June 10                                             Southwest Harbor, Maine

Weather reports were very favorable for the weekend and we contemplated making our planned two-day trip into a long one-day trip.  This would mean leaving by 5:00 AM in order to reach SW Harbor fourteen hours later.  As sundown was not until 8:30 PM, we would have plenty of daylight for the trip.  It would be a long day but we were ready to go to Maine!

We easily left the dock as planned with the rising sun blasting into our eyes as we dodged the lobster pots and entered the ocean.  We plotted a straight course across the Bay of Maine which would take us far off-shore.  This would help us avoid the many islands, rocks, and shoals that present hazards to boaters. 

We took turns at the helm and enjoyed long naps on the sofa when “off-duty.”  Pretzel rode peacefully beside David on the Captain’s bench or snuggled with him to nap.  We saw few boats, many lobster pots, and several large logs floating out to sea.  We attempted to avoid all of them but a lobster pot line became entangled in one of our props and we were jarred by the sudden shaking and noise.  David skillfully reversed the engines and the line was thrown off the prop without damage to the boat (and hopefully to the lobster pot).

The waves were not cresting but the ocean had a rolling quality which seemed to indicate tremendous motion beneath.  I thought of the documentary on the beginnings of the tsunamis in Thailand and Japan in which the oceans were steadily building toward huge waves that overpowered everything in the area.  Nonsense!  There were no tsunamis in New England!  I quickly returned to my needlepoint project.

For a brief period late in the afternoon, the waves began to crest and walking inside the boat was difficult.  David, with Pretzel in his arms, began to walk from the sofa to the helm, lost his balance and fell.  His head hit hard against a wooden table and he lay prone on the carpet.  There was no blood and he finally managed to get up and, with a headache, resumed his duty as Captain.  Pretzel was quickly dispatched to her place on the aft deck. 

At 6:15 PM, we cruised past the new breakwater into our assigned dock at SW Harbor.  Micah, the dockmaster, his son Jacob, and our friends from San Antonio Phil and Linda Hardberger were there to greet us.  We celebrated with the Hardbergers on our aft deck with wine and good conversation.  We look forward to seeing them often during our summer at SW Harbor.