Witches, Pilgrims and American History

We’ve been augmenting our home schooling lessons with some significant field trips that emphasize our nation’s history. We sailed straight into 1692 as we anchored in Salem, home of the House of the Seven Gables and strolled among witches and ghosts seeing the Salem Witch Museum and this nice town. Emily learned about our sad history where 14 women and 5 men were put to death just for being different or on unfounded accusations. This hysteria of the day imprisoned more than 150 people and overflowed into Boston.

From there, we splurged and docked at Constitution marina for two nights to see the sights in Boston. We managed to put our 50 foot boat into a 52 foot spot between two other boats with no damage to either the boats or the captains’ ego. Our slip was within sight of Old Ironsides that we toured and learned of this great ship and its contributions to our independence and freedom. We walked much of the Freedom Trail and also enjoyed lunch at Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market. We did take a guided tour which included the Old North Church, Paul Reveres’ House, the Old State House and site of the Boston Massacre, the Boston Common swan boats and much more. It was nice to see a busy city, but we were glad to unplug and move on.

Further south, we traveled still further back into history as we entered Plymouth harbor and the 1621 fall that saw the first harvest celebration with the Wampanoag natives. We launched our dingy and tied up right next to the Mayflower II (a replica that first sailed in the year Kim and I were born). After touring the little ship that brought 102 of the first settlers to America, we all felt a little better about the relative cushy life aboard our little ship. We took the local bus to the Plimoth[sic] Plantation and learned about life 400 years ago from present-day native Wampanoag and actors portraying the original pilgrims and their way of life.

We also attended church in Plymouth and had my cousin Pat and her husband Jeff out to the boat for a fish dinner. Pat, whose stomach gets queasy at the sight of a boat, showed great bravery as they boarded my tipsy dingy for the trip to the mother ship. They came bearing fine wine from the winery at which their daughter now works, an extra copy of the last Harry Potter book, and big hugs for all. The dinner made by Kim was enjoyed and Pat even survived a trip in darkness back to shore.

We have since moved to Cape Cod and had a nice visit with my Uncle Joe and Aunt Sally and we all spent the first night on land since we left the dock in early July. It was nice taking baths and using a toilet that does not have to be pumped. Kim did some laundry since our boat washer/dryer died (did I mention a cushy life?) and we have a part now on order. Their hospitality and generosity is unmatched and Emily dearly loves them both.

We plan to stay put here until the washing machine is fixed unless a storm now down off Puerto Rico decides to visit and encourage us to move to a safer spot. Cruising friends that we met this summer are planning to visit here and Emily is being tempted by the nearby beaches of white sand. We are looking at the calendar and returning to the CT dock by the end of the month may be too challenging for this wandering family. We'll see, Dear reader, we'll see...

Tom

Blue Angels and Maine Angels

We scoured the Charts looking for a good spot to wait for the remnants of Tropical Storm Hanna to hit us. Captain Tom found a nice spot near Snow Island, Quahog Bay (near Harpswell). I put 150 feet of anchor chain out in 10 feet low water and chafe gear was wrapped around the snubber line anywhere it could rub. A fellow Rotarian gave me a section of old fire hose which really worked great. It turned out to be nothing with a lot of rain and winds under 20 knots which is hardly blowing at all.

We stayed put for 4 days and all kayaked under sunny skies and watched young ospreys learn to fish. There is an air force base just north of where we were anchored and the Blue Angel fighter jets were practicing over our boat too. There was an air show and we had front row seats.

One of the locals rowed out in a sturdy boat just to float, watch the jets and to talk. She has lived on this cove most of her life and was a fisherman by trade. I think if I called her a fisherwoman, she would have taken offense. She shared where all the eagle and osprey nests were and welcomed us to explore her little cove complete with a reversing fall. We mentioned that we had eaten our fill of lobster while in Maine, but missed the ability to buy fish in the local stores or from the lobstermen. She agreed that most of the watermen focus solely on lobsters and much of the fish is flash frozen and shipped away. She rowed away after the Blue Angels were done dancing in the skies and Kim baked two pizzas in the gas oven for dinner.

The very next morning, she appeared through the rain and fog in her fishing skiff bearing a 25 inch long, freshly caught, bled, and gutted Bluefish as a gift. It was great and could not have been any fresher. We had plans to have Emily write a thank you note to the Maine Angel and go over and pin it on her dock the next day, when she and her husband passed by on the way to a picnic. We waved them aboard, gave them a tour of the mighty Emily Grace and we all shared coffee and cheesecake that we had picked up in Boothbay. They were very nice and really spent considerable time ogling in my engine room.

Next stops include Portland, Maine, Portsmouth, NH, Gloucester, Salem, Boston and Plymouth, Mass before we head to Cape Cod.

We will miss Maine, but the lobster pots will not be missed. I don’t think that the autopilot has been on continuously for more than ½ mile in all of Maine before I had to dodge the next pot buoy. We’ve put about 700 miles under the keel since leaving the dock in Connecticut and that number would have been much lower if we could have gone in a straight line. And finding swinging room to anchor between the buoys has been a challenge. However, dear reader, after anchoring, it is possible to attach a buoy to the tender cleat and drag it and its pot several hundred yards…don’t ask me how I know.

Tom

The Lawler Academy of the High Seas has started!

Well, things are going pretty well for this cruising family. We visited Boothbay and Rockland Maine and got re-connected with civilization. We had been buying staples (bread, milk, fruit, and vegetables) at little teeny groceries stores at premium prices and living off the goodies that Kim had packed into every nook and cranny on the boat. After six weeks of that, we were due for a replenishment run. We were thrilled to find a Walmart, Home Depot, Shaw’s Super mart and a Hamilton marine store all within a mile from the harbor in Rockland. My credit card is still smoking from the activity.

After stocking up, we snuck way back into Seal bay in Vinalhaven Island and had an entire cove to ourselves. I had purposely arrived early in the day and anchored our boat in the very center of an 8 to 9 foot deep spot at the end of a creek. Other boats came near, took one look at that big boat, and correctly deduced that there was no more room for them. We lowered the kayaks and paddled around exploring. We saw a mature bald eagle soaring above us and seals popping up every so often to see who had come into their backyard. Tom and Emily harvested mussels one evening and we left them hanging inside our dive bag in the water overnight to cleanse out any mud and grit. The next day we enjoyed them as an appetizer and they were really good. Emily found a few small pearls but I don’t think they are going to finance the rest of our trip. Attempts at harvesting clams were less successful.
We also decided to get a jump on home school and we broke out the Calvert School supplies. We did a few days at anchor and developed a routine as we started our passages south. Each day starts with the Pledge of Allegiance and then Dad does about an hour of Math. If we are moving for the day, after math is when we raise anchor, have breakfast and get the boat moving. Dad keeps the boat generally pointed towards the destination, while Mom instructs in Science, Mythology, Spelling, Composition, Geography, Art, Phonics, Reading, History and Poetry. Although Math is done every day, some of the other subjects are rotated throughout the week. Mom still has the lions share and also has to deal with a queasy pupil on days when the passage is a little rocky. Emily complains a little but is finding math easy so far. Composition will be a challenge, but most of the other subjects are being attacked with vigor. We are already substituting when we find the prepared material too lame. Calvert art, for instance, would have Emily tracing her hand and painting a rooster (something she did when she was 4). Below is the Lawler Academy of the High Seas art project. Family and friends are requested not to look too close since you may be viewing your Christmas presents…did I mention that the mussels were really good?

Tom