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Small craft advisory? I guess so! We started our sailing season yesterday with the day sail to benefit the Friends of the Rockland Public Library and I'll bet our guests won't soon forget it. We started boarding at 9 am for a 10 am departure and I was thrilled that the sun was shining. My mom, dad, brother, two aunts, and one uncle were on board as well as four crew members from previous seasons...46 people total including this years crew...a full boat.

Thankfully the wind was strong but was blowing us off the dock so departure was (pardon me here) a breeze. I had listened to the forecast so we had already tucked a first reef in the main. It's a good thing we did because the wind did nothing but continue to build the whole time we were out there. We sailed across the West bay getting a glimpse of the Grace Bailey and the Mary Day before tacking by Mark Island. We made a few tacks to get closer to Camden but never really got a close look as the wind started shifting more out of the West. We were heeling quite a bit...so much so that our side boat was in the water and bounced off the block holding her stern. She was just hanging on by her forward davit and I had to climb down to hook her back up. I'm just glad it was the aft davit that came free. It would have been much harder to fix if it had been the forward one!

The breeze made it difficult to eat the wonderful lunch Eileen prepared...corn chowder that was nice and hot and perfect for a chilly, windy day. I ate a couple cookies just because they were easier...at least that's my story!

We headed back toward Rockland for our 2 pm return to the dock and saw the cruise ship Orion...Rockland's first cruise ship visit of the season. It's my understanding that they took passengers ashore in large inflatable Zodiacs and that they were soaked upon their arrival at the town docks. Probably made for a chilly, soggy visit to the Farnsworth. I also heard that the cruise ship dragged their anchor and had to reset a few times. I'm telling you it was very, very windy!

But we made it back to the dock safely, nothing broke, no one got hurt or sick, and it wasn't raining. A pretty good day all in all!

I spent today pretending I don't belong to a boat...I washed my truck, mowed the lawn, took a nap, and read the newspaper. I hope you are enjoying this beautiful holiday weekend too!

One more week of preparation and then we'll be out there on the Bay! We were hauled out of the water over the last week to have our Coast Guard inspection and to paint the bottom of the hull. We don't have any major hull projects to do for at least two years! It's nice to be back in the water and in our summer berth....now we don't have to crawl over another schooner to get to the Evans.

We rigged the main boom, the centerboard, and the topmast yesterday. Those are the hardest rigging projects...now it's easy going from there. We still have plenty of painting projects to do and then the last step before passengers next Saturday is to scrape all the old linseed oil off the decks and apply a new coat. That's always a love/hate project....it's hard work but the results are worth it.

The newest crew member showed up last Saturday and everyone likes her. With the windjammer association's first all-female crew, I think I'm in for a very enjoyable summer!

I went over to the soil and water conservation office to get some small Oak trees, white and red...in about 200 years they will be majestic oaks lining the road. The office gave me a list of web sites for things related to the Maine environment, including this one site that identifies and explains various kinds of plants and animals. I find it interesting that we are bombarded by brand names but few of us learn the names of things in nature, like how to tell one songbird from another. This web site allows you to keep a list of things you have seen, and provides data about identifying characteristics, song, habitat, etc. The other day I saw Mom keeps a field guide with all the odd wildflowers she has come across stuck in for indentifying, who else keeps all that knowledge in their head?

Cold spring Mothers day, I got up early and ran my first road race where I felt like I was doing something until a mother ran by me uphill pushing two children in a stroller. At least I tried ! I've been working with 6'8" John Collins, the yound carpenter formerly known as "Nur" who first worked with me when he was 15. Now he is 35 and has a wife and a son...and hes a good carpenter. Its funny when he throws things back at me I told him twenty years ago.

Wasn't it an absolutely wonderful weekend?!??!? The weather was perfect for my trip to North Conway, NH, where I participated in a steel drum band festival. There were 20 bands and it was so much fun to hear so many different styles, so many different songs, and so many talented New England steel drum players. Go figure! Our band is from Rockland and is called Steelin' Thunder.

We took the winter cover off the schooner on Monday and today looks like it will be a good day to do some rigging and more painting! I'd better get to it.....