Boston

What a pleasure it was to be in a large US city! Docked at the newly renovated Boston Yacht Haven, we were right in the downtown area, walking distance to all the historic sites and only a couple of blocks from the Italian area, the North End, where a festival called St. Anthony’s Feast was being held. We discovered a fabulous Italian restaurant, Limoncello, whose owner Maurizio takes great care with all of his customers making each one feel like a member of the family. Across North Street from Limoncello we found V. Cirace & Son, Inc, purveyors of fine wine and spirits. V. Cirace, a third-generation business that was established in 1906, will even deliver purchases to the boat!

While Jon and Margaret visited their children and granddaughter in the Boston area, Judi, Terry and Mike took in the sights of the city. We walked the Freedom Trail that runs from Boston Common, past Faneuil Hall, the Old North Church, Paul Revere’s house, etc., culminating in a tour of the USS Constitution. The USS Constitution, Old Ironsides, is the oldest commissioned ship in the US Navy and still sails today. In fact, we were lucky enough to see her sailing in Boston Harbor!

On our final night in the city, we enjoyed a home-cooked dinner of pulled pork and authentic Boston Baked Beans with Margaret and Jon's family. While the meal was delicious, the highlight of the evening was the entertainment as Sophie displayed her hula-hooping and dancing talents. Such a treat!

JAWS!!!

The weather cleared and the seas calmed so we left Boothbay Harbor and headed to Boston. We saw a number of whales spouting and diving and then, about 20 miles from Boston, something odd was sighted. From afar, it reminded us of the lobster traps we had been seeing – a large plastic bottle trailing a float about 10 ft behind. As we drew closer, we thought it must be a large sunfish. Sunfish often swim at the surface of the water with one fin up and can grow to several hundred pounds. We slowed the boat to take a picture and realized that it was a HUGE SHARK!! The dorsal fin was out of the water at least 2 feet! The shark rolled over on his side, looked at us then kicked his tail and swam off. We have seen large tiger sharks and hammerheads in our fishing days but never a shark this big. We estimated that he was 15-18 ft long with an enormous girth. Further research has confirmed that he was a GREAT WHITE!! Our comment: "We need a bigger boat!"

Boothbay Harbor, ME

Margaret and Jon departed Rockland on Saturday to visit their family in the Boston area while Judi, Terry and Capt Mike took the boat to Carousel Marina in Boothbay Harbor. The marina was named for the movie "Carousel" starring Gordon MacRae and Shirley MacLaine, because the movie was filmed right here! The area is quintessential Maine. Absolutely beautiful, jagged shoreline, small islands, 18th and 19th century homes, lovely lighthouses, lots of lobster trap buoys and lobster houses. Due to weather and rough seas, we've had an extended stay so we rented a car and drove to the home of LL Bean, Freeport, ME. It is an unbelievable place. The entire town has been turned into an outlet mall! It is the "Disneyworld" of department stores. Even the historic library building is now an Abercrombie & Fitch. Too much for us non-shoppers. We also stopped in the town of Bath, ME where the US Navy destroyers were built during WW-II. Nice town. Having eaten no barbeque in quite a while, when we saw Beale Street Memphis Barbeque, we had to try it and were pleasantly surprised. Top notch! Add it to your places to eat, if you are a barbeque fan.

Every region of the country has its own specialities and while Maine is generally known for its lobster, there is one other food that is special here: Whoopie Pies. A Whoopie Pie consists of 2 layers of Devil's Food Cake, about 5" diameter, with a cream filling. They are not too sweet and taste similar to a "Zinger".

Rockland, ME

The cruise to Rockland was slowed by the veritable minefield of lobster trap bouys dotting the coastal waters. The weather was nice and the scenary spectacular so we relaxed and made the best of it. We continue to be impressed by the number and differing styles of lighthouses we see.

Rockland Harbor, located off of the sailing paradise of Penobscot Bay, has combined commercial fishing enterprises with tourism and pleasure cruising. During our harbor cruise in the tender, we counted 10 seals swimming around the wharf, waiting for their free meal as the fishing boats cleaned their nets. Known as the "lobster capital of Maine", Rockland also boasts a downtown filled with excellent galleries and interesting shops.

