17 June 2011 Mooring Detail

Many people turn away from Seguin when they realize, on approach, we do not have a float available, nor do we allow anchoring.  Up until this morning we had only one mooring to offer, and it was a Coast Guard owned one at that.  Normally the Friends of Seguin provide five moorings in addition to the two owned by the USCG; we put winter markers on them, which makes recovering them in the spring a relatively simple evolution.  This year only one marker survived the winter, which is why this morning found me on Dad’s boat, the Lovely Linda, at 0730, fishing for moorings with a grappling hook.  

Now the reason we don’t allow anchoring is to preclude anybody from getting hooked on the submarine electric cable that powers the light & foghorn, and yes, here are two men who should know better, intentionally dragging a multi-pronged tool across the bottom.  All I can say is, we more or less knew where the cable ran, we had a tripping line rigged on the hook in case, and the light is still on.  Don’t try this at home kids, we’re trained amateurs.

We only located and rigged one inshore mooring on the east side of the cove.  Then we turned our attention to the one marker that survived, to rig it with a real mooring ball.  I am no longer surprised by the junk that gets tangled up by wave action, but Dad & I were both confounded by the four lobster pots & three buoys we found tangled into our one poor little mooring pennant.  It took us about forty five minutes and all of the salty language we’ve picked up in our travels, but eventually the traps were all free and we had another mooring ready for use, bringing the total up to three.

After we wrapped up the mooring games, Dad went back to Popham to get Mother, and we had a late lunch on Seguin.  Barbequed steak tips, grilled potato salad, and cold beer was the order of the day.  I also made rice pudding with blueberry sauce for Mother’s birthday.  Not traditional, but easier than making a cake, and a good Seguin compromise I thought.  I was able to do the grilling outside but we ate inside as the day, still sunny, was growing chill with a freshening S’ly breeze.  They left around 1700, escaping just as the first squall of the afternoon rolled through.

After my folks left we showered, and I promptly feel asleep for a long nap.  I woke up feeling stiff and not refreshed, indeed I am typing this with my eyes at half mast, and fading fast.  The rack monster is calling my name, so I’m off to bed with a moderate SE’ly breeze, cloudy skies with a few showers, barometer holding steady at 29.89”, and the temp in the high 50F’s.