North Haven by Sail
After spending two days focused on the MITA trail islands, I sailed across to the Fox Island Thoroughfare to spend some time on North Haven. It was foggy when I left, and there was a good breeze, making for an interesting trip. But the sun came out as I approached North Haven, and it was nice to sail into the Thoroughfare for the first time. I’d never been there under sail and was interested in getting some restaurant food and drinks after two nights of camping.
I texted Jamien and Josh to see them for dinner like I usually do. Jamien is Monica’s (Neal’s wife) sister, and I’ve known her for a few years. She has lived on North Haven for most of her life and has worked at different organic farms over the years. The small world story is she started dating Josh a few years ago when he was caretaking for Butter Island and working for the Cabot’s. I actually filled in for him the summer I was living in Maine after bailing on New York City and my relationship there. I was the Butter Island Caretaker and I have the t-shirts to prove it. I really only did it a few weekends and didn’t ask to be paid. I just love being out on the island. I was starting to be a recluse, a closet introvert in an extroverts’ body. So, Josh and Jamien dated intra island (which I think I was actually help facilitate with my filling in) and then Jamien spent a summer out there caretaking. They now have a daughter Eula, and a house out on North Have, complete with new solar panels I learned at dinner.
I got there a little early and went downstairs to the North Haven Brewing Company and had a beer. I think I Intentionally get to Calderwood early so I can do that. We ate at Calderwood and got our usual large veggie pie + sausage and a few beers. Josh was on call as an EMT so he couldn’t partake. It was good to catch up with them. Apparently, there was a wedding on the island, so the place was pretty dead, and it was good they weren’t invited so we both had something to do!
I had considered going to Camden for the film festival (CIFF). It has become quite a thing in the past few years. I first heard about it in Australia, Tasmania actually. Arlo and Alanna who are great friends of my old friend Genevieve, an Alaskan New Yorker who was also in Sydney. Arlo is from Camden, and his best friend growing up there started the film festival. They go every year, and I always wanted to go see them. We shared a very cool experience in Tasmania and they are people I like very much and would have fun re-connecting with. Anyway, I decided not to go. It is a bit of a scene and didn’t feel like it was in line with my sailing trip. Maybe next year.
After dinner I went back out to the Ensign and my little tent. I realized the internet from Waterman’s Community Center worked out on the mooring which was a game-changer. I organized my things, basically moving night time things to take the place of daytime things and vice versa. I made my bed with the thermarest and started to think about how I would be using the bucket as a toilet. All part of the experience.
I woke up early and decided to take advantage of the free internet. I was trying to figure out the best way to do it when I had a stroke of genius. I took the hatch cover for the bilge and lay it across the seats in the cockpit, put a cushion on the floorboards and voila!, a desk. I love that about boats. Those boards were my footwell all day, my bed at night, and my desk that morning. I got a lot done. The internet was actually faster and better than mine at the house in Brooksville. They must have a library connection with super high speed at the community center.
I spent the morning there in a thick fog. It had been foggy every morning, and that morning was no exception. The forecast was for the wind to pick up. And I decided heading back out the west entrance of the Thoroughfare since the wind was shifting out of the west. Josh and Jamien invited me to see their new house over in Bartlett Harbor, but that was west, and not the way the wind would be pushing me. I realized a perfect layover would be Banks Cove where I had been for a BBQ a few weeks back with my friend and landlord in Portland who lives on North Haven. I needed to talk to her about the plan to sell my apartment, mainly because I’d been asking her to sell it to me ever since I moved in. The issue now was my job situation, and the implications that has on getting a mortgage. So, I wanted to know her timeline and plan to figure out what I might be able to do.
I honestly don’t know what I want to do. But I believe in the universe. And I’m listening intently. The right path will unfold.
We had talked about going back to Calderwood, but they were beat from an event filled weekend in Camden for the film fest, and I was just as happy since I had a lot of food to eat. I actually could have had them for dinner since I had 3 burger patties. I decided that since I wasn’t eating buns, I could maybe handle all 3. Made one in my traditional way, salt and pepper, but no cheese. There are always pickles, Dijon mustard and ketchup. For burger number two, I used salt and pepper, and added a dollop of boursin cheese, which is always a good idea, but very rich. For the last one, I went with the old standby but added my aged cheddar cheese, always my go to. I felt totally sick after eating all 3. I was wrong.
Banks Cove was the perfect layover. I could see north to Butter and Great Sprucehead, and basically to Buck’s Harbor behind them. They have a mooring there as well, which always makes me more comfortable than the anchor. It’s nice to be able to sleep well and not worry about the anchor.
The sail home was incredible. I was on a broad reach / run the whole way, and there was the best breeze of the trip. I sailed inside Eagle and outside of Butter, and then did a straight shot down past Pickering and Birch and through the Pumpkin channel. It was pretty low water which is always a concern with a keel that draws three feet, but I hugged Pumpkin like you are supposed to, and could even video the passage as I sailed through.
Got home, unpacked, and got ready for the storm.
