​Day 19, (Wednesday, June 10)– Rough ride along the Jersey Shore, passing Atlantic City (left) up to the Manasquan River today with waves crashing over the bow and hitting the windshield.  Always a treacherous inlet, today’s entry was no different.  Glad to get in for the night.
 
Day 20 (Thursday, June 11) - – Today’s goal was to head to Sandy Hook, NJ, but it was a rough ride again, and the Captain decided to pull into the only inlet available to tuck into, making for a relatively short 1-1/2 hour drive to the Shark River.
 
Day 21  (Friday, June 12) – Traveled through NYC and Hell’s Gate today – entry to the Long Island Sound.  Had a bit of excitement when the GPS stopped “talking” to the computer, cutting out the navigation system in NY Harbor.  Luckily, the ever-trusty paper charts were handy, and they kept Polaris on track until the communications improved again in the Long Island Sound.  Always such an impressive site to see the NYC skyline and the Statue of Liberty.  Ended the day in Milford, CT, in a nice little cove with an island and beaches.  Beautiful weather with lots of people on the water.

​Day 22 (Saturday, June 13)   Wanted to make it through the Cape Cod Canal today, but the trip took longer than hoped for, so stopped overnight in Mattapoisett for the night.
 
Day 23 Sunday, June 14) –  Made it through the canal without incident, but fighting the tide the whole way.  Motored through Massachusetts Bay, and headed into Gloucester, MA, where we tied up to the Schooner Adventure – former pride and joy of Captain Jim Sharp!  So nice of the Maritime Heritage Foundation to roll out the welcome mat!  And Mark’s solo adventure ended here as his wife, Patti, hopped on board after driving down from Maine.
 
Day 24  (Monday, June 15) – Another lovey day, headed up the Annisquam and up into to Newburyport for the evening.  Stayed at the town docks and walked around town a bit, had lunch.  Lots of people out in the parks and on the dock.  Polaris drew crowds, interested in hearing the story of the boat and the museum.  Mark and Patti even ran into folks from both Camden and Rockland!.  Tides were fine on the river.  
 
Day 25  (Tuesday, June 16) –  Arrived at Peaks Island, Maine!  Perfect spot for Patti and Mark to celebrate their wedding anniversary on board Polaris (coincidentally, the same Anniversary date at Polaris’s former owner, Captain Peter Elsaesser and his wife!)

​Day 26 (Wednesday, June 17)  It’s hard to even describe – yet another beautiful day in Maine, flat calm waters, and an easy ride to Camden, arriving in plenty of time to celebrate at the town landing with Capt Jim and Meg Sharp!  It may have been a bit early, but as the saying goes, “It’s five o’clock somewhere!).

Day 27 (Thursday, June 18)  - The final leg of the trip.  Left Camden and traveled down the coast, around Rockport Harbor, and finally home to Rockland.  Robin and Kevin (from the museum) headed out to the Breakwater in time to catch Polaris’s entrance into Rockland Harbor and grabbed a photo or two.  Quick stop to fill up the tanks, and finally – home to the docks at the Sail Power and Steam Museum..

s​Continuing up the East Coast, Mark kept his eye on storms that threatened to move in his direction, but luckily, moved on either well ahead of him or stayed to the west.

​Day 14 (Friday, June 5) Rainy morning but Polaris had proven to be a cozy ride.  With a cup of coffee in hand, headed towards Coinjock Marina, NC, but will only get about about ½ way today, spending the night in Belhaven, NC, off the Pamilico River.  Quiet night out on anchor.
 
Day 15 (Saturday, June 6)  Left Belhaven and headed to Coinjock, NC.  Putting up the Sail, Power, and Steam Museum flag attracts interest in an already interesting boat, and we even had someone “kicking the tires” on Polaris, asking if she is for sale!  Much anticipated high point of the trip – a 16 oz Prime Rib.  Mark was looking forward to this for days and forgot to take the requested photos so we could share his joy.  :)

Day 16 (Sunday, June 7)   Having satisfied his “meat-a-tarian” urges, Mark headed for Deltaville, VA, at the mouth of the Chesapeake where he spent another night on anchor.  Beautiful weather – perfect for a long trip up the Bay.  Mark noted that "everything in Norfolk is BIG!"​

​Day 10, (Monday, June 1)
Monday was scheduled to be a rest day in Charleston, SC.  Mark and Megan had planned some activities to memorialize their trip, the parts for the autopilot were scheduled to arrive, Megan was flying home to Maine, and Mark was going to spend a bit of time fixing the autopilot.  Key word here is “was.”
 
