Q: How do you get a rat out of the lee scuppers?
A: Tack |
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Drying sails at the dock
October 5, 2011
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Fall is here, the leaves have turned and are presently blowing away with the late breezes that balance the light airs of summer. The American Eagle is triple tied up to her dock, her working anchor is set out in the channel, systems are winterized and we have a visitor in the main cabin, one that hasn't been there for several years.
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Our faithful auxiliary engine of 26 seasons
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The arrival of 3000 pounds of iron heralds a thorough cleaning and repainting of the engine room as well as preventive maintenance on the engine itself...hoses, some gaskets, and a lot of paint. Meanwhile our sails are at the sailmakers in East Boothbay for checking over and some restitching.
The 2012 schedule is now posted on our website. I've raised most of the fares a little to make me feel better and am offering discounts to make you feel better about what is a good deal anyway. Returning guests enjoy 10%, new 5%; there's no deadline for the discount this year, but you still should reserve early to save your favorite cabin for your vacation.
Now that the ordered days of sailing are over for another year come projects and winter work: new fore boom and gaff, some cabin upgrades (how cruise line like!), a long list of little repairs (the hot water tank is out being welded up), and a planned launch for the little tug Cadet the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Tide's at 11 am; you're all invited.
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Cruise Pictures
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Rockland Breakwater Sunrise
photo courtesy of Nola Logan |
A couple times a season the American Eagle departs early morning on a longer adventure. Whether to Canada or, as in this picture, on our way to Gloucester, Massachusetts, it's one of the ways a cruise with us is unlike any other.
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White Island Light (off Star Island) , New Hampshire,
Friday morning, September 2, 2011
photo courtesy of Nola Logan |
Established in 1821, White Island's current light tower was built in 1859. Often swept by storms, White Island has had a number of structures washed away. The severe gale in 1839 washed away henhouses and forced the lighthouse keeper to bring the family cow into the kitchen. Nathaniel Hawthorne visited the island in the 1840's. One of the first lighthouses to have a fresnel lens, the present light is one of the first light emitting diode units put in service. The first solar panels set up were swept away by a mid-April northeast storm in 2007.
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Galley Shots
While lobster is the favorite food memory for many guests, the surprise at the end of lunch or supper is often a visual delight as well as tasty. Nola kept surprising us all season: decorated cupcakes, individual cheesecakes as below. Baking from bagels (on a schooner?) to cheese Danish and even homemade English muffins duded up as breakfast sandwiches. |
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photo courtesy of Nola Logan |
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"I can't believe the food those girls put out from that tiny kitchen. Wow!!!"
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photo courtesy of Greg Gettens |
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Cruise News | |
Coast Week, our last six day trip of the fall. During this cruise we spend a little extra time on the beaches of the harbors we visit. The team in this picture proudly display what we picked up in thirty minutes on Two Bush Island in Stonington Harbor. The crew are brandishing pick-up sticks made from old swab handles, safely tipped with a wine cork, which are often found on board. By the end of the cruise we had collected about twenty bags of debris, almost entirely stuff washed up, lost overboard from boats and docks and very little from visitors. We find the shore more in need of picking up in spring rather than fall.
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On Two Bush we left the pile of feathers where a bald eagle has dismantled several herring gulls. The bald eagle is no longer classed as endangered here, just threatened, but as part of the balance of nature, the population of terns, gulls, and cormorants is beginning to decrease. |
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Postcard
This is the oldest continuously operating lighthouse in the world, built in the 13th century.
The Hook Lighthouse, postcard sent by Tom and Elfi from County Wexford, Ireland
Upgrades over the centuries:
1671 new coal burning lantern
1791 change to whale oil
1871 change to gas
1911 change fuel to kerosene (paraffin)
1972 electric light
No mention of henhouses or cows!
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Those of you who have been aboard are like the family friends and relatives who used to visit our house when I was little; my parents were happy to share the coast with them then, as the crew and I do now on the American Eagle...and you leave as friends! photo courtesy Dinnie Aldridge
All the best from the Shipyard, Captain John Foss, Schooner American Eagle |
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