Safe and Sound

29Apr 2017 by Scott

As the tracker page shows, I arrived back in Camden, Maine just before 7pm yesterday (Friday).

The winds were relatively light (less than 10kts) and from abaft the beam for the last 36-48 hours, so I did a lot of motoring. Thank goodness I had extra diesel fuel on board—I was getting pretty impatient to get back and would have been very frustrated to have been stuck sailing the whole way. (Remember that I was sailing with only a storm trysail (no mainsail), so Resolute needed at least 16-18 kts. of wind to get going.

Awesome shore crew Tom Babbitt was waiting for me in Camden, peering through “pea soup” fog for my arrival. (The whole day was spent in pretty thick fog—I could only see 50-100 yards or so, not that it mattered much in a world of AIS, radar and GPS chartplotting. Mostly I kept a look out for fishing gear and tried to avoid running over the gear that I did see.)

Also on hand to take my lines were Galen Todd and Tom’s wife Jane. And rowing up to Resolute shortly after we tied up was George Haselton (some of whose life choices I had, by chance, been thinking about on the delivery back home—perhaps more later).

Tom was good enough to drive me from Camden to my home in Blue Hill, Maine, about 90 minutes away, so I had the luxury of a good night’s sleep in a real bed. (Keep in mind that I’d spent the preceding 15 days sleeping on a beanbag chair and stretched out on the cabin sole—not even a sleeping bag!). So a night at home was a real treat. Thank you, Tom.

I plan to take the weekend off to catch up on other business (and relax a bit), then will travel back to Camden on Monday to offload some gear, clean out the boat, further assess damage and begin repairs. The mainsail is the principal repair, but there are numerous smaller things I’ve already identified and I’ll know more when we’ve had a proper chance to assess the rig and haul the boat to confirm that there are no issues below the waterline.

I’ll post more on Monday!

18 thoughts on “Safe and Sound”

  • Bernie

    Scott:
    Thanks for your blogging.
    Despite conditions, your coherence and writing skills were unaffected.
    Enjoyed and learned.
    Best,
    Bernie (InBox, OneUp)

  • Kurt Stoll

    Welcome back home, Scott. We’re all relieved to know that you and “Resolute” made it safely. Surely we will hear more about the many challenges you had to master at a later time. Enjoy your family, and – most importantly – the graduation of your son! Best, Kurt

  • Donald W Roeder

    Welcome home Scott. You will be able to go on a lecture tour with all the adversity you handled during your adventure. Well done!

  • Peggy McCrea

    Kudos to you for undertaking such an adventure and more importantly, kudos for making the right decision to return home. Ruth must be greatly relieved, as no doubt, you are as well. Enjoy your weekend and return to creature comforts. Man was not really made to live on the sea….or to sleep on a cabin sole. Ugh.

  • Glen Doyle

    glad to hear your safe and sound ! best on fixing up the damage, enjoyed all the chat info envious of your trip, hope to hear more some day.
    I remember my sail that 5 days from up north that ended in St Thomas, my sea legs were good enough to jump on shore head to the bar for a Coke and a Berger, sure beat eating apples and peanut butter for most of the trip. welcome ashore.

  • Charlie & Margaret

    Well done, Scott! Congratulations on the safe return of you and Resolute – quite the adventure. Here’s hoping Resolute is back in voyaging trim soon.

  • Martha

    Welcome home.We saw resolute yesterday in Camden She looked great considering your journey!!Well done !!You are an awesome captain to plan so well that you could handle the North Atlantic!!

  • Benjamin

    So glad you made it back safely. Get some rest. What an adventure you had that we followed vicariously. Ellie and Doug

  • Karyn

    Hi Scott,
    We have been thinking of you and so glad to see you are back safely. Whew!!!
    Karyn and Dave

  • Sarah King

    Scott,

    I am glad to read that you have landed safely back in Maine. What an adventure!

    Sarah

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