Victoria!

[StevenBauer]

Spotted in the mooring field. Back in the water. Planks and rudder repaired. Looking fine:

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r241/bauerdad/IMG_2441.jpg



Steven

[Paul Girouard]

Thats good .

Is that a ferry in the backgound ? State owned?

[StevenBauer]

Not a ferry. Just a barge. There are a handful of these in the bay that just bring dumptrucks and lumber trucks and log trucks to and from the islands. I haven't seen as many around this summer.


Steven

[Jon Agne]

Yes, she is looking good. I happened by the ramp in Portland yesterday as Chris was bending on his sail. I hope his trip to So. Bristol wasn't too wet. Wondering if he went inside or outside Sequin?

[Hwyl]

Great boat (considering it's a catboat). Great owner.

[Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson )]

Great boat (considering it's a catboat). Great owner.

Hmmmm wonder what thats says about Tidbit and I ;)

Nice going Coose, now I have MORE of a reason to make it up to Maine ;)
Sooooo glad to see Victoria off the hard and even better to know she survived her time on the rocks. Fair winds

[Thad]

Good to see!!!! Cheers! Sailed by, but 20 miles outside, missed it.

[Chris Coose]

Thanks Steven.

I'm in Portland for a couple days after being to So. Bristol finishing the renovation work on this wharf that comes with a modest house up the hill some 30 feet.

Both the finishing of the repairs on Victoria and the end of this renovation came within a day of each other.

The repairs were two frames, 8 feet of plank, new bow sprit/plank, new rudder, thorough seam rework, new keel shoe and cosmetic repair to the keel just below the knuckle.
Victoria on the rocks a couple of 2 aFalls ago
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b7cc35b3127ccec289a1ad493c00000010O00AbtGrJkzbOW IPbz4C/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D480/ry%3D320/

The day after Steven got the opening image my daughter and I powered her to a new mooring 40' off the pier in the Gut.

The Gut is calm and super protected. Get this! Because of the density of lobster boats moored there and the protection the Harbormaster recommended to me that for scope, I should add just 6 feet of chain more than high water depth.

I shall bring home photos after this weekend.
I still am looking over my shoulder expecting the real owners to come to the house and toss us out.

The Damarascotta river sail we had yesterday was one of the finest sails I've had in Victoria in the 35 years I've had her.
Imagine the good fortune to have sailed in Marblehead in the 50's and 60's, Mount Desert Island for near 20 years, Casco Bay for 15 years and now mid coast.

I'm looking to keep Victoria in the water year round.

Thanks Scot for the sticky. An unexpected honor.

[Joe Dupere]

Good job Chris, glad to see she's back on the water.

Joe, FPoP

[Concordia...41]

I still am looking over my shoulder expecting the real owners to come to the house and toss us out.

The Damarascotta river sail we had yesterday was one of the finest sails I've had in Victoria in the 35 years I've had her.
Imagine the good fortune to have sailed in Marblehead in the 50's and 60's, Mount Desert Island for near 20 years, Casco Bay for 15 years and now mid coast.

I'm looking to keep Victoria in the water year round.

Thanks Scot for the sticky. An unexpected honor.

Let's see... good things happening to good people....

hmmmmmmm ;)

[FSS172]

... The Damarascotta river sail we had yesterday was one of the finest sails I've had in Victoria in the 35 years I've had her.

... I'm looking to keep Victoria in the water year round.


Care to share some details about that sail on the Damariscotta? I for one, would love to hear about it. And, where are you thinking of over-wintering?

[Chris Coose]

Details.
Begining with the company. The bride and Ella and close friends Chris, Colleen and daughter Clare. Chris and Colleen have known me to be a sailor and in our long history together I have only been aboard Chris' outboard fishing boat on some big fishing adventures. Until the other day they'd never been aboard Victoria or seen me dance with Victoria.

Having been completly absorbed with the new house renovation and the boat refit, I have not done much discovery around the Bristol peninsula, by land or sea. The short trip up the river (northerly) from the mooring in The Gut to Seal Cove was all new to me. Mostly sun shine in the mid morning with a 10 kt breeze coming down the river with a flood tide. We set sail from the mooring and proceeded through the swing bridge at The Gut. Seldom, if never, would a sail be seen by the attendant or the motorists waiting for the bridge opening but we pulled it off as if we were under conventional power.
(Google satelite map for: 2124 Rt. 129 S. Bristol Maine. Look right from the arrow and you'll see a little roof off the road a bit near a big wharf. Victoria is now moored 40' from the wharf.)

