Labor Day Weekend - Near the end of the season of 2022

The season for boating is fast coming to an end. The Labor Day weekend is nearly here and will be the last time we are planning to be boating before the time to move the boat south to NH for the winter (did I just use that cold term?) haul out. But the forecast for the weekend is nice and we are looking forward to some relaxing end of the season time away from the dock.

We came up to the boat on Wednesday before the holiday. On Thursday I joined our dockmate Glen on his fine sailing craft for a marvelous day sail. The day was mild and flitted between clouds and sun. But the day produced a fine breeze from the north that was steady for the duration of our sail. And as you can see we did a fair distance. 

The wind was very brisk being in the upper teens and gusts in the low 20 knots. We used the boat's recent new mainsail reefing system to reduce the sail area and the boat settled into a perfect balanced angle of heel and clipped smartly along at times over 7 knots - and in a sailboat that is moving extremely well.  You can see the corner of the mainsail that has been partially rolled into the boom and behind is magnificent Seguin Island

The boat's name is Chickadee III

I am really enjoying the wonderful ride.

The view of Seguin from the south, or open ocean, side.

And Captain Glen with Seguin in the background fast falling behind in the wake.

The next day turned out to be a work day. Faye noted that a switch on the electric stove that controlled the selection of oven and/or top burners seemed "wonky." She was right. Here you can see the switch that took most of Friday to replace. But I was more than thankful that it decided to fail when and where it did rather on our summer trip. That would have made things far more complicated.

A fine start of the Labor Day weekend.

And we never get tired of a stay in Boothbay Harbor. This is Saturday and there is still a good number of people out and about.

A nice day for an end of season walk out to Spruce Point. Just after the footbridge we stopped to call granddaughter Madelaine and sang Happy Birthday to her. She sounded great and was off to brunch with a group of new college pals.

And I will ask regular readers of the blog to guess why I included this picture. Hint there is definitely something missing. The answer is below.

Looking out to Squirrel Island.

A sea rose hanging on to the end.

We savored our final walk of the year through the woods that is part of the Spruce Point Inn Property.

The empty bridge is a sign the times are a changing!

And a final ice cream is a good idea don't you think?

I just noticed this funny arrangement for the Whale Watch ticket office. Hope they have the door blocked from the inside.

And here is what is missing from the photo above. 

And the answer is ...........................

The Butt Tree

As much as I will miss the most interesting abnormality, I do have to admit the view of, and likely from, the home is much improved. Oh well - progress.

We had planned and hoped to go east to the Damariscotta river and stay in Seal Cove. But the forecast had changed and Monday was not to be a good day so we decided to head back to the comforts our slip. We passed on the west side of the harbor on the way out for a different view than normal.

This is Brown's Wharf.

And you can see from below that the updated forecast proved to be correct. Monday was rainy and in the low 60s as compared to the bright sun and low 80s of Sunday.

It was good to be plugged in to the shore power and set the electric heaters to warm us like the sun did yesterday. We will stay on the boat until the weather clears and then head to NH. 

So to all Good Night and May God Bless