Reaching Coastal Maine

Dodging lobster traps and navigating through fog are par for the course when cruising the coast of Maine. Fortunately we have been moored or at anchor during the strong afternoon thunderstorms that have rolled over the coast and out to sea . I listened to the brilliant Ibram X. Kendi read his seminal book “How to be an Anti-Racist” in his mesmerizing preacher-like cadence as we sailed in light SW wind from Gloucester,MA to to York, ME, a motor sail of about 6 hours. Kendi’s arguments are so clear and he is so self-reflective that you can’t help but re-evaluate how you think about the structure of American life. My mind is so flexible when I am sailing—I can think deeply one moment and let the spacious sea swallow all thought in the next.

Snug York Harbor was full of fishing and pleasure boats. After a leisurely walk through the small village, past the gift shops, clothing shops and art gallery, we watched the lobsterman unload their catch at the town dock. We departed the mooring in the early morning and motored in light wind to Richmond Island, where we are now at anchor watching about a dozen sheep graze on the grassy southern shore, sprinkled with wild blueberry and raspberry bushes as the peachy sun casts a wavering orange path across the now calm silvery water in the harbor and a gentle swell lifts the hull. Even the gulls and cormorants are silent, listening to the breaking waves on the rocks as the perfect orange globe slips into the sea..