In-service

Today’s destination was Warren Island State Park, a mere 10 miles from Belfast where we spent the last two days. Belfast Harbor broadens as it opens northeast into Belfast Bay and then Penobscot Bay. Large ocean going ships, and tug and barge combos head to Searsport in the upper reaches of the bay from the Atlantic Ocean. There sits fuel storage facilities and a large chemical plant, some of the few industrial site we see when cruising in Maine. 

This island state park has nine moorings, one of which, at twenty dollars per night, give us a respite from anchoring. Once moored with the engine turned off I could hear the distinctive screech of the common tern. A large dark shape was flying erratically above the tree line. As I watched, a group of the diminutive but determined terns divebombed what turned out to be a somewhat ragged bald eagle. 

 

The eagle was surprisingly agile considering its size. Whenever it banked to the right or left its splendid white tail feathers became visible. I have only seen eagles fishing but maybe they will pick up the stray tern chick if given the opportunity. 

 

While in Belfast, Charlotte was marooned on Carrie Rose as I attended to a minor medical issue. Our friends on Blue picked me off our mooring and this left Charlotte there with the dinghy, which had the electric outboard attached. Now, I have talked of giving Charlotte an in-service on how to operate the motor but I never did. I am confident that in a pinch she would get it to work, though that is hardly the proper way to approach such eventualities.

 

That said, there is nothing like a personal lesson to make sure things run safe and smooth. So, our mission today at Warren was to get Charlotte up to speed. I dropped the dinghy off the stern and proceeded to attach the Torqeedo electric outboard. It consists of three parts: a shaft with the motor and propeller attached to the bottom, the heavy shoebox size battery, and the handle with the controls and a small rectangular screen that reports the speed and the battery’s charge.

 

The design is maximized to prevent errors when assembling it on the back of a rocking dinghy. The only difficulty comes when attaching the power and control cables. They only fit one way and then a screw on collar secures them. The collars are nylon and never quite line up the first time and risk cross threading. Let’s just say I never fail to curse as I make the final connections. 

 

But we are not going there with this day’s instruction. Today is limited to turning the contraption on and operating the motor. It is simple really. Place the round magnet that substitutes for a key in its socket, hold the “on” button down for 3 seconds, and turn the handle one way or the other depending on the direction and speed needed. 

 

It is nice to sit in the bow and look around while Charlotte drives. We cruise to inspect each mooring, then dock on the island’s pier to put twenty bucks in the moldy envelop to pay for the night. Then we went for a walk in the woods until the mosquitoes caught up with us. 

 

Charlotte attempted to have me drive back to Carrie Rose but I demurred. I sat in the bow and asked to be driven by the large schooner, the J&E Riggins, that anchored close by. The only tricky maneuver is the approach to Carrie Rose’s starboard midships. Here I get to attach the bow line to the cleat and the dinghy float to the stern ladder so we can disembark. The process goes smoothly without any voices raised. 

 

I am surprised we never had this lesson before considering the decades we’ve cruised. Early on Carrie Rose designated roles for us and despite knowing better, we resisted change. Such is the power of routine. 

Pulpit Harbor, North Haven Island, Maine