[Kyle] Ooh! today made up for all of yesterday's motoring. We were officially transitioning from Penobscot Bay to the Penobscot River. We got the mainsail up and sailed off the anchor and up towards Bangor. We saw the last of the seals sunning themselves on a rock as we turned out of the cove and headed into the steep gorge of the river.
The river is deep and green and lovely, with steep hills running up from its banks. The steep terrain funneled the wind so that it followed the river with us, giving us a direct tailwind the whole way into Bangor. About half a dozen times, the wind would get just a little too far to one side or the other so we'd gybe the main over for a while until the next one as we watched the scenery drift by. If the boat weren't so big, it would have felt like we were inner tubing in the mountains, only upstream. It was so peaceful, with only the wind in the trees and the birds breaking the silence.
The icing on the cake was that when we got to our mooring, we rounded up and picked it up while still under sail. we were even able to do it in a pretty leisurely fashion. And...AND, this is the best part. We had witnesses! It never fails that when you do something completely stupid, a hundred people are watching and when you expertly pull off some brilliant stunt, it's two o'clock in the morning and nobody saw it. Not even your wife believes you. This time, though, we beat the odds and pulled it off. A whole day of downwind sailing and I didn't even have to start the engine - Perfect!
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