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Javelin 2006 East and Maine Cruise August 5 - 25, 2006

Steve Blecher's 53' J-160, Javelin split her summer cruise this year in two parts. First was a week with Rick & Sandy Van Mell, plus Steve's wife Amy, from Westbrook, CT to Block Island, Martha's Vineyard, Jamestown, Bristol, Newport and back to Westbrook. Second was two weeks with crew Rick Van Mell, Mel Converse, & Paul Wharton from Westbrook, through the Cape Cod Canal directly to Harpswell Sound, ME, for a visit with Leighton & Karin McIlvaine, then east to Northeast Harbor. where Brian Klinger got aboard, before working back west, eventually coming back down through the Cape Cod Canal for a visit with Jay and Hasty Evans at Scraggy Neck before returning to Westbrook. Pictures (so far) by Rick and Mel.

Rick's note: This log is much condenced from prior years where a running narrative of each day was provided. Port visits are summarized with highlights added along the way - capturing some of the flavor, if not the full color, of past logs.

After shopping on Saturday night, Steve, Rick & Sandy powered Javelin out of Westbrook at 1025 on Sunday morning, August 6th, headed east for Block Island. The wind gods saw fit to provide a 10 knot easterly, so we powered most of the way, finally setting sail for about an hour beating the last few miles.

Great Salt Pond was packed with over 230 boats on moorings and anchors. We picked a spot and slowly dropped the anchor - the windlass breaker would trip every 2 - 5 feet of chain or rope. A nice steak dinner, a rising moon, colorful sunset and a pleasant breeze finished off the day.

Showers and thunderstorms were predicted for Monday - and the sky to the north over Providence was the appropriate black, with steamy-humid southwest winds funneling fuel to the storm's growth. By 0740 we had cleared the north end of Block, dashing east on a broad reach under sunny skies for Martha's Vineyard. About 0830 Steve was trimming the jib with the power winch and got a finger caught under a wrap of the sheet. Luckily it mostly took off the fleshy part of the end of the third finger - plenty of blood and ouch, but no broken bones. Leaving the autopilot to drive the boat, Sandy handed Rick the first aid kit to clean and bandage the wound.

Hank Jonas, often crew on these adventures who lives near Providence, called a few minutes later on the cell phone to warn that a good sized storm was due to hit Providence within the hour and would probably be down our way shortly after. With that input, and Steve, literally, shorthanded, we decided to drop the main and continue under engine and jib, figuring that we could furl the jib quickly if the wind increased much more, but would have a much harder time furling the 75' mainsail. Needless to say it only rained a few drops, though it did blow up to 20 knots along the way.

We arrived at Tisbury Wharf in Vineyard Haven at 1425, took Steve to a doctor to get a professional opinion, a bag full of bandages, gauze, ointment and anitbiotics, and had a nice dinner at a French restaurant. Tuesday we rented a car and drove to the corners of Martha's Vineyard - west to Menemsha Pond and Gay Head, then back east to Edgartown for lunch (looking across the harbor to Chappaquidick Island), up to East Chop and back to Vineyard Haven (actually also called Tisbury on local maps). After a walk through town, dinner was a nice piece of cod purchased at the market at the head of the dock and cooked aboard.

Wednesday started out with a nice sail west on Vineyard Sound, past Woods Hole, Tarpaulin Cove, then Robinson's, and Quick's Hole before losing the wind off Cuttyhunk. We powered into Narragansett Bay, past Castle Hill and Newport where the wind had returned. It being early, we set main and jib and play raced an 80' tourist yawl back past the Newport mansions, then returned north to find a bunch of 12 Meters - the boats that sailed for the America's Cup from 1958 through 1983 - in some mock racing. We wanted to see how Javelin measured up - they are 68' long and we're 53' but lighter - so we sailed right into their midst. We held our own downwind, but couldn't quite match them upwind. But there were plenty of picture opportunities, and just the fun of sailing alongside an America's Cup winner.

Steve's wife Amy joined us at our marina in Jamestown - across the bay from Newport - and we had a nice seafood dinner ashore. Thursday it was sunny but blowing 15 - 20 from the south so we sailed under jib alone the 15 miles up the Bay to Bristol and the Herreshoff Museum. We continued our seafood quest at the Lobster Pot - starting Sandy's birthday celebration a day early. We got back aboard the boat in time to watch Mother Nature's sound and light show as a cold front flashed and thundered through, washing away all the salt on deck with an hour's torrent of rain.

