the Hermit Island Wayfarer Rally
Small Point, Maine * August 13-20, 2005
Uncle Al's Scrap Book: Sunday, the 14th
pics by Julia and Al Schonborn

A quick stop at the camp store for Al to grab a coffee to go. Little did we know then, that the couple seated on the porch reading the newspaper would soon become our great friends!
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Soon, we were back in Popham where our previous night's waitress had assured us that Spinney's served breakfast.
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After breakfast, we returned to the Hermit Island Marina, having missed the "skippers' meeting".
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Uncle Al having been engrossed all week in doing a web site report of his previous weekend's wonderful experiences at the CanAm Regatta near Sault Ste. Marie, he had not found time to really read all the useful Rally information that Tom Graefe and Dick Harrington had provided for us. Thus, Julia and I wandered around the Hermit Island Marina, trying to figure out where the launch ramp was that Tom had used to launch his Wayfarer (above).
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While we could find no ramp, the (nearly) low tide view looking south with our campground on the right was indeed a ...
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... beautiful and busy sight.
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The tide continues to go out as we look north to where The Branch opens into Small Point Harbor.
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At nearly low tide, the marina building and dock were certainly a long, long way above the water!
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In due course, Uncle Al finally consulted his campground map and found the fine ramp clearly marked, just a few "doors" down from our site at 10 Branch. The day's objective having been agreed upon at the morning meeting we had missed, the ramp was already the scene of Wayfarer activity.
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Resplendent in their brand new 2005 Rally T-shirts, Joe and Mary Trepal were preparing to launch Tomato Sloop under the watchful eyes of Ginny Jordan and Mary Asselstine (r).
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Alan Asselstine's Majam would await the arrival of Tim and Rosemary France before setting out.
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(l to r) Ginny, Mary and Mary
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A view to the south from the ramp at nearly low tide shows the camp store and headquarters and the "neck" that connects Hermit Island to the mainland - a neck that actually became partially submerged when a full moon later in the week produced its attendant spring tide.
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Wayfarer with required fire extinguisher since André and Monique Girard had brought their motor, luckily for a number of us, it would turn out!
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Ron Baker and ...
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... his wife, Lori, and daughter, Robin (l) prepare to launch Pegasus.
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Reefed just in case, Joe and Mary, set off for the day's destination going upwind with the last of the outgoing tide.
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Suddenly the Sloop slows down and ...
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... comes to a halt as Joe discovers that they are aground because this part of The Branch is now only about a foot deep.
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Dick and Margie cautiously head out, trying to find, and stick to, the channel.
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Margie would later report that Blue Mist must have tacked at least 60 times before exiting The Branch.
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Ginny and Mary look after the freshly launched Majam while Julia Schonborn and Chuck Jordan look on. The latter and his wife, Ginny, had brought their freshly revitalized old wooden W767 all the way from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, only to discover that she could not be sailed this week since a serious centreboard leak needed to be fixed first. Fortunately, Al and Julia were looking for company, and were happy to invite them to sail aboard SHADES. Soon, we had everyone and everything stashed on board. But not soon enough, it turned out. We cast off at least an hour after low tide, and we would now get to beat into a fitful wind while going uptide to reach the mouth of The Branch.
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Even though Chuck had professed himself to be a novice, Al offered Chuck the tiller, and was mildly surprised when Chuck accepted enthusiastically, even inside The Branch. Going uptide in these shifty, fickle winds and narrow, shoal-dotted waters would certainly be a challenge. Well, it turned out that Chuck had underestimated his sailing abilities considerably, as he proceeded to sail SHADES with the poise of a veteran, despite the need for a tack every few seconds. We made countless tacks as we progressed very slowly against the incoming tide. But the good news was that mostly, nobody in SHADES had to move when we tacked, and we made it out into Small Point Harbor at long last without any mishap.
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Al did finally bestir himself to get a picture of the forecastle crew's quarters with Julia (l) and Ginny, before ... 
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... going forward to get a group shot.
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Al then discovered that leaning into the jib to get his picture taken was comfy - a bit like being in a hammock.
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We had intended to try to follow the others who had headed west to Elm Island, but the winds looked like they were dying off to the west (above), so we decided to just sail around a bit in Small Point Harbor. With the tide, we had a quick trip back to the docks, unlike some of the others who arrived back after dark - by which time Chuck and Ginny, using their local knowledge of Bath, had us all sitting in a lovely restaurant enjoying a fine dinner!
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