With the city in turmoil, Mark got Megan on her way early in the day.  With no stores or restaurants open, Mark partook in a true “breakfast of champions” – when the going gets tough, it’s time for Ben & Jerry’s!  Once the parts were in, Mark installed them and headed out of Charleston for calmer waters and safer surroundings.  After a 4-hour, 40-mile trip, he anchored in Graham Creek for a night of peace and quiet where he finished installing the autopilot as he will be traveling solo for the next week before more crew arrives. 
 
Day 11 (Tuesday, June 2)
As Polaris headed North to Myrtle Beach, SC, she passed by Winyah Bay, SC and an interesting floating swing bridge.  The bridge remains open most of the time, closing only when road traffic approaches. 

A bit south of Myrtle Beach, a dam had broken and there was extensive flooding and damage with water in the area at 7’ above normal in some places, several deaths,  and wide-spread evacuations in process.  Click here for a story on the flooding https://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/video/south-carolina-flooding-dam-breach-triggers-full-scale-evacuation-539022915792  

​Mark ended the day, stopping in for dinner at a “day dock” before heading upriver and anchoring overnight.  This trip, for Mark, was going to be an exploration of the inter-coastal waterway, an opportunity to meet people, and see new things.  As with many other things in the world today, he pandemic has changed that.  Stopping for dinner now means everyone sitting away from each other, contact information is being collected in case tracing needs to happen at a later date, and definitely no socializing for a person who is traveling alone. 

It's been an unusual few days for our intrepid travelers: A scrubbed space shuttle launch, viewing the "wrong side" of a cargo ship, and watching history being made (a little too close for comfort) on the edges of riots in Charleston.

Day 5 (Wednesday, May 27).  Leaving Stuart, today's travels were a bit less of an adventure than yesterday's.  Mark and Megan continued up the coast and moored in Melbourne Florida.  And while a plane did pass overhead (referencing Megan's "planes, trains, and automobiles" comment from the day before), they were nowhere near an airport, and they settled in for a quiet evening onboard Polaris. 
 
Day 6 (Thursday, May 28)
Leaving Melbourne and headed to Ormond Beach, FL.  Today’s anticipated event was to travel past Cape Canaveral as the SpaceX Space Shuttle was to be launched.  Adding this historic event to the travels was certainly an added “plus” on the adventure, but sadly the weather didn’t cooperate, and the launch was cancelled.  Ormond Beach was nice resting place, though, and they settled in for the night after a quiet stroll around town.

​



Photo (above)  Our crew:  Capt Mark Siegenthaler and his daughter Megan (first two on left); Donor and former owner Peter Elsaesser (white shirt), his daughter Laura (pink shirt), and her husband, George (green, "Wooden Boat" shirt!).

Polaris is on her way!

As the recipient of the incredibly generous donation of Polaris, we needed to work through the logistics of getting her from the western, Gulf Coast of Florida, around to the Atlantic and up the eastern seaboard to Rockland, Maine.  A challenge in the best of times, but as we are all aware, travel can be particularly challenging right now.

You've heard the old saying that if you want to get something done, just ask a busy person...well, enter board member, SPSM supporter, friend, and Captain, Mark Siegenthaler and his daughter Megan. We've been checking in with them every few days, and they've been sending along photos and videos.

The trip:
 
Day 1 (Saturday, May 23, 2020):  Mark and Megan arrived in Port Charlotte, FL, on the Gulf Coast, on the 23rd.  They met with former owner (and generous donor), Peter Elsaesser, his daughter Laura and her husband George, and spent the day provisioning and getting ready for the long trip home to Maine.
 
Day 2: (Sunday May 24, 2020).  Sunday was the start of their journey – after a short distance shake-down cruise on Day 1, they spent their first night at Cabbage Key – 100 acres of tropical vegetation and home of a historic restaurant and inn.  With no cars or paved roads, it was a wonderful spot to settle into a “Jimmy Buffet” state of mind as they started their trip.

​Day 3 (Monday, May 25, 2020): Polaris and crew headed down the “left coast”of Florida to Fort Myers and tucked up into the Caloosahatchee River in an attempt to get ahead of a storm system that was moving into the area. Arriving at their destination (Moore Haven) for the evening, they settled in for what they thought would be a quiet evening.  Instead, they found that the town docks, situated under a bridge, were anything but quiet.  Mark has theorized that there must be an Amazon warehouse nearby as the truck traffic was loud, constant, and kept them awake much of the night.  

