Alas, we were not eaten by bears on Mt Desert Island!

NE Harbor

Ahoy Friends!!
As you may have guessed, our 10 day stay in Northeast Harbor on Mt Desert Island was so much fun that I had no time to blog! I will fill you in on those 10 action filled days but first I would like to report that we are aware of Hurricane Irene who is threatening the east coast of the U.S.

We left N.E.Harbor on my birthday, Monday, August 23 and sailed to Sommes Sound which is the only fiord in the U.S. outside of Alaska! It was a beautiful motor sail and we picked up an empty privately owned mooring and stayed for the night. There were quite a few of empty private moorings and the basic cruising policy isas follows: if you see someone on a boat in the mooring field , ask if they know of one you might use . If no one is around and there are plenty, take one and if the owner comes to claim and use it, then jump to another.
We walked into Sommesville to visit the tiny museum, but found the volunteer just closing. As we stood outside reading a plaque about the pretty bridge and garden there, he came around and asked us if we had wanted to see the museum , he could let us take a quick peek.  As he was unlocking the door, he asked us where we were from, and we told him of our sailing trip and homeport of Pensacola. He promptly said "Oh, I heard about you all . You are the ones who stopped in Blue Hill. " It ends up he knows the mother of the chef, Annalisa  that owns the dock grill in Blue Hill where Richard Holk took us to lunch! Annalisa
's parents are both priests ,and they hail and live in Magnolia Springs, Al. where Richard lives! Anyway, The museum fella, AKA as Mr Richardson, had heard thru Annalisa's mother who summers in Southwest Harbor on Mt Desert that we had come and had lunch at Annalisa's new grill!! Holy Smokes! Word gets around with the locals!!!
Once back to the boat , we decided to motor to the next cove to buy some lobster . The tide was high so we could cut thru 2 islands that usually have a bar exposed. We turned the dinghy motor off and tilted it up so we could paddle around and  over the few protruding rocks. I told D that a few years ago we would have dinghied around the island and not have tried to go through! We have become a bit daring!!!Then once far enough, we tilted the motor back down and motored to Abel's Lobster Pound . It is a simply elegant lil Lobster house with candlelight and really the best ones we have had yet cooked by the locals. Some folks over steam them, and they can be tough rather thatn delectable! A great, adventuresome birthday!

Yesterday, Wednesday the 24th we left Sommesville for Frenchboro, Me on  the island named Long Island.
We sailed down the fiord then motored into the wind for the last 8 miles. Our friends on Southern Skies caught a lobster trap on their prop so we circled them in the event they needed our help. They were in 100 ft of water to start and only 1 mile or so from the harbor at Frenchboro when they caught the pot. While the captain dove overboard to try to free the pot, their boat slowly drifted into 200 ft of water. We had been suggesting they drop their 200 feet of chain anchor just to keep from drifting into the rocks but the Capt elected not to and after an hour, they were finally free and they had drifted very close to the rocks. Whew!

We then began to contemplate Hurricane Irene more closely as she appears to be coming further north than expected. Our plan is to leave Frenchboro in the am once the fog has lifted and sail to Benjamin River off Eggemogin Reach .Richard Holk has helped us greatly by securing a mooring for us in the Benjamin River. Then moor or anchor the boat and go ashore and stay in a hotel Sat- Monday. We will send another blog once we are settled. Thank you for your prayers.
Cindra and David