Pulpit Harbor

Osprey Landing Its Catch


There is a Hinckley masthead sloop off our port side. It is probably forty feet long and though its lines are sleek, it bobs in the light swell like an eider duck. Unlike modern sailboats that fill the water up with their entire length, this beauty has long overhangs: maybe not as efficient but striking.

These boat are the pedigree of Maine. The market has moved on to other things, so now Hinckley produces a classic series of state of the art powerboats. They have managed to keep their boats distinctive. The owners of these crafts treat them like fine watches. I have never seen one that was not perfect.

There are many fine designs represented in Pulpit Harbor. There is the resident mix of working and pleasure craft, and then there are the transients, like us, that come in here to fantasize about being part of this world.

It is a small subculture of summer people and natives, and I suppose us cruising folk that show up for a few days a year to anchor in the mud are part of the mix. The harbor is often the first or last stops for the windjammer fleet sailing out of the towns on West Penobscot Bay.

Carrie Rose tends to get into harbors early and that means she is able to pick her spot without the interference of other boats. The chart plotter has several anchor icons representing where she has placed her anchor before. This makes the process of anchoring less stressful. The correct decision has already been made, so now there is no need to fret.

Glide to the mark, let go the anchor, set it with a few reverse thrusts, and then settle in, look around, and wonder after fifty years of dreaming how did we end up here . . . .

Augusta, Maine