August 25, 2014 … Portland, Maine getting computer checked

entering the river in Portland Maine, we are not sure what this is but looks like a fort, that protected the harbour in earlier days … 

the main part of Portland … we are heading to a marina on South Portland

marina is on the left before the bridge

we were told not to come in at low tide, boats were running aground

2 hours and 8.8 km 

we are on the flight path to the airport … the last plane we heard was around 11pm and then they started again before 6am

I had made an appointment at the Apple Store, at Maine Mall, to have my computer looked at and fixed .. it has been failing to open 2 times in the last month, and a cable had detached its self … also my SD card insert is not working .. but we bypass this one using a cable from the camera to computer … we hopped on a bus for a 45 min ride to the mall , 75 cents each,  while waiting for our appt.  we visited AT &T and inquired on a SIM card for the iPad and a plan … well guess what the SIM card is free and you go month to month, we chose the $30/month plan that gives us lots of data … back at the Apple store my computer was opened and examined and tested, the plug in problem is okay. and the SD inserter will cost $300 to $500 to fix … I will use the cord from now on … NO Charge from Apple and we were back out the door … happy as happy could be ...

on the bus we met this gentleman, Harold .. we got to talking and he was interested in our sailing adventure … maybe thought we were a bit crazy too …. we met again on the bus on the way back to the boat … we mentioned that we were getting a few groceries and Harold offered to give us a ride in his car …. well since we have a car to carry our groceries we stocked up … 

and to boot , we get to ride in this 1968 Delta 88, Olsmobile … omg this car is hugh inside ..

Harold joined us for drinks on the boat, then we all called it a good night …. thank you Harold !!!

August 24, 2014 … Great Chebeague Island … near Portland, Maine at anchor

Seguin Island Lighthouse

this is the islands that we are passing thru or going around … there is lots of shoals in this area, and you have to follow the bouys correctly

someone radioed us and said " 30ft Grampian, 30 ft Grampian this is vessel ???, what are they calling us, we said, and who in this area would know a Grampian ??  so we called back, "Vessel calling the Grampian, this is Modaki … we change to a working channel and were told that his vessel passed us and saw white smoke coming from our exhaust and we should check our water intake to the motor … he thanked him and checked and there was no boat that just passed us an NO white smoke coming from the exhaust … so was there another Grampion 30 in the area ???….  Joe checks the oil, water intake every day  and he did remove seaweed from the filter a few days ago ….

I saw this dinghy going in circles around and around, and thought what idiot is operating that boat … well just then a "pan pan" went out and the dinghy had no operator, soon 5 small coast guard motor boats raced to the area, and then a 50 ft US Coast Guard boat arrived … we were anchoring near and had a good view of them trying to lasso the helm of the dinghy,  it was in an area with no other boats, we thought for sure they would shoot holes in it to make it sink … after about 3/4 hour it was captured and 15 min later it was released from the coast guard and motored past us to a dock

6 hour day   26 km

another fishing boat with this sail on the back 

August 23, 2014 …. Lewis Cove, near Boothbay, Maine at anchor

this was an interesting light house

True North … passed us  … 150ft and pulling a 25 ft dinghy   … we felt really small beside him

okay another light house

this was strange a white boulder in the middle of all the granite rocks

lobster bouys of all colours .. this one is for my daughter Lily …

pots in this area are all singles and spaced far enough apart that only one of I had to watch .. but we are still hand steering all day … auto takes too long to react to changes

in Lewis Bay … fishermen's nets and pots on floating decks and in row boats

our 8 hour day

we met I WANDA … Christian and Mary Verlaque … they have their two cats on board, and have sailed in France and East Coast of US, Bahamas, etc. …. they have friends from Collingwood, Ontario

August 22, 2014 off to Rockport, Maine

when you are on the water, the points on land that you go around always has a light house, again another one immaculate 

the other thing that you see is boats of all shapes and sizes

under our first bridge of the year .. and for sure there is many many more to come … in this area there were no lobster pots … what a change

one of our first Black and White light houses

our day trip 7 1/4 hours    41km   to total this year we have sail/motored 586.7 km

we head into Rockport, Maine .. it is known for its Lime Kilns, it was great to see roofs to help preserve them

we took a quick walk to some lobster fishermen unloading their days catch, but was 1/2 hour late, it was all weighed and ready to ship … so we do the next best thing … find the fish store

some views along the way

we took a dock here for $30/night … we could of anchored, but the deck was turning black from the salt and we just could not stand it any more

