Fall ~ Indian Summer

This is one of my favorite reading spots.  Leaning against the mast, I can enjoy a full view off of the bow and read one of my favorite magazines, Latitudes & Attitudes.  Captain took the photo below of me reading from the bow of the boat.

We headed to the boat on Saturday morning, after a few stops at local yard sales (you never know what you will find at a yard sale)!  We had another great day/night on board Sea Mist.  I wasn't feeling well and Captain suggested that I just take a nap and relax.  "Okay" I said, reluctantly.  Knowing full well that the season was coming to a close and the weather we were having was a wonderful fluke.  I protested a bit, "shouldn't we be sailing"?   But I eventually gave in to the nap.   After waking up I did feel much better and Captain hooked us up with cocktails and a little snack. 

(Only 1 lonely tree has started to turn it's fall color.  But to be fair, there are alot of pine trees in there too.)

Later, as the sun went down....

My sweet Captain, he always wants to take pictures of me!  Notice I am still waring short sleeves even as the sun goes down.  It was a gorgeous September 25th!  We hit 81 degrees!

Working on dinner in the galley.

And later, a harvest moon.

EARL

A quick video I found that I forgot we had taken when hurricane Earl was in town.  This video was from a quick trip Captain and I took to Popham State Park/Beach in Phippsburg.

Sea Mist made it through the storm, no problem.  We did take some extra precautions and went out to tie her up pretty good on Thursday, before the storm.  We took down the Bimini and stored it below.  Secured all the hatches and wrapped extra ropes around the sails.  The grill came off the rial and was put into storage.

A New Boat At The Marina

We came across this funky little boat after lobstering one late afternoon / early night.  It was docked at our Marina.  I wondered, out loud to Captain, had it been here before?  Did he recognize it?  No, he didn't.  But he stopped and admired it, check out all the cool little things on it and "hmmmed" a bit.   The very next day, while at a convenience store buying his lottery tickets (can't we just win 1 million?  that's all we need) he saw the local newspaper on the counter.  The front page had a picture of this little boat on it!  Seems that this little boat had come a loooong way.

Here is a bit from the Time Record newspaper article:

BRUNSWICK — Thirteen months after she launched into the Big Sioux River in South Dakota, the Adventure — a 14-foot wooden boat with Bowdoin College graduate Michael “Tug” Buse at the helm — sailed up the Harraseeket River on Friday afternoon.

Buse navigated the hand-built boat around ledges near Pound of Tea island into Brewers South Freeport Marine. That final bit of seamanship marked the culmination of his solo journey along three of America’s great inland rivers, up the East Coast and through the living annals of American history.

Here is the picture from the article, almost identical to mine.   Well, minus Tug.

Find more here:

http://www.timesrecord.com/articles/2010/09/23/news/doc4c9b97db93355695023515.txt

We went back to the boat yard on Thursday night, looking for him.  I was even going to give him a bar of my soap (http://www.cascobaysoap.com/) but alas, he was no where to be found. Maybe he found a hot meal and full size bed in the area.  Maybe he was off for a walk.   If he sees this we just wanted to say, great adventures Tug! 

Off to the boat...

This is what we have to do to get to our boat.  Park the car (first find a spot, the boat yard is very busy and packed with cars).   Find a boat cart.  Load up the boat cart.  Captain then takes the cart down the ramp to the docks.  This picture was on a good day.  Often we gt there and it is low tide.  That can be a very steep trip down the ramp!  Walk down the docks.  Say hello to other boaters.  Stop and talk.   Take pictures.  Once we get to our skiff (which is an open fishing skiff that Captain built 2 years ago, we also lobster out of this skiff) Captain almost always has to pump some sort of water out of it.  Then, he pulls the engine cord, usually 5 times and the engine starts.  Load up the skiff.  Head out to the sailboat. (see the top picture, we go up that a-way to the boat)  That usually takes about 10 minutes.    Then all is right with our world.   We have arrived and Sea Mist welcomes us with open arms.

What the heck?

So we came across this scene...I'm not sure what is going on, but it sure looks like they are fixin' to hang someone!   But really, I think it has something to do with working on moorings. 

