After Gloucester, I stopped at Boston, Onset and Cutty Hunk followed by two perfect days at Block Island. It was unusual to see Block so empty as it's usually packed tight with boats for the summer.
On to Port Jefferson to visit my parents and the Ralph.
After three and a half months living on Tanqueray I returned home on September 15th. I'm sad the journey has ended but very happy to be back home.
Maine ports may have many lobster boats but Gloucester has the largest fleet of fishing boats I've ever seen. I was able to anchor in the center of the inner harbor which allowed me to watch all the boats coming and going.
The ill fated trawler Andrea Gail in The Perfect Storm was based here. I walked past The Crows Nest made famous by the movie.
There was mention, in a New York Times article I read some time ago, of a shop in Portland that sells potato donuts. It sounded healthy so I thought I'd check it out.
If you should visit Portland one day, I strongly advise you to avoid this establishment. If you accidentally find yourself inside The Holy Donut, do not order a donut. But most importantly of all, no matter how much you are tempted, please don't try the Maple Bacon donut. If you fail to heed my warning, under no circumstances should you have more than two Maple Bacon donuts. Per day.
It's a donut covered with real bacon and made from potatoes for Pete's sake.
Tanqueray returned to Smith Cove this time with Viviane aboard. We re-connected with Trip and Nicole aboard Kalyra and spent time ashore hiking the public trails on the west side of the harbor.
I'm still smitten with Smith Cove. It's the perfect place to keep a boat moored or anchored, albiet a bit far from civilization. The only minor problem is the nearby superfund site.
I expect to blog less frequently now that I'm slowly heading home and often visiting places for a second time. I also know the blog timing can be confusing. Tanqueray visits a destination on one date, I write the blog entry at a later date and then I post at a still later time when I get some internet access. Healthy stretches of procrastination are mixed in to further extend the schedule.
Center Harbor is home to a lot of beautiful, old, wooden boats. It's also where the video website Off Center Harbor is based. They produce videos about all things sailing and nautical but with a heavy slant towards old classic boats.
The videos are very well done. After watching only a few you will want to move to Maine, lose your r's and buy an old wooden boat.
Center Harbor is located on Eggemoggin Reach. Likable because it has a cool name, very few lobster pots and is the first suspension bridge Tanqueray has gone under since the Throgs Neck bridge.
Blue Hill is home to the Kollegewidgwok Yacht Club where we rented a mooring. When I first called them on the radio, I didn't even try to get the name right. Instead, I tried to slur something quickly that started with a 'k' and had a 'w' in there somewhere. I soon realized that no one has any idea how to pronounce the name and so everyone just calls it KYC.
Blue Hill Bay is one of the nicest stretches of water we've sailed in Maine. One can see Blue Hill to the north, the Acadia mountains to the east and, best of all, there are few lobster pots cluttering the way.
We spent one night in Allen Cove, a quiet cove exposed only to the north.
