Nevertheless in true adventurer fashion we decided to push on with a BBQ for dinner.  Peter and Sam got dressed in their wet weather gear and cooked the snags while the rest of us sat inside and encouraged them.  During the night the rain and wind continued.  

Entrance to Burnt Coat Harbour

Once anchored, when the wind and rain start, you worry about whether or not the anchor will drag.  With the wind gusting around 25 to 30kts there is significant strain on the anchor line.  So far we have been lucky with using minimal scope for the anchor chain but we need to be ready to sit out 50 to 60kt winds if the situation arises and then the anchor line will really see some load.  Burnt Coat Harbour is relatively protected and so in reality we were pretty secure.  It is quite a big harbour with small settlements on either side with limited facilities. 

Wet weather trio

The next morning was foggy and rainy so we sat it out on the boat but things started to clear up after lunch and a decision was made to head North to our next destination called Blue Hill Harbour.    After motoring around the Southern corner of Swans island we started sailing and decided to practice a manoeuvre called “heaving to” which is essentially putting the brakes on while the sails are still up.  While we were practising we managed to run over a lobster pot and get snagged.  Not to sure how but we had a line wrapped around the keel with the wind behind us and we were effectively moored in the middle of the bay with sails up and a choppy confused sea running around us.  We furled the headsail but the main was proving difficult to fully furl with the wind behind us so we just left it up.  Claire spotted the line holding us trailing out the back of the boat about 6 feet under the surface.  It was clear that the line had to be cut which meant getting into the water.

As luck would have it we had bought a shorty wetsuit for Scott in Rockland. It was meant to allow us to inspect the keel again but now it was a godsend.  Scott and Sam climbed into the dinghy which was moored alongside Dulcinea and then Scott went into the water - first to try and see where we were tangled and then armed with a knife to cut the line.  We had all sorts of comical scenarios envisaged such as the knife going through the inflatable and it sinking or the boat taking off once the line was cut and leaving Scott and Sam behind but in the end everything was fine.  The line was close enough to the surface to allow Scott to dive down and cut it and then the boat was free.  Unfortunately that represents a lost pot to one unlucky fisherman but with the tension in the line there was no way that the line could be reconnected.

We motored North to Blue Hill Harbour which is at the head of a very long protected bay arriving early evening.  We cautiously entered the harbour but there was no space to anchor.  The harbour is pretty small and narrow and boat are everywhere on permanent moorings.  We did not want to pick up private mooring and so ended up outside in a nearby bay.  Luckily the weather was calm and after a couple of tries managed to set the anchor in about 5m of water.  So we are all set to explore Blue Hill Harbour tomorrow.

Claire on the helm