Friday, with a north wind, we sailed back down to Newport, picked up a mooring just off the dock of New York Yacht Club's Harbor Court clubhouse, and enjoyed a nice dinner, joined by hank Jonas. Saturday morning Amy and Sandy departed by car while Steve & Rick motor sailed Javelin home to Westbrook, did laundry, shopping, replaced the windlass circuit breaker, had a simple dinner aboard and crawled into bed.

The pictures below highlight this first week, then the story and pictures continue for the Maine portion of the cruise.

Javelin is ready to leave	Fresh paint	Here comes Sandy..	right shirt
Groceries stowed ...	Veggies at hand	Bakery shelf	Fridge if full ...
Freezer too.	Ready for Westbrook departure	What's that ahead?	Sandy's lookout
Sandy driving	Nice breeze	Doing 8 knots ...	Go girl
Good trim	Entering Block Is. Pond	Crowd City	Great Salt Pond light
Old CG station	Way too many ...	boats - 230 +	Neighbor astern
An Allied Seabreeze	Crew is intent	Their Private Signal	and name.
Evening moon	Reading time ...	Quiet time	Movie time!
Tourists	Sunset ...	is nice	Take your moon sight!
Monday morning	A happy dog!	The name says it all	Vineyard haven tourists
Enticer ...	Looks good ...	has fun.	Vineyard Haven Harbor
Ferry to Woods Hole	Coming up	Fish in the pan	Big company ...
sails past ...6	Headed for newport	elegance ...	Lives up to its name.
Buzzards Bay tower	Light going	Castle Hill - Newport	A castle ...
and lawn.	Next castle	local color	A 12 meter at play ...
headed out	The Dumplings House	Yacht Transport	Loaded up ..
Enter here ...	tucked in	Cozy	Quite a sight
Pumped out; ready to leave	Those are 12s ...	Let's go play ...	staying ahead now ...
We're ...	between two ...	Going up ...	They're headed for a ...
convergence ...	Overtaking ...	Quick luff ...	Passing ...
At the mark ...	Columbia splits tacks ...	Going to weather ...	Safe leeward ...
Columbia charges ...	past to windward	Coming back at us	Pure power
Our trail of play!!!	Sandy reads ...	in lots of places.	Amy is happy ...
so steve is too!	Headed for Bristol ...	At Herreshoff Dock	With breeze blowing
Museum and America's Cup ...	winner America 3	Old Schooner ...	Another in front of Newport ...
people aboard are ...	having a great ride.	New York YC's Newport ...	clubhouse Harbor Court ...
looking good ...	from our mooring.

Mel arrived first, about 0740, followed shortly by Paul, and duffels were stowed and we were off the dock by 0811. A beautifully clear day, but with a light southwest wind, augured a good start. We turned into the short main channel out of Westbrook, dead on centerline, and ground to a stop at 0820. A dead low, minus tide, leaving only 6.5' of water for Javelin's 7' keel proved that sailboats don't make good plows. We were a great conversation piece for the smaller boats going out around us. An hour's worth of patience, and about 8" of flood tide had us finally exiting the channel at 0918.

By 0949 the engine was off and the main set, followed, leisurely, by the spinnaker at 1000, we were doing almost 7 knots through the water. Flooding tide and lighter breeze, however, soon had us making barely 4 knots over the bottom, so the chute came down by 1030 - crew exercise for the morning. We powered up and fought the current for three and a half hours all the way out of Long Island sound, up behind Fisher's Island, popping out at Watch Hill into Block Island Sound by 1356.

Southwesterly breeze piped up to 15-19 knots and we raced along doing 8 and 9 knots with main only. Rigging a preventer avoided an accidental gybe as the seas built astern and we surfed the waves reaching 11 knots boat speed passing Newport and crossing Narragansett Bay. Finally the tide gods turned in our favor as we entered Buzzards Bay at 1831, followed by a lasagna dinner and rigging ship for the night to come. Jacklines were rigged - the safety lines running from bow to stern on each side to which the crew could clip their harness lines and walk forward and always be tied to the boat. Lights were turned on, flashlights ready, radar powered up, and the floatable strobe light hung on the aft life line ready to toss if ever needed. We roared into the Cape Cod Canal with a favorable current at 2130 making 12.4 knots over the bottom.

