Hove to off Swan Point

WoodenBoat and the local chapter of the Traditional Small Craft Association (TSCA) held the second annual Small Reach Regatta in Brooklin on Eggemoggin Reach this past weekend. About 50 small craft gathered to celebrate the joys of oar and sail boats in all their diverse glories. There were designs from as far away as the Bahamas and Norway. Great stuff.

Julia and I again served as a chase boat, shadowing the fleet in the Katie D in case help was needed. Not likely on Friday as a foggy start gave way to clearing skies and light winds.

Quiet start to the day. Fog lifted as we approached Brooklin. We started in dense fog, navigating four miles from the Landing via radar and GPS. The first land we saw was the tree tops on Little Babson Island.

Tom Jackson, Editor at WoodenBoat, ghosting along in his new boat. Note the dipping lug main. This sail needs to be set to leeward of the mast every time the boat tacks.

Authentic Norwegian faering using the traditional square sail. They row very well which came in handy during the light patches.

Julia and the fleet at Torrey Island for lunch. One neat boat after another. All worth a stop and chat.

Breeze filing in. Nice prospect for the afternoon session.

Forum friend Steven Bauer sitting forward on this beautiful Caledonia Yawl. The other boat’s not too shabby either. Looks like it would be fun to potter around the islands, exploring in comfort. No Boss Lady, but still comfy looking.

We had a wonderful time, stopping several times with the engine off, drifting along in the sun, keeping an eye on the fleet. At one point we were at the head of the fleet off Conary Island, with boats sailing down wind toward us, passing on each side. Ahhhhh, finest kind of day.

We skipped Saturday’s session but returned to WoodenBoat for the lobster feed. Enjoyed renewing friendships and making new ones. Julia and I made the acquaintance of Patrick Xavier, a Forum member from Wellington New Zealand, up for a couple of sailing classes at the WoodenBoat School. We were driving over to WB and turned down Naskeag Road by the Brooklin General Store. I saw someone standing on the corner and recognized him as Patrick. I rolled down the window and said “ aren’t you from New Zealand?” Talk about serendipity.

Great job TSCA and WoodenBoat

Went to Monhegan Island on Boss Lady on Tuesday, staying in the home of Bob’s friend’s family. Lovely cottage with a 30 mile view to the west. We left in a cold drizzle and light fog around nine, snug in the cabin with a wood fire burning in the Fatso stove. Went around the north of Little Deer Isle and down through the Fox Island Thorofare to West Penobscot Bay and then the open ocean to Monhegan. Fun dodging lobster pots barely visible in the strong ebb tide. Weather cleared in the afternoon giving us a pleasant evening.

On Wednesday we went around the south side of Monhegan with nothing to starboard but Mother Atlantic (Gulf of Maine technically). Perfect conditions; the wind and sea relatively flat without a cloud to be seen. From there we went past Matinicus, peeking in the tiny harbor and around the south side of Isle au Haut, seeing a finback whale and dolphins in the process. We stopped and anchored in Sand Cove on Marshall Island, going ashore to play on the beach. It’s one of the few pure sand beaches on this stretch of coast. Then up through Jericho Bay and Eggomoggin Reach to the Landing. Lot’s of great Boss Lady time. Such an able and hospitable vessel.

Dodging pots in the Fox Island Thorofare. Low clouds and spitting rain. Warm in the cabin thanks to Mr. Fatso.

North Haven, home of the famous North Haven Dinghy. Building in the center is shaped like a ships stern.

Fish Beach, Monhegan. Note the wheels on the skiff in the foreground. No docks (except for the ferry) so the locals need to drag or roll their skiffs down the beach. (Or wait for high tide.)

Monhegan harbor; Boss Lady moored on the right side. Note how open it is to the SW.

Just needs a new transom.

Late afternoon light from the cottage where we stayed. Thanks Sandy!

More later,

Russ

Eggomoggin Reach that is. Julia and I are up in Maine enjoying the high life. Pics on Flickr here.

Saturday and Sunday saw Elegant Punt sailing. I built a pair of these Phil Bolger minimal dinghies for a client almost twenty years ago. Amazingly enough they ended up here. The client is a friend of my brother and his family had outgrown the boats. Now there’s a brace of them here at the landing.

Punt racing at one and a half knots.

Fog yesterday morning complete with a “fogbow”, a rainbow like apparition.

Went for a quick sail in Tendress yesterday, just reaching back and forth in the somewhat recently rare sunshine up here.

We hope to go to Monhegan on Boss Lady today or tomorrow, weather permitting.

More later,

Russ

taken by aerial costal survey planes in 1920 and 1933. The images were taken from the Coastal and Hydraulics Lab website.

Stockton Lake in 1920. Ourhouse wasn’t built until 1946 (just like me). The site is just to the right of the center of the photo.

Getting crowded. Not the large diamond shaped white area just below the center. That’s all filled marsh, as is most of the beach area, site of the current baseball fields.

Larger copies of these and other photos can be seen at the web site or on our Flickr site.

Some change, huh?

This is getting to be a habit. Nice day with an eventual Easterly about 4 to 6kts. Another sparkling day on the Bay.

