Month: May 2015

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Maine Maritime Museum

MAine Maritime MuseumIn direct contrast to much of Florida, Maine does not have a Walgreens or CVS on every corner. Bet that doesn’t stop Maine folk from being healthy and happy! But allergy med refill time was upon us and the nearest Walgreens sat 40 mins south in Bath. Bath sits on the Kennebec River and is home to Bath Iron Works (BIW), The Maine Maritime Museum, Chocolate Church and a slew of tempting shops, galleries and eateries.

Bath Iron Works’ skilled workers build and repair US Navy warships and we could see a fair amount of work in progress as we drove past.

The huge dry dock at Bath Ironworks is visible in the background

The huge dry dock at Bath Iron Works is visible in the background

Our destination though was…. Can you guess?   The Maine Maritime Museum! A cross between a smaller version of Mystic Seaport and Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, the MMM provides an affordable way to experience Bath’s connection to the sea. We learned about shipbuilding, the sea trade, lobstering and the dangers (and thrills) of sea life through exhibits, displays, models and paintings.

wooden carved chain

An amazing accomplishment: carved interlocked “chain” from a single piece of wood

The grounds contain buildings with permanent and changing exhibits, a snack bar, kid’s pirate play ship and human size lobster trap, docks with tour boats, a pier for visiting ships and a full-sized evocation of the Schooner Wyoming. We estimate the museum covers 8-10 acres. During the 1800s, 3 shipyards occupied these acres; one of them built and launched the largest wooden sailing vessel in the U.S., the Wyoming. Amazing how ships could be designed and built from the ground up, starting with, “let’s get those local trees felled and brought in.”

Compare this,

Compare this,

to this, honoring the Wyoming.

to this, honoring the Wyoming.

A precursor to the kayak? the WHYNYMS

A precursor to the kayak? the WHYNYMS

The museum has a reference library upstairs in their main building and it is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays, or by appointment. Today was Thursday so Russ wanted to see what might be dug up on the schooner Ortolan, our boat’s namesake. If you haven’t seen the teeny post way back in 2009 about how we named our boat, click here. Well, we got a hit right off; two Ortolan names came up and one just HAD to be her. The dates and her size fit perfectly with the info we had, but no owner, master or captain’s name was Rackleff (just one of many versions), so that was puzzling.

Needless to say, Russ dug up the document then began an intensive online search. The library provided this: Registered in Wiscasset, 74 ton schooner built 1848, 67 ft long by 17.5 ft wide, unknown builder, Henry Barter listed owner with Isaac Barter as Master in 1849.

From the various records and genealogy data we have or found, we are certain that the two-masted schooner, Ortolan, belonged to Captain William Rackliff who sailed her with his daughter, son William E. and seven others aboard from Portland, ME to San Francisco, CA.

Cap’n William made his living involved in the vast, varied and difficult Maine fishing industry. Seems he, like so many in the mid-late 1800s, felt the call of “the west”. The voyage began in late 1849 (why the rush to head out with winter coming?). Captain and crew survived a broken mast, being chased by pirates 🙂 and stormy seas around Cape Horn, finally arriving in San Francisco on August 5, 1850. They hung out doing whatever intrepid voyagers did back then, for two months, before sailing north to southern Oregon’s Umpqua River. There they (not sure if the un-named others got off in SF or continued) crossed the bar to sail Ortolan up to the trading center of Scottsburg where they (assuming we are talking Rackleff) settled into farming.

In 1850, Captain Rackleff purchased land, began building a home and sent for his wife and young son who arrived in San Francisco via the Isthmus of Panama. The family was industrious; their Oregon legacy long, their progeny many, their ship building continuous and farming didn’t last but eight years before William, being a seafaring man, built a schooner Twin Sisters and with her began trading and operated a trading post.

So what happened to Ortolan? Apparently the Captain sold her (proof that he owned her and was just not chartering her) in 1852 which was some time after Mary arrived because Ortolan carried her from San Francisco to Oregon. William then purchased a pack of mules to carry supplies; one way only because he sold them soon after. Digging a bit further Russ read an 1860 NY Times tidbit that said a schooner Ortolan, from San Francisco returned from a long-distance unsuccessful gold prospecting trip; “the soil was brilliant with mica, which accounted for the marvelous reports.”