Seven miles and just 35 minutes later, the crew debated the light dead on the bow as Javelin was spit out into Cape Cod Bay. A beach-ball orange globe, half phase moon, morphed into a white beacon to lead us through the night. Vessel traffic was light. Just one ship was spotted as we crossed the Boston Harbor shipping lanes, about 30 miles offshore.

Typically, the wind went light all night, staying in the 5-9 knot range, then slowly increased with the morning light to 12 to 15. But it was still southwest, and backing toward the south, and even with the jib set we used the engine to maintain a speed in the 8+ knot range. We arrived at Harpswell Sound and dropped anchor at 1300 Monday afternoon. The anchor, thanks to a replaced windlass circuit breaker, went down and eventually came up without a hitch.

Leighton and Karin McIlvaine, with their friend Abby, invited us ashore for cocktails at 5, then the boys rode their 23' Grady White sport boat Summer Girl up the sound to Morse's Lobsters. Karin & Abby went by car, but all converged for the traditional lobster and steamers feed, with corn and fries, followed, of course, by brownie Sundays. The guys made it safely back, at slow speed in the dark, to Javelin, then Leighton hitched Summer Girl to her mooring and went ashore.

As predicted, it started raining shortly after we turned in, rained off and on all night, and we awoke to a foggy, wet, Tuesday morning. Eggs & bacon breakfast took a while and it was 1020 before we weighed anchor, as the fog grew thinner, and headed east. Four foot southerly swells abeam rocked Javelin as we worked east past Cape Small and Fuller Rock, then turned northeast above Seguin Island looking for flatter water. A stop in Boothbay Harbor for fuel and lunch was perfectly timed for the back edge of the front to come through with a clearing sky and sunshine, though the wind was still southwest and freshening.

We tracked two long downwind gybes into Muscongus Bay, passing through relatively narrow, unbuoyed passages with the help of GPS on a computer screen, and eased into the Meduncook River late in the afternoon. Weaving though the usual Maine fields of lobster pots, avoiding rock ledges with GPS and generally enjoying the beautiful dark evergreen washed rocky islands, we finally anchored in Hornbarn Cove - secluded except for one other boat on a mooring, but no one aboard.

Dark & Stormy's (ginger beer and Goslings rum) with cashews to nibble on held us while the steaks grilled and we enjoyed the deepening color change of the green meadow and surrounding trees. The main cabin boomed with the pulsing music of Robert MItchum in "The Enemy Below" as our evening's entertainment. Almost as an afterthought, we poked our heads up on deck following the movie, just after 10 PM, to a stunning sight. In the ink black, pre-moon night, the Milky Way and every star snapped into view. It was so still that even the Milky Way reflected in black water. We gawked for half an hour, gleefully spotting meteorites as they zipped in long trails across the tapestry. Even finding the common stars and constellations, the Big Dipper, North Star, Little Dipper, Cassiopeia, Cygnus, Vega, Spica, and Aldebaran, was difficult in the profusion of countless stars unseen where any other lights are present.

In the light winds of Wednesday morning we powered back to sea at 0710, headed the 60 miles to Northeast Harbor. With little wind, we abandoned the planned offshore route to avoid left over rolling seas, and tracked up Two Bush channel into Penobscot Bay, through the Fox Island Thorofare, which splits Vinalhaven Island. With no "Fox Island" on the charts we wondered why the name, and Mel offered that on original charts of the area these islands had been notes as "Fox Islands". On across the oily-flat waters of East Penobscot Bay we found Mark Island and threaded out way through the Deer Island Thorofare - this time leaving Deer Islands left and right.

We met a sister ship, Ben Blake's Atlantic headed west and circled for a short chat, then headed on through Casco Passage, across Blue Hill Bay, catching a great picture of a gaff schooner, sails hanging motionless. then on through Bass Harbor Head passage, and around up into Western Way of Mt. Desert Island and the familiar confines of the forest-ringed Northeast Harbor. An early, but customary lobster dinner at the Docksider satisfied the crew, followed by the evening's movie, "Morituri" with Yul Brenner and Marlon Brando.

Thursday morning we passed the morning waiting for Brian Klinger to arrive with a reprovisioning trip to the Pine Tree Market, and their downstairs laundry. Getting a paper, reeving a new flag halyard, catching up on log writing and generally taking it easy in the clear, cool morning quickly passed the time until Brian's arrival shortly after noon.

