The Lewis R. French – Part 2

The literature said 1871 schooner with no engine, but the engine was out in our own personal motorcraft.  A Yanmar twice the size of ours gently pushed us out and along, as the water was smooth as glass and hardly a wisp of wind.  When we finally set sails, the tug was tied tight behind us.  

Every time we needed the engine, Cap’n G just climbed down to the little boat, set the engine, and climbed back up.  Pretty slick.

As advertised we got to help with the lines, and all the jargon.  These sails had a stick at the top, gaff rigged, so when you raised them, you had a throat halyard and a peak halyard.  Two people each.  I think I got some good triceps workouts.  I learned to coil and hang the halyards.  The main stayed up, so we only raised and lowered the foresails, staysails out over the bowsprit.  3 more out there to raise.  Then Kelsey (the messmate) demo’d climbing the mast to raise the topsail.  She made it look pretty easy, but she also looked pretty buff.

We motor sailed til about 3, when we ducked into Pickering Island for a lobster bake.  Nice beach covered with smallish rocks.   

We had to row in in the “dinghy”, 8 at a time.  Jerry and I went first with Zack (first mate), the wood and the fire ring.

The question was shoes.  Should I wear nice strong tennis shoes so I can walk on the rocks, or sandals in case I get my feet wet getting off the dinghy?  I decided sandals, which diverted me from noticing the sky (dark clouds).

At the beach we gathered kindling and Zach got the fire started.  He had a whole garbage can full of firewood.  He started the lobster fire and a grilling fire.

Then “cooks boat” arrived with cook and messmate and the lobster, etc.   

The firewood was dumped out of the garage can, 

and the lobsters (who had been in the pot with water circulating) were dumped into the garbage can without the water. 

Then put a little water in the lobster pot to make enough steam, and set it on the fire to get hot.

Meanwhile, those of us dumb enough to risk the sand fleas went looking for mussels, and found a huge plateful.   

There was lots of seaweed (which Gail conned me into eating, yum), and you just lifted the seaweed off and looked in the cracks.  

 They were hard to pry off, but got easier as you got the knack.  I tried for a 4” crab, but he pinched me.

So the water gets hot, and then we have to take the rubber bands off the pinchers before we toss the lobsters in the pot.   

The trick is to get them all in at the same time so they cook the same.  Well, it took a minute to learn how to do.  You pick them up by a claw, and they wiggle and squirm, and you pull off the rubber bands and then hold them until enough people have a batch to toss in the pot.  It went pretty quick.

Then the “corn toss”.  Cap’n Garth would toss the corn and Zach would field it with the lobster pot lid to land in the pot.  Then the mussels, and we had to wait.

That’s when the black clouds decided to dump.  Just enough to get everything wet.  All the cushions we brought to sit on, all the jackets.  But still it was fun.  I found a driftwood board I could handle by myself and positioned it by the fire, thinking ahead to a place to eat and be warm.  Pretty tricky if you ask me.  It was Jerry who suggested we move it out of the smoke.

The rain quit the time we ate; Capn G said it would.  Messmate Kelsey grilled red hot dogs and skewered chicken and veggies, and then hamburgers,  giving you an idea how long it took the lobsters to cook.

Then Garth gathered a huge pile of seaweed, and dumped the whole mess on that.  The seaweed keeps it warm, and gives you something to to cover it with.  There was plenty of lobster.  Ulla sitting next to me ate 5.  I went for 1 lobster, 1 mussel and 2 corns.  With drawn butter.  The had a pewter pot they put the butter in with the lobster.

But the tide was rising, and as it started to sizzle the fires, we gathered the paper waste and burnt it in the fire just a the tide started to make it sizzle.  Wonder how they knew where to build the fire so it would go out just as we were ready to leave?

Down in the galley was seating for all 21 of us.  Amber got out the cards, and Natalie and Ben and I started Uno, and then Ulla joined us.  I didn’t know Uno could be so cutthroat!  Especially when you can’t tell the different between blue and green in the low light.

Zach played banjo, and Amber played a mandolin, and they all sang sea chanties, especially pulling up the ancho.

Second Day, Isle au Haute (pronounced sort of like Idaho, which I thought would be a neat trick if we could make it there for the afternoon).

Jerry was helmsman most of the day.  

Claim to fame here was a chocolate store called Black Dinah’s, about half a mile from the “dock”.  Also a lighthouse, and an old school.  Along with a whole bunch of big mosquitoes.

Jerry and I headed for the chocolate store, but since he had been helmsman all day he was not into a major hike.  He went most the way, but I found the chocolate, and got a couple of pieces.  The chocolate wasn’t nearly as good as the hike and adventure of finding it.  Who would expect a store up a gravel road?

Day Three:  Snob Island (not it’s real name).

That’s the day I got to go out on the bowsprit.  You just climb over the wooden parts of the boat and step on that webbing that goes out.  It’s really an iron bar, so it feels sort of safe, if you hang on to the bowsprit.  Zach said “just hang on to something wooden, not something rope”.  After we got out there, Kelsey, me and Zach furled the staysail tight to the bowsprit.  Kelsey wrapped it with a rope, then Zach went out and pulled it tight and found another couple of feet of rope we had to take up.  But it was really fun.  After you get your legs you can stand out there propped between the mesh and the sprit and can use your hands to work.  That was the highlight of my day.

I think we sailed 35 miles this day, and rounded Vinal Haven, which looked like we were pretty close to open sea.  I couldn’t believe how stable the boat was.  The biggest issue was if a gust of wind blew open a book and you lost a bookmark.  Cups stayed put, cushions stayed put.  Easy, peasy.

And this was the night with the stars.  Camera couldn’t see them, but I could.

Day 4:  Back to Camden, which we could practically see. 

Breakfast was quiche leftovers.  Lobster quiche, vegetable quiche,  I don’t remember what the other 2 were. 

I had granola and fruit.  The granola was awesome.  At least half nuts and fruit.  Amber made a lot of stuff for me:  gluten free pancakes, lobster free chowder, milk free mashed potatoes, cheese free salad, gluten free bars for dessert (with 3 g protein), and several tofu and tempeh options that I couldn’t partake.  But there were 2 other vegetarians on board, so that made it nice.  If they could get some before I wolfed it all; they were a little slower getting to the food.

Of course every time we stayed and left we had to drop anchor and raise anchor.  I was very interested in that process, so I was always around.  To raise anchor you needed a hoser (Marion), to use the hose to rinse the mud off the anchor chain as it came in, 4 crankers, 2 on each side, to operate a winch sort of like a railroad team with long arms going up and down.  I always picked port outside, the easiset place.  I counted for every heave down, the chain moved one link.  And the links were maybe 3 inches long.  So how many links (heaves) does it take to raise 60 feet of chain?  There was also a flaker, who arranged the chain in the box so it would fit and feed out nice the next time it was dropped.

We motored all the way back.  The crew got busy with all their cleanup chores.  Us guests had to pack.  I don’t like goodbyes.  Everyone just loaded up their stuff and left!