The second part of the voyage to Maine began in Hadley Harbor at 4:30 a.m., first light. We motored north two hours and caught the current flying through the Cape Cod Canal. By 8:15 a.m., we were on Cape Cod Bay, motoring north toward Casco Bay, Maine.
Dodge Morgan in 1986 set a world record for circumnavigating the globe singlehande. Now, every summer near his private island in Maine, he hosts a party that includes a regatta that "celebrates the spirit of non-competitiveness."
The regatta has a starting gun, and this year, when the gun went bang, a record number of vessels began sailing in a light to moderate breeze out of Quahog Bay toward the ocean.
Robin found her self in the wake of a Morris 36 daysailor, a gorgeous and, no doubt, swift boat that costs over $400,000.
Tom Gilmore and I had the main and staysail up as we prepared for the start. Once the gun sounded, we rolled out the genoa.
And the competitive juices.
Taking aim at the transom of the Morris, we began gaining on it.
Now the Morris wasn't doing too bad. It was right with the rest of the fleet, which included Dodge's beautiful 30-foot schooner, a Mariner 42 (I think), a Cape Dory 33, a couple of Rhodes 19s and several other sailboats, kayaks and canoes.
We were about 20 feet off the Morris transom when one of the kids on board pointed back at us with an odd expression.
A Westsail 32 is surpisingly capable in light winds. I knew that, and I steered accordingly and was able to get upwind of the Morris, whose skipper no doubt believed the "Wetsnail" nickname that suggests Robin is a dog.
In time, during this non-competitive event, we passed the Morris to our sheer delight.
The race is called the Bang and Go Back. The second gun sounded, and everyone came about and headed back toward Snow Island, Dodge's private retreat. When Robin crossed the finish line, every boat except the Mariner 42 was in her wake, and she was nipping at the Mariner's transom.
We and the Mariner circumnavigated Snow Island and then we all attended the lobster picnic on the island. The next day, Sunday, we motor sailed to Rockland, our destination, in 11 hours, a pretty good trip with no disquieting events but much gorgeous scenery.
Now Robin is on a mooring in Rockland and I'm entertaining myself (in a coffee shop right now) while I await Monica's arrival on Friday.
I ate the rest of the bluefish last night. Tonight, I have three mackerel in the freezer that I caught after dinner last night.