05 NA Rally: Al's pics Thurs 18 Aug

the Hermit Island Wayfarer Rally
Small Point, Maine * August 13-20, 2005
Uncle Al's Scrap Book: Thursday, the 18th - 2
pics by Julia and Al Schonborn

Having decided to give SHADES a rest, our group of four decided to visit the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath. We began our tour with an admiration of the fishing schooner Sherman Zwicker (above).
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Then, it was on to Lobstering ...
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... and the Maine Coast Exhibit.
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A ship's launching is about to be re-enacted in the Launch Tank, though, as our narrator (second from left) pointed out, the real thing was far more complex and sometimes resulted in a ship that wouldn't move, resulting in the need for the ship to be dismantled and re-built before a second launch attempt could be made - a mistake that no builder ever made twice!!

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This was my personal favourite, where the old-time woodworking skills are being kept alive and classics are being ...
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... brought back to life.
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Hey! Now this is what I needed when I was laminating the wherewithal for my home-made centreboard and rudder blade. Anyway, after an hour or so of wandering around, a lunch break was in order. Chuck and Ginny got into their van (which was also their Hermit Island living quarters) ready to lead us to lunch. Alas, when Julia and I began to follow in our car, there was a heavy ker-thunk with each turn of the wheels. I stopped immediately and flashed my lights at Chuck in a panic, ran over and explained that there was a problem. None of the tires was flat, but a second look revealed a piece of wood with a nail sticking from it into the right front tire. It was decided that I would pull off the piece of wood and then Chuck would try to lead us to a local source of tire repairs. When I ripped the wood and its nail out of the tire, there was a loud whoosh and I was ready to give up and call AAA, but Chuck suggested we give it try. After running only one amber light, I followed Chuck and Ginny into a gas station where Chuck was further directed to the "right" place. Despite the continuing whooshing, our tire still appeared reasonably inflated, and after running only two more amber lights, I arrived right behind Chuck at ...

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... Skip Cahill Tire (pic stolen from their web site). The problem was explained, and right away, a young gentleman very politely directed me to place my car into a parking spot marked out in front of one of the garage doors. He assured me the car would be ready in a few minutes, and indeed it was. Our mechanic had fixed two punctures and only wanted $15. I was more than pleased, since I had pictured hours of waiting time and far more expense. I can most certainly recommend Cahill Tire in Bath, Maine to one and all.

Chuck and Ginny, meanwhile, had discovered Miss Julie's, a hot dog stand at the far right end of this little strip mall. There we were able to have a lovely little lunch at a tree-shaded picnic table, while my tire was being fixed. Another crisis avoided, we headed back to Hermit Island where I finally got to have a look at Chuck's baby ...

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... in the trailer park. Here she is, Wayfarer 767 looking beautiful - if a bit leaky (as babies tend to be!) - with the proud father looking on.
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The trailer park being right next to the Marina, we subsequently took this opportunity to see all those places we had run aground on, now that The Branch was at really low tide.
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At the launch area, it was ...
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... the same story. No wonder we had run aground so often and ...
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... so easily! Note SHADES looking a bit lonely at the dock.
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Julia and I had decided to check out the beaches on the west side of Hermit Island on this afternoon. So we took one more shot looking south towards the camp store at low tide, before going to the store which would be the departure point for our walk and where we could get ...

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