BOOKS IN BOOTHBAY HARBOR

Books at the memorial library in Boothbay Harbor are cheap! On two
shopping trips, one when we entered Maine, and now one when we are
leaving, we have added fifty books to Charmed's library. We spent
less than $20.00 on each trip.

Available books are not on the best seller's list today, but many once
were. The selection is incredible. Two or three four foot shelves
are dedicated to Stephen King, a Mainer. The library even has DVDs
for sale. Charmed's library now includes six Dirk Pitt novels, gotten
for fifty cents or a dollar a piece.

THE SCORE

Charmed 64,000, lobster pots 1!

Given we depart for Provincetown probably Tuesday, we thought we just
might get out of Maine without a hitch. It was bad thinking. While
sailing from Camden to Tenants Harbor yesterday afternoon in a field
of too many lobster pots we misjudged one that we should have given a
wider berth. Once passed the point of being able to do anything
different we watched and hoped the orange and yellow buoy would pop up
behind us. It didn't. The pot slowed us from a bit over six knots to
a bit over five knots, and you could see line trailing taut behind at
a depth of about four feet. Before we could douse some sails and slow
or stop we collected a few more pots on the line from the first one.

Once slowed, basically drifting, we pulled and pushed on the line with
a boat hook, first with the rudder full to one stop, then full to the
other stop, and then everywhere in between. But we were pretty much
anchored. It would take more than working off the swim platform.
While the water was not as cold as expected it does take your breath
away for a moment. Once off the swim platform and into the water, we
were on our way again in minutes.

Only a few more days of having our track look like an irregular zigzag
stitch at the end of the day . . . .

THIRTY FOOT SAILBOAT, ROWING

Weeks ago we left Boothbay Harbor for points east, in thick fog. Visibility was very poor. At best an eighth mile. We closely watched traffic on radar, and contacted and cleared all traffic near us. Others seemingly did the same.

When at about Old Man Ledge we were stunned when we heard a young female respond to a call she thought was meant for her. We knew it was meant for us. Anyway this young lady says she is in a thirty foot sailboat currently under oars, making two knots. We knew for sure we were the ones being hailed based upon our position, our course and our speed. We interjected and cleared the inquirer. What we didn't know was where this "rowboat" was. We never saw it. Neither did the inquirer. We kept close watch, and wondered.

On a later voyage in nearly as bad weather, we saw one of these "rowboats", out and about. I guess the three crew at the bow are practicing Potato Radar. That is where you take a fifty pound sack of potatoes to the bow. Every three minutes you throw a potato as far forward as you can. If you hear a splash, you continue on. If you hear a thud, you holler, hard alee!

BELFAST

Belfast may be the coolest town in Maine!

For one thing, Belfast has the WICKED LOW PRICE TWIN LOBSTER DINNER,
at the restaurant at the public landing, $19.95. And the lobsters are
normal one and a quarter pounders, not chicken lobsters.

A second and third thing, both a laundry and propane are just blocks
from the dinghy.

And it goes on. Tonight was the Belfast Summer Nights concert in the
street. Tomorrow is the farmer's market.

OUT OF TOUCH IN SOMES HARBOR

(While in Somes Harbor we had poor voice and data service. Verizon needs to ask, "can you hear me now" in and around Mt Desert. They will not get a response to their question.)

Mt Desert is fabulous! Cadillac Mountain was the highlight. We hiked up the North Ridge to the top, altitude 1530 feet. Then we "hiked" down the West Face. While we came off the mountain with no broken bones and just a few scratches, the "hike" down the mountain could not be described any other way, it was extreme. The rangers of Acadia National Forest need to better protect ignorant visitors, like us, from ourselves. Somehow they need to make it more clear these well known and well advertised trails are more than just hikes, which is what the ranger at the ranger station told us they were. Our final inquiry about coming down the West Face was to an older couple who had struggled up the North Ridge. They dismissed questions about the West Face with a, well, we did it a couple of years ago. For us the trip up was great exercise. The trip down scared us some. Kinda like a solid blue skier getting stuck on a double black diamond trail.

These two pictures are back up what we just came down. They don't do justice to what we were climbing down.

For those of you who ask why we didn't just go back up and down the North Ridge, which was strenuous but not extreme. The trail became more and more precarious as we went down. By the time we were concerned we thought we were almost done. Another thing the rangers need to address, distance markers. The West Face might be 0.9 miles straight down, but you can't go straight down, unless you are rappelling.

MAINE CRUISING

A Maine sailor advises, there are two kinds of boats in Maine, them
what have hit the rocks, and them what are gonna.

(PS Some of you have expressed concern. Charmed is not on the rocks and has not been.)

USS WHIDBEY ISLAND LSD 41

The Whidbey Island is a Navy ship 609 feet long, that takes Marines, equipment and gear to the beach. In the Navy's words, the Navy provides a boat, bacon, beans and bandaids. In the picture above Debbie is at the wheel, which is only about 12 inches in diameter, smaller than any car's wheel.

ROCKLAND PARADE

We happened by Rockland during the Annual Lobster Festival and attended one of the best parades ever. The best of the parade, after the free bubble gum and candy, go carts climbing a moving mountain:

The Suburban is moving about 10 miles per hour, while the go carts zing over about 25 mph.

WATCHES

Charmed has a wonderful Weems and Plath Ship's Bell. Like all ship's
bells, it counts half hours for four hours, then it starts over. At
04:30, 08:30, 12:30, 16:30, 20:30, and 00:30, the bell rings one time.
At 05:00, 09:00, 13:00, 17:00, 21:00, 01:00, the bell rings two
times, and so on. At six times during the day, 04:00, 08:00, 12:00,
16:00, 20:00, 24:00, the bell rings eight times. These are the times
when the watch historically changed.

The different watches had names:

2000 2400 FIRST WATCH
2400 0400 MIDDLE WATCH
0400 0800 MORNING
0800 1200 FORENOON
1200 1600 AFTERNOON
1600 1800 FIRST DOG WATCH
1800 2000 SECOND DOG WATCH

The two Dog Watches compressed the period available for dinner or
supper. The Dog Watches also shifted the time that sailors would
stand watch so sailors wouldn't stand watch the same time every day,
day in and day out.