Last Tuesday on Matinicus, I retired to my cabin for the night. I checked the marine forecast a final time: Wednesday – north winds 20-25 knots, freezing spray in the early morning, four-to-six-foot seas. All normal for winter. Assured that we could depart as scheduled, I drifted off to sleep. The following morning, I was walking to the coffeepot and saw the unexpected glimmer of a wave in the harbor. I turned to Storey, the ship’s first mate, asking, “what direction is the wind?” He gave me an annoyed glance and stated “northeast.”
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An imperceptible change to most, this forty-five-degree difference in wind direction completely altered my plan (and workload) for the morning. Matinicus Harbor is a tight fit for the Sunbeam. It involves a ninety degree turn into a slot with only eight feet to spare. When departing in reverse, a southeast, east, or northeast wind pushes the boat toward a fragile private dock, and the high bow catches enough wind to overpower the bow thruster – frankly not a fun place to be as a captain.
The solution is as old as sailing itself – a spring line and a heap of coordination with the mate. We attach a strong rope to the opposite side of the pier and as we back out, we have both protection from slipping westward into the private dock, and a rotational component that turns the Sunbeam in a vector swing. Once the stern is headed into the pesky northeast wind her wind exposure is below the threshold that impacts our ability to maneuver. A burst of the throttle, hard port rudder and the bow thruster will now turn the bow into the wind and allow us to head out the channel.
Another important aspect is the teamwork between captain and mate. Even before I had emerged from my cabin, Storey had already sensed the situation and put the spring line in place for the procedure. Our goal is to make complicated docking situations look easy when in fact there are many moving parts and years of experience going into each decision. Matinicus is among our more difficult harbors, but all the islands have idiosyncrasies that can entail adjustments at the last minute. Monhegan is another particularly challenging docking situation that may be the subject of a future article!
The Sunbeam is a magical ship, and I don’t think twice about any frustrations with winter weather. Arriving on Matinicus with its low seasonal population and having over eighty percent of them come aboard for social or medical needs is the essence of our commitment. I will do anything possible to make winter a bit more tolerable. What I value about the Maine Seacoast Mission is that these folks are not “constituents” or “clients,” but true friends that we cherish.
