Now that everything is put away and winterized and the snow plow is next on the work list I might recap our season which ended on October 7th.  We ended up winning both formal races we entered this year, both competitions marred by gentle collisions which spiced up those days a bit.  In the Gloucester race we gently fended off the affections of the schooner behind us

photos courtesy of Mikael Carstanjen

and managed to stay ahead of them despite their yachty spinnaker and main staysail.  Hoping that next summer's races will have the same results without the stress on the paint. 

                This fall the tug Cadet has been out of the water for annual painting, just in time for Sandy to breeze by without any permanent damage to schooner or shipyard.  Replacing two docking lines and two days of reroofing buildings and you'd hardly know we were brushed by Frankenstorm.

The crew found a mermaid at a September picnic Photo courtesy of Peter Atkinson

              Wonderful crew this year, as mostly usual, and thank goodness one of them could write.  So here's Andy's recap of the summer from his viewpoint in the galley. 

From Andy in the Galley 

    Season's Over

          As I write this, it's past Columbus Day and all the galley boxes are stacked next to the varnish room for new sparkling coats of varnish. The pots and pans, the cutlery and the crockery are stowed up in the bins, and the napery is laundered and stacked into the Front Room cupboards, along with those herbs and staples that can stand a Maine winter.

          Usually we've got the stove anointed with Crisco and swathed in four layers of film wrap by now, but John and the crew have taken it out of the galley and plan to do some work on it over the winter. It's been a tough summer for the stove, but cast iron is, thank God, amenable to repair. I guess we'll all find out how amenable next spring.

Photo courtesy of Andy Jackson

         Most of the crew will stay here doing maintenance till Halloween, then take off on a road trip to Colorado, where they will presumably go skiing. I'll be leaving for Mystic Connecticut in a few days, where I plan to work at the Noank Community Market till Christmas, when I board the staysail schooner Seaward and set sail for the Sea of Cortez in Mexico's Baja Peninsula. That will keep me busy till next spring, when we peel the cover off American Eagle and start another season.

See you aboard!

Andy

Photo courtesy of Peter Atkinson

           Who would have believed it, the Memorial Day weekend six-day trip may not only be a contradiction of terms but also at this point is half full.  That does, however, leave the rest of the schedule to consider when making your summer plans, if only to help you all get through the holidays and the winter to follow.  My favorite trip is the next one, something to look forward to, another chance to get away to the bays and islands that make up our fair weather neighborhood. 

              From the looks of these snapshots I'd say they were taken in the 1960's when the American Eagle was equipped for groundfishing.

photo courtesy of Vito Piscitello

 

             You can see the checkerboards on deck for sorting the catch. The dory on top of the pilothouse has been replaced by an aluminum skiff. The wheelhouse is now five miles inland as a garden shed at our house.

About to open the cod end of the net photo courtesy of Vito Piscitello

Pictures and Postcards From Shipmates

           We're expanding this section to include other electronic news sources, such as an excellent video of Logan fiddling around taken by Peter Atkinson

Logan Sampson fiddling aboard the Schooner American Eagle

and a picture taken by Bruce Mott in July, 2011, when the American Eagle was making 11.2 knots across the bay.

Photo courtesy of Bruce & Abbie Mott

And rarest of all, actual pictures of the Loch Ness Monster Carolyn sent us in June [I didn't mean that Carolyn was the monster; it's named Nessie I think].

 We'll stick to the Gulf of Maine. 

 Stay in touch with us between newsletters by "Liking" us on facebook.  We recently posted the video of Logan playing the fiddle aboard on a crisp September afternoon.