Thursday, August 24

20.0 Nautical Miles | Ash Point Cove (Potts Harbor)

Though I could have easily gotten back to Falmouth today, and part of me wanted to do so, I decided that I should savor the last night of the cruise aboard. I decided that I wanted to get close to home so that I could relax in the morning and then have a short jaunt home so that I could get in at a reasonable hour. My first thought was Cliff Island, but the weather forecast for overnight was calling for northerly winds at 10-15 knots which would be untenable at Cliff.

Otto-o-otto

After mulling it over while drinking my coffee, I decided that Potts Harbor might be appropriate. Though somewhat unprotected to the southwest, I figured that I could anchor up in the little cove to the east of Ash Point and be well protected from the north. With that decided, I got ready to go and at 0815 I was motoring out of the harbor.

There was no wind during the entire passage. None. Well, OK, maybe 2 or 3 knots. The sky was overcast and the seas glassy. Again it was unusually cold, even with basically no wind blowing, so I fished out the heavy wool sweater again.

With neither wind, nor seemingly any other boats out on the water, I quickly got Otto set up. He was soon steering nicely, and I settled in with a book. Read a paragraph, look around. Read a paragraph, look around. Three and a half hours later I was approaching Merriconeag Sound and the eastern entrance to Potts Harbor. I relieved Otto and headed into the harbor where I dropped the main and motored up to my chosen anchoring spot near some lobster boats in Ash Point Cove. By 1220 the anchor was set in about 15 feet of water.

Bittersweet

The wind came up out of the southwest during the course of the afternoon, but it never blew hard enough to cause much chop in the very open anchorage. I spent the last afternoon of the cruise finishing up a book, and then catching up to date on the logs for the website.

The evening was lovely with just the light remains of the southwest wind blowing, and pink skies out over Upper Flag, Eagle, and Haskell Islands and the open sea beyond. The Decemberists mix I had playing on the stereo added just the right touch to the evening. It was hard to believe the cruise was basically over, and though I was looking forward to getting back home and seeing the family, I was a bit pensive, too.