Foreign Affair Sailing

We left Kittery at 0930 with winds less than 5 mph. The wind finally started to build after we had motored an hour. We finally found an opportunity to sail and by 1100 we had a good breeze abeam. We were really surprised to find ourselves consistently sailing over 6 knots. We reached a top speed of 7.3 knots main and genoa with the current. The winds were the result of a storm front moving in and by late afternoon we could see heavy rain fallling a few miles ahead of us. We furled our sails as the wind shifted to be on our bow. We were very fortunate as we found ourselves on the very edge of the storm and were able to move around it and avoid getting wet. The sun came out shortly after we entered Gloucester harbor which experienced very heavy winds and rain shortly before our arrival. We plan to remain in Gloucester a few days to rest and resupply. We really enjoy this quaint, compact harbor with so much history.

It was dead quiet when Dwayne woke up just after dawn. The fog was denser than we experienced last night. Visibility was less than 50 feet. Dwayne went back to bed. We didn't drop off our mooring ball until 1000. The fog had lifted enough so we could proceed out of the harbor and hope we would not find it worse on our way to Portsmouth. We had to skirt a few fog banks on the way. It took several hours for the fog to lift. There was no wind. We motored all the way. We were on the lookout for whales but saw none. We did see a large pod of dolphins. No seals were sighted.

As we entered Portsmouth harbor, we turned north and took the Back Channel between Kittery Point and Seavey's Island to take a mooring ball at the Kittery Point Yacht Yard. It was a very convenient location and out of the way of traffic moving into Portsmouth harbor.

It rained all morning and most of the afternoon. We stayed on the boat reading and doing chores until around 1500 when we took the Centerboard Yacht Club launch over to "Old Town" Portland. The waterfront and downtown area have been gentrified. The waterfront is up-scale condos and restaurants. The main street is the shopping district with more restaurants and boutiques. There are a few blocks of old buildings and cobblestone streets which give you some idea of what the port might have looked like in the past century. One day in Portland was enough for us.

We departed York at 0730 on the ebb tide. We traveled through the Gulf of Maine which is a feeding ground for whales. Dwayne saw what appeared to be a whale a great distance away but we did not head in that direction to investigate further. We did come across a large pod of about 30 dolphins a short while later several miles off Cape Porpoise. They crossed our bow and stern moving at a fast pace. We suspect they were feeding on fish. We later saw a couple of harbor seals. They would pop their heads up to check us out and didn't seem to care about our passing. We turned back to try to get a picture of one. However, he apparently was a bit shy. He dove and disappeared once he realized we were coming back in his direction. They are cute creatures with big shiny, black eyes.

We left Gloucester at 0730 with calm seas and no wind. The SSV Oliver Hazard Perry, was at anchor as we left the harbor. This ship out of Newport, Rhode Island is the largest civilian sailing school vessel in the United States. She is named after the naval hero from Rhode Island, Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, who defeated the British fleet in the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812. There are numerous schooners sailing the East Coast; however, it is very rare to see a fully rigged, sailing ship. This was a pleasant and unexpected surprise for us as we departed Gloucester.

We slept in and had a big breakfast breakfast on the boat which resulted in our getting a late start on the day. We took the water taxi ashore and toured the Rocky Neck artist colony. There are dozens of artist galleries in Gloucester most of which are located on Rocky Neck. Many of the artists' works are of New England landscapes or a maritime motif. The cars of gallery visitors lined the street curbs and filled the parking lots near the Rocky Neck galleries and restaurants. We joined the hundreds of people enjoying a relaxing, sunny day on this small piece of land jutting out into the harbor.