The night was cool - fall is in the air - and calm. Partly cloudy skies remained through the night and all through the day. The wind was a near calm all day. Temperatures in the upper 60s.
Well it is time to move the boat to New Hampshire for winter storage. It seems so strange to be thinking about taking the boat out of the water. It has been our floating home for most of the last 16 months.
As I discussed in the closing thoughts on the Great Loop, we really would enjoy having the boat back at Longboat Key - but the trip down by boat just seemed like to much effort, time and expense. The other consideration that I had thought about was having to be concerned about hurricanes. If you are reading this immediately after posting, you will recall the passage of Hurricane Dorian. It even just grazed Maine this past weekend and paid a direct visit to Nova Scotia. So it affirmed my thoughts that the trip down would also be a constant game of weather roulette - not something we would enjoy.
But on the other hand we are enjoying an easy ride to Portsmouth. We traveled from home today and left Robinhood about 11:30. The total trip is about 77 miles. Today we traveled about 23 miles to Jewell Island in Casco Bay, located about six miles shy of Portland.
Here we are passing by Macmahan Island to the left and the mainland to the right to get to the open water
We pass the area of Five Islands a short time later.
After rounding Griffin Head and Reid State Park, we pass by Seguin Island at the mouth of the Kennebec river. It is an amazing island, with a wonderful light house from 1873. The lighthouse keepers home is now restored and a marvelous place to visit.
Fuller Rock below.............
...... and Small Point to starboard appear. We have passed though here countless times, first in trips we made from Portland years ago with the sailboats and now with the powerboat at least in the spring and fall (except last year).
The buoy below marks the westerly approach.
After about another 8 miles we are approaching Jewell Island.
And its harbor located in the northeast side.
It is an amazing island and in the public domain. The harbor once was clogged with moorings that people thought entitled them to the prime spots when they want to be there. Fortunately the town had all the mooring removed and it is a great place to anchor. We only ended up sharing it with a very small sailboat and a much larger one. The shots below are from the boat. We didn't go ashore this time as the weather was not the best and we wanted to watch the Pats defeat the Steelers - now that was great fun.
Right after a tasty steak, potato and Caesar salad dinner, I was able to fly the drone. Here are some really nice shots.
The feature in the upper half of the photo is called the "PunchBowl." It is fun to walk to it.
Looking northeast back toward Harpswell.
The "H" of Cliff Island can be easily seen here.
Looking from the head of the cove back toward us.
And now looking southerly to the head of the harbor.
The sun has managed to come out. The shale rocks on the edge of the island look almost like they are on fire.
Well, we are ready to sleep and move early tomorrow so it is time to say ..........................
Good Night and May God Bless
