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News & Features
Pilots, Perseid and phosphorescence
By Beth Billik
For Points East
Begin with the basic ingredients: A class of classic sailboats equipped with able skippers and congenial crews, moving about Maine waters in ideal sailing conditions. Choose filmworthy locations. Add Perseid, a named meteor shower emanating from the constellation Perseus. Mix in a rainbow or two, delicious meals cooked by someone else, a dash of rum, and then some phosphorescence, and one has the makings for the second annual Hinckley Pilot Association cruise.
It all got under way with a pre-cruise HPA dinner in Round Pond, Maine, on the evening of Aug. 11. Several boats came from western ports, so it was a natural stopover going east. Buzz Billik, who heads up the HPA and planned the cruise, provided the setting for many small-world stories, lots of laughs and a wee bit of scotch sipping.
Early on the 12th, with a favorable tide and azure skies, the group worked their way over "the bar" between Louds Island and Hog Island, a passage not advised at half-tide or less. Glory (Buzz and Beth Billik), Sandpiper (Turner and Margie Hansel and daughter Callie) and Lyric (Jeff McKinnon and daughter Emily) stayed close as Nighthawk (Will and Sara Lund) returned to Portland. Pristine Muscongus Bay conditions allowed for dreamy sailing. The Bay can be challenging, infamous for contrary winds, numerous ledges, and pot buoys so dense you could quilt them with your eyes. Not this day. Sails full and no snags. A fine ride to the official starting point of the HPA cruise, Tenants Harbor.
The Pilot class was originally a Sparkman & Stephens design that was reworked by Henry Hinckley in the 1950s and again in the '60s when the boat officially became known as the Hinckley Pilot 35. Only eight Pilots were made in wood, followed by 117 in fiberglass. They were considered one of Hinckley's most successful designs, and in the words of Bob Hinckley, "are wonderful boats in every regard, and when I see one, even after all these years, I'm still moved by how pretty she is."
As the Round Pond pack scoured Tenants for available moorings, Simplicity (Bob and Earlene Chasse), Northwind (Dan and Mary Ellen Hare) and Crackerjack (Josh Stevens and Kate Lee) were already secured in the harbor. Queen Huntress (Kevin Harris and Richard Fisher), Pilot Hull No. 1, came gliding in just before sundown to complete the sisterhood. Crackerjack, the only wooden Pilot yawl built, could share the crown for beauty. That made for seven Pilots in the same harbor. If not for eight last-minute cancellations, it could have been 15!
Veteran HPA cruisers were introduced to new attendees at the traditional dinner on the dock at the Cod End. After darkness, phosphorescence was set aglow in all directions by the slap of an oar or the twirl of a motor blade, as all ventured home in the directions of their moorings. Those who could keep their eyes open were treated to a steady stream of meteors (this is where Perseid comes in) before the clouds overshadowed the "once in a lifetime" show.
Following a dose of caffeine and a rinse in the Lyman Morse shower, the majority of the group made its way east to Vinalhaven. Overcast skies, fluky winds and erratic rainsqualls gave way to sunshine upon entry into the scenic Fox Islands Thorofare. This is Maine seduction in its purist form. The passing shoreline, "cottage" dotted and yacht decorated, induces trancelike moments. Until one encounters a huge, "where the heck did that come from, and what is it doing in my dream" unsightly cruise ship. Something please put me back in my Maine dream. Luckily, the next stop – to Island Shore Leave at Zeke Point, the home of our hosts, the Whitney family – did just that.
On a chart, Zeke Point is located just south of North Haven village, around the crook in the Thorofare where one can choose to continue "out" or tuck into popular Perry's Creek. On land, good luck finding the place. That's the beauty of it – hidden by land, easily accessed by sea. On its shore sits a magnificent boathouse that's a tribute to Lynn Whitney's parent's decades of New England and Maritimes cruising. Closer to the tree line sits the main house, and croquet, badminton and horseshoes were set up between the two.
For the Pilot crews, all this meant a dreamlike afternoon and evening filled with deep laughter, freshly caught lobster, buckets of potato salad, and ginger snaps so good they were stuffed into pockets for rowing sustenance. As the lobsters steamed, a storm rolled through that had the resident Pilot "weather weenie," Dan Hare, declaring, "Those clouds would mean an approaching tornado in the Midwest". Yikes!
The intense tempest was followed by a double rainbow, which arched over the Pilot fleet. The dream had advanced to a fairy tale. By nightfall, the skies cleared, and the remnants of Perseid soared overhead.
On Day 3, as the sun came up and washed over the boathouse, the doors were peeled back and the bell was rung – the signal that warm blueberry buckle and coffee awaited the stargazers. Dinghies descended for a last round of laughter and sighs before the Pilot posse headed farther east to Brooklin. Sandpiper offered a salutary blast to our extraordinary hosts, Lynn and Vid Whitney, from her cannon, and we all were off. Just as the smoke cleared and moorings were freed, what appeared to be a Pilot was spied bearing down on the group.
Sure enough, those lines proved true: She was newly purchased Due II (Lin Stiles) in search of her Pilot friends. Around she turned, and with great wind the entire way, sailed with the others to Brooklin via the Deer Isle Thorofare.
The Wooden Boat School in Brooklin was the wrap-up location for the cruise. The talents of the Bianco family provided a wonderful shoreside cookout. Promises of Pilot owners arriving by land never materialized. but Sunshine drifted in after weeks up on the St. John River. The previous owners of Due II (Michelle and Peter Mackay) were present also, even though they'd moved up the Hinckley chain to a Bermuda 40, Katahdin. Temporary residents of a charter Pilot, Circe (David Bows and his wife, Mary), serendipitously moored in the harbor, joined the group as well. More sailing chatter and delicious eats ensued until the mosquitoes won out.
Although not all participating Pilots were in one harbor at the same time, the 11 that were included in the overall number each provided a key ingredient for fine memories. If you hunt for the definition of "phosphorescence," you might come across the term "enduring luminescence," which is a fitting description of the Hinckley Pilot Association's cruise of 2007. A pack of classic yachts, fabulous folk, ideal winds and, most importantly, no fog, created an enduring inner glow that will provide warmth throughout the winter. Visit www.hinckleypilot.com for more information on the HPA and the 2007 cruise.
Buzz and Beth Billik have owned Glory for 20 years, and sailing the coast of Maine is an annual family tradition.
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