Guildive Cruises Blog

Hello again-It’s Kikilina sitting here on the Guildive with Kate, drinking some hot cocoa on another rainy day in Castine.  Although the pouring rain and high winds can put a damper on the sailing excursions, it does allow for some much needed downtime (if that is even the right word for it!) for maintenance projects. Kate and Zander take it all on with enthusiasm as they continue into their first sail-chartering season on the Guildive.

Earlier in the week, Zander’s mom Beth, his brother Marley and Marley’s fiancée Kate came for a visit on their way back to Nova Scotia after attending a family wedding outside of Boston.  Greg (a friend from Albuquerque) had just arrived earlier in the day for a short visit staying aboard the Guildive. It was nice for friends and family to meet and reconnect. We went out for a sunset sail on the Guildive the first evening the family arrived and made delicious fajitas later that night. The next day was a full day of sailing, with Greg helping out Zander on the excursions and Kate and I taking full advantage of meeting up with two of Kate’s high school teachers from Maryland who summer in Maine; they took us on a motor boat ride throughout Penobscot Bay, giving us a historical literary tour of the area and stopping for a picnic near Pumpkin Island. It was a wonderfully sunny and warm afternoon, perfect for a boat tour throughout the bay.  The last sail of the day was a full group of family and friends, who loved to laugh and sing sea shanty tunes.  They filled the warm, Castine harbor night air with sounds of clever renditions of old tunes, using words that came to mind rhyming with Guildive. (French Fries was my favorite). It has been so fun this week meeting the guests that come sailing on the Guildive, from Jim and Caroline visiting from Tennessee offering life-long love lessons and a childlike enjoyment of life, to Laurie and her husband from Connecticut, reliving her earlier sailing voyages as cook on the Pride of Baltimore.  Oh, and I can’t forget twelve-year old Nick on board with his parents from London, who demonstrated quite the knack for steering the Guildive, and was equally impressed with his navigational skills and bravery, even when the sailing became more challenging.  Zander and Kate guided him gently through the commands and he soaked it all in quite impressively.  As the wind died down on the last sail of the day yesterday evening, Zander brought out the Spinnaker, a bright yellow burst of color as we gazed towards the setting sun, the pink rays of the sunset reflecting off of the still waters.  So peaceful, so beautiful.

Pictures to come soon……

Fort Madison view of the Guildive, Marley Parker Photographer

Hey! It’s Kikilina, guest blogger on the Guildive.  This is my first time sailing in Maine with Kate and Zander and it has been amazing!  We have been mostly booked since I arrived with some downtime to explore the local Wilson Museum and Dice Head Lighthouse.  I even managed a short hike to Fort Madison to watch as the Guildive cruised back into the harbor.  I have met some wonderful people, many on vacation from outside of Denver, Colorado, Syracuse, NY, Austin, Tx and Alburquerque, NM to name a few.  Many people who spend their summers in and around Castine are so thankful to be able to take a boat cruise out and see their homes from the water and share stories of when they were in their teens and got stuck trying to row a boat from Ram Island back into Castine Harbor, against the tide, finally arriving four hours later! And I have been rediscovering how small the world really is and the connections that people have all around us.  For example, we had the opportunity to sail past the Mistress, a beautiful schooner, in Penobscot Bay, and a cute, short-haired crew girl yelled to Kate, “Hey! I am Mary’s sister!” waves and laughter, short hellos and goodbyes, then Kate told us that Mary was one of her students two years ago.  Then, on that same trip, our friend Greg struck up a conversation with the guests on board and realized that his Uncle Richard had been great friends with their father, Philip, both well-reknowned poets with a passion for sailing.  I was grateful to be a part of these special moments on the Guildive with Kate and Zander, that from my early observations, seems to have a knack for bringing people together to tell stories of shared childhood memories all the while creating new connections with those who arrive as guests and leave as part of the ever-increasing Guildive family.  Oh! Oops, gotta run-time to make some lunch before the next sail.

Good Morning,

July has brought our working routine.  We rise early clean the boat and ready her for our first sail at 10 am and the rest follows.  On sunny days we have people for every sail and yesterday was no exception.  Our first series of sunny days in many weeks we are looking forward to another beautiful sunset tonight.  We have had several good friends visit and we are glad that we have space to offer them a berth in comfort.  We are looking forward to more soon and welcome all our family and friends out sailing with us.  Our routine has meant that we were not able to see my friends on Bluenose II which was here in Maine at the Bath Maritime Museum and has sailed onto Boston.  I wish them safe sailing this year and always.  Sorry I could not say hello.

Castine is at the end of peninsula and in order to provision we save our errands up to make a single trip but those can be few and far between.  A good list is the only thing that makes each trip as successful and efficient as possible.

As for our sailing trips, our sail plans, are based on the available wind which for most of the time has been consistently South to Southwest and we are able to sail around the beautiful islands of Nautilus and Holbrook.  These islands were family owned for over 100 years and represented much of the rugged individualism of the Maine coastal people.  Nautilus continues to be inhabited while Holbrook is a preservation that is open to the public but only during daylight hours.  There is a third island that completes our little archipelago, Ram Island and it is here that a colony of harbor seals has made home.  We are able to see marine life like the seals but also, porpoise and fish and sea birds including a beautifully perched Bald Eagle.  Our routine is developing and we are thrilled to be sailing everyday.

The Guildy’s