Sailing around Bustin's Island

A beautiful weekend was in store for us!  Warm weather had come back around and the wind and waves were in our favor.  Unbelievable good fortune was upon us, it was the 3rd weekend of September for goodness sakes !   We headed down to the boat as fast as we could after I got home from the Farmers Market.  I sell my soaps (http://www.cascobaysoap.com/) at the market every Friday night.  The market time has been adjusted and we end at 6:00 now, not the 7:00.  This allows me to rush home, change my clothes and jump in the car with Captain.  He has already packed us all up and we race down to the harbor (only a 8 minute drive).  I had previously packed my stuff, the food for the weekend and made a few things (like fresh farmer market salsa).  Since we would be arriving a bit late, and the sun was going down quick, we choose an easy meal.  Salsa and chip to go with our Friday night cocktails. 

Up Early on Saturday and out for a wonderful sail.  We sailed over by Bustin's Island.  Here is more information: http://bustinsislandcommunity.com/Info/AboutUs/tabid/60/Default.aspx  What a fantastic sail it was!  I took a bunch of pcitues of the island homes, all which look very similar. 

Bustin's Island also has the adorable and squat lighthouse.

We also found may other sailboats out enjoying the beautiful weather.

Okay, they weren't sailing, but we still liked the boat, moored outside Bustin's Island.

And then...

Captain spotted something!

Harbor seals basking in the sun!

I went in for a closer look....



A quick and easy recipe

Cooler weather has come to Maine.   I baked up some of this super easy beer bread and it warmed our boat cabin right up.  Served along side a grilled steak and salad and we had the perfect dinner.

Super Easy Beer Bread

We always have a bottle (or 6) of beer on board. This bread is easy and very good.

Ingredients:

3 cup Self-Rising Flour
½ C. Sugar
2 T. Butter To Brush On Top
12 ounces, fluid Beer, Light Or Dark - Any Brand

Prep Work:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a loaf pan, set aside.

Instructions:

Mix flour and sugar together in a bowl.
Add a can or bottle of beer to the mix and stir it all together. It will be lumpy and sticky.
Spoon it into a greased loaf pan and bake for 1 hour in pre-heated oven.
Halfway through baking brush (or pour) the butter on the top of the bread.

You could also add herbs or garlic powder for a different flavor combination.


Enjoy!

Fall is here, but that won't stop us!

The weekend after EARL, we didn't get out sailing etiher!  A bbummer yes, but we did stay on board.  The weather just wasn't cooperating and the waves and the wind too much.  Still dealing with some effects of the hurricane.  And as always, Captain and I had a blast.  It hasn't been too cold yet and we still outside late on the boat and look at the amazing stars.  This time of year, with the wind and cool air, the sky is so very clear.  There are a million stars out there. 

The flags always go up anytime we are on board.

Me, fooling around in the wind.

Captain, fishing off the bow.

And the sun goes down.

No sailing, hurricane EARL came to the East Coast

I haven't blogged in a few weeks.  But here I go to fill you in...

We had hurricane EARL come through and stir up the ocean a bit.  Enough for small craft advisor and all that good stuff.  The winds were wicked.  We headed to our local state park beach and watched the waves.  As always, the ocean provides a sort of hypnotic effect.  These waves were pretty impressive too.

You can see that the wind is whipping, just look at my hair!

Captain and I did head out to the boat, and we did stay on board overnight.  Protect from the wind by our Bimini we enjoyed the sun and some light snacking while leafing through our favorite magazines.  Sleeping on board that night wasn't too bad.  A bit rocky and unless I was wedged up against Captain, I couldn't sleep

on my side. 

Crazy picture of me!  My hair was just wind whipped from being outside.  Captain has his back turned as he is mixing up the drinks!

But as always, we had a great time. 

Dream Boat

I'm not talking about my Captain, but this gorgeous Schooner that was sailing in the harbor with us.  Maybe someday....

This boat is named Serenity, is 36' long, built in 1964 by Malcom Brewer in Camden, Maine and has listed Eagle Island as it's home port.  But not the Eagle Island that we visit, the one that Admiral Peary owned and lived on, but another one.   There is another Eagle Island in Penobscot Bay, which is north of our Casco Bay.