Sept 24-Oct 1  To Connecticut and Waiting...

     We left Camden Harbor on Thursday, Sept 24th around 2:30 pm.  Once again, Al and Marnie Pease were there to see us off, and to contribute a farewell picture.  

Leaving Camden Harbor

     We made good time to Tenant’s Harbor for the night, where we met up with long time friends who recently moved back from St. Croix.  They joined us to share a bottle of wine, lots of memories, and their experiences in the Bahamas and the Caribbean.

Owls Head Light

     Blessed with sunny weather and calm seas, we had a good run all the way to Portland on Friday.  The dock under the South Portland bridge was full and we ended up anchoring off the Coast Guard dock and took the dinghy in to visit son Bill and take him out to dinner.  He showed us his new apartment - after two years living aboard his mastless Saber in Southport Marine, Billy is ecstatic to be living in a “real place” ashore while he finishes his studies at school.  It’s warm, it’s got a working kitchen and there won’t be any waiting in line for the shower or laundry!

     About this time, we started hearing news of possible weather issues.  Joaquin was not yet named, but the media was hyping his potential, and there was a cold front coming, with big seas and lots of wind, so we started considering each destination with the idea that we might have to be there for more than one night.

     Saturday night was spent tucked in the quiet shelter of the Annisquam River, and on Sunday we watched the blood moon eclipse from the anchorage outside of Plymouth Harbor.  Plymouth Harbor was not the most hospitable of places; they wanted $35 for a guest mooring inside their breakwater, and their designated anchorage is just outside the entrance channel, where no one, not even the marine police or the harbormaster observed any kind of speed limit. The harbor masters spent a lot of time joyriding around, pretending their expensive zodiac launch was a giant jetski.  No doubt the $35 guest fees are needed to support their fuel consumption.  Despite our rolling with every wake, we enjoyed the unobstructed view of the moon that night, but we were very happy to leave when the first fishing vessels took to the seas on Sunday morning.

Annisquam sunset

Full moon off Plymouth Harbor

     Sunday saw us through the canal and into Buzzard’s Bay.  Last spring we saw little of the area because it was thick of fog, but this time we had a fine view and a following sea.  We pressed for Cuttyhunk but were lured over to Martha’s Vineyard instead, albeit the very Western end, where we anchored in Menemsha Bight and dinghied into the pond to get a view of Pease’s Point.  Dan’s ancestors came to Salem, MA in the 1600s, and helped establish the population on the Vineyard before returning inland and moving up to Maine.  

     By Monday Joaquin had begun showing his potential.  Between that and the cold front, we knew we had to get serious about a place to hang out for awhile, so Monday we were up before dawn to get to our final destination: Hamburg Cove, six miles up the Connecticut River.  

Sunrise off Martha's Vineyard 

Rocinante

       This is a pretty and very quiet little place, a perfect hurricane with lots of different birds to watch.  Long time friend and former crew member Ben Ericksen-Carey  and his wife Teresa Carey came in for one night on Rocinante, but opted to head further West as they have a busy agenda to try to keep.  Our friends Jon and Ann from Volunteer, whom we met in Nova Scotia, live only ten minutes from here and have offered to host us for supper and showers.  We may be here for several days while Joaquin makes up his mind as where to go once he’s done bashing the Bahamas, but we’ve plenty of food and fuel and can keep ourselves busy.   We’re in no rush - this is what retirement is all about!