If you have Google Earth on your computer, you can see the cruise track map
I'm putting together for family and friends he

http://home.maine.rr.com/rlma/GEfile...er08Cruise.kml

It's GPS track import and so detailed you can even see us swinging at anchor
if you zoom in close. I deleted the segments where I left the GPS on anchor
alarm watch all night to reduce file size but, if you look closely, you can
probably figure out where I hooked on to a big piece of kelp, broke it free,
dragged, and had to reset.

Total track length 458 NM. I've said that Strider is as good a motorboat as
she is a sail boat and it's a good thing. Although we had some great sails,
there were enough calms that I purchased 32 gallons of fuel during the trip.

The first leg out of Portland shows us swinging by Skip and Lydia at Handy
Boat to say good by and swap a couple of items. I had my brother and friend
on board and we mostly motored through fog to the friend's 60th birthday
party at the Aug 16 stop. Barbara joined me there and the two of us
continued on in beautiful, but calm, weather the next day.

We only had one day of unpleasant weather. What was described as a
"Powerful cold front" on the Wx went through just after we turned around at
Cutler. I sent Barbara below to read when the rain started. There wasn't
much wind where we were but the rain was of biblical intensity and the swell
running up from the south against the tide pouring out of the Bay of Fundy
was kicking up some impressive seas outside of the Libby Islands whose
cliffs have claimed many vessels. The view of those cliffs through the rain
under low clouds with waves large enough to often shut off all view behind
the crests when down in the troughs was one of the wildest and most desolate
vistas I've ever experienced. Barbara didn't see it and I'm glad because it
might have made it hard to get her on the boat again. My failure to be
appropriately apprehensive is due either to faith in the boat developed by
working on her all winter or some defect in my common sense gene. A USCG 47
footer went by about a mile away, did a sudden 90 degree turn for a close
approach, and then turned again when they saw that I was wearing my PFD and
giving them a friendly wave. Seeing that boat working in those seas made me
realize just how well Strider was handling the conditions.

We had a heavy beat up into Southwest Harbor, two reefs in the main and
three in the jib, boat still laboring hard as we short tacked and avoided
the maze of pots with toggles stretched across our path by the current.
Hard work and great practice.

Finished up the trip with a great long close reach into Portland at 6 - 6.5
knots.

We all know that dealing with things going wrong on boats is part of
cruising and this trip was no exception. We were coming back alongside in
the dinghy after a walk on the beach at Roque Island and I noticed a blister
a bit larger than a silver dollar in the paint stripe at the sheer. When I
repainted it green, the paint film evidently adhered to the aluminum toe/rub
rail. Water getting under the aluminum broke the paint bond and filled up a
little blister. I gingerly pushed the water out and flattened it hoping it
will remain intact for the rest of the season. Damn, you would think after
working on the boat as much as I did this winter, everything would be
perfect.

There was one other odd little mechanical weirdness which resolved itself
but I'll post separately about that as it is a topic in itself.

--
Roger Long