July 1 – ? 2022
UPDATE: Supply chain issues caused us some problems. We couldn’t get parts to fix the water pump nor could we get a new pump. We had rented a car to drive back to Colorado with the intention of returning to Portland in early August. We altered our plans and toured Maine by car while waiting for the repairs to be completed. By the end of August we made the decision to winter the boat in Portland and resume cruising from there in 2023.
Made it to the other Portland, Portland ME. The plan was to stop here for the July 4th weekend and then visit some more places in Maine. Afterward, come back to Portland to haul the boat out for a month. Of course, since I am traveling on a boat my plans are written in sand at low tide. The freshwater pump had been not pressurizing completely and it finally stopped working after I tried fixing it. Yep, I know what you are probably thinking but, honestly, it was not really functional before I jumped in. The prospect of hanging on the hook without a flushy or, god forbid, a nice warm shower didn’t sound appealing. So, the new plan is to haul the boat out on Friday and splash the boat on or about August 5. I am having the water pump and some other items fixed including the AIS so our location can be tracked once again. We’ll see how this plan goes.
Portland is pretty darn nice and the people here are really friendly. I had someone offer me their car to use for running errands and I had just me them. We saw about the greatest July 4th fireworks that I have ever seen. It started with the city fireworks display which we could see from the boat. Those were pretty typical but enjoyable. After that finished, a tugboat came up the harbor with its own fireworks display. I guess they did this last year when the city cancelled their show. There was a continuous stream of fireworks coming from the back of the boat which went on for 10 to 15 minutes. All of the boats in the harbor started blowing their horns and I had to add Terrapin’s quite little horn, NOT!, to the mix. It was a blast.
As an aside, the first time I blew the horn on the boat I was operating from the fly bridge and the horn is about 3 feet away. When I blew the horn it was so loud I jumped and almost peed my pants. It is so powerful it has its own air compressor and tank to generate the sound. It is very, very loud and deep. Someone called it a "manly horn" and it definitely is.
We did get to see some of Portland and took a nice walk to see a car show at a park nearby. I am looking forward to seeing more of Maine. Colorado here we come!
