Sorry its been so long …

Starting a blog is a grand idea but life can really get in the way. Au Piste is up on the hard for the winter in Maine. We had no intention of spending as much time in Maine as we have and had no idea how much we would enjoy being there.

Our original destination was Mt. Desert Island and Acadia Park. I truly thought we would spend a couple of visits (home for work and back for a week) and then head south again. We just couldn’t tear ourselves away. It might have had something to do with the popovers at Jordan Pond House. Acadia Park is amazing. If you haven’t been you must go. It can be a busy place but the free bus service around the entire island makes it care free. Thank you L.L. Bean. Having our boat to retreat to in Somes Sound each night was the best. We visited all the harbors, Southwest, Northeast, Bar, Bass. they all are memorable.

In the spring we are headed south with a tear in our eye. We are older folk and will probably not be back this way with our boat. I am sure we will visit again but it wouldn’t be the same. That’s how it is with Vagabond Sailing. Visiting from the land side is just not the same. Cheers.

Welcome!

This is a blog of the voyages of the sailing ship Au Piste, on a 5 year mission to explore the universe… oops!

Sorry, let me start again… the voyages of Au Piste and her faithful crew, Roger, Beverly and Bogey. It is called Vagabond Sailor because of our relatively unusual style of crusing.

Since purchasing our first cruising sailboat some fifteen years ago we have never located the boat at a nearby home port. We have commuted to our boat in ports as far south as Charlestown, SC and currently as far north as Portland, ME. We drive or, in some events, drive to our boat for long weekends and for vacation weeks.

This style of voyaging has allowed us to sail to destinations we would never have been able to reach from a nearby home port. In addition, we tend to take our time. For example, the trip from Annapolis, Maryland to Charleston took two years and the boat remained in Charlestown for a full year. During that time, we visited her five times, including a week at Christmas. Turns out that Charlestown is a wonderful place to spend Christmas as the town goes all out to attract travelers for the holiday.

Why does it take so long? We like to pause along the way to adopt new locations as our new second home towns. In some cases it is because we winter over. In any case, we show up with a car and get to know the landside as well as enjoying the boating.

What we have discovered is that this type of travel is very different from arriving as a typical tourist. We get to know the area. We find favorite restaurants,  discover the local hardware and marine stores, explore local shops and all at a pace that can’t be achieved when one arrives to stay for only a day or two. We also enjoy exploring the history of the area as well. Some of our commutes to the boat have been rather long, but even there we tend to turn them into opportunities to visit family or friends and to do a bit of exploring along the way.

In a later entry I will explore further why this works for us in case you are curious and might consider also becoming a vagabond sailor.

I hope you enjoy our tales and that we soon see you out on the great blue seas.

Roger