Surprise seems to be enjoying this unusual Maine winter as much as we are.  Our winter cover allows lots of ventilation and when the weather has become unseasonably warm we have been able to go onboard and do some projects while planning others which will have to wait until spring.  It just feels good to look around at the spacious deck of Surprise and realize how fortunate we are to be able to take care of her.  She is inches away from the water on her port side and inches away from the skilled craftsmen at Rockport Marine on her starboard side.  Thats a win-win.

Now that the Holiday is behind us and we were warmed by some great family moments shared around the Christmas tree and the dining table we turn our attention toward planning our 29th season in Camden.  Wow !  We certainly have shared some great times with all of you and we are looking forward to sharing lots more when the sun completes its trek northward.  As always our opening weekend will be Memorial Day Weekend but there is lots to do before we have YOU help us raise those sails.  In spite of some snowfall during the night we have the heat on in the shop and Capt. Jack will be starting to take apart every one of our twenty-four blocks so he can grease them before we put the rigging back together.  Even with the shop quite cozy during the day for projects we cannot yet think about varnishing anything because our night-time temps still fall quite far below freezing.  But you can sand and prep in all kinds of temperatures.

Earlier this week we actually got some cold daytime temps and some fluffy white snow.  When that happens the shop door closes behind us and we head out to Megunticook Golf Club in Rockport where we can snowshoe and enjoy a breathtaking view across the Bay to Cadillac Mountain way down east.  When we look out toward Goose Rocks and nearby Mark Island we realize what an amazing playground we have in our sailing season.  We continually remind ourselves that we are indeed very fortunate to live and work in this wonderful place.

Almond-Crusted Haddock

We start 2011 on a bright note with another one of Michael Salmon’s fabulous recipes.  We are proud owners of both of his Hartstone Inn cookbooks which have consistently made us look like we really know what we are doing in the kitchen.  We had  enjoyed great success sharing our table with our children, spouses and grandchildren over the Holiday and this was a quiet treat for the just the two of us.  Thank you to Chef Michael for starting off our New Year with chives !

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

We wish you and your family many special moments together as you celebrate the  season and the hope for a peaceful new year ahead !  We are hunkered down for the Maine winter after completing a new post and beam barn for Surprise behind our house in Camden.  We enjoyed a busy and productive summer thanks to the weatherman.  This seemed to be the year people really wanted to enjoy all that the Maine coast has to offer.  We are looking forward to having three of our four children and their families under our tree at various times throughout the holiday.  The Mauians hesitate to leave their island paradise at this time of year.  It is hard to believe that our oldest grandchild, Malia, is graduating from Lahainaluna High School this year and heading off to college….possibly in British Columbia.  At the same time, our youngest grandchild, Owen Tucker, will complete the first grade in Bath, Maine.  He plans to attend Bowdoin College in Maine where his dad works.  Owen will major in skateboarding as far as we know.  The rest of the grandchildren are active in school and sports.  Owen’s sister, Katy, invited us to her Holiday choir concert this week which was fantastic.  Cara’s children, Brendan and Becca continue to skate fast and furiously with their hockey teams.  Since Joshua and Kristin live here in Camden, we get to enjoy Max and Sophie who skillfully helped us decorate our Christmas tree which we had cut down on our land in Cushing.  We have made the decision to rent our house in Cushing next summer.  Our winter project therefore is preparing for a summer rental.  Yikes !  We’ll make time to visit our friends in Puerto Rico later this winter.  Maybe we will find that perfect retirement boat while we are enjoying some Caribbean sunshine.  For the moment, the mighty Surprise is covered and resting comfortably at Rockport Marine.  We will embark on the 93rd season for that very special schooner next year.

We look forward to seeing you in Maine whenever you venture downeast.  Again, please enjoy your family at this wonderful time of year.

Fondest wishes,

Barb and Jack

A Freshly Cut Balsam Fir

MAX AND SOPHIE HELPED DECORATE

WAITING FOR A WHITE CHRISTMAS AT THE NEW BARN

On a beautiful Wednesday, the day after the elections, we finally launched our dinghy and rowed out to Curtis Island.  This year it became even more important that we visit the island and the lighthouse since we had recently attended a memorial service for “Connie” Conover who had, along with his wife Deede, been the keeper of the Light for over thirty years. This was the first time in our 27 years of living and sailing here that we had stepped foot on this beautiful place.  As we walked the island wondering how many eagles and osprey had nested there over the years, we encountered Deede and a friend who had also rowed out to take down the flag which had been flying at half-mast during the past weeks in tribute to Connie.

