So many of our cruising friends told us Seal Bay needed to be on our list, and we were excited to visit a new-to-us anchorage (my only “requirement” for this trip was to get in at least one new anchorage, so mission accomplished). Tucked into the Vinalhaven coastline, the deep water channel is relatively narrow and lined with rocky outcroppings on both sides. We’d heard it was best to go in at low tide so the hazards were visible, and it was good advice.
The inner anchorage felt full, but after a lap around, we were able to find a spot we were comfortable with. Once we were settled in, the owners of the other J/46 in the anchorage dinghied over to introduce themselves, and we had a nice chat. Later in the day, friends we’d met last year in Onset happened to anchor up just in front of us. We took Williwaw for a spin around Penobscot Island and stopped at one of the little islands near the harbor entrance.
As we were taking care of some post-sail chores, we realized that instead of the mostly-full water tanks we thought we had, we were mostly empty (like maybe 20 gallons vs 120)! Rookie mistake – we just assumed the yard filled both tanks, so we didn’t take the lids off to check (we’re currently without tank monitors). And of course our watermaker is one of the systems we’re still working on. We’d planned to stay a few days, but this discovery quickly changed that. We were going to leave after the possibility of thunderstorms subsided on Sunday morning, but the gusty winds just didn’t seem to be dying off. Instead, we chose to stay another day and head to J.O. Brown at North Haven to get water on Monday.
That meant we got to visit with our friends on Salome, and later in the day, we were invited over to join our new friends on Bravo for sundowners. We weren’t smart enough to remember just how social cruising can be, so we didn’t have anything aboard we could share… so Chris made peanut butter cookies, which were a hit (always risky given allergies).
By sunset, the wind had faded and it was almost like glass. The sunset wasn’t intense, but the soft colors were just stunning. The smell of spruce permeated the air. As the sky darkened, stars shone brightly and there wasn’t a single sound. Absolute, total silence. Perfection.
When I got up in the morning, it was still glassy, and I sat out in the cockpit soaking it all in. It’s one of my favorite parts of cruising life, and I’d missed it so much. We took a dinghy ride through the passage between Penobscot and David’s Islands, and it was just magical. The sun was already letting us know it was going to be a hot one, but the breeze from the ocean sent icy fingers dancing along the water. Other than Williwaw’s engine, the only sound was the chorus of birdsong.
We timed our departure from Seal Bay for the lower half of the tide as we haven’t yet set up our helm chartplotter to show our previous route. Our anchor chain hasn’t settled right in the locker just yet, so every time we haul, I have to keep knocking it down so it doesn’t seize the windlass. Usually if it binds, I can lower it a couple inches and knock the chain pile down, but sometimes it trips the breaker – and of course that’s what happened just as the anchor came off the bottom. But Chris was able to keep Windara safe while I reset the breaker and finished hauling.
We’re still figuring out a weird glitch in our helm station charts – which chose to rear its ugly head as we were passing through one of the narrow, rocky areas. Fortunately I had my phone and quickly pulled up my charts while the helm plotter restarted itself. We need to figure that one out, but we think it has something to do with an error we keep getting about not being able to authenticate charts.
Once we got through the channel, I rolled out the jib… or tried to. I couldn’t figure out why we were getting such horrible sail shape – and then I realized I hadn’t lead the spinnaker and staysail halyards back to the mast (we clip them to the bow pulpit when we’re not sailing to prevent halyard slap and reduce chafe). Total amateur hour. I was joking with Chris that we could make a YouTube channel… “Hi, this is Chris, and I’m Melissa. Join us as we try to figure out how to sail our J/46!”
The trip through the Fox Island Thoroughfare was pretty, and we passed a couple of schooners as they sailed out. We picked up a guest mooring at J.O. Brown, and since the fuel dock was too small for us to get onto, we decided to spend two nights so we could break up the water runs (so glad we bought those two collapsible 5gal water jugs!). We took on nearly a hundred gallons, so we should have plenty to get us out to MDI and probably through most of our time there. Unfortunately the brewery and pizza place weren’t open, so we only went ashore for a quick walk, but the scenery from our mooring was beautiful. We were treated to two beautiful sunsets over the Camden Hills, and even though it was blasting hot, we managed to stay mostly cool aboard (we finally tried out the hatch covers that the previous owner had made, and they work wonders at helping keep the temperature down).
It’s always interesting getting a boat set up for the season after taking time away. You forget so many little things, but it all comes back, and I feel like we we’re finally settled back into our routines. I’m really excited to head downeast, but honestly, just getting out and cruising again has been incredible.
We’ll begin our trip downeast with a stop at Hells Half Acre, and I’m really looking forward to getting back to one of my favorite places. Our first week+ back on the water in earnest wasn’t without its glitches, but it reminded me everything I love about cruising, and I can’t wait to see what the rest of this trip brings.
