Further Adventures Of SV Nutmeg

 9/17- Rockland ME    We got stuck in the Rockland fly trap again. We were going to take a day and then head out but the rain came and washed out one day. Then the next day was too windy as in way more than forecast. Then the next day there was no wind at all. Arrgh!!    We finally a got a day with less than 15 knots of wind forecasted. A 15 knot wind is great in the middle of summer when it is 75 degrees out. It’s a whole nother monster when it’s 50 degrees. The air is denser thus more molecules hitting your sails causing more heeling.    The weather did not look great for the rest of the week so we just headed to our old standby, Perry Creek. It was a nice sail over and we were the only ones in there for about another hour. I am always amazed at how quiet and still it is here. I could hear my clock ticking away all night.     We waited in the morning in the hopes of sailing as the wind was fairly light. Once we got going we drifted alo...

 9/12- Rockland ME    We left Dark Harbor a little more timidly than yesterday after getting beat up. It did help when someone called us on the radio and said they were nervous also. It turned out to be a fine day even if the sailing was a little rough. The wind had picked up out of the west making for some lumpy seas but it was no problem.      We had for some time been wanting to stop in North Haven as we had never actually been in the town. We pulled in and picked up a mooring at JO Browns. We had not been off the boat for three days so we took a walk through town and beyond. We came back in later for some very good pizza at Calderwood Hall.      There was less than zero wind this morning so we just motored back to Rockland and picked up our mooring. We had plans to have dinner with a friend up in Belfast so we hopped in the car and drove up there.      For the last couple of weeks I have been noticing a Guillemont hanging a...

 9/10- Cradle Cove, Isleboro ME   We took off early this morning to catch a little of the tide as we ran across the bay in fine form. It was a nice close reach all the way into Searsport harbor where we tacked. We then headed down the long narrow part of West Penobscot bay. The wind, by the forecasts that I saw was supposed to turn west at this point. Instead the wind continued its SW run ever increasing as the day went on. We slowly started reducing sail in order to keep the boat on her feet. The wind was undecided in what it wanted to do. One minute it was a nice mellow breeze and the next it came roaring down out of the mountains to try to topple our boat. We ever so patiently worked our way down the west coast of Isleboro close hauled until we got to Warren Island where the wind and waves and ferries all combined to make the entrance one to not forget.      We anchored just off the mooring field for Dark Harbor boat yard. The wind would just not let up as it...

 9/9- Tom Codd Cove, Holbrook Bird Sactuary, Brookfield ME   We were debating what to do next. There is a storm coming tonight that has big winds with it. So the debate was if we hung around Rockland we would be there until Friday or we could head off and deal with the storm somewhere else. As we only have two weeks left until we get hauled out we opted to head north and hopefully the storm will play itself out before it gets to us. We decided on Holbrook because the wind would be SE all day making it a nice broad reach and that we would be able to tie to a mooring in a very protected cove.      The wind was really light when we left. We were moving but it took us almost an hour to leave the harbor.  The wind finally filled in and we did have a nice if somewhat cold reach all the way to Cape Rosier. The wind went wandering at this point and Mr Perkins brought us the rest of the way.      The winds are supposed to gradually pick up through the...

 9/7- Rockland ME   We got the stay sail furler working again and the wind had calmed down some. We waited a while this morning before heading out from Tenant’s Harbor. It was nice sailing in 15 knots of wind so we decided rather than beat our way up the  Muscle Ridge we would go around by Two Bush. We lolligagged along and as the wind petered out we ran out the yankee. We weren’t really getting anywhere as the tide kept pushing us out in the ocean. We tried tacking but that didn’t get us much further. We looked up and saw another rain storm headed our way and didn’t think much about it.     Big mistake as it was quite the squall when it hit. The ocean frothed right up and the boat was once more put on her beam ends. As we were coming up to shore we were in need of a tack but that would have been impossible with the Yankee flying. I finally managed to get the line on a winch and dragged most of it in. Of course this is right when the dinghy decides to becom...

 9/5- Long Cove, Tenants Harbor ME    Well today started easy enough as we had a nice downwind run with just our Yankee out. I knew from the wind direction and the forecast that once we turned the corner of Hupper Island things would get hard. It was blowing 15-20 and this is a narrow area with an ess like twist to it. We rolled up the Yankee and ran out the stay sail. I wasn’t sure if I could drive the boat with this sail alone but in this area I wanted a sail I could tack easily. Well none of this worked very well. The wind was hard right on the nose and there were several boats transiting the area at the same time so we called for Mr Perkins to help us out.     Once we got to Marshall Point the stay sail became a bit of liability as it kept blowing us off course. I finally said screw it and decided to roll it up. That’s when trouble began. There was a wrap in the furling line inside the drum and I couldn’t pull any of the sail in. I went up to try and un...