What a Long Strange Trip It’s Been - Down East
A beautiful sunset - Or is it?
It’s been a very busy summer starting with a trip to Houston to see friends after we put Rodeless on the hard at Zimmerman’s in Virginia for some TLC and a few repairs. We also decided that we needed more to do, so we bought a project house in LA. This also gives us an excuse to go visit Eli more often and - my favorite thing – spend time fighting LA traffic. By the way, its not so much a fight as it is a capitulation.
After a blissful 4 weeks in LA, we flew back to Virginia to get Rodeless ready for Northeast cruising – “Down East”. Down East is the term used for sailing generally along the the coast from southwest to northeast Maine, where the prevailing winds usually allow for fantastic downwind sailing conditions. Starting with a 2+ day passage to Nantucket (420nm), we relaxed with all the many tourists at the small island. We took a hike around the town and visited historic cemeteries as well as a 16 mile bike ride, stopping for ice cream at Siasconset and taking in the view at the Sankaty Head Lighthouse. Nantucket is an amazing place, however we marked it off our “place to retire to list” due to so many transients – like us – and high cost of living.
We then sailed on to Rockport, MA (100nm), a quick day sail with the wind on the beam. We were greeted with pea-soup fog and a rain-storm, which made dodging lobster pots very eventful (like skiing moguls). Rockport is a great little town to stop, relax, shop, eat some fresh lobster, have a swim and take in a show. We saw Hamlet (the unbridged National Theatre production) at the Shalin Liu Performance Center, a really beautiful building overlooking the bay. After 2+ hours, during intermission, we decided we hit our culture limit for one day – or a week – and headed back to Rodeless. We said good-bye to one crew member here - Tony Parker - as he had to return to his “land” life.
The next leg of our journey took us to Monhegan Island, ME (87nm) – the island that time forgot. The island appeared through the fog as we slowly sailed into the harbor. As the fog started to lift, we could make out an old hotel and a small fishing harbor. Dinner onboard and an early night to bed seemed to become the norm over the previous few days. We woke up to a beautiful sunrise complete with seals and birds. After a hike around the town and up the hill, we returned to Rodeless to complete the passage to SW Harbor, ME (60nm).
SW Harbor is a charming small fishing town, but also known for its yacht building prowess. We moored up in front of Hinckley Yachts, builder of some of the most beautiful classic sailboats around. We strolled the local town center and stopped for popovers at the “Common Good Soup Kitchen”. Our crew, Dawn and Heath Bowden left us in SW harbor to head back to Colorado. So, we got busy cleaning, ordering parts and fixing a few things, while enjoying the laid back little fishing town.
Pictures included below in the Gallery.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of this journey back down the Maine Coast.