With this weight in the boat, Victoria set herself nicely against any gusts that might pipe up landside. Due to the tidal push up river and the wind coming down we made these exquisit tacks. Not far up the river in "the narows" just before the turn into Seal Cove the water is pushed up from quite deep to shallow causing white water comotion with no concern for ledging. Even with her big rudder and a decent load on the sail I found the rudder to be unrespondent a couple times in this beautiful turbulence. We found a dinky passage into the Cove, turned 180 and plowed down to the end of the cove with the board up. We'd heard about the eagles in there but didn't see any. Big evidence of fish by way of the birds all over the cove diving about.

We tacked back up the cove avoiding some ledges around and circled this little island that had a beach house on what was about 50' of sand. We could peak in through the trees and caught climpses of what is a beauty summer cottage.

The conditions were about the same on the return and at "the narrows" we were virtually stopped by the incoming tide and it took about 1/2 hour to make our way beyond into water that allowed over the ground progress.
It was the perfect balance of wind and tide that allowed us to stay on course and make headway by the inch, while everything looked like we should be moving regularly except the shore was stopped. There is a 10 'tide around there.

We came around the corner, headed for the bridge and doused the sail. We towed the girls astern on lines trailing. There was enough water to land at the wharf by this time. I haven't got as gangway and float yet.

I guess we were about 4 hours in all and it was about friends, new water, swell conditions and being on a classic woodboat that I know like she was attached to me.

Victoria will likely sit at her mooring for the winter. A local lobsterman uses the wharf to store traps in the winter and in the trade he'll keep an eye on her when we are here in Portland. This house is just 75 minutes from Portland. The Gut hasn't iced up in 6-8 years.

Jon, because we had the wind on our nose on the ride to S. Bristol we powered the entire trip. It isn't Seguin that is nasty it is that flow out of the Kennebec that makes it a place I wouldn't want to sail through.

I'm in Portland till tomorrow night for some work and shall return Sunday with a mess of photos.

[abe]

Good story Chris.

Beautiful area of Maine.

Do you have some photos?

Thanks for posting

abe

[Chris Coose]

Photos tomorrow. Have to sort of collect everything together.

[Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson )]

Photos tomorrow. Have to sort of collect everything together.

tomorrow is today ;)

[Chris Coose]

Me and Jenny arriving at The Gut after powering down from Portland, 35 km about 8 hours. The mooring spot I got is just to the right of the red lobster boat.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b8d632b3127ccec48f02a17fe600000040O00AbtGrJkzbOW IPbz4C/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D480/ry%3D320/

Chris and I setting the mooring the next day and interupted for a photo.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b8d632b3127ccec48f13bcbe5b00000040O00AbtGrJkzbOW IPbz4C/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D480/ry%3D320/

Ella on the Damariscotta river trip described above.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b8d632b3127ccec48f8704bea900000040O00AbtGrJkzbOW IPbz4C/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D480/ry%3D320/

My perch on the wharf
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b8d632b3127ccec48e0cbe5fb200000040O00AbtGrJkzbOW IPbz4C/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D480/ry%3D320/

From the mooring
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b8d632b3127ccec48e2cf05fec00000040O00AbtGrJkzbOW IPbz4C/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D480/ry%3D320/

Money Shot
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b8d632b3127ccec48e365cde7d00000040O00AbtGrJkzbOW IPbz4C/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D480/ry%3D320/

More to come.

[Mrleft8]

Swimming pool blue! Gotta love it! :D

[Hwyl]

I hope you are going to enter that picture in a competition.

Stunning photo

[Chris Coose]

Even with a sign out on the lawn "for rent by the week" we've had very few inquiries. And it wasn't until just recently that we were ready for renters anyways, it looks like this year is a wash for turists at the Gut House.
Which means, at least for the next few weeks, I'll be a weekender with 11 YO Ella.
After a few weeks I'll be looking to revive the renovation here in Portland, with less frequent weekends at the Gut.

So come by. We have overnight beds and a wharf to land a tent or two.