USA, Bar Harbour, Maine 44:29N 68:10W
Millybrown
Mark Hillmann
Sun 28 Sep 2008 15:11
|
Here we are in the good 'ol US of A.
Hiding in a hurricane hole across the bay from the town. I got in at lunch
time yesterday. What time? Eastern USA, Canadian or UK lunch time? I
am not sure, but we are 5 hours off the UK now.
There was a cruise ship in Bar Harbour and the
customs officer complained that he had spent the morning clearing them, driven
1.5 hours back to Bangor and then had to drive back for me. It is their
own fault for only acting on a phone call from the Captain (as they refer
to me, future crews please remember).
I had radioed the coast guard and spoken to the
harbour master, so the customs knew who and where I was, but I had not rung
them. When we did try from the harbour master's office, it
took four calls to three different offices. The iridium is too
expensive to waste time like that. When the customs man arrived he
took one look at the boat, decided his vehicle was bigger and did all the
paperwork without coming on board.
The harbour master would have let me stay on the
pontoon overnight for $90, but there was a storm coming in and all the fisherman
had cleared out of the harbour, as it is not comfortable in a gale.
Although I said firmly that no storm would reach here: I had seen the
GRIB forecast, I did accept a suggestion of an anchorage a couple of miles
away.
Not much wind in the night, but plenty of rain: The
rain in Maine stays mainly in the bay. There is wooded shore all round and
I saw a loon this morning (a great northern diver in
UK).
 I have sailed back to town now for fresh
food. Can you see the fog? At the bottom of this street is the
harbour, boats , a Norwegian cruise ship anchored out there and wooded
islands. But no, sailing back across in a good breeze visibility was
perhaps 200m. |