Maine - August 10-18, 2009

Since we live where most people dream of taking a vacation, we are often asked where we go for a vacation. This year we decided to spend a week in Maine. As newlyweds in 1985, we sailed a Baltic 51 from the USVI to Camden Maine for the summer charter season. This was our 'working' honeymoon and we fell in love with the area. The summer season was short - Fourth of July until Labor Day - and we managed to squeeze in 6 charters. We were told that the summer of '85 was the best in ten years - only one day fogged in! So we figured we shouldn't push our luck and waited 24 years before returning. We had heard that Maine had been dreary and cold all spring and summer. We told friends that we'd bring the Caribbean sunshine with us. We flew into Boston and spent our first day in Newport, RI. Sunny and 90 degrees! We had excellent weather our entire visit. We left as Hurricane Bill approached.

What makes Maine so special for us is the maritime history of the Northeast and the beautiful classic boats that can still be found in New England. The great thing about being part of a sailing community is that sailors are drawn to areas where there is good sailing (duh!) and chances are you will cross paths with someone you know. We stayed with friends who had cruised the Caribbean in 1980 and became friends because we both had classic boats, as beautiful as they were impractical. When Laura's back went out, we found a masseuse in Rockland who is a winter St. John resident. Also in Rockland, we saw the Schooner Heron that day sails out of Maho Bay, St. John in the winter months. We were able to visit other friends from VI who opened their houses to us and made us feel at home. It was a much needed respite from the steamy boatyard - we hope to reciprocate this winter when our friends in Maine can revisit the VI aboard AMARYLLIS.