Decisions, Decisions … Wednesday 5th Sept 2012
This morning we woke to fog, wind and rain, the remnants of Isaac. After leisurely breakfast we spent some time trying to plan our way back to Rhode Island. This isn't proving so easy. We feel we ought to make some significant offshore passage but the presence of "Leslie" out in the Atlantic is predicted to kick up big swells along the east coast. To be honest we are a bit spooked by the forecast of 8 to 11 foot swells offshore of the coast of Maine on Sunday. So we settled on a plan to make some shorter hops westwards along the coast over the next two or three days and see how things look after the weekend. Just as we reached this conclusion we realized that our immediate situation had changed. The wind had picked up and was rocking the boat and rattling the dorades. It had also swung round to the north and we were now on a lee shore. After some anxious moments we determined that the anchor was holding, but we agonized about whether to stay put with an anchor that seemed to be holding well, but in a poor position with increasing swell, or pull up and move. After 30 minutes or so this particular squall seemed to pass, but the winds stayed from the north. We went up and down the companion way looking at the closeness of the rocky shore. We checked the weather forecast several times. We talked about going into town but couldn't imagine leaving the boat when we were so unsure of the future wind speeds and directions. Finally, we decided we would be more relaxed if we did move. I have never seen so much mud on the anchor! Apparently when you turn through 180 degrees the chain "plows" the bottom creating a reassuring but muddy mess! Anyway after re-anchoring on the other side of the bay, with the weather improving, we pumped out the dinghy and headed in to Castine again. We explored other parts of the town and visited the small but interesting Wilson Museum and the lighthouse at Dyce Head. Now we are hanging out on the boat, editing photos, doing needlework, listening to music and of course writing the blog - a pretty typical evening for us.
M&G
The sun goes down over Holbrook Harbor - Castine
The "State of Maine" - a dolphin's eye view
Sad face - happy face? .... an old support bracket for a radar at Dyce Head
No comments:
Post a Comment