Joe quickly got to work at scrubbing and cleaning with fresh water

Andre the Seal is there mascot, we have noticed that the seals are getting bigger as we travel south, and they are not as timid as the northern smaller seals

we bought soft shell lobster at the fish market for $6.50/lb … the hard shell ones were twice the price …after we removed the elastic bands before cooking, this guy jumped right out of the steaming pot and into the sink ..ha ha

all cooked, the soft shell lobster are more watery, now we know why they were half the price .. but they were good any way

the harbour

we met this couple from Florida … this is their vacation home, they travel around the U.S. and stay at harbours.  They say they can stay free and used the washrooms and showers.  Smart idea

 Joe phoned in this time to Customs to advise of our location, this officer did not ask questions, she just said is this Modaki, (yes), you have 2 people on board (yes), you are Joe Watson (yes), okay we have you on file ,, have a good day  !!!  What the guy I have a few ports earlier was so grumpy and sharp with his words … oh well

August 21, 2014 .. Northeast Harbour near Bar Harbour, Maine

Thursday mornings is a Farmer's Market in the marina parking lot .. I loved this slogan at the bottom of the truck ..

Joe found a lady that makes French pastries ……  she also sold gluten free scones, so I lucked out also

on our trip thru Acadia National Park, the roads were lined with these large granite rocks as guard rails … about 2 x 2 x 3 ft   very impressive

we visited some Co-op Artist Shops … this pottery sure was beautiful  

basket handle …deer antler

right on the water front of Bar Harbour, a very welcoming entrance to a restaurant … Miss Conduct had lunch there

this is the dinghy dock … it was so hard to find a spot … Modaki's dinghy (Walkabout) is on the right at the bottom with the red life jackets showing, partly under the walk way

they make the Morris Yachts here, and this one was just launched this morning, about a 50 ft, it was still being rigged

so after showers and a couple of trips to get water in our jugs, we said our good byes to Miss Conduct

and quietly slipped out of the harbour early the next morning

August 20, 2014 .. Rogue Island to Mt. Desert Island, North East Harbour

the seas were calm today and easier to see the pots … but there was still the trailers, that caused you to zig zag around  … on our chart plotter we drew a line of our track .. and constantly Joe had to tell me green/red  .. it took two of us to navigate the waters 

one of the many Light houses we passed .. we were amazed at how kept up they all are .. freshly painted, functional, a real show piece

showing the bouys and the trailers, that have floating line (which is about one foot below water level), and if you ever ran over this line it would foul your prop

the fishermen in this area are really aggressive , they power up to you and then stop and tend their nets, then power at full speed in your direction to the next pot … for sure they are not happy to see us on these waters

calm seas and lobster pots

Petite Manan Island

our family from Miss Conduct .. we met them in Eastport at Customs … what blew my mind was … dad and daughter Katie on the boat following us and mom, and two boys zooming up and around taking pictures  … we found out later that Kole, Kean, and Katie were in the dinghy long before we saw them .. and they were collecting jelly fish and bringing them to mom on Miss Conduct, so they could examine them later … what a great 2 week vacation this family is enjoying

another fisherman that pick up his pots, within feet of us

our day's travels … 8 1/2 hours  42 km … we called Customs to say we had arrived in another port …. every time we move to a different location we have to call in

Mom, Farrar, Katie, Kean (left) and Kole (right) …  Dad (Mark), Poilice Officer from St. John, New Brunswick, missing from picture ….  zoomed ahead of our arrival and scooped out some mooring balls and prices for us to spend a few night ….  

Katie, getting ready to pick up a mooring ball

mom and boys, ready for Miss Conduct's arrival

Modaki is out there some where in the midst of 200 moorings

the fuel dock .. we had to walk a distance for showers … and we did

what was so nice about this place was that there was a free bus service to any where on the island,

we took off early in the morning for a 45 min ride thru Acadia National Park, past Bubble Pond, Seal Harbour, to Bar Harbour (custom check in, if you leave Yarmouth Nova Scotia)

we did our window shopping and them bought some groceries, first chance since Grand Manan, and took the bus back  … we spent a nice evening with Miss Conduct … we were given a bottle of wine to open at the appropiate time on our adventure south