The 19th looked none-too-promising, and I put on a warm sweater and foul weather gear as we left Seal Bay. We were sad not to see it on a sunny day, as there is so much there to explore, but there’s always next year! We made our way through Fox Islands Thoroughfare and out to West Penobscot Bay as the sun came out. At first, we had a nice breeze and sailed along on a close reach, thinking we might get as far as Boothbay. However, the wind came round on the nose, it was hard work dodging all the lobster pots, and we decided to put in to Tenants Harbor. By cocktail hour it was bikini weather! We had thought of buying some lobster for dinner but found the lobster shack was closed – seems to be a theme this summer, and we hope that these small local businesses will be able to recover.

We had thought of sailing straight home from Tenants Harbor, but decided we were in no hurry to go home, so went to Harbor Island in Muscongus Bay instead. The harbor is between two good-sized islands and a series of shoals to the south. I made bread in our solar oven but it was all eaten before I thought to take a photo. I tried again, but the wind blew the solar oven over, and the results were not presentable! Will keep trying….. We enjoyed a good hike on Harbor Island and then dinner (consisting of “whatever is left in the fridge”) with Jack and Dru.

The next morning was sunny and peaceful. We started motoring west in very light wind, working our way around the Points of mid-coast Maine. The wind picked up, along with a big southerly swell, and the ride became pretty hairy! We were worried that our dinghy would be swamped, and had actually made a plan for what we would do if it sank (cut the line); however it bravely made it through. We came into Dolphin Marina in Potts Harbor, where we managed to refuel and get the dinghy on deck before huge thunderstorms came through (spoiler alert – they never appeared!). The next day we left before sunrise and came home to Marblehead. The wind was up and down but we enjoyed sailing for much of the trip, and had a great reach in from Eastern Point, escorted by Cadence.

This was a fun trip! It was great to spend a lot of time with friends, as well having a few nights on our own and off-grid. This was a bit of a shake-down cruise since we had so little time between getting the boat in the water and heading off, so we fixed what we could as we went along, and we have a bit of a punch-list of things to do now. We also want to do a warmer-weather cruise, hopefully to Provincetown, before setting off on our big adventure this fall. If you’ve been reading this blog, please let me know what you think!