Sadly, another season has come to an end. After a beautiful last week, in which I enjoyed a couple of beautiful late-season sails, Friday, September 29th dawned grey and foggy with a forecast of potential heavy rain and thunderstorms. Lovely.

But at least I wasn't powering up the river on a perfect sailing day!

Monday September 25th looked to be my last possible day for a sail during the 2006 season. I had mentioned this to my friend Tim and had suggested that he might like to come out for a sail. As the day approached however, the weather forecast looked less and less favorable, calling for 20-25 knots from the Northwest with higher gusts. Tim convinced me that we should at least head to the boat and see what the weather really looked like—we could always enjoy a rum and tonic, at least!

September 25 | 16.5 Nautical Miles

We've had Dasein for six years and five sailing seasons now. I daysail regularly throughout the summer and I've probably logged something like 200 days on the boat.

How is it that I just took my father out for his first sail on Friday, September 22?

I am embarrased to admit it: I haven't actually sailed the boat since we've been home from the cruise. Our weekends have been full, and during the week I've been trying to catch up on 3 weeks of neglected work. But with a fine late summer day forecast, I was determined to get out and enjoy it. After working in the morning, I headed out for a short-but-sweet afternoon sail.

Dasein and crew are back safe and sound from Cruise 2006!

The cruise was a resounding success. We had great weather for the whole trip, with only two days of rain and zero days of fog out of 18 days on the water!

9.5 Nautical Miles | Portland Yacht Club

There's not much to report from this final day. I slept in til 0730, then enjoyed a lazy breakfast of fried eggs and thick-cut sourdough toast. And, of course, coffee. The weather wasn't great—cold and grey—so I decided to just get ready and head out. By 0815 I was underway, powering in basically still air.

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.

12.7 Nautical Miles | Harmon Harbor, Sheepscot River

Now that I was practically back in home waters, I felt that I could afford a short day, since I didn't really need to be back to Falmouth until Friday. After tossing some ideas around, I decided to just poke on over to Harmon Harbor. Harmon Harbor is a remarkably peaceful and friendly spot, and its a great place to stop on the way to or from Casco Bay.

21.9 Nautical Miles | Witch Island, Johns Bay

The weather forecast was calling for increasingly strong southwesterlies as the day went on--exactly the direction I would be going in all day. After toying with a few options, I narrowed my choices down to two: Harbor Island or Witch Island, depending on just how strong the wind had gotten when I reached Davis Straits.

31.1 Nautical Miles | Long Cove, Tenant's Harbor

It was time to start working my way back towards Falmouth. Too bad the clouds were clinging to the hillsides, spitting rain. After waking early and seeing the dreary weather, I rolled over and got another hour or more of sleep.