We went out to play in Western Way and Somes Sound. While testing the wind around Bear Island, we were delighted with a small pod of porpoises looking for lunch nearby. Light and shifty wind was everywhere, but we tacked upwind, toward the south, between Southwest Harbor and Cranberry Island, then set the spinnaker to work our way back north. Hardly enough wind to gybe - trying to avoid a little fleet of Optimist prams - and the chute hung just low enough over the bow for a corner to catch on the tip of the anchor and, as if it were a pair of pants, put a nice 3-corner tear in one panel. Unfortunately, we were just within hailing distance of Bob Johnstone - creator of J Boats and a friend of Steve's, when it happened. But fortunately, after a trip to the well-provisioned NE Harbor hardware store for additional repair tape, the sail was back in serviceable condition.

For dinner, we tried the Main Sail restaurant attached to the up-scale motel visible from the NE Harbor docks. In Steve's 18+ years of coming to NE Harbor, he had never tried this restaurant, though it's been there all the time. (First choice has always been the informal lobster shack The Docksider, with two or three nice restaurants available if we stayed more than one night.) It proved to be quiet with good food similar in choices to the Docksider. We got into a long conversation with our waitress, whose boyfriend ran a lobster boat, on which she was an occasional stern man, when not taking care of her two kids, working a second job and going to nursing school.

Friday morning we cast off early, tied up at Clifton Dock at 0735 and had to wait to top off fuel until 0800 when they opened. Then we powered across to Southwest Harbor and tied up alongside Will and Beth Apold's J-160 Excalibur. They came aboard for a French Toast breakfast with sausages and blueberry muffins and we chatted until 1000 about their project of building a new 78' Bill Tripp-designed boat at the Swan yard in Finland. Great stories of the various 80' boats they sailed while trying to decide on a style for themselves -- no surprise, Will wanted speed and performance; Beth wanted comfort!!! (The old saying is that when buying a boat you can have only two of three desirable things: speed; comfort; or economy!)

They had never sailed down Eggemoggin Reach - the fixed bridge with 85' of clearance was a discouraging factor. Steve had braved this passage - with the same concerns - many years ago and it was now a regular sight on our cruises. So they followed us out of Western Way, back through Bass Passage and were on the way to the Reach when the oil pressure sensor on their engine failed. After checking, they were able to restart the engine, but chose to return to SW Harbor and the Hinckley yard for a repair.

As we rounded Pond Island and entered Eggemoggin Reach the wind filled in and we set main and then spinnaker for a romp up the Reach. The wind went forward and we doused the chute, but continued on with the jib for a glorious sail around the top of the Reach and back down Penobscot Bay. Sparkling water, 10-12 knots of wind and sunny skies made for a delightful afternoon. We threaded our way into Winter Harbor and took a left into Seal Bay, testing a tiny anchorage behind an island, but decided there was not enough swinging room, and retraced our path back into the lower reaches of the bay. It being after 1700, there was already a weekend crowd which totaled 15 boats when we dropped out anchor to join them. It was our earliest night ever - at least three of our crew were asleep before 9 pm, with all tucked in by 10.

The forecast for Saturday through Tuesday had showers, rain or thunderstorms scattered throughout, with Sunday predicted to be the wettest of the bunch. We departed Seal Bay planning to get as far west as was fun and convenient, then could hunker down for a lay day on Sunday before making the long jump down to Wentworth Marina at Portsmouth on Monday. After traversing the Fox Islands Thorofare, we hoisted a reefed main to beat our way down Penobscot Bay with 13 knots of southwest wind. Javelin drove easily through the light swells making their way up the bay, hitting 7 knots easily, but was very sensitive to pinching and would quickly slow to a crawl if pointed too close to the wind.

Contrary to forecast, the wind went a little lighter, so we shook out the reef, but even under full sail, and more swells, our speed decreased to under 6 knots. Reluctantly we turned on the engine to power straight into the wind and finally furled the main for the last15 miles for the day. A restless slate of a sea rolled in from the southwest, appearing tentative about what to do next. After much debate as we passed Pemaquid Point - for it was only 1400 - we turned north into the Damariscotta River to try Farnham Cove, a notch that Steve had found in a new book of aerial pictures of Maine cruising spots. Sitting across from busy and crowded Christmas Cove, Farnham was a Maine picture - the old dock with high cribbing and a gangway down to a float, the lobster boat on a mooring, and the assorted, weathered sheds where the waterline of the ten foot tides ended. There were also a half dozen mooring balls, one with a boat on it, and another visitor anchored near the entrance.

