The Rain in Maine is Certainly a Pain

(Note: the position reports are working again. The explanation for the inaccurate placement is that Pangolin's positions are saved only to the nearest minute of latitude and longitude so as to conserve data base space.)

So, we’re shopping in a grocery store in Boothbay and this one ancient Mainer asks an even older man if he can recall experiencing a month wetter than June of 2009. The second man doesn’t hesitate for a second and says, “Sure, November, 1944.” We figured he must have been referring to the infamous rains that hampered the Allied forces during the Battle of the Bulge. A small history lesson given right there in the cereal aisle put it all in perspective for us.

After leaving the Robinhood Marine Center and going to Love Cove, we did nothing but wait for decent weather. It was either raining heavily with fog or the wind was straight out of the direction we wanted to go. Or, it was all three—fog, rain, and east/southeast wind. So, we waited, and waited and then took up Corning and Tita’s offer to come to their house up in the far reaches of the Sheepscot River.

We put the boat on a mooring in a nearby marina rather than staying on the free mooring we had in Love Cove. Not knowing whose mooring it was nor its ability to hold our boat in a strong blow, would not allow us to rest easy while away. We would have motored up the river to their house, but the fog made pea soup look like chicken broth.

The Townsends live on Davis Island and have a stunning view of the Sheepscot and Back Rivers. They generously put us up in their guest room and treated us royally. Their house is in the final stages of renovations yet still looks great.

Tita is a very talented artist working in various mediums and Corning is a naval architect extraordinaire. They are both possessed with great senses of humor so the evenings were non-stop laugh fests. We celebrated Amy’s birthday with a superb home-cooked meal and enjoyed a long jam session with many different instruments. And, although everyone seems to be somewhat musically inclined, no one seems to have mastered any one instrument. This did not deter us in the least, much to the neighbors’ chagrin.

On Saturday, June 27, the Townsends loaned us their car and gave directions to a very nice hiking trail in a nearby state reserve. As the day worn on it actually got hot! We hadn’t sweated in weeks. So, in order to cool off, we went to Boothbay Harbor for lunch where the temperature was about 15 degrees cooler. We also visited the towns of Damariscotta and Wiscasset.

After breakfast on Sunday, we contemplated our next move. The Townsends invited us to stay longer but we were thinking we might have an opportunity to head eastward to Nova Scotia on Monday so we went back to the boat. Corning came out to the Mary T with us to play his concertina for Amy who needed some music for her upcoming production tentatively entitled, “The Great Sailing Adventure” which is about our 2007-2008 cruise. Monday broke foggy and rainy but we figured we should move just to keep the barnacles from growing on the boat’s bottom. We got out on the Sheepscot heading southeast and realized we wouldn’t enjoy going very far. So, we settled on Christmas Cove just up the Damariscotta River. The fog and rain never let up until we were entering the cove. According to our calculations, we had about 800 feet of visibility. With the forecast for more of the same for the entire week, we decided to take up the Townsends on their original offer.

While sitting at our mooring Monday, our condo tenant called us to say that it had been a very tough June. The kitchen faucet needed repair, the AC was on the blink and the refrigerator was toast. But worst of all, the place had been broken into. The thief, or thieves, pried the door off from its hinges and stole John’s two laptops before apparently being scared by something and taking off. Fortunately, no one was hurt. The door can be replaced but sadly, what lingers is the feeling of vulnerability.

After digesting all that bad news, we considered the bright side—nothing had gone wrong with the condo in all the years we (and John) have lived there and we feel very fortunate to have such a responsible tenant keeping on top of things.

On Tuesday, we went back to the Sheepscot and travelled all the way upriver to the Townsend’s dock. We’ve resigned ourselves to sit here until we get some dryer, clearer, and more favorable weather. Or maybe, we’ll just move in for good. Townsend Manor is very comfortable, offers amazing views, and the company couldn’t be better.

The weather and subsequent shipboard mold, the expensive condo and boat repairs are testing our patience. Yet the spirit of the crew of the Mary T is not easily dampened. Each obstacle is a lesson from which we learn and grow.

Ahhh... such beautiful fog.