A Sailing Adventure to Acadia, Part II: Arrival

When I woke up that morning, I was quite groggy and at first I wasn't sure exactly where I was, but a big wave that caused me to roll on my bed jolted me back to reality.  When I saw the light coming through my window, I was excited.  I'd made it through the night! I dressed quickly and headed up to the deck to check out where we were.  I could see land!  I'd made it through the worst part.

A light morning fog hung over the gulf, and from that I knew we were nearing Mt. Desert Island, our destination.  Xavier had planned the timing of the trip to avoid the worst of the fog, which apparently is a usual occurrence out there in the mornings.  It wasn't the type of heavy fog I'd expected, but still it gave the sea a quiet and eerie feel.

The land that we saw, oddly enough, was a place called Long Island.  Funny, I thought that the place I lived was the only Long Island in the world.  Anyhow, this Long Island is very different than the one I live in...it's much, much smaller and only has a year-round population of about 230.  

skypic

We rolled along the coast of Long Island, and other small islets, slowly but surely making our way towards Mt. Desert Island. This part of our sail was undoubtedly one of the coolest, as we got to see dolphins and seals doing their thing in the cool, calm waters of this chilly foggy morning. This was about as calm and peaceful one could get, I imagined, and I enjoyed every moment coasting slowly towards my newest adventure. 

Before long, we were approaching the big island that is home to Acadia National Park.  Everyone I had spoken to about the place had attested to its beauty and I was very excited to see it.  Xavi's plan was to skip the marina for the first night and moor the boat in a little cove within a fjord that cuts the island in two towards its southern side.  Sailing into the fjord was a breeze, and the views were simply spectacular! The water was very deep and Xavier had to work to find a spot that was shallow enough to anchor the boat, which he eventually did.

What can I say?  This place was absolutely beautiful...a little bit of heaven on Earth.  Check out some pictures of the cove and take in its beauty.  And stay tuned for the next part of my sailing adventure to Acadia... 

Check out Part I of A Sailing Adventure to Acadia: Setting Sail.

Song of the Day - Gecko (Overdrive) - Oliver Heldens X Becky Hill

Today's song is one funky dance floor jam.  It's by Dutch producer Oliver Heldens and it reminds me of something Disclosure might do.  In fact, the male vocals on the track's chorus come from an unknown high-pitch-voiced dude a la Sam Smith's part on Latch and it works just as well.  This one's no Latch though. It's much more fast-paced and it's way funkier!  Oh, and the video is fun, too!  Check it out...

A Sailing Adventure to Acadia, Part I: Setting Sail

The last time I posted from P-Town, I told you that I was going on a sail, a long sail through the Gulf of Maine, all the way to Acadia National Park.  At the time, I was absolutely terrified of taking that trip.  I'd never sailed on a boat that far before (the total travel time was 24 hours!), and in open seas no less.  A feeling of dread hung over me during those last couple of days in P-Town, and it probably contributed to my elongated sickness there.  In the end, though, my little three-day adventure turned out to be the highlight of the week and one of the best times of the summer.

August 16th, 2014: Setting Sail

I was to meet Xavier and his two kids Tati, 16, and Kevin, 11, at their boat, the Maria Cristina, at 11:30 on Saturday morning.  My stomach was full of fluttering butterflies as I took the five minute walk from our house in P-Town down to the Marina.  Xavier and Tati were already preparing for the sail by checking various parts of the boat, changing filters and tightening bolts and such.  My nerves were calmed a little.

Before long, it was time to head out on our voyage, and by 1 o'clock we set sail on our way to Maine. Xavier gave me a patch to put behind my ear so I wouldn't get seasick.  Apparently you must do it beforehand otherwise it won't work.  I was fine with that because I wouldn't have expected to feel that way until we were beyond sight of land anyway and I didn't need to take any chances.

Bye bye P-Town

For the first 4 hours or so, P-Town was still in sight and I felt somewhat calm, yet still a little apprehensive. I knew the inevitable was coming...that sooner or later there would be no land in sight.  Just me, Xavier, the two kids and the Atlantic Ocean, and I was especially afraid of the dark!

We spent a lot of this time with Xav teaching me boat essentials and safety precautions...just in case!  The plan was for him to go to sleep right after dinner, around 8, and sleep as long as I'd let him so that he could take the critical, late-night helm.  

I learned how to make an mayday call, on channel 16, in case something were to happen to him during the voyage, a terrifying thought!  I learned how to read both the radar and the GPS system.  The radar lets you see if there are any boats out there in the darkness.  Gulp! I was instructed to wake Xavi if any blip on the screen came within 2 miles of us, something that thankfully never happened.  The GPS was easy enough to read.  It showed 3 lines, a red one, a green one and a dotted one, which was our desired path.  I'm still not exactly sure what the other two lines were for, but I think the red one actually showed which way the boat was pointing at any given time...it was very erratic.  Anyway, with the GPS, if I saw the boat veering off course, all I had to do was press one of four buttons, 1 or 10 degrees to the left or right.  Simple!          

About the same time we lost sight of land, it was time for dinner.  Xav and Tati cooked up a nice meal of chili, rice and spinach, which we enjoyed on the deck.  Though the feelings of dread and fear still bore themselves into my psyche, I could still appreciate the unique beauty and sights being out there afforded me, and I was taking it all in.

After dinner, it was time for Xavier to get some sleep.  He left me alone, on watch, with the two kids.  The three of us chatted and laughed and kept our eyes on the radar and the GPS as the night sky grew darker. One hour passed, then two...all along I had in my head was Madonna's "time goes by, so slowly," as indeed it did. Eventually we were in complete darkness, huddled together for warmth and trying to keep each other awake.  We wanted to let Xav sleep until at least 2-2:30, which seemed like forever away.

Kevin was the first to go, falling fast asleep at around 11 p.m.  Poor trooper wanted to stay up with us all the way, but he couldn't.  Then it was Tati and I, and let me tell you, she was good!  Having sailed on the Maria Cristina many times before and being the kind of responsible kid she is, Tati was very diligent about staying awake and monitoring the situation.  As for me, well I tried to keep up with her, which I did a pretty good job of, but I felt a lot better with her there.  

Finally, the hour came to wake Xavier up...and get some sleep.  By now, though I was kind of used to the rolling of the boat in the dark sea, sleep didn't come easy.  I was still hoping to miss the rest of the night by getting some shut eye myself.  Xavier came up to deck and I went down below.  Sleep was restless as my body rolled back and forth with the waves.  Eventually I learned to roll with it and get some shut eye.  The next thing I knew, we were approaching the Maine coast at around 9 a.m. through some early morning fog. The sail was almost over.  Maine was near.  I was officially excited!

To be continued... 

Flashback Friday Song of the Day - Ain't No Other Man - Christina Aguilera

justjared

It's been a really long time since we've heard anything new from Christina Aguilera, and with good reason. Last Saturday, the diva gave birth to a brand new baby girl, Summer Rain Rutler, her second child and her first with fiance Matthew Rutler.  So I'd say that music hasn't been too much on her mind these past nine months or so, lol.  Anyway, here's a great old vibe for your Friday from her awesome Back to Basics album.  Enjoy!