We picked a spot in the midst of this triangle, but felt the swinging room - particularly with up to 20 knot winds predicted from SW, SE and NW directions - was too close for comfort. We hauled the anchor and headed farther up river. A narrow spot bounded by rocks with 2 and 4 foot depths was a challenge, but we passed it safely and made for Seal Cove. As you may have noticed, feature names repeat with regularity throughout Maine waters. Seal rocks, coves, bays, and harbors abound, as do the names Egg, Round, Long, Duck, and Winter. Thus we spent Friday night in Seal Bay, passed Seal Harbor and dropped anchor Saturday night in Seal Cove. Tucked neatly in this long tongue of water between two screens of evergreens sprouting from rock bases, Javelin was about 100 feet from either shore.

The rain held off long enough to enjoy a grilled chicken and zucchini dinner, climaxed with blueberries and whipped cream. Our movie de jour was "Frogmen" followed immediately at 10:15 pm by a sound sleep. Sunday did indeed live up to predictions and though we slept in for a change, the light drizzle grew into a steady curtain of rain by 0930 which tapered off about an hour later. A forecast of 20 -25 knot southeasterlies outside with 3-5 foot seas convinced us to stay put, read books, update the log and otherwise just kick back for the day.

In reverse fashion, the sky dimmed as noon approached and the veil of rain returned. Not heavy enough to make a noise on deck, more like a drifting mist. Occasional staccato bursts of drops would fall, then taper off. Afternoon dragged on while below we continued our reading. At 1538 we first noticed a wind shift from the east to north, fitful and then back into the northeast quadrant. It was still raining when the lasagna bubbled after an hour and a half in the slow oven. Then it rained right through the evening movie - "Sink The Bismarck". It was lights out at 2130.

Seventy-two miles is a long haul for a day's run. Getting started at 0540 was one way to save some fun time at the end of the day, and we hoisted anchor and slipped down the Damariscotta River where sunrise caught us as we passed East Boothbay. Diminishing easterly swells still rolled in abeam as we headed for Portsmouth, NH, giving us a rolly ride. Setting the main helped for a few hours, but then the wind died to a glassy calm. Sun and cloud alternated along the route, threatening rain ahead. We dressed for the occasion, and that staved off any rain. Sun came out and we peeled our clothes; clouds returned.

Slipping easily along at 7 knots with a little current against us, we planned our arrival like a military landing. Fuel dock first, then secure in a slip. Brian would call ahead for Lise to pick up up Rick, Mel and Brian, while Steve and Paul filled water tanks and hosed down. Dropping Lise and Mel at the Klinger house in Rye, Mel could check emails and tend to laundry while Brian and Rick made a shopping run to reprovision. They would return to the house for Rick to upload log pictures to the Internet, then all would return to the boat, retrieve Steve & Paul and proceed to dinner at Brian's Kittery Point Yacht Club.

And it happened pretty much as planned. With chores done we arrived at KPYC in time to enjoy cocktails and sunset on the deck, catching the blinking buoy lights coming on, then focused on the grill and hamburgers. Despite Paul & Rick's extensive grill experience, and with sidewalk supervision from Steve & Mel, the gas grill would like, but not produce much heat. Even after half an hour Mel could lay his hand on the top of the grill without pain.

But, after only 45 minutes, the burgers, and a layer of cheese, were deemed ready to serve. Lise had organized the buns, tomatoes, and onion rings, plus a wonderful crisp Caesar salad and even some potato salad for the truly carb crazed. With two burgers apiece, no one went hungry. but neither did they turn Lise down when she produced a Key Lime pie for dessert! Just to refresh old memories, we then sat around the fireplace (without a fire) and sang several rounds of folk songs a cappella. We must not have been too bad - the other group of members at the club even put in a request for Puff The Magic Dragon!

