LORD'S PRAYER LOG, Part 159:
Saturday, September 1,
2001
Moored Brothers Cove, Saint John River, New Brunswick
Canada
645 Sunrise. It is raining.
045 It is raining
in torrents. The wind is calm
1400 The rain continues. This is a
stand down day for us; we are reading
and relaxing.
1700 The rain is stopped and the sky is starting to clear;
the wind is northerly and light
1830 The wind
is northerly 15-20G25 kts.
2002 Sunset.
2300 The wind
is northerly 10-15G20 kts. Tomorrow we hope to get to Kingston Creek if the wind and current in the river are
cooperative.
Sunday, September 02, 2001
Moored Brothers Cove, Saint John River, New Brunswick Canada
0646
Sunrise.
0820 Lord's Prayer is underway bound for Kingston Creek, a
distance of 24 nm. It is a beautiful, clear day; the wind
is NW 10-12 kts; the air temperature is 62; water
temperature is 67.
0925 As we proceed up river, we also are
motoring into the NW wind. The shoreline of the river is
heavily wooded and lovely; in places it is quite rocky like the coast of Maine but this is interspersed with little beaches.
Settlement density appears roughly similar to that on
Maine's central coast. Along the way there are ferry
crossings; the ferries are cable operated. This means that the cable
lies on the bottom of the river except when the ferry, which pulls
itself across the river with the cable, lifts it off the
bottom and out of the water as
it pulls; one must stay
well clear of the ferries (bow and stern) to avoid snagging the keel on a cable; this is usually more of a concern if passing ahead
of the ferry than if passing behind - but sometimes it is
a concern astern as well, depending on the setup. Along
the shore of the river there are little sailboats and sometimes some motorboats on moorings; the density of boats along the
river cannot be 10% of the density of boats one sees along
Maine's coast.
1010 We get sail up and secure the engine where the
river turns NE for a long straight reach; the wind is NW
12-15 kts. Speed through the water is about 6 kts; we are
bucking the natural current of about 1.5 kts.
1032 Passing through
the narrows between Purdy's and Belyeas Points, the nature
of the riverbank has changed somewhat; although still heavily wooded,
the shoreline is mostly sand or sand/gravel beaches here
in this section of the river known as Long Reach.
Settlement here is less dense than it was further down river.
1226 Passing Beesleys Point the shoreline is less settled; there is
an occasional farm but the land is otherwise thickly
wooded over rolling hills that seem to become gentler as we
proceed. There are scattered homes along the way and there
is often a boat on the beach or on a mooring. Here and there a church
steeple protrudes through the treetops; there is an occasional
farm silo, and along the shore every so often there is a
little lighthouse. It is all very pretty! We continue to
stem a head current.
1300 There are half a dozen other recreational
boats in our vicinity headed up river ahead of us; they
are all faster than we.
1330 After passing Oak Point we start to
see marsh grass on Grassy Island and on the near shore of
the river; the hills on the shore are lower than before. Water depths are varying between 20 and 30 feet. If it were not for the
rolling hills, this area would otherwise seem much like the
Chesapeake in the fall.
1341 We pass a herd of cows to port; they
are grazing the tip of Mistake Intervale. On the far side
of the Intervale lies Mistake Cove; we think maybe we will try to stay out of places that have "Mistake" in their names! An
old-time motorbo at passes us to starboard; three older
gentlemen are having a happy hour on the flying
bridge!
1445 We enter Kingston Creek under sail; with the wind all
but vanished behind the high bluffs we strike the jib.
Under mainsail alone we glide slowly toward the intended
anchorage spot. As we approach we drop the mainsail; the boat
drifts slowly ahead; as we reach the intended spot, we drop the
anchor.
1505 Water depth is 29 feet. We have deployed the primary
anchor on 100 feet of chain. We wait for the boat to swing
to the wind. When it does, we start the engine and set the
anchor in the bottom by backing at 2500 rpm. Our feathering Maxprop is uniquely suited for this operation, as it develops more thrust
in reverse than standard propellers. Lord's Prayer is
anchored in the first bight on the west side of Kingston
Creek; Position: 45 32.171 N 66 00.132 W.
1630 I take a swim to
check the prop; there is some debris wrapped around the shaft, which I clear off. The prop and shaft seem to be a little aft of
the "normal" position; this puzzles me. So I open the
engine compartment for an inspection. Nothing seems
unusual; it may be that the engine shaft and prop are a little aft of their "normal" position after backing down to set the anchor;
the engine sits on Yanmar "jelly" mounts, which allow more
engine-movement than the mounts of other
manufacturers.
2000 Sunset. Tomorrow we plan to continue up river
to Gagetown for
provisions an
d on Tuesday go into Grand
Lake.
END OF LORD'S PRAYER LOG, Part 159
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