We’ve been having foggy mornings in Great Cove for about a week, but yesterday’s early fog was especially dense. We were in a thick cloud until mid-morning when some of the boats moored in front of Babson Island began to appear.
Then the trees on Babson Island began to show and with them two schooner mastheads:
Soon, the 120-foot J&E Riggin was disclosed; she had overnighted just off Babson’s beach. She was on a five-day private charter, according to her schedule:
The Riggin, launched in 1927, has no in-board engine, but she does have radar and radio. When the fog cleared enough to navigate, the schooner’s 16-foot diesel yawl boat was strapped to her stern like an outboard motor, and she was powered into a turn-about and motored out of the Cove headed South. She never raised a sail as she departed us.
I wonder what the drill is for such an outboard-powered schooner to avoid a surprise collision when she finally attains cruising speed. Long vessels with large in-board engines can try “full reverse” to slow things down a bit and can surge power for radical turns. (Having someone jump into the yawl boat to reverse or turn off the engine seems a bit awkward and time-consuming.)
(Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on August 17, 2024.)