A special treat on this cruise was a whole day aboard Brian's Special K enjoying the waters around Portsmouth which sits on the mouth of the Piscataqua River. Brian pulled alongside the fuel dock about 0920 to pick up the waiting crew on a beautiful, clear morning with a gentle breeze and mild temperatures - perfect weather for a power boat ride along the rivers. Our route took us out of Little Harbor (Wentworth Marina) where we turned to port and entered Portsmouth Harbor - the mouth of the Piscataqua. Passing Fort Constitution, we circled Pepperrell Cove, where Brian hopes to have a mooring in the future.

Heading up through the center of Portsmouth, we ducked under a couple of bridges and past the industrial plants on the deep water section of the river. We eventually swung left under the bridges at Dover Point into the Oyster River and passed the marina where Special K lives. With several sets of GPS working overtime, we snaked past the rocks guarding Goat Island and worked our way about a mile and a quarter into the shallows of Oyster River and back out. Turning right we continued on into Little Bay and then through Furber Strait with a few houses and moored small boats along the way. Ahead was Great Bay where a mile ahead the government navigation aids gave way to local floats marking a channel through the extensive flats of the Bay. Though Special K only draws 3', many places showed that or less, and the 4 - 6 foot contours meandered south of west toward the Lamprey River. Even at high tide we found ourselves reading only 5' of water as we tried to nose into the Lamprey. Mother Nature and spring rains don't follow chart contours, and the GPS gang were contradicting themselves as to where the deeper water was because it didn't correspond to the chart - or even the confusing red and green float buoys set out to mark the way.

We declared victory and retreated from the Lamprey to the middle of Great Bay where we drifted and enjoyed lunch. Powering up, we headed down river past Brian's marina and turned under the bridges upstream on the Piscataqua. Three miles farther we arrived at the junction where the Salmon Falls and Cocheco rivers joined to form the Piscataqua. Again, private buoys, apparently arranged by tour boat operators, led us slowly up the Cocheco between lush banks of mixed hardwood forests, an occasional farm and then large houses as we approached the town of Dover. The end of the line, even for Special K was the covered bridge in Dover, just past George's Marina two miles above the junction.

We retraced our steps to Special K's marina, with Rick finding the loose wire that fixed Brian's GPS along the way. Brian & Lise topped off this glorious day with a fine dinner in Portsmouth.

It was early to bed and early to rise - 0445 to be exact. We were out of our slip by 0507 for the long, 90 mile ride to the next fun event. Sunrise when we were off the Isles of Shoals at 0557 was the highlight along the twenty-three mile run down to Cape Ann, east of Gloucester, then another fifty-six miles to the northern (actually eastern) entrance to the Cape Cod Canal. With light winds dead astern, we powered along beneath clear skies, arriving at the canal shortly before 3 pm. That left us with just over an hour to ride the last of the favorable current down into Buzzards Bay and Jay & Hasty Evans' welcome anchorage at Scraggy Neck.

Shortly after our anchor rattled down, Jay & Hasty, rowed out in their dinghy for cocktail and dinner aboard. Also along for the fun was their dog Spindrift - better known as "Drifty". Lots of nibbles and stories as we sat around the cabin in air conditioned comfort while the last details were added to a spaghetti dinner. When the last of the blueberry shortcake was polished off and the last of twilight was fading into the west, Jay, Hasty and Drifty rowed off to shore and we once again fell into our bunks just after 9 pm.

Force of habit, and those early bed times, had us up and under way about 0700 Thursday morning for the 65 mile run to Stonington, CT - passing all of Rhode Island's shore along the way. The wind had held northeast all night and continued with about 10 - 12 knot push. Alas, it was dead astern, so we had almost no apparent wind, but hoisted the main anyway, just for the quarter of a knot that it added.

We were just 6 miles short of Watch Hill, the end of Rhode Island and the beginning of Fisher Island Sound and it was still only a bit before 3 pm. Itching to do some sailing, we cut the engine, rolled out the jib and broad reached south away from the shore. Five miles out, we gybed and set the spinnaker for a run back to Watch Hill, then gybed the spinnaker a few times before rounding up outside Stonington Harbor.

Ben Blake and Atlantic were just leaving the Stonington Harbor Yacht Club dock as we arrived and tied up. He came back and joined us as did their Treasurer, and friend of Paul and Steve's Barnaby Blatch and his wife Mari Ann. An impromptu cocktail hour ensued in Javelin's cockpit before we headed ashore into the clubhouse for a delicious dinner.