On a vessel level, the take away is that Ortolan left Maine in haste, serving her owners well, then when sold she again proved herself solid and able. On a human level, the take away that I see is you can take the man away from the sea but not for very long!

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Duck Puddle Days

arrive at campgroundWe are staying at Duck Puddle Campground on the northeastern shore of Pemaquid Lake, smack in between Damariscotta and Waldoboro. Like you know where that is!! Try this; take I95N to I295N, exit on to Route 1 in Brunswick and follow it north about 31 miles, passing through Bath and Wiscasset as you go. Don’t go to Duck Puddle Pond, oh no that would be too easy; instead, turn at the cute sign where the road leads you to Duck Puddle Road.

The trip was uneventful; wrong turns but a distant memory. The morning was busy though as Anne got a propane fill on our way out and there we noticed that her front tires looked low. A quick detour to R&J Diesel repair had us on our way free of charge to our next stop…… the dreaded fueling up at a “regular” gas station. Oh lordy. The chosen station met all our criteria and then some; it was located in Rhode Island where fuel taxes are lower.

May 1st is opening day here and spring cleanup was in full swing; still is twelve days later. Been a long, cold winter. The campground is 90% seasonal locals with campers/fifth wheel trailers. Maine is hilly and rocky; not at all like flat Florida. Most of the sites have some amount of slope and plenty of treed space between you and your neighbor.

View from office; most campsites are in the pine trees

View from office; most campsites are in the pine trees

Down by the lake

Down by the lake

Fortunately, sites 104 to 110 are totally flat, devoid of any barrier shrubs or trees, close to the entrance with full hook-up, 50amp power. The hook-ups sit at the very back of the site so we had to back in as far as possible. The site drops off behind us and along side us as we took the end spot. The sewer hose just reached. No neighbors yet; probably not until June.

Will it reach??

Will it reach??

Here’s an exciting and not-often viewed sight; the levelers- ooooooh. The driver’s side rear sat in softer dirt and our wood pad was not large enough to spread the load, but we did find a larger piece of paneling lying nearby and used that too. So far we’ve had to jack up that side twice.

Levelers need an assist- another piece of wood would help

Levelers need an assist- another piece of wood would help

Add in the opportunity to once again watch a campground come alive, well, how can you beat that?

How about a visit to Maine Cat in Bremen, the next town over? Ms. Ortolan looked like the fish out of water she was, but with a glimmer of hope that she’d be launched by June 1. Guess that means we will have oodles of time to explore the area.

Inside makes her look larger than life, but not prettier.

Inside makes her look larger than life, but not prettier.

Moody’s famous diner on Rte 1 not very far from Maine Cat, or us. Several visits under our belts already.

The real deal- phone booth, fresh baked goods and great food

The real deal- phone booth, fresh baked goods and great food

4- Berry pie

4- Berry pie

They serve real whipped cream on the side!!

They serve real whipped cream on the side!!

When we visit a new area, Russ tries to find a way to locate walking and hiking trails; usually without much luck. This time was different; he found an aptly named site, mainetrailfinder that pinpointed myriad of trails and walks through-out Maine. Most had some info about them, including length and level of difficulty. I wanted to go for “difficult” but we couldn’t find any nearby. 🙂

I begin the ascent up the erratic glacial boulder.

I begin the ascent up the erratic glacial boulder.

Traditional Maine coast view

Traditional Maine coast view

As nice as those trails were, with one meandering close to the rocky shore and an active osprey nest, I needed a dose of beach combing. I knew just where to go for a sure thing. While bending, stooping, peering at and gathering up small pieces of colored glass isn’t most people’s idea of fun, I liken it to a scavenger or treasure hunt. Good quality sea glass is in short supply and I’ve gotten pickier over the past year, but a smooth piece of any color besides white, green or brown is delightful.

Lunch and restorative libations at Morse's Cribstone Grill

Lunch and restorative libations at Morse’s Cribstone Grill

Last August when we cruised the Maine coast, one of our stops was by Orr’s and Baily Islands, joined by the world’s only cribstone bridge. You can read about that stop here, if you missed it.(near the end of the post).  We found a small beach where you could plop down (mid-tide or lower) and find tiny sea glass nuggets all around you. Plus, by the bridge was a good area too and since that’s near Morse’s, how convenient?