Crew: Maine to Florida return

[linnupesa]

Hi folks

Linnupesa has just travelled from FL to ME and currently is located near Bangor, ME. In about 4 weeks time I'll be starting the return trip to St. Augustine, FL again. This will either take us back via Long Island sound and NY or on the outside of Long Isld. to Cape May and then inland along the ICW to Beaufort NC. From there we may possibly go offshore again for the last leg or do coastal hopping trips.

The cutter Linnupesa has done well coming up the coast all outside, and despite some small-craft warnings coming around Cape Hatteras with just two aboard was not a great ordeal at all. Even some chocolate ice cream in the freezer managed to survive all the way to Bangor in good shape. Though we had planned to bake bread along the way we never got the "a round tuit" but the upside down pineapple cake and other galley creations were great... as was the skinny-dipping in the warm but becalmed Gulf Stream water, with the frolicking dolphins.

Currently I'm briefly back in CA but still want to see more of Maine, going to Mt. Desert Isld and Bar Harbor and possibly further N when I return there shortly.

So far the trip has been great. Had a great crew and no big issues with the boat. There could have been better wind most of the time, as we did a lot with the iron jib or at least "in assist mode" but those are the E coast breaks.

We left St. Augustine on 7/16 at sundown and by 7/23 were anchored in the Great Salt Pond of Block Island, where we stayed a few nights. Then it was the Cape May Canal and on 7/29 had reached Portland, where I dropped off Mark to catch his plane.

In Boothbay Harbor I picked up another crew and had a leisurely trip up the Penobscot river to Bangor.

We'd share food costs and watches and I'd prefer my crew to have at least a little bit of boating experience. Please, no tears if the land disappears on the horizon. All is perfectly OK and it is still there for you.

My time-lines are still pretty flexible at this point. Call me if you prefer: (408) 621-3558

Ivo Skipper of s/v Linnupesa

[redbopeep]

Best of luck to you.

[Auzzee]

Hi Ivo. Regarding the making of bread. When I am off for a cruise, I visit the local bakery and ask them to supply me with prepared bread dough in about 300gm blocks. I ask them to freeze it. I will take as many as I need and as long as they are kept frozen, the yeast will not react.

The 4am watch can clamber down below to take a block of dough out of the freezer at 6am, plonk it on the deck (it will thaw and prove farily quickly in warmer climes), then punch it down once, turn on the oven and in slightly longer than the blinking of an eye, the boat will smell of warm, commercial quality fresh bread.

Just to make sure reactions don't start too early if I am on an longer cruise, I cover the dough blocks with a potato sack and a brick sized block of dry ice..just in case the freezer clags it.

[linnupesa]

Auzzie

OK mate, that's a great idea and real quick to do. I may well try to do that with my on-board creations, as it's quite a big and messy job. What got me onto the "from scratch" baking was that the dreaded "refrigerator clunk" is always a present potential problem.
Baking with dry ingredients, even with baking powder in case the little yeaster-bugs won't do their jobs would be an alternative then.

My fridge/cold plate freezer has limited space, with icecream pre-empting any crusty/musty ole bread. Capiche?

The bread I was thinking of would of course also need to be 100% what I believe they call "artesan" these days, with all kinds of yummies like olives or garlic chunks inside and naturally all slathered up with seedy stuff on the outside. None of that store wonderloaf for me.

Which bakery does those frozen batches for you, in Oz? In this era? U mst b kidng me! Ja?

Ivo

[Auzzee]

Any old bakery will do. The hot bread shops help out, but the big boys just chop dough from their megabakes as soon as it is mixed, they put it in small loaf pans and freeze it. I think they enjoy the novelty.

I'm with you on the ice cream and have recently started making my own at home and while I won't bore you with the details, I halve the fresh creme component and substitute the 50% with Bailey's Irish Creme, then before the final freeze (when it is heavy slush) I add coarsely broken macadamia nuts. My choccoboozonut special is plain wonderful....but it doesn't last long.

[linnupesa]

I'd like to try that chocoblotto too... hic. It schounds sshquite dellischoues mate. But (burp) aren't we getting a bit away from the crewing isschue thad I wuz talkings about in the original post, no?

[Auzzee]

Oops...Par'n me!
I'll shaddup then...and drink some more ice cream.....
Best of luck with the crew.

[water sign]

You guys are great!! Makin me hungry, I could live off ice cream but I do eat a lotta yummy bread & cheese too.