Another early-to-bed evening and a horse-headed-for-barn Friday morning saw us under way before 0700. Wind still light astern made it a power-boat morning while we packed duffel bags and gathered ship's laundry. The heads were cleaned, the galley given an extra wipe down, and the sail cover put on for the first time in three weeks. We raced west with the current, doing 10 knots over the bottom at one point, while black stratus marched east toward us.

We pulled into the fuel dock at Westbrook just before 1000, had the tanks full and would have been in our slip before any rain arrived, but another boat was in Javelin's slip. We packed up the icebox while we waited, but by the time she was moved the rain had started. We moved into the slip, hooked up electrical power and trekked our duffels and gear to the cars in the rain. Mel was dropping Brian in New Haven to get a rental car for his trip back to Rye, NH, then continuing on home to Virginia. Paul had his car and was headed straight home to Scarsdale, while Steve detoured to drop Rick at Kennedy airport for a late afternoon flight back to California. Another great Maine cruise had come to an end.

Ready for Maine run ...	Mel checks navigation ...	Bakery reloaded	Veggies too ...
so let's have lunch ...	Oreos for dessert!!!	Sunset approach to Cape Cod Canal	Wind 15 - 19 ...
Paul checks running lights ...	Radar is ready ...	life jackets & harnesses.	Paul's lasagna looks ...
great on a plate ...	but best eating!!!	Monday morning, 20 miles off Maine ...	Rick is happy ...
Mel comes topside ...	Paul spots approaching traffic ...	a mega-yacht headed west.
Leaving Javelin at Harpswell ...	going ashore ...	and looking back ...
securing Summer Girl to ...	visit Leighton & Karin McIlvaine ..	Karin's welcome ...	with goodies & ...
friend Abby.	Headed for lobsters ...	Leighton driving ...	Morse's Lobsters ...
they are here ...	with steamers ...	what's for me? ...	Karin & Abby drove ...
We came by boat ...	Hungry guys ...	all around ...	Leighton tells a tale.
Headed for Hornbarn Cove ...	Topside view ...	lots of navigation ...	dodging lobster pots ...
rocky fingers ...	working landings ...	only other boat ...	quiet meadow ..
Dark & Stormy time ...	Steve agrees ...	Paul too.	North Haven ..
perfect Maine ...	scenery ...	& great boats.	Canine crew.
Tranquil	no wind for sailing.	Mark Island	Stonington
Navi-guessing	Meeting Atlantic ...	Ben Blake ...	and friend Wendy ...
enjoys the rays.	Take your pick!	Another J Boat	Western Bass buoy ...
Bass Head light	Sail repair crew ...	works on spinnaker ...	caught on the anchor ...
but it looks like ...	the repair will hold.	Jib trimming is ...	rewarded with lunch
Excalibur rendezvous	Beth Apold ...	smiles.	Alongside for breakfast
welcome aboard	they follow us out ...	of Western Way ...	but engine goes out!
Eggemoggin bridge ...	looking back	Enntering Seal Bay ...	lots of rocks ...
Saturday sunrise ...	Lots of company ...	around ...	leaving them behind.
Careful navigation ...	can't go through there!	The picture.	Eastern Egg I. ...
Cormorants, but no Puffins	Seal cove ...	At anchor, looking ...	around.
0540 departure ...	sunrise ...	on boats and ...	East Boothbay ...
waking up.	The Hypocrites	Ram I. light	Close encounter ...
coming up ...	we tacked ...	then back to let ...	him clear ...
gone.	Boon Island	Winkin', Blinkin' & Nod	Dartmouth 60', 62' 63' & 64'
Rick at Special K's helm	Special K cruises past ...	Ft. Constitution, Portsmouth	Kittery Point YC ...
Brian's club.	8-23 Sunrise over Isles of Shoals	Later	Cape Ann Lights
Cape Cod Canal bridge ...	has a speed limit	Buzzards Bay end bridges ...	open for business.
Here come Jay & Hasty ...	Got the picture ...	with Spindrift ...	Hi Hasty ...
and Jay.	"Drifty" is at home ...	with everyone	Nibbles and beverages ...
Good stories ...	Lucky Drifty	Salad with ...	Dinner ....
Cheers.	Another spinnaker passed	Ours looks fine	Relaxed ...
crew.	Easy sailing ...	numbers.	Pt. Judith Light
Friendship Sloop ...	great name!