Maine!!!  From early on in our planning stages, we knew we wanted to get to Maine.  It seemed so far away, like it would be quite an accomplishment just to get there.  We have only been to Maine for sailboat racing, which means we saw nothing but the coast, fog, and the party tent after the race.

pancakes on deck – yum!

Our sailing trip to Portland included pancakes from scratch, made by our Captain/Chef Chris.  We also saw our first dolphin of our trip.  We hope to see many, many more in the months to come.  Chris and Bryson installed an extra halyard, Reese started A Wrinkle in Time, and I….wait for it…..cleaned the teak.

beautiful charts. lots of little drawers. this seriously does it for me.

Portland is a large, bustling seaport, but our friends from home vacation there and have told us all about it, so we knew it would be something special.  The only downside was that our itinerary could not coincide with their visit.  After researching the many options for mooring, we chose the Portland Yachting Center due to its close proximity to the Old Port area as well as its facilities, especially their laundry room.  A bonus is that it is next door Hamilton’s, one of the largest marine supply stores north of Boston, and Chase’s, a purveyor of charts (like bookstores, a chart store is a cozy place, full of tall, perfectly labeled chests that hold the large charts in wide, shallow drawers.  Charts are beautiful works of art, but I won’t go on and on about it, although I could.)

Upon getting out of our dinghy, we met Jason, who works at PYC, as well as doing other marine-related work, as we found out.  His friendly smile was one that couldn’t just go by with a nod or a brief “hello”.  We stopped to chat with him and, of course, told him all about our trip.  He lives aboard his boat as well and is originally from Bar Harbor.  He offered to come by after work to go over our charts with us and suggest places to visit as we headed up the coast.  We were again touched by the kindness that we are finding on our trip.  I found myself wondering throughout the day, “Is he REALLY going to come by after working all day just to help us out?  We are complete strangers!”

we eventually got our breakfast…

The kids were getting kind of antsy while we were talking to Jason.  After all, it was 1030 and we had not yet eaten breakfast.  We were on a mission to find a bakery with muffins and our chance meeting was not a welcomed delay for the kids.  Once we started walking toward town, we had the opportunity to have a long conversation with the kids about why we are on this trip.  We told them that it’s not about the museums, the new places, or even the thrill of sailing.  It is really about spending time together as a family and about making connections with people along the way.  We talked about the serendipity of meeting Jason and learning about his life as we shared parts of ours with him.  We talked about how he lives in Maine and lives a very different life than ours back in New Jersey, but that when he told us how he feels “at home on the sea”, we recognized that that is exactly how mommy feels.  We talked about the similarities and differences in people and how life is about how many times your heart can touch another’s.

taking a break from the non-stop excitement in our hammock

After our Lesson in Philosophy, we walked to Hamilton Marine and the Old Port section of Portland.  As is becoming customary, we met amazing people all along the way and had some singular experiences.  I remember reading books about cruising families and wondering how they managed to have such interesting experiences.  I imagined our trip many times this past year and was so afraid that we would just get up, get dressed, go the beach, sail around, and would come back after a year without much to say.  Oh, contraire.  Drama, excitement, and great experiences seem to be finding us everywhere we go.  And we are still in Week Three!

After walking the length of Commercial Street, along the water, we found ourselves at the dividing point between the cute shops and restaurants, and the area of town where the real fishing industry is done.  We were literally in the process of turning around to head back where we came from when I had a thought.  We are in Portland.  This city, and this state, is about fishing, lobstering, and living on the sea.  We should find a way to show our children what the fishing industry is all about.  But they don’t have fishing museums here.  And that’s not really a way to learn about something anyway.  Not really.  So I said, “Come on, guys.  Let’s go check out the fishing industry!”

You would have thought I had suggested that we fly to the moon.  My shy and unobtrusive family already thinks I’m crazy, but I think I’m like Julie from the Love Boat.  You know, the adorable Cruise Director? So I marched my crew through an enormous parking lot that surrounded three gigantic warehouse buildings.  We went in the first one and I said to the woman in the front office, “Hi! We’re on a year-long sailboat trip with our children! We would like to learn about the fishing industry!  Is there anyone available that we can talk to?!”  (yes, I spoke with the exclamation points.)  She looked pretty skeptical and said she would be back in a few minutes.  Sure enough, she returned to tell us that Regulation XYZ  of the TSA (yes, the airport people) prohibits tours of the blah, blah, blah.  Got it.

