While not my first overnight sail on the Gulf of Maine, it was one of the earlier ones. This trip was memorable because of the conditions. We have a summer cottage on Islesboro and make it a point to take our boat up there every year. At the time, we had a Newport 41, which my wife, daughter and I could sail easily. On this particular trip, we left Portsmouth, N.H., at about 0800 and motored for the first couple of hours. It was a warm, hazy late-June day. Around 1030, the breeze started to settle in from the south and within about half an hour there was enough for us to fly the spinnaker. By noon we had 15 knots and had settled into a nice groove. Shortly after lunch, our daughter disappeared. After a little bit of searching, we found her sound asleep in the turtle for the spinnaker! My wife and I enjoyed the sailing, the wind and each other’s company while our daughter was snuggled on the bow. The great wind continued throughout the afternoon and into the evening. We were treated to a superb sunset, and as twilight started to settle in, a full moon rose. While the afternoon’s conditions were great, these were truly magical. The wind continued at around 15 knots and we kept flying the spinnaker. Now the moon’s cool, white light illuminated the big red and blue sail, while little white moonbeams sparkled on the waves all around us. We continued eating up the miles at a healthy rate (for us) until about 0400, when the wind finally died out. In the many times we have made that trip since, we haven’t had anything that has come that close to being a perfect night sail.

Return to top of page