OOPS, back to the crewing issue. I'm sorta flexible too. Sounds like a great sail up, I'd enjoy learning from you on a future sail if you are short on experienced crew. I'll be workin in DC all of October & was plannin on driving to Florida early November to meet my travel gal pal (flying from Vermont). Just let me know when the bread's ready & hopefully I can be too!!

Gotta go, HOT today in the Sierra Mtns, another old hippie chick jus called & we NEED to go explore (hike, climb,swim) a new part of the upper Yuba river we are getting to know this summer ;-)) thanks cindy

[linnupesa]

Ahh, living on ice-cream...

Just read a headline that americans throw away 40% of their food. Perhaps we'd be even better off throwing away even more, like 60 or 70%. There is far too much in-fat-uation with food. There are plenty of places in the world where the food scurries and crawls off the plates but none of them have any big issues with diabetes. Especially not in school kids. So much for the so-called civilised world.

OK, a nice little rant, huh? Now, back to the trip S for the interested parties:

Flight is booked and by the 29th I'll be back aboard. Some fix-it parts should have arrived by then and after they get installed together with a few oil and filter changes we should be ready to go. Mt Desert and Bar Harbor, then up to the Bay of Fundy. That should be a good place to careen the bottom if a good leaning-to post can be found. The tidal range is humongous and should be quite the thing to experience.

Ivo s/v Linnupesa

[CaptDinghy]

HEY Ivo!
I will be in Bangor on the 29th and would be happy to visit. Unfortunately I would not be able to crew for you - I do have some time off but will be taking my own boat up around Rockland and maybe a bit further downeast.
Good luck with all items, baked frozen, served on ice (don't say "on the rocks" until you are away from our granite coast!)
If you can't visit, give a blast of the horn as you cruise out past Sequin Light.

[linnupesa]

Sure thing Cap'n, you will be most welcome to come aboard to yarn or to hand a wrench while you're at it.

Bring lobstah, red or alive!

I don't know about "the rocks" yet, it'll take the cold plates a bit of time to work themselves down there but they will.

Sequin WAS a very pretty little light but aren't they all? It's not just the crusty and delicious denizens dwelling deep that attracted me to Maine but also the colorful names of coves and points all along the way. A smorgasmobrod of delight!

Ivo

[Dionisio55]

Hey Linnupesa,
if it happens that you will be around Cape May area again in November - I'm willing to sail with you down to Florida as a deck hand. 33 Years old, have minor sailing experience on Pearson 26, but willing to learn. Well-educated with many jobs behind my belt, multi-lingual. Mechanicaly savy. Will share cost of food without any problems.

Thanks,
Dennis

[linnupesa]

Thank you for the offer Dennis

linguists are always welcome on Linnupesa as they usually are able to survive all the really bad pun-ishments that ricochet off the walls.

Let me know a bit more about yourself ( off-line is ok too ) and let's keep in touch. It is a bit early to make fixed plans that far ahead but I WILL need to pass by you there some place.

With possibly more h-canes and storms on the way the remaining heavy swells may make running along the coast a bit lumpy. A Chessie-Norfolk-ICW tour via Delaware/C_D canal may be better.

Sooner or later I want to check out the Chrisfield area anyway and there are ferries to Tangier Isld. Connecting up should really not be any problem.

CUL

Ivo s/v Linnupesa

[inthewind33]

Hey, Linnupesa! I realize your looking for a crew with at least a some experience, but i thought i would give you a shout anyways. i'm 26 and looking to sail. i dont have any experience crewing, but I am a quick study and hard worker. I've been all over the world as a slightly nomadic rambler. I've gone by car, train, plane, and on foot, but never by boat. One plus is i have never had any problems with motion sickness. This is something i have wanted to do for years and the only way i can think of to get some time on the water is to offer up work in exchange for learning. i can def share the cost of food and enjoy cooking as well. I have the time and the drive to learn, so if you think you would be interested in taking on an extra hand, please give a shout back and we could talk a little more and figure out details. If not, i completely understand needing someone with more experience. Take care and safe travels. hope to hear from ya
- Noah

[linnupesa]

Oh Noah

at this late hour! OK Noah, enough punishment. I'm game but out of time right now. Give me a call or I'll call you.

Will be on the boat in Maine on Tuesday and am busy packing away those blivets until I leave.

(408) 621-3558 cell on CA time

Ivo

[inthewind33]

great. give a call whenever your schedual works best. i'll keep my phone near. didnt realize the time frame was so close so that might be a snag, but hopefully something can work out. 205-266-0835
-Noah