So we left the building and Chris and the kids started walking towards the street, where the normal families were picking out Portland t-shirts, buying fudge, and signing up for amphibious bus tours.  Oh no, says Erica.  There were two other huge companies in this parking lot.  I told them that we were going to try all three.  If we got turned down from all three, we would give up.  The second building was another no, being as it was deserted.  As we approached the last building, whose sign read Portland Fish Exchange, we saw two men taking a break outside in jumpsuits and waders.  They greeted us with friendly smiles and, in my head, I checked off “Learn About Fish Industry” on my little imaginary Julie clipboard.

our new friends Fred and Jim

We introduced ourselves and they said, “Sure!  Come on in!”  Portland Fish Exchange is a fish auction house.  The fisherman have the option of bringing their fish to the auction house and allowing them to sort, prep, store, and auction off the fish to wholesalers.  In return for a small cut, the fishermen are guaranteed payment, which may not be the case when they sell directly to the wholesalers, restaurants, and other buyers. We got to go in the huge refrigerated warehouse and see the crates of fish waiting to be auctioned.  This being a Friday, fish had been delivered that morning from the Thursday fishing trips, but there would not be an auction until Sunday.  The reason, we learned, is because the fishermen would not go out on a Friday.  If you remember my post about maritime superstitions, you will recall that it is bad luck to begin a trip on a Friday.  I was enthralled to hear that this practice lives on today.

Our new friends, Jim and Fred, told us what they do each day.  They told us how much the industry has changed in the last 5-10 years.  We learned about the sketchy end of the fish industry, full of gentleman’s agreements that are not honored, variable pricing, and non-payment after the fish is already long gone.  We really did not want to leave, but we had to let the men get back to work, and the warehouse was COLD!!!  We took some pictures and Jim promised to look us up online.  Hi Jim and Fred!  Thanks again!

We left the PFE and I was gloating all the way back to the main road.  I insisted on being applauded for my bravery and persistence.  It was amusing right up until the rest of the conwaysailors threatened to throw me overboard when we got back home.  Seriously, though, we did take that opportunity to talk about having the courage to ask when you are interested in learning about something new.  We talked about how we learned a lot and had a great time, but that Jim and Fred most likely enjoyed the interaction as well.  We explained to the kids how it was probably nice for them to be able to share what their daily life was like with people who were genuinely interested.  It may have made them look at their work a little differently for that day or gave them a smile to think that they helped us understand something we knew nothing about before.  Again, the connections we made with these men were what enriched our day; not the views, the food, or even the interesting things we learned about the fishing industry.

But all that learning made us hungry, so we stopped at Perry’s Sidewalk Café for some lunch.  Perry is a hoot and a half and took pictures of us for his Facebook fanpage.  We had a great time talking to him and he was as generous with his knowledge of Portland as he was with his lemonade.  His stand is a must-do for fun and hungry people if you are in Portland.  He is located right next to the entrance to DiMillo’s Marina and Restaurant.

Other highlights of Commercial Street included a stop at the main location of Sea Bags, which is my idea of one of the most fascinating women-owned, creative, and environmental companies.  They make GORGEOUS bags, purses, and other items from sails that are no longer in service.  As a sailor, I drool over every single one of them, with their large sail numbers, anchors, or stripes on the sides and their rope handles.  We were lucky enough to meet the proprietors and they were as excited to hear about our trip as I was to meet them.  If we had stayed longer, I would have asked for a part-time job.

A trip to the organic produce market completed a very busy day, but we had one more treat in store.  Chris, Bryson and Reese took the dinghy to the big wharves in town and bought lobsters right from the fishermen there.  We steamed them up, two at a time, and had our first lobster dinner on the boat.

Just as Reese was cracking her last claw open, up came our new friend Jason and his girlfriend Erica in their boat!  I was so excited that they really came to say hello.  Erica was so lovely and talked to us about living on a boat and homeschooling.  Jason told us about the best harbors to visit and warned about spots that only local knowledge can give you.  It was Friday night and they were planning on cruising to a few different places for the weekend, so, much too soon, they jumped back in their boat and went off to explore their coast and enjoy its spoils.  I imagined them, young and carefree, sitting on their boat and laughing in the moonlight in some quiet little cove, just around the bend somewhere.  They are special people and some of the folks with whom I wish we had had more time.

The next morning, we enjoyed a ride on a narrow-gauge railroad (it seems like a toy train) and Maine’s narrow-gauge railroad museum.  We also walked (forever) to see the Portland Art Museum.  When we returned, Chris had purchased a replacement stand-up paddle board from a local board shop.  The owner drove the paddle board out to our marina and took our broken one back to his shop so that he could mail it back to the store where we had purchased it.  More nice Maine people.  Geez!

my favorite from the museum

naughty Porter “admires” the mussel-shell dress at the museum