Thanks! I've been flipping coins on the route after the Great Lakes. Your
excellent report solved the issue. If it's unseasnably foggy, rainy, cold
take the inland route through NY. If it's unseasonably warm and clear take
the St. Lawrence all the way down and hang a right down the coast. If it's
.. . . . Seriously, I appreciate your wellwritten report and it surely
helped a lot in my own plans. Once I check the inland routes for mast
lowering requirements, if any, I'm thinking of killing some time up North
and outlastingthe hurricane season by doing the Erie to the lakes then back
up to the St. Lawrence and so on . . . .tothe coast and down. As you just
got back and prior to the impending storm season can you comment on how late
in the summer it's considered OK to be off Nova Scotia and Maine. On the
Oregon/Washington coast the rule of thumbis don't start south later than
Labor Day. Also . . . . . .where'sthe best sourcefor thosegreat
lobsters!!!! Out west we often make adeal with the fishingboats.

Michael

"Jeff Morris" wrote in message
...
We're back from our Maine Cruise. A bit soggy, but a good time was had by
all.

Crew: Jeff & Claudia, Amelia (9), Molly (Portuguese Water Dog), Woody &
Arlo
(Feline-Americans)

Itinerary: Boston to Salem for July 4th fireworks, Kittery, Seal Harbor
(Richmond Island), Jewell Island, Potts Harbor (Harpswell), Sebasco
Harbor,
Harraseeket River, Kittery, Gloucester, Boston. There were a few other
places
we would have visited, but the weather was not cooperative. There was
precipitation every day we were in Maine, fog almost every morning, and
the
temps have still not gone over 80 in Portland yet this year.

Best Sailing: Actually, the first and last days. leaving from and
returning to
Boston were the best sailing days. Clear, steady 15 knots close reach -
average
7.5 knots.

Most challenging: Kittery to Annisquam - about 25 miles, 20-25 knot
tailwind, 4
foot wind waves mixed with 6 foot short length ocean waves on the beam (a
low
was passing close offshore). I found it a fun challenge to keep the boat
"in
the groove" but half the crew was praying for a swift and merciful death.
We
averaged about 9 knots for that leg.

Most annoying: We had two bouts with thick fog while underway. Visibility
each
time was about 100 yards, not quite "pea soup." The first time was
leaving
Kittery headed East through dense lobster trap fields. The second was few
traps
but we had to cross the Portland entrance channel. We had several other
cases
of medium fog, plus two days that we didn't bother to leave the mooring
because
the fog was only interrupted by rain.

First minor adventu Within two hours of leaving Boston we hooked some
fishing
gear on a rudder and then on a saildrive. Most was cut away while
drifting, the
rest we dragged into Salem and cleared it while on the mooring.

Second minor adventu In Potts Harbor, at 0230, after a major
thunderstorm, we
were awakened by a horn tooting in the mooring field. We called over and
the
skipper asked me to go ashore and wake up the marina owner. It turned out
his
mooring had gotten twisted with another and he was afraid the two boats
would
pound together and sink. Even though the wind had completely died, he was
in
rather a panic, and I had to admit I felt a bit disoriented while
launching the
dink in the middle of the night. I thought perhaps I should power Loki
over,
but in retrospect, I wouldn't have been able to untangle the boats - the
work
boat was the right solution.

Breakdowns: the obligatory head clog. Also, one water pump impellor
failed -
rather annoying since it only had about 30 hours on it.

Highlights: The new Peabody-Essex Museum is spectacular, not to be
missed.
Molly's favorite was the "Punchbowl" on Jewell Island - a large tidal pool
perfect for a water dog to romp in. C's favorite was probably the three
Lobster
Stew dinners at the Dolphin Restaurant, or maybe it was the quart of fish
chowda
we took back to the boat. Or maybe the two lobsters at the Harraseeket
Lobster
Pound. I got a kick out of seeing "Artforms," the Open 50 that set a new
Transat record last month. It was in the slings at Brewer's South
Freeport.
Check out the capsize test video:
http://www.ksopen50.com/gallery/view...e=capsize-test

Next: a few weeks off, then we head south to the Vineyard and Buzzard's
Bay.

-jeff www.sv-loki.com
"The sea was angry that day, my friend. Like an old man trying to send
back soup
at the deli."