Friday - Day 3

Friday - more of the same: lots of good food, good company, just enjoying the sailing. As I recall, we got some wind for a while and even a few moments of sunshine and June warmth. It was short lived, but you never saw a more appreciative bunch of sun worshippers!

During the afternoon, I think, Cap'n Kit opened the 'store': what that means is that he displayed all of the Victory Chimes souvenir clothing and goodies on the roof of his quarters! Very crowded - everybody wanted to take home one of the great windbreakers (the envy of the fleet, I'm told), or a hat or a warm flannel shirt and we all wanted to be first in line, too! Crowded or not, I still managed to drop a few bucks and got almost everything I wanted (I'll get the rest next time).

We spent our last night out at Owl's Head. The fog was the worst it had been so most of us didn't go ashore. Actually, I'm not sure anyone went ashore - couldn't see well enough to navigate. That gave us an extra hour to kill the last of the wine and stuff ourselves on tasty hors d'oeuvres. Dinner was a traditional turkey dinner with all the fixins' - as always on the last night out aboard the Victory Chimes.

It was a somewhat quieter, mellower evening than the hootenanny of the night before. Most of the guests spent their time below deck in the saloon, playing cards, reading, painting. Meanwhile, topside, the crew was plotting their practical joke for the night. The fog was as thick as, well, sea-poop, with the fog horn sounding in the background and the faint glow of the lanterns marking the locations of schooners anchored nearby. Almost spooky. And very theatrical.

It seems that the boats in the fleet all play practical jokes on each other. That night, the plan was to drag out the pink inflatable flamingos and attach one to the bowsprit of all but one of the boats anchored with us, including our own. Jeff, the First Mate, would go out in the rowboat at 01:30 to do the deed. He attached flamingos to our boat, to the Wendameen, and to the Stephen Taber, but not to the J & E Riggin.

In the morning, someone on the Riggin noticed the decorations on the other boats and checked his own bowsprit. No flamingo. They either have rehearsed this well in the past (a show for the tourists!) or caught on quickly, because they got their own flamingo and attached it, thereby foiling the plot to point the finger of guilt at them. It was fun, whether it's the standard show or was a spontaneous prank. (In an e-mail to me, Captain Paul DeGraeta - the other owner of the Victory Chimes - told me he thought this prank was a hoot, and gave me the distinct impression that it was spontaneous and unrehearsed. My compliments to the wit and ingenuity of the crew!).

Saturday, Eggs Benedict for breakfast; I ate 3. Oooiiiinnk! But they were so good...

After breakfast, we hoisted the sails for the last time, then I organized my junk and packed it all up. As usual, we set sail shortly after breakfast. Rockland is just around the corner from Owl's Head and we were in port before noon. Disembarked reluctantly. I wanted more.

The only good thing about the trip being over: it seemed to be a magical signal for the sun to come out! The rest of the day was clear and warm - just as late June should be.

>An afternote: Capt. Paul visited this site and read my account of the trip. He graciously corrected my nautical terminology (I'm pretty proud - only a couple of mistakes) and restated what I'd heard before: that to really get the feel of life aboard the Victory Chimes, the 6-day trip is the best, since it takes most people 3 days just to really relax and get into it. I promise, Capt. Paul, I'll do the 6-day next time! Thanks for your help in keeping me from sounding like a total landlubber.