6:03 AM in Seal Bay.
There is always something to see in Seal Bay on the east side of Vinalhaven Island in Penobscot Bay. Sunrises, Eagles and Ospreys and of course seals.
Being as beautiful and protected as an anchorage can be, you’re likely to see a few boats as well.
This lovely Murray Peterson schooner was anchored nearby at daybreak.
Compact of scale with a dense cloud of rigging, ratlines, booms and masts overhead, she reminded me of a finely detailed ship in a bottle.
But the green gem is no toy. Easily hoisted sails were raised quickly. The engine ran as the windlass raised the anchor – then shut down, and the quiet returned to Seal Bay. The schooner was under sail in the light morning wind.
They tacked down below and then sailed slowly by, close enough to our cockpit to hear a hiss from the gentle wake.
A handy sailer – self tacking, there was little to do on the schooner in the light Northerly breeze but to steer a safe course between the rock strewn shores that their sails could support.
An Osprey startled us all by crashing into the schooners wake. Dripping wet, he rose back up in the sky with a wriggling mackerel locked in one talon.
After a few smart tacks, the schooner disappeared into the Fir trees and rocks ahead, and sailed away.
Photos of 6:03 AM in Seal Bay.