Living in Camden gives you the chance to observe the natural beauty around you and also to reflect on how things continually change  and yet the island remains very much like it was when settlers first arrived in the eighteenth century.  We are certainly blessed to live and work here.

Folding the flag for the last time this year

In late October Charlie Conlan and his crew erected the timber frame for our new shop in the back yard of our house on Harden Avenue.  Charlie is one of our relief captains in addition to being a fine builder of timber frame structures.  We hope to have the shop completed in time to move all our gear from Surprise into it before we bring Surprise over to Rockport Marine for the winter.  We will keep the progress of the shop updated on the blog.

The Lewis R. French departs on Labor Day

Despite the clear threat posed by Hurricane Earl, the Camden Windjammer Festival took place on Labor Day weekend.  Friday festivities were cancelled since Earl was expected to hit Friday night into Saturday morning.  We brought Surprise to our mooring in the outer harbor and spent the day Friday preparing for Earl.  We removed sails and stowed them below decks.  We also added extra lines to our mooring and chafe gear to prevent lines from wearing due to rubbing on the rigging.  Once all the preparations were completed, we repaired to shore and waited for Earl. Fortunately, the steering currents of an approaching cold front brought Earl far out into the Gulf of Maine and the Bay of Fundy.  We received some heavy rains and some vey impressive ocean swells that made their way into the mooring area.  Surprise danced mightily but her lines held and we were able to withstand the onslaught.  We spent all day Saturday and early Sunday morning undoing all the extra precautions and we were able to resume our trips on Sunday afternoon.  Meanwhile, festivities on shore resumed at 4 pm on Saturday with model boat races, a pirate invasion and lots of shoreside demonstrations.  The highlight of the weekend was a spectacular fireworks display following Gordon Bok’s great concert of acoustic folk songs in Harbor Park.

All in all, a great Windjammer Festival for 2010

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Spring Ritual in the Boatyard

In the sailing world the rites of spring always include lots of scraping, sanding and painting as the weather warms and day lengthens.  This is especially true for wooden boats owners like ourselves.  Since Surprise is proudly celebrating her 92nd year we are vigilant about maintaining her to the highest standards.  Our National Register status does not limit us on choice of paint color or any restrictions like that but we keep our maintenance schedule in line with her historic character.  Soon we will be sailing that history once again on Penobscot Bay.  We hope you will get to enjoy it with us and evaluate our painting for yourself.  Now it is time to change the sanding disc on the orbital sander.

The new Granite Steps

We continue to make progress on our house renovation.  Yesterday the new front steps were installed.  Our contractor Ryan Lawrence found us an economical supplier of granite which we selected just last week.  He had them delivered and installed and now we have a proper front entrance.  Meanwhile, Matt and Gary have almost completed the two sets of wooden steps and porches for the kitchen entrance and the back deck.

While this work has been going on we have removed the plastic covers from our masts at Rockport Marine and we are getting ready to work on rigging and fitting out Surprise for the sailing season.  Ahh Spring!

A Spring Celebration

After our recent success during this Christmas holiday feast, which was inspired by Michael Salmon’s cookbook (In the Kitchen with Michael Salmon), we celebrated the arrival of spring this week with another one of Michael’s delicious recipes.  This time it was “Flounder  ”Oscar” with Maine lobster (see p. 155) and we served it to two other sailing couples, our relief team of Capt.Perry Davis and his wife Bethany McNelly  and Capt.Robert Burns and his wife Kelly Fales.  We celebrated the near completion of our Camden house renovation and  toasted to the sailing season ahead.  Soon we will be far too busy with boat preparation to have such fun with Michael’s recipes.  Then we will be able to sample them from his own hand as we make reservations to dine in the exquisite and friendly atmosphere of the Hartstone Inn.

The Red Front Door

It’s a sure sign that we are making progress on the house renovation when the carpenters gave us permission to paint the front door.  We are hoping to have the major work completed in another two weeks and then we can finish interior painting and installing appliances.