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Voyage 2016: Chapter 2

Heading Up to Nova Scotia

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11 Jun 2016, Destination Change -Now Scituate, 42 12.15 N/ 070 43.212 W

Forecast has changed a bit since last report; wind (on the nose) and rain are predicated prior to our arrival in Gloucester. So, the CCCs (Cautious Comfortable Cruisers) opted for a mooring ball in the town of Scituate. Little did we know that we would spend 4 days there. As we have never been there before, we were anxious. "Easy Rider" was supposed to show us the way but no one was there. When they finally came to us, there was confusion and more anxiety. After twenty minutes, we were tied up to the mooring ball.
Day two here was heralded by a cold gusty wind. Fortunately, the launch was running so we got dressed and headed to St. Mary of the Nativity church which was a five minute walk from the drop off point. Beautiful church and good sermon. Then we headed for TJ O'Malleys for a burger and pizza. That was also a Sunday treat.
On our way back to the boat, the wind was howling. Megan, our launch driver, was accompanied by her mother for moral support. As it was early in the season, her wind skills were a bit rusty. But she did great! There were no bumps, no rubber marks, only a smooth approach to Jule III. Tough job.
Wind was howling 15-20 gusting to 30 kts. We headed back to town for more food and then a brisk walk to the Scituate lighthouse (5 miles round trip). Lighthouse was impressive but no facilities so we had to head back early to find a bathroom. Day 4 was ... Windy! Can't imagine. We went to town yet again where we noticed a rather grumpy staff at the Harbormaster's office. Apparently there is no love lost between "Easy Rider" and the Harbormaster. We got in the middle as we wanted to take a shower. Long story.

16 Jun 2016, Heading for Portland via Isle of Shoals, 43 43.728 N/ 070 12.258 W

We left Scituate yesterday at 0519 ET with light NW winds. We were able to motorsail with jib and jigger for most of the Isle of Shoals leg. There were lots of lobster pot lines throughout the trip to IofS. We saw two dorsal fins slowly drift past us. A whale? A shark? We find out today. We arrived at IofS mooring field at 1420 after the winds picked up to 15+ kts on the nose. As is custom, we 'borrowed' one of the mooring balls in the bay. It is also custom, to vacate the ball if the owner arrives (even in the middle of the night). It was a Wednesday and there were several balls available.
Today we left IofS at 0607 with a bit of wind (on the nose) but was we left the island chain, the wind dropped to 5 knots. It was still morning when our 'fin question' was answered. We saw three fins (daddy. mommy, and kid) where the fin closest to us gave a great stern shot. A quick google search proclaimed that they were probably dwarf minke whales. This was Jule's first whale sighting ever. We are excited!
Arrived in Portland with a flurry of traffic and picked up the Handy Boat mooring ball (R05) at 1540. We got a great mooring ball (R 05) which is close to the office. This is good as we will be leaving the boat for a little over a week. Nice place with nice people.

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