We arrived in Maine and have have enjoyed the last four days here, but things have not gone quite as we expected. The truck with our boat has not arrived yet, but hopefully will tomorrow. However, we still appear to be ahead of most boater's here. It looks like at least half the boats are still on the hard with winter covers still on.

We are enjoying Maine. It is still spring here. The trees have just recently leafed-out in the light green of early spring. The blossoms are still on the apple trees in the fields, and nearly every yard has lilacs in bloom. It brings back memories of springs growing up in New England.

We drove up the coast looking at marinas and boatyards (i.e. doing survey business "research"). One yard looks particularly good for hauling our boat for next winter. It is a small place on a little cove on Penobscot Bay, in the countryside a few miles north of Castine.

The influx of tourists and summer people has not really started. We visited several museums, ate a lobster roll at "Red's Eats" (a sidewalk shack in Wiscasset reputed to be the best in Maine), and walked Camden's waterfront, all without any crowds.

The Maine Maritime Musem in Bath was especially interesting. It occupies the grounds of the historic Percy & Small Shipyard on the banks of the Kennebec River. It is near the Bath Iron Works where Navy guided missle destroyers are currently being built. Over several decades around the turn of the 19/20th century Percy & Small built several of the largest schooners ever to sail. The six-masted "Wyoming" at a registered length of 329.5' was the largest wooden sailing vessel ever built in the US. (This is more than twice as long as the Elissa - 136.7 '- that many of you have seen in Galveston)

The museum does not have a large vessel on the site, but has many of the original buildings, documents and pictures, and a large collection of tools and early machinery. The mill has the original large saws and gigantic planers able to handle lumber up to 90' long. All the machinery was driven from a single motor through a system of long leather belts and pulleys on jackshafts. When I was very young, I remember going with my grandfather to get wood shavings for his chicken nest boxes at a mill with a similar system .

Yesterday it was in the high 70's the natives were fanning themselves and complaining about the terrible heat. Today it is foggy with drizzle, the high is 54F, and they are more comfortable. We look forward to the boat arriving.

MaineNote 1

aDSC02274.jpg	aDSC02271.jpg	aDSC02265.jpg	aDSC02238.jpg
aDSC02245.jpg	aDSC02215.jpg	aaDSC02217.jpg	aDSC02219.jpg
aDSC02220.jpg	aDSC02222.jpg	aDSC01704.jpg

Created with iView MediaPro | Sunday, June 3, 2007