Sidetracks - New England in the Fall

We are not great world travelers but a long held ambition was to see New England in the fall. So we booked up this trip 12 months ago and so spent a glorious 8 days touring through Mass, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. I would like to have taken some sidetracks in Maine to Wooden Boat base and Eggomoggin Reach but our bus route wasn't close enough to do this. But we did spend two days on Mount Desert Island and I got my fill boating venues there.  With some guidance from Kees Prins (who had tracked around here shortly before our trip) we got to see some beautiful little harbours around the island.  We also used our free afternoon in Bar Harbour to do a scenic flight around the island and pass over 7 of the cute Maine coast light houses.  Here's an aerial shot of Somes Sound (John Brooks named his version of Herreshoff 12 1/2 after this).  It's the only fiord in the USA.

We happened to be there when the federal government shutdown was on so access to National Park was closed - see below at Arcadia National Park on Mount Desert Island this was a close as we could get to Cadilac Mountain.

Autumn leaves were near their peak throughout New England an here's a couple of glimpses.

Mt Washington

New Hampshire Lake at Rocky Gorge

Lexington Green near Boston

Saw the following model of Herreshoff J boat Reliance at MIT Marine engineering display in Boston

Sidetracks - Big Boat Cruising

Not much activity on the boat building front due to another semester of teaching underway and some family holidays. This first holiday was "Big Boat Cruising" to Vanuatu and New Caledonia. First time for my wife and I and reason was to accompany our live wire 93 year old Aunt on a food and lifestyle experience away from the boredom of retirement home. Here's a pic of our floating home in Vanuatu harbour - a very appealing harbour with sheltered coves (apart from cyclone season I guess!) and very pleasant locals.

 Under way, I found the balcony of our cabin the place to be - listening to the waves slip past the hull and the wind past the ears - mainly from the 15 knots of engine speed.  Too far from the water up on deck 11 for me - I'd much rather be on the deck of this ketch we saw slipping out of Noumea for an afternoon sail.  I'd saved up a book to read on the cruise which was equally nautical and absorbing - "The Great Race" by David Hill about the mapping of the coast of Australia by Mathew Flinders and simultaneous activities of French explorers to do likewise.