From Castine, ME

Since Rockland we have had the most wonderful time sailing around the islands in Maine. Everywhere we find lovely anchorages and good sheltered moorings. David bought a really helpful book called ‘Maine Coast’, so with that and local advice and suggestions from other sailors we have found all these wonderful places.
The day we left Rockland we had a very eerie experience as we were suddenly in thick pea-soup of fog. The radar went on. We were approaching a group of islands, called Fox Islands. After about an hour we heard the sound of a bell buoy, and from the same direction a triangular shape appeared. It happened to be the sail of another yacht going in the same direction as we were sailing. It looked really ghost-like and weird. Fog is a bad problem for coastal sailing on the Maine coast and further east and north.
We have hiked, climbed mountains and picked blueberries, cranberries and fungi such as chantarelles and bulitus in the plenty. We have cooked and eaten lobsters in many ways. How do you feel about eating ‘lobster lasagne‘? It was good. We have met many interesting people and made many new friends.
Last Sunday after a great sail from the very picturesque Long Island we arrived at a beautiful bay with moorings. The sea was dead calm and it was a lovely afternoon. We saw a couple rowing a dinghy in the mooring area, and I asked them if they knew of any free mooring we could hook up to. The lady, who was wearing a big boater of a sunhat, guided us to her own mooring buoy. We got talking and before we knew it, we were invited to her house for cocktails. She, Maggie, directed us to the house and after a short trip in the dinghy we approached a private jetty belonging to an amazing fairytale house with lovely views over the archipelago to the south and west, a beautiful flower garden, gazebos, garden houses, a small golf court and a tennis court. The house, which was very large was built in granite with cedar-shingles on the roof. Maggie’s grandparents had built the house as a family summerhouse at a time when you had servants who had their own quarters in your summerhouse, as well! The house was sitting in 40 acres of its own ground, mainly of woodland.
In the drawing room a roaring fire was light, and Maggie and her friend Steven were welcoming us with drinks. We ended up being invited to dinner as well. The next day we were taken to the local market, and we reciprocated hospitality by giving Maggie and Steven a ‘Haggis Experience’ enjoyed in good Scottish tradition with Whisky and bagpipe music on Aros More. Maggie was very sceptical about the haggis, but she enjoyed it. I told her to come back to Scotland and we shall give her a real Scottish experience!

Lobster capital of the world! Rockland, Maine.

Rockland, Maine.
We spent a couple of days in a small beautiful bay, called Robin Hood Cove. In the mornings we are now having fog and the temperature is decreasing to more normal levels, for us.
We arrived to Rockland yesterday after an interesting sail through the archipelago of the Maine coast. It is very similar to what meets you in Sweden: low skerries and rocky islands with pine trees. The trolls are here, too! Holiday homes of different shapes and sizes are dotted all. Only a very few people stay on the islands all year round. Lobsterfishing is the main employment along the coast. Rockland claims to be the lobster capital of the world. Field after field of lobsterpots are scattered for miles along the coast. You have to watch every inch when motoring in case you should hit one of the thousand buoys.

Isles of Shoal.

Gloucester, New Hampshire, is a 'working harbour with a lot of fishing boats, and also a seaside resort with tourists walking the sea- promenade. A memorial erected for fishermen from this small town lost at sea over the last two centuries contains more than three thousand
names.

The memorial of the young woman and her two little children anxiously looking out to sea is very moving.
We have just left a small group of islands, the Isles of Shoal, which were inhabited by a lot of seagulls and their young. There was also a 'conference center' which one could compare with the Iona community or Findhorn. The birdlife was amazing, though. A 'dig' was taking place on the next door island, Snuttynose Island, and the archiology students were terribly excited as they had just found a coin from the mid 19th century.

Så tager vi videre nordpå mod Maine, US.

Vi har nu fået dybtemåleren sat på plads og tager videre i dag, søndag. Desværre viste det sig at der er errotion p.g.a saltvand i en del af generatorens startermotor, så den virker ikke. David skal sende efter en reservedel som så skal sendes til et nyt sted nordpå. Davids forhandler er jo i UK og generatoren er derfra, og alt på båden er 240 volt, og ikke som her 120 volt, så vi kan ikke bruge amerikanske dele. Sådan er det at være langturs sejler. Man bruger lang tid på at få båden sejlklar, så sejler man lidt og finder problemer som skal ordnes og så venter man på at få at få reservedele og på at få arbejdet gjort.
Vejret er dejligt med sol, varme og vind. Det er bedre her end hjemme i regnen og kulde og her er ingen myg eller "knots"/midges.
Vi har det dejligt. Det er billigt at leve og købe ting. En doller er 50 pence. Jeg har brugt den sidste uges tid på at lave smykker, været på et lille kursus i hvordan man gør, så pas på! for nu får I alle sammen smykker i fødselsdagsgave/julegave.
Nu skal vi til at sejle. David har ordnet et andet lille problem med en utæthed i dækket, som gjorde navigationsbordet vådt.

I Beverly Port Marina,

We have been up on 'the hard' in Beverly Port Marine for a day and a night. Our parcels arrived and the parts had to be fitted, that being the transducer to the depth sounder and the inverter for the generator. David has been dripping with sweat to get it all sorted. The depth sounder is now working and he is really chuffed with that. However, the bad news is that the generator is in a poor state. It has had a big operation today and is needing a new kidney to survive. The new liver (Inverter) is installed and working fine.
Little boys little toys , big boys big toys!
The temperature is around 30 degrees C/80 degrees F. David is working really hard. One minute the boat is a floating home and the next n it is turned into a workshop. David is dripping with sweat, but he pushes on and on.
The photo of me is from the foredeck where I am sitting in the dinghy knitting for my new granddaughter. the photo with the bemini shows our washing line!