Sand

     The crew is off the boat for a little while having slept ashore. Silent Maid is on a mooring in Pleasant Bay. It is a sunny morning, the tranquility only broken by the occasional power boat. Water gurgles by the wooden hull, the coffee is percolating. In a few minutes I have to start washing the boat down but for now there is a moment of peace. It is welcome
Yesterday over a hundred junior sailors crossed  the decks of this boat, ferried out to her in a flotilla of whalers and ribs, as she reached back and forth across Pleasant Bay.As each group boarded they got there assignments, steering, sheet, backstays then took turns at each one. It was a full day to say the least, I am a little hoarse from explaining how to steer with a wheel. The decks are gritty with beach sand. The kids were a lot of fun though. In Pleasant Bay Silent Maid is a ship and the bay is dotted with islands containing treasure and even a haunted house.

     My last post vanished into cyberspace, I know not how. This blog thing is by no means perfect. A snippet appeared in a google alert so it must be out there somewhere. It was about hustling down the coast from Penobscot Bay to Nantucket. I haven't had time to rewrite or to catch up with our doings on Nantucket. Suffice it to say we got a "Spirit of the Race" cup and placed respectably for a boat our size. These races aren't consistent in the division of classes or the layout of courses for that matter so it is difficult to tell how fast a boat really is. But does that matter? Think of those kids bouncing around the decks and reflect.

    Now it is time to wash off the beach sand carried aboard by all those tiny feet and get set for the next adventure.


Photos by Wendy Byar