On a foggy Sunday morning, we slipped the lines at Warren Island and headed off for a slow, peaceful sail to Belfast. The wind was light but we were able to sail most of the way regardless, and the fog was high enough off the water that visibility wasn’t an issue. At least, not until we started our way into the Passagassawakeag River (say that one 10 times fast… or even correctly!) where it socked in pretty thick.
We had reserved floating dock space at Front Street Shipyard so we could get our quote, and when we radioed in, no one was available to help with our lines. I HATE having to step off the boat to handle our lines (I’m short, and some docks are really low!), but at least the floating docks were set up so it was just one boat per side, which reduced the pressure a little. A while back, someone mentioned that they always set out lines on both sides when docking so that if conditions change, they have the option to switch up their approach. I’ve never done that before, but I had all six of our dock lines out, so I decided to do it – and I’m glad I did. As we made our way down the fairway, I realized there were already two boats tied to the dock they assigned us to, so I told Chris to abort while we figured it out. They came out to check and gave us a new assignment (but still wouldn’t take our lines), which would be a starboard side tie – we’d planned for port. Fortunately with lines already set out, it was just a quick shift of our fenders. Docking turned out to be easy and it was one of the smoother dockings we’ve had (some dock hands don’t understand how to handle lines and either immediately stop the boat with the spring or don’t get a wrap on a cleat, so you can’t work with it).
The Belfast waterfront is exactly what I pictured a working Maine waterfront to be like, but the town itself surprised me. There are some really good restaurants, a great art supply store, book shops, a game shop, and possibly the best ice cream I’ve had in Maine. Our first order of business was to get ourselves some lunch, so we headed to Must Be Nice Lobster, owned by our friend Sadie. We’d hoped to catch up with her while we were in town, but it’s lobster season so she’s out on the water most days and maintaining her boat and gear when she’s not.
The Belfast Rail Trail begins just past Front Street Shipyard and is a 2.3 mile point-to-point trail that was laid down on the bed of the old Belfast & Moosehead Lake Railroad, and it’s a perfect morning walk. Wildflowers line the trail (as do spider webs), and it made us realize how much more ecologically diverse it is up here – it reminds us of the way the Cape used to be when we were kids… even with the tons of mosquitos.
We met with JB at Front Street to get the quote process started there, and it was a great conversation. He even took the time to point out some favorite anchorages, and we’re excited to check them out. I think which ever way we end up going, Windara is going to be in great hands, and I’m excited to start getting her back to top shape.
We’ve been on a quest to find a pot big enough to boil lobsters and not having much luck – even cook shops were turning up blanks. Leave it to the local hardware store to have exactly what we needed! I’ve said before and will say again, I love little local hardware stores and can’t count the number of times they’ve been the only place that had something I was looking for. With an appropriate pot in our possession, Chris went to Young’s and got us a pair of lobsters.
Several of our cruising friends are also in Maine this summer and we’re so glad we’ve been able to catch up. Our friends Bill and Annette on County Girl (who are lucky enough to call Maine home), and Jay and Tanya on Minx, both came into Belfast on Friday so we all met up at Marshall Wharf Brewing (after I finished our last minute “who knows when we’ll be in a marina again” chores – we hadn’t done laundry since we left Huguenot(!!), and I needed to provision. Chris was tied up in meetings, so it’s a good thing I’ve gotten decent at handling Williwaw on my own.). It was fun to bring cruising friends together and we all had a great time.
The United Farmers Market is held year-round on Saturdays from 9-2, and it’s fantastic. I wish I hadn’t needed to provision yesterday, because I would have bought so much more. As it was, we picked up wild blueberries, cheese, corn, potatoes, jalapeños, eggs, duck legs, and a blueberry lavender preserve that I absolutely did not need but absolutely had to have.
We have a vague plan on where we’ll spend the next few weeks, but today our plan is to see where the wind takes us. With so many great spots in such close proximity, it’s a wonderful luxury to be able to make spontaneous decisions rather than the carefully-planned cruising we do most of the year.
