August 10, 2017
It was finally time to get back to cruising so we decided to head up the Penobscot River to Bangor. This would give us a good shakedown cruise in protected water and position us close to Hamlin’s Marine where we’d need to take the tender back in for scheduled service on our brand new outboards.
Our new friends Jason and Rochelle joined us for the trip. Rochelle had emailed me when we arrived in Belfast, saying she was a friend of a friend of ours and had been following our blog. They invited us out for dinner and we invited them for a boat tour and we all hit it off, so we’ve been hanging out a lot. Jason is a drummer in a rock band (a hobby, not his profession) and you can hear some of their music here.
Bradley, Jason, and Rochelle at the festival in Bucksport
We had a great trip up the river, stopping for the night at Fort Point. We went ashore for a walk at Fort Point State Park and found some berries to pick – blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries! We then headed by tender north to Bucksport, where a street festival was in progress. We had fun wandering around and stopped in for a drinks and some snacks at one of Rochelle’s favorite places. We passed by Fort Knox – not the one where the gold is kept though – and under the Penobscot Narrows Bridge.
A bald eagle on the Penobscot River
After a peaceful night at anchor, we continued on to Bangor where we had a reservation at the town dock. We arrived on Sunday morning, for the last day of Metal Fest! Our spot on the dock wasn’t available until noon, so we anchored out across from the main stage. Interesting, but not exactly our kind of music. Finally our dock was available. Because of the climate, Bangor has only temporary docks that are put out for the short summer season. We were assigned to a small dock just outside Sea Dog Brewery and Bradley deftly maneuvered the boat into our spot without a hitch. It turned out to be a great location – walking distance to everything and a fun place to hang out.
At the town dock in Bangor
Bradley went for some bike rides, 24 to 37 miles max, and I had some great runs and walks around the waterfront. I found the Hollywood Casino, where I stopped a few times to donate some money. I discovered a harness racing track, so would go for early morning runs to watch the horses work out. We visited several great restaurants and Jason and Bradley decided it was time for haircuts. This was a much bigger event for Jason than for Bradley, but the result was very good for both! And Rochelle was extremely happy.
Bradley drove the tender down to Hamlin’s Marine where they changed the oil and made some other minor adjustments. We also made a list of items that need attention on the big boat and will return to Belfast to deal with them.
We had been carrying our old fire extinguishers around in the hopes of using them for some practice. Docked near us was a boat owned by the fire department and I noticed a group of firefighters on the boat. I wandered over and met Joe, a lieutenant who does training. He offered to take us to his house where he could set some safe fires and let us put them out with our extinguishers. It was a great exercise, providing us a very good refresher course.
Bradley displays good firefighting technique
We visited Jason and Rochelle at their house where we enjoyed lobsters and met Jason’s dad Jerry and his wife Francis. We enjoyed Bangor and extended our stay by a few days, but finally departed to head back to Belfast. Jason, Rochelle, Jerry, and Francis all joined us for the trip. We stopped for lunch in Castine, where we tied up to the town dock. Then it was on to Belfast and back to Front Street Shipyard for a short stay.
Here’s a video slideshow showing some of the work we’ve done on the boat:
And some more photos:
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- Paul Bunyan statue in Bangor
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- Fog rolling in!
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- Rochelle with a haul of raspberries
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- Jason picks berries at Fort Point
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- Bradley at Fort Point
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- Fort Knox and the Penobscot Narrows Bridge
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- Joe sets a practice fire
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- Kathy gets ready to put it out
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- Trees growing along the Penobscot River
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- Underway in fog
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- Wild turkey seen on a walk
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- Rowing with bagpipes
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- Early morning workout
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- Sad sight – caged tiger at the state fair
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- At the Castine dock
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- Rochelle enjoys her time aboard
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- Jason with Fort Point in the background
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- Stopping in Castine for lunch
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- The first cut is the hardest!
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- Neat and trim!
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- They look younger!
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- An artist in Belfast
Shear Madness 
#1 by reb. A. on September 18, 2017 - 12:39 pm
9.18.2017
Hi all
Hows the cruising campaign? Are these random picked or just happen upon anchorages? Are the planned anchorages curtailing from attempted, absorbent, astronomical,imposed fees from some foreign ports & etc.? Your photos & commentary are just magnificent ! Do you do many charter invites on your boat? If so does that require special permits &/or ins.? Along with pfd’s & related safety gear for the voyages! How did all of you fare from hurricane irma! or was your boat near hurricane ally at the time?
Always good to hear from you! Be well
________________________________
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#2 by B.D. on September 18, 2017 - 12:15 pm
9-18-2017
Hi all
Excellent articles there’s no indecent profanity like some run of the mill cruiser wannabes. The thumb nail photo’s are right to the point,colourful,crisp & clean. Are you all still sailing or just taking a break?
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#3 by B.D. on September 13, 2017 - 12:25 pm
Remarkable anchorages! Do you research destinations before making the actual voyages?
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#4 by Anonymous on August 22, 2017 - 5:18 pm
8-22-2017
Your inspirational posts are informative to fellow boaters and helpful in deciding which anchorages would offer the most benefits toward an ongoing boating experience. May your voyages be prosperous!
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#5 by Briavael Cianelli on August 12, 2017 - 9:50 am
What a fun time. I’m so glad you are still enjoying cruising. Katie and I still enjoy reminiscing about our wonderful time with you last year. Thank you again for that!
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#6 by Jean on August 12, 2017 - 5:36 am
Uhh, that ain’t no turkey. Some body’s guineafowl got loose.
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#7 by CYNDY Morreale on August 12, 2017 - 12:24 am
Bert& I wish we were with you !!! Might head east to NCarolina in Sept or October, depending on the storms. My college roommate bought a 2 bedroom condo on Pawleys Island, S C for $90,000😳.. must see it. She’s loving it, a retired journalist with 2 labradors and a horse. Also checking out a warmer, lower latitude winter spot … Were doing a lot of fishing in Colorado – but itching to catch a grouper 🤗
Hope we can meet up somewhere. Need a couple of hobos to join you?
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#8 by Maratime11 on August 11, 2017 - 4:20 pm
Bradley, Enjoyed your latest post. Hope we hook up at some point. Pat
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#9 by jeff marcon on August 11, 2017 - 3:18 pm
Glad to see you are are still enjoying SM.. I had seen the boat for sale listing on Yachtworld.com a while back. Glad you still have her and wish you all safe travels. cheers.
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