Great news for Gimlet drinkers. The Rite-Aid pharmacy carries Rose's Lime Juice - along with those "pharmaceuticals" known as beer, wine, vodka and gin, all at reasonable US prices. All's right with the world again!

A slightly bumpy tender ride took us to Rockport and Camden harbors. Both places have changed immensely, having become more "modern" and tourist-oriented, since the Fullertons last visited 20 years ago.

Margaret and Jon picked up a rental car Friday afternoon in preparation for a drive into the Boston area on Saturday to spend a few days with their kids and granddaughter. That also meant that we were able to drive to the local seafood market and pick up some TWO POUND lobsters for dinner! The lobsterhouse steamed them for us and while delicious, we all agreed that the ones we steamed ourselves at Southwest Harbor were better. Lots cheaper too!

Shelburne, NS to Southwest Harbor, Maine

After a brief overnight stop in the historic town of Shelburne,pictured above, we awoke early to flat seas and calm breezes. Seizing the window of opportunity, we modified our plans and headed to the United States. For 9 hours we cruised open seas, accompanied by seals, porpoises, sun fish, puffins and humpback whales, all enjoying the perfect day. The humpbacks were especially acrobatic, diving and showing their flukes. What a wonderful day!

When we arrived at Southwest Harbor, we were greeted by an estimated 26 million lobster traps blocking the way into the marina, Dysart's Great Harbor Marina. Problem #2: the transmission on the starboard engine failed at that moment. We secured the boat to a mooring in the harbor to investigate the problem. We found there was a transmission fluid leak somewhere. Filled it up and hobbled into our slip. The Hinckley mechanic said we had a bad transmission oil cooler. He had one overnighted and installed it the following day. Perfect.

When we checked in at Dysart's, manager Jane asked if we would be interested in any lobsters. One of the dock hands was selling 1 1/4 lb lobsters for $5 each! We ordered 10. We steamed them in sea water in the dockside steamer and devoured every single one. Delicious!

Southwest Harbor is on Mt. Desert Island, the same island where upscale Bar Harbor and Northeast Harbor are located, though Acadia National Park encompasses most of the island. There is a free shuttle, sponsored by L.L.Bean and Friends of Acadia, that runs all around the island so we were able to do some land-based touring. We hoped to catch Thunder Hole in full roar, planning our visit to coincide with high tide but unfortunately, the calm seas that blessed us the day before, rendered Thunder Hole mute. The coastline of Maine is beautiful. The town of Bar Harbor is pretty but too touristy for our taste. Northeast Harbor had many lovely shops.

Jon and Margaret's friends, Nancy and Harry, are in Maine and stopped by for a visit. We were delighted to hear the news of their new boat purchase, a Cape Dory 28! We enjoyed lunch together, catching up on all the news.

After months of being the largest boat at the dock (and sometimes the ONLY boat at the dock!), we are suddenly amongst mega-yachts, dwarfing our 65 footer. What a contrast!

Lunenburg

The beautiful town of Lunenburg is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This traditional fishing and shipbuilding town, established in 1753, was a planned Colonial settlement. The buildings have been beautifully preserved and were interesting to see. We tied to a floating dock that was attached to a very old wharf; many of the pilings were actually tree trunks with bark still attached. The tidal drop was more than 6 feet so at low tide, the floating dock was at least 12 feet below the wharf. To get to the top, we had to climb up the wall on a very old ladder. Going up was not so bad; coming back down was much more challenging!

We highly recommend the Italian restaurant in town, Trattoria della Nonna. Best Italian food we have had in a very long time. We noted there was no veal on the menu. In fact, we haven't seen veal since Quebec City and wondered why.

We were told that the Sci-Fi Channel was filming a Stephen King episode of "Haven" on the black boat at the wharf, picture attached.

Halifax

We arrived in Halifax during the Halifax International Busker Festival. What is a Busker?? Busking is the art of performing in public places for tips and gratuities, says Google. So there were street performers everywhere. Lots of fun that no doubt goes on unto the wee hours. We were all glad that we were moored at the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron rather than at the downtown wharf! Though Halifax is a large city, it seems clean and relatively free of the less desirable big city elements. We enjoyed strolling the waterfront, the historic area and the Public Garden. The flowers in the Garden were spectacular!

The Yacht Squadron hosted sailing camps for all ages of children. We really enjoyed watching the little ones learning to sail.