July 26-31                        Southwest Harbor, Maine

David has quickly resumed his woodworking project.  Using teak wood, he is gluing pieces together to form the desired thickness and then, with the band saw brought from home, he is forming curved shapes to fit the walls in our master stateroom.  He is making new baseboards to cover the spaces left when several years ago we removed carpet and installed wooden floors.  It is a difficult and time-consuming project but he seems to relish the challenge.

Miller has become a full-time employee and is often with us for breakfast and lunch.  We invited him to dinner one evening and enjoyed lengthy conversation on the aft deck.  The following morning, he arrived with beautiful orchids and a lovely note.  He is truly a remarkable individual.

After two days of foggy weather, I took advantage of a sunny day and went into Bar Harbor for a leisurely stroll through the streets and shops.  Sherman’s is a renowned bookstore with a great collection of books on Maine and seafaring.  With no one to rush me, I spent more than an hour perusing their shelves.  A large cruise ship was in the harbor and people were everywhere.  The local newspaper reported that Mark Cuban’s yacht (more than 250 feet in length) was anchored nearby but I did not see it.  This is the time of year when the huge yachts come to Maine from Canada, Europe, and the southern climes of the United States.  It is a revolving boat show and we enjoy seeing the display of beautiful vessels.

The floral scene has changed in the past few weeks.  Bushes of huge white oak leaf hydrangeas are seen everywhere and lovely yellow daisy-like wild flowers fill open spaces on the roads.  Most bridges have boxes of flowers on the sides and shops are decorated with pots of flowers at their entrances. Hanging baskets that were small a month ago are now overflowing with abundant displays of geraniums and verbenas.  Many homes have English gardens with beds of various flowering plants that seem to respond with vigor to the cool but sunny weather.

As the window and door painting project had been completed and met David’s exacting specifications, he decided to have Miller paint the front windows, galley windows, and part of the bow area of the boat.  This took days of preparation involving considerable sanding taping, and caulking. 

Miller had used brushes for the earlier part of the project but insisted spraying was the best way to finish the job.   Using our davit, he and David lifted the marina’s large air compressor from the dock to the bridge.  They attached long hoses to reach to the bow below. On Friday evening, we moved the boat to a mooring ball outside the marina in order to have ample space to spray paint without impacting other vessels.  Taking the dinghy back to the marina, Miller left us for the evening.   We enjoyed a beautiful harbor view and a magnificent golden moon.   Early the next morning, he returned with one of the marina guys and they began to work.  Before noon, three coats of paint had been applied and we were excited to see how the bow area had been transformed.

Most of the tape and paper was removed later in the afternoon after the sun had baked the finish to a hard shine.  We began our journey back into the marina and quickly realized we had a serious problem.  Our bow thruster was not working and we had to negotiate docking into a very small space.  It was a difficult maneuver and we could have had some damage or inflicted damage on others had we not had Miller’s remarkable agility to act as a “human bow thruster.” He jumped back and forth from our deck to the deck of the neighboring boat to push away our hull as David eased the boat into place.  Everyone on the dock helped to pull in the lines and we finally were safely docked.  David diagnosed the bow thruster problem, ordered the part, and it was repaired within several days.  It is essential equipment for moving the boat and we are keeping a spare part on board for any future emergencies.

Soft-shelled lobsters are now available and we buy them for $5.00 each from David, a neighboring lobsterman.  Soft-shells are much easier to crack and we think they are sweeter.  We are being spoiled by the easy availability, abundance, and affordability of this delectable seafood but we have vowed to take advantage of the situation as long as possible!!