Easy sailing. Hove to on Starboard tack with a lee bow tide. Nice slow ride from under Swan Point over to MYC. Sat on the deck in the shade of the jib while Sjogin took care of herself.

Oh no; another .29 piece of tarred marline is needed to re-seize the jib block.

All this and hove to.

Quest progress; two more planks hung.

Barberry, daylillies and strange webs. Foggy morning yesterday.

Wet web. Note the curve from the weight of the dew.

No more room; annuals have filled in nicely.

More tomorrow.

Or Monday

She’s a 1938 12mR (meter) sailing in a regatta this past weekend in Flensburg, Germany. Nevins built her to a design by Olin Stephens under the Third International Rule.

The photo was taken by Jörn Thiermann, a friend of WoodenBoat Forum member Martin S.
Larger pic here.

Classic skyscape. Must have looked the same to Davies and Carruthers that first day together on Flensburg Fjord. More pics here.

with Kent Mountford, up from Maryland for a visit. Out for a couple of hours, delightful conditions, traffic not too bad. Had several nice pauses along the marsh. Lots of bird life; Osprey’s are becoming so wonderfully common.

Skipper Kent at the helm.

Julia enjoying having Serena in view. Really. First time I’ve seen her out this season. Hopefully Charlotte will return to the Bay soon. It’d be nice to see them match race.

Grace under sail. The perfect gentlemen’s day sailor.

Finally stopped relying on heavy rains and actually scrubbed her from stem to stern. Looks good enough to get by for a few more weeks before her annual haul and refit.

If you squint and pretend the houses are dunes, the photo could have been taken in 1908.

High Summer; Margueritas last Sunday.

Happy Summer all.

I was there Sunday through Wednesday on an audit. Glad to have such a perfect day for the occasion.

Went out on Sjogin early, leaving around eight. Comfortable 4 to 8 kt breeze out of the ENE. Bright sun through a bit of cirrus. Home by 11:00 and up to the beach to sit with Julia for a while and now on the porch. Feeling markedly better.

Ready to go this morning. Needed to shove off into the ENE breeze, then raised the main and jib.

Sparkling morning for a sail. Not too much traffic; was back before the usual suspects woke up.

Weldon and Goddard having a gam below on Rozinante. Re-reading L. Francis Herreshoff’s The Compleat Cruiser. Looks like we have a bit more room on Sjogin.

My prospect today for a few hours. Visit number two. Badge amortization down to $30.00 per visit.

Sunrise this Thursday. Happy to be home.

Annuals putting on a good show this year.

Luminous. Last week at a cloudy sunrise.

Mixing it up on a Friday afternoon. That’s Mickey Lake in the sunglasses with the Bauer girls. Holly, on the right, (sorry if I got it backwards) built a Nutshell Pram with her Dad, Steven. They brought it to display in the I Built it Myself exhibit. Fine job with a bold royal purple sheerstrake.

In the white boat to leeward is Joe Foster (CSoH). He’s driving with Mary Bauer enjoying the view.

Joe and Mary to weather. Lazy sailing; plenty of time for gawking. Nice ballet with all the water taxis, row boats and of course the 24 ton steamboat Sabino.

Julia and I were ashore having a smoke when the great rum swap and seizure took place. As mentioned below, we had cocktails on the LGH Saturday at 5:00; fog right on cue. I brought Goslings Rum and Regatta Ginger Beer. The Goslings ran out far too early. Providentially, a Caledonia Yawl built by Two Daughters Boatworks stopped by as they needed ice for their rum. Presto; a quick barter and enough rum for another round of D&S’s.

While that was going on Joe, Phil and Paul commandeered a passing outboard skiff, pics somewhere, to go to Airlie. She’s a Nova Scotia built swordfishing schooner owned by Forum member Jamie, and was moored conveniently a few hundred yards upstream. Most importantly, she had a gallon or two of rum on board. More rounds!

More later,

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia and I drove up last Thursday, home yesterday afternoon. We had a delightful time with old and new WoodenBoat Forum friends. There’s a Set on Flickr here.

We stayed at the Whaler in downtown Mystic. Nice suite with a porch for post show gatherings.

We started the weekend Thursday at Doug and Carter’s for their second and hopefully Annual WoodenBoat Show Party. Neat spot in the woods of Guilford.

One of dozens of beautiful boats afloat and on the hard.

Sea Harmony, an Albert Strange Canoe Yawl belonging to friend and Forumite, Thad. Wonderful old Shipmate stove on board.

Classic picture taken by Jonathan Krabak, Port Captain of the Lettie G. Howard and Forum member.

Julia holding my Dark and Stormy on the Lettie while folks enjoy this treat. I managed to wrangle an invitation for a visit, bringing our own libations. The fog was appropriate…sometimes it’s just a matter of timing.

They’re everywhere. After an hour or so of this we all drove over to Abbot’s in Noank to eat some bugs.

WoodenBoat Magazine had the Seaport arrange for Forum members to use the Oyster House as a meeting spot. Nice shade with plenty of breezes. Pleasant to sit and watch the livery fleet sail back and forth. (And listen to old and new friends chat.)

Friday afternoon a group of us rented three Beetle Cats and chased each other along the waterfront for an all too quick hour.

Rumor has it the show will be back in Mystic again next year. Some fun.