Friday, June 27, 2008

We'll Be Getting a Bigger Boat Hook!

We’ve been at Donnell’s marina in York, Maine (south of Kennebunkport) for the past two days. Tiny marina consisting of one 60 foot dock which we rafted off of (tied Adventures to Tide Hiker which was tied to the dock). York is a beautiful town and the proprietor, Danny, very kindly took us into town and waited while we got groceries. The $1.75/ft dockage fee is the best we’ve found on the trip. Kennebunkport, originally our destination, wanted $4 - $6 per foot. The marina that charged $4 per foot said they measure boats and if over 50 foot, they charge $5 per.

Got a lot of work done – washed the boat, laundry, vacuuming, bathrooms, etc.
Yesterday’s big project was to measure the anchor chain which involved letting it all out on the dock and measuring the length between the colored markers on the chain. Now we can tell more precisely how much chain we have let out when anchoring. And, of course, since the chain was out of the chain locker in the bow of the boat, that led to another project – cleaning the sludge out of the bottom of the chain locker. Since Vicki could wedge her way into that small space better than Norm, she got the honors (see pic).

The highlight of the stay was dinner with the "Gypsies" on Wednesday night. (They’re not really gypsies, it’s just in the name of their boat.) Doug and Tammy, John and Colleen are retiring very early to cruise the Caribbean for three years starting in September. We met them a month ago on B dock. The night Vicki retired, there was another DeFever 49 RPH on the dock which has never happened before and which we took as some sign of fate. They were bringing the boat to their home in Kennebunkport, ME. We ooh’ed and ahh’ed over one another’s boats (mostly theirs, it's a much newer version), bonded over cocktails, and exchanged boat cards. A few weeks later, we received an email invitation to dinner at their home in Maine. We’re hoping to run into them frequently in the Caribbean because these people are fun! – lots of laughs. A bit of a competitive theme emerged among the men – many comparisons of sizes of boat hooks, engines, dinghys – some choice moments there! We’re also hoping to run into them frequently in the Caribbean (actually we will hunt them down) to wangle some more dinner invitations -- the women are gourmets -–lobster bisque to die for, barbequed salmon, lobster mac ‘n’ cheese, asparagus with béarnaise sauce, and key lime pie. We’re still recovering!

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