Tuesday, August 8

42.9 Nautical Miles | Long Cove (Tenants Harbor)

The forecast was for 10-15 knots from the NW, with decreasing seas. I figured that for the first part of the trip, at least, the wind would not be too unfavorable, and I hoped to cover quite a few miles during the day.

Blustery Right From The Get-Go

I was up at about 0630, and after some coffee and a bagel I put the boat together and got ready to go. I had several routes programmed, so that I would be able to easily duck in to any number of harbors, depending on how the day progressed. By 0730 I was underway, and even before I got out of the Basin, it was clear that it was pretty fresh outside already. The trees surrounding the anchorage were all swaying strongly in the wind.

Outside I found that it was, in fact, quite fresh. I had judiciuosly tucked in a reef, and was glad immediately. I had a screaming run out the New Meadows River at 6.0+ knots under reefed main alone. The wind seemed generally to be OK, but there were some absolutely howling gusts that must have been pushing 30 knots. I had to gybe twice on the way out the river, and it was hairy both times. I was certainly glad to start rounding up around Bald Head and towards Cape Small.

Once I started to round up, I unfurled the jib, though leaving it partially furled. I had a really nice beam reach up to Cape Small, then had to harden up for the course that would lead basically all the way to Davis Straits on the far side of Muscongus Bay, some 18 or so miles distant. I settled in on my course, and found that I was on a close reach, but by no means close-hauled, which I was quite happy about.

I called Heather at that point to let her know that I was underway and that despite what the forecast might indicate, the conditions were not at all bad. I let her know that I hoped to get as far as Port Clyde, on the far side of Muscongus Bay and that I'd call her that night to let her know where I was.

Generally Glorious

The seas had indeed subsided over night, and as I sailed up toward Seguin, I found that the rollers coming in were gentle, and probably in the neighborhood of 3-4 feet. As they were right on the beam, they weren't at all uncomfortable, and I really started to enjoy the ride at 5.5+ knots. The sailing was glorious, with the sea sparkling under the dry NW wind and clearing skies. Most of the time the wind seemed in the 15 knot range, though there were occasional gusts that were probably up near 25 knots. The gusts were annoyingly strong, but seemed less and less frequent as the morning progressed.

Eventually, both the seas and the wind seemed to be decreasing. As I neared Damariscove Island, I unfurled the rest of the jib, and the combination of full 130 jib and single reef was just about perfect for the conditions. The perfect sailing continued up to about Pemaquid Point, at which point the wind seemed to ease up quite a bit. Soon boat speed had dropped under 3 knots, and I fired up the engine for a supplemental push. Just as I did so, a sudden gust came up that literally knocked the boat on her ear, with green water up to the deadlights on the cabin trunk! Books, pickles, and peanuts came flying out of the lockers to make an incredible mess of the cabin, and within moments the boat was back on her feet. A last gasp of the day's northwesterly, perhaps?

I motor sailed with both main and jib for about an hour or so but as I neared Eastern Egg Rock, the wind seemed to be filling in again and I shut the engine down. I had a great sail across to--and through--Davis Straight, then hardened up for a close-hauled course up to Port Clyde. I was pleased to find that I was able to just lay the marks on a single tack and on the way decided that I didn't really want to go into Port Clyde. I knew that the last stretch of the passage that I really dislike--from Mosquito Island up to Mussel Ridge Channel--lay right before me, and it was only about 1500. Though I was quite tired, I decided to press on and eat up the last 4 miles or so to Tenants Harbor.

A Final Slog

I had a screaming reach across from Port Clyde to Mosquito Island with a strong favorable current. I saw speed-over-ground readings on the GPS of 7.5 knots. Lovely! When I finally rounded the mark and headed up on my course for Tenants Harbor, I saw that it would be a beat to get there. By then I was so tired that I couldn't face the thought of beating, so I rolled the jib and motor sailed the last couple miles into Tenants.

A quick call in to Cod End Marina on the VHF revealed that all rental moorings were full. I had hoped to go in there so that I could get myself some fried calamari and onion rings at Cod End, but no matter. I headed over to Long Cove right next door and dropped the hook near a lobster car float near the gap between Northern and High Islands.

Long Cove was huge, with room for probably 50 boats to anchor comfortably. So, of course, 4 boats came in and clustered right near me. Here we go again. Nobody felt the need to run their generator till all hours, however, so I didn't really mind.

The wind continued blustery until about 2000, then suddenly eased up dramatically. It was quite cold overnight, with a 5 knot northwesterly breeze holding on till morning.