Out on the Water

Finally after six months of cold we set sail again. After the needed maintenance was done we cast off the dock lines and set out to visit Jewel island for an overnight. It was great to be sailing again the boat felt as alive as ever. Weather was great with steady winds and sun. While it felt like Spring it was still chilly and plenty of bundling up went on in the cockpit.

End of the season?

As Winter draws to an end it dealt out a solid Nor'Easter last week that provided some large swell to the exposed areas. Shot of the Portland Headlight during this storm.

Facelift

The mainsheet car got a little mangled over the Summer so it was time for a facelift. You can't see the stress cracks on the bail but trust me they are there. As you guessed a new one is insanely expensive for something that is not even built very well. Along with the price in the future I would like to upgrade the entire track to the next size up so making a car investment right now didn't seem right. Kicking around a few ideas, most adding up to to much money, I decided on a rebuild.

Land Ho

Keeping our beach hut building skills up to date we decided to make a quick little shelter from an incoming storm. Scavenging materials is much easier when the islands don't get any visitors.

Proper site selection has to do with gauging the tides and picking a spot where you have to move as little materials as possible.

We built a waist high stone wall for the front and went with classic A frame style. Even lucked out with finding a 6' pallet for the floor!

The entrance was in back and the roof was actually quite nice. If one wanted to stay an hour to work lacing in spruce branches, it would have made a liveable shelter until winter arrived.

How to: A Traditional Maine Lobster Bake

Post lobster bake I am not sure if we should be happy or sad. 

Happy because we had an amazing feast after a very rough day of sailing or sad because we quite literally may have had the best lobster we will ever have in our entire lives to come. I know this sounds like a bold claim but where in the world do they have better lobsters than in Maine? 

Within Maine they have one particular area that is coveted as producing the best lobsters in Maine, yes you guessed it, Ragged Island. Which is where we had found ourselves. Fresh lobsters are the best, no one will argue that, so we literally had to row out to the lobster boat and they handpicked us the delicious creatures right out of that hours catch. Did I mention that it was 40 knot winds that was funneling into the cove where our boat was moored amongst the lobster boats that RJ and our new friend Derek (worked for the lobster boat) had to row through?

Finally cooking the lobsters in a pile of kelp gathered minutes before and thrown on a driftwood fire is the undisputed best way to cook. Enjoy our photo's highlighting how to do a real lobster bake and hopefully someday you to will get a chance to enjoy!
 

Due to the heavy winds and chop in the harbor we had to carry our dinghy around to launch above the lobster boat and get pushed down wind to meet it.

RJ and the stern man rowing back for the lobster boat.

Not drive thru.

Sailor Jerry

When we launched our boat this past summer, nerves in bundles and staring at our vessel with fingers crossed that it wouldn’t sink, a man came strolling down the dock and welcomed us to the live-a-board community. He introduced himself as Jerry Palazzo. He had those smiling eyes that could instantly put you at ease and a way of conversing that made you feel like you had known him for years. He was known on our docks as “the mayor”.

When we were settled into our slip, he extended an invitation to his boat. At the time we didn’t know “boat protocol” for going to another persons boat; do you knock three times on the side to see if they’re there? Give a little “ahoy matey!” perhaps? We screamed amateurs. Luckily though, when we went over, Jerry and a few friends were sitting in the cockpit and he warmly invited us to come aboard. Jerry handed us a cup with some rum in it and we fell instantly into pace of the ongoing conversation. So began our friendship.

Moving pictures

This is the short video from out recent sail in ME. Of course we didn't take nearly enough footage and many days are missing but you can get the idea from the movie of how it went. Hope you enjoy.

Fall trip from Neto Nomads on Vimeo.

Holding on to Summer

ME Summer from Neto Nomads on Vimeo.

With the first snow falling I went through some random clips from the summer and threw them together. Brings you back to the warmer days.

Climbing Upper Goose

After a long Summer of limited climbing we decided to take up the quest to follow rummors of a climable boulder on a near by island. After convincing a friend to come along we headed up the bay to Upper Goose. The above is the first sighting of the island cluster.

Anchors, Raft-Ups and Overnights!

Hammock time!

We headed out yesterday into Casco Bay in the later part of the afternoon after getting some errands done and prepping the boat. Our friend RJ jumped aboard and we headed out past Fort Gorgeous and continued around Cow Ledge. Neto Nomad responded nicely to the consistent winds as she carried us along on our adventure.

Chief eyeing Nick's sandwhich

Fellow Cape Dory owner and friend (Captain) Tyler and Chief met us out on the water and we eventually headed to a little island in Casco Bay. We laid out the anchor (for the first time mind you - woohoo!!) and Tyler rafted up next to us (2 boats, 1 anchor).

The Cape Dory Story

Maine brought new wind to our sails when we encountered a 30' Cape Dory at the Northeast Sail Boat Rescue in Freeport, Maine a few weeks ago. Nick trekked back up for the Marine Survey today and from what I hear things are looking good! I hope you are as excited as I am to hear back from him! Stay tuned Nomad friends!

When you can't travel far, travel smart!

Offshore traveling at a temporary pause doesn't mean local travel can't be exciting. Sometimes the best travels are close to home. An overnight trip to Maine to check out a few new boats led us to this hidden gem of a campsite. 

Beach front accommodations

Hermit Island Campground is situated on a small island, accessible by car during low tide, and is located about 45 minutes from Freeport, Maine. Here we found our romantic private beach campsite.