​Day 4 (Tuesday, May 26):  In spite of their lack of sleep, the pressure was on for Day 4 as Polaris headed to Lake Okeechobee and some peculiar navigational challenges.  Polaris had an appointment to pass through the first lock of the day at 7am, so an early start was necessary.  Polaris draws about 6 feet, and the lake is currently about 2 feet below average for this time of year, leaving many areas with 2-4 feet of water hundreds of yards from shore.  Mark had done his research, but our worthy vessel and crew bumped along the muddy lake bottom a bit as they headed across, and they made the decision to pump out the water tanks in an attempt to lessen her draft!
 
The day’s next challenge was to reach the lock across the lake at Port Mayakka by 11:30am – before she closed later in the day for construction.  Arriving in time, they found that construction had begun, but the lock was in the open position, and they were allowed to pass.  With those challenges behind them, Megan and Mark settled in for passage through the St. Lucie Canal – a great spot for alligator and porpoise spotting along the way.

​Arriving in Stuart, FL, for the evening, they had a bit of time to explore the area around the marina before settling in for what they hoped would be a restful evening after the events of the past 24 hours.  Instead, they later discovered that the town docks are located near railroad tracks, and freight trains ran every hour, whistles blowing, all night long!  Megan commented the next morning, they just needed to find an airport for the next evening to complete their own version of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles!

As we start out on this new venture of writing a blog for the museum, we thought it would be the perfect opportunity to follow the adventures of Board Member Mark Siegenthaler and his daughter Megan as they travel from (and through) Florida and up the east coast of the United States to deliver a new-to-us, 1937, diesel powered, wooden trawler to add to the collection and programs here at the Sail, Power, and Steam Museum.

So we'll start with a little bit about the boat, and tomorrow, we'll catch up with Mark and Megan on their travels (they're on Day 6 today) - They've been checking in daily and sending along photos of their journey -- looks like they've been having a great time in spite of some shallow waters, an anticipated but cancelled Space Shuttle launch viewing, and a bit of weather!
 
About Polaris:
Polaris is a 47', double-ended, rugged, North Sea trawler-type vessel.  She holds 150 gallons of fuel and 80 gallons of water to keep the crew on the move and hydrated.  Built in 1937, she recently underwent a full hull, deck, and system restoration.  Massively built, Polaris is No. 5 of the Pacific Pilot series built by Star Shipyards of British Columbia to navigate the extreme conditions of the Columbia River and the Pacific Northwest.  From 1937 to 1974, she worked for Pilotage Authorities and from ’74 to ’92, she worked towing logs on the Columbia River and in Alaska.  In 1992, the vessel was sailed to Seattle and sold to the Jose Cuervo tequila company.  They subsequently trucked her to the East Coast and operated the boat between Maine and Florida as a promotional/party vessel.
 
In 2007, she was purchased for a restoration hobby project and restored from the keel up over a two year period for personal use.  She is powered with a factory rebuilt Detroit 6-71N diesel, has a bow thruster, genset, air conditioning, diesel heat, all new electronics, wiring, plumbing, tanks, steering, galley, etc.  She was awarded “Best Restoration With respect to ‘Original Design Intent” at the prestigious Mystic Seaport Antique and Classic Boat Rendezvous at 2010.  

Polaris had been on the market for a bit when Captain Mark met her owner, Peter Elsaesser.  They started chatting about boats (what else!) and Mark mentioned what a wonderful place the museum for classic and unusual vessels.  One thing lead to another, and Mr. Elsaesser decided that his lovely wooden boat would be much happier plying the cold Atlantic waters of Penobscot Bay, and he offered to donate Polaris to SPSM!  

​A Great Addition to the Museum
We’re still looking at programming for this wonderful vessel, but we already have some fun ideas in the works that we’ll share with you as plans proceed.  But if you received our recent newsletter, you already know that we’ve been meeting with Sea Scouts of America to add the museum and Rockland Harbor as the midcoast home for their new Ship (troop).  We can just imagine the fun that everyone will have with Polaris!

We are so grateful to Mr. Elsaesser for his thoughtfulness and generosity.  We look forward to putting this beauty back to work, and we certainly hope that he will one day take a trip to Maine for a visit!