One curse to living and sailing on the coast of Maine is, there's a lot of summer distraction in the form of family and guests, getting together, that can cut available time on the water down. So we may not even leave until afternoon to return home barely 24 hours later. We shut down the diesel in the outer harbor and hove to under mizzen in light air, and never turned the diesel back on. Raising sails, we just headed into the bay to see what the light wind offered. It was sketchy for some time. At one point, we broad reached on a light Southwesterly off Mark Island while the flotilla of racers in the Penobscot Bay Rendevous, ran toward us in a wall of colorful spinnakers, in a Northwesterly wind!

I've gotten used to that, it can take a while for the morning wind on Penobscot Bay, to sort itself out. But then it did and we tacked through the edges of the Pen-Bay Rendevous Race as they doused spinnakers and hauled to windward in a cloud of those dark ominous Star Wars like jibs. It was exciting but I was happy to know we had the day and night to ourselves.

The fine reach took us toward Pulpit Harbor, again, so we sailed into the narrow entrance, midday. That's a good time to sail in and onto our anchor, there was still plenty of space. Sliding in close hauled on a SW'erly, it's port tack-starboard tack-port tack-starboard tack, more of less with our boat, and you're into the outer harbor and free of hazards.

There was plenty of space past a big HR so we sped past on a beam reach and brought her into the wind, rolled up the jib(a furler is very handy at times like this), and rode the last of the winds power on the main. I drop the anchor while Mary Ann helms. The anchor is a good "brake" in this situation and you never know if you over shot,...your spot, which shallows quickly, beyond.

Then boats piled in all afternoon, big ones, little ones, you name it, it's mid summer and everybody is out there. Not much sailing room was left at dusk. Both of those schooners sailed in through the narrows and onto their old fisherman anchors. Quite a sight, I never tire of it.

After an afternoon of dinghy sailing, and then more of the same the next morning, the fleet finally clears out and there's room to sail off the anchor. The rope rode is easy to hand up but the last 40' of chain needs the windlass. That's when I raise the main and get everything set- to sail, in the cockpit. As the chain goes tight, it get's a little tricky. Cleaning the mud off, bringing the CQR aboard, watching the direction the wind is setting the main, etc. etc.

I waited until I was pretty sure the main was helping point the boat away from the shore, then rattle up the last chain and anchor over the roll and step quickly to the cockpit.

I'm just as glad not many boats sail out of Pulpit, it would be a traffic jam. The entrance was all to windward and several hazards need to be threaded during the half a dozen or more tacks we needed. 5 knots of Westerly wind with the flat water inside allowed our old boat a nice steady helm and enough speed to flow through the several tacks.

The biggest problem is boat traffic, 3 or 4 power boats and a couple sailboats under power, have to figure out what you're doing and how they can get around you. But everyone was patient and very courteous yesterday giving us all the room, and time, we needed even though it slowed them down.