CONVERSATION about Quinton's impending coastal voyage in his newly acquired Whaler. Me - One second one give me a second hold on just putting up Casco Bay on Goggle. Here we go okay, Casco Bay big time okay."
Quinton - "My boat is all ready. My gear is packed. This time of year the time is from East-Southeast, so I'm going to stay to the leeway side on the islands. Head inside to Bailey's Island."
Moi - "I've been to that bridge. Plenty of depth under it at high tide."
Quinton - "After that I'm heading up to the Goslings and then Harpswell to Gurnet Strait past Indian Point. I've always wanted to come up there from the sea, although I had to pay an extra $15 to enter any river and damned if those water police aren''t out to make a buck for the State."
Moi - "One day David, my brother-in-law, and I were fishing off the dock on Watchic Pond. My sister and her hsuband get into the canoe. They said what for? We didn't say aything. THey're lawyers and know everything. I've been on that pond, wghich would be a lake in any other lake and I see a boat inspector motoring for them in a aluminum dinghy. Sure enough, the inspector givs them a ticket for no life preservers and motors away with a wave. David and I wave back and take a sip of our drinks. My sister docks and is having a hissy fit, saying she's never seen a boat inspector on the pond and her life. I hadn't either, but restrained from saying, "We saw one today."
Quinton - "Damned boat inspectors. Only thing worse at the fish inspectors. All of them all so high and mighty. All my papers are good. I'm up for this now. Stopped drinking and the rest. I'm past the okay. I'm going up I got to go up there to clear my head. At least two weeks, if not more."
Moi - "What about fishing?"
Quinton - "I had it. Last week I drove down to New BEdford. Had a few drinks at Knucklehead's. Got in my truck and thought about how we're being screwed by the industry telling us they only wants certain sizes, so we have to shovel short fish into the sea. Most of dead, so the other fish crowd the boat for a free meal. Too much work. Too much bullshit."
Moi - "But you still like it asea?"
Quinton - "Of course, but its the coming ashore that sucks. I've put in a good number of years. Enough. I have to get my head clear and it will never happen, if I have to go to NEew Bedford. That city has more meth heads than citizens."
Moi - "Let's change to subkect to the trip. I wish I was coming. I only seen most of those island from the land. Look here on Google I see you coming down that eastern channel to Small Point and Popham Beach. How far is that?"
Quinton - "I figure it for fifty-eight nautical miles. Might tke me two days or a week. I'm in no hurry to be with people."
Moi - "I wish I could come, but I know you have to clear your head. You gonna tent on the beach?"
Quinton - "Too many flies and 'squitos. I intend on sleeping on the boat. I have cut some wood from that old sail boat laying in the backyard. I can put it across the seats and I have a bed for Penny."
Moi - "You're bring your dog?"
"Quinton - "I have to have someone to talk to other than my head. I have a pretty tackle box adn rod and reel for sea fishing. A License too. Cocksucking, fish inspectors. I made an Essentials list. Food-wise got 20 gallons of drinking water for leaving the dock and then maybe just a little portion of rice that I got to cook, but otherwise I'm going to get a bunch of canned beans. I've been eating like can you run any electricity in the boat yeah I got it right now just going to try and minimize cooking. I got a container of Penny's wet food,otherwise I got the little i got tuna and smoking I want to bring some lemon oil salt pepper olive oil ramen some spam my cast iron Little cast iron skillet. I can't run any electricty on the boat and having a fire on boat's is too dangerous."
Moi - "My great-grandfather's ship burnt to the scuppers off Brazil. Every man got off and so did his poodle."
Quinton - "Tomorrow I'm going up to REI. Pick up a few more essentials"
Moi - "Such as what?"
Quinton - "Don't know. I'll know when I see it."
Moi - I don't know nothing, but get your anchorage early and plan your crossing reaches with care. I haven't been to sea like you, but I always hiled in the foreests by myself. Always spooky to see bear pringts."
Quinton - "I have a good weather eye and a nav radio."
"Moi - "A good hat?"
Quinton - "Yeah, just got one."
Quinton - "I took a day trip. Boat a pissah and the engine is strong. It's not new, but I had my eye on that FOR SALE sign for a while. Once I decided to quit fishing for the rest of the season, I told myself I needed to take off that FOR SALE sign. That day trip to Jewel Island taught me one thing. Like I know a lot but I'm was dangerously under-prepared and did a couple of stupid things that I hope I wont' do again. My phone is useless, because I was listening to music, which sapped the batteryand I brought way too much shit."
Moi- "If you bring it, you won't need it. If you don't bring it, you will need it. Music??? Yes, but not Instagram."
Quinton - "No, I want to be apart. Juat me and penny and the sea. I'm never alone on the fishing boat. Never time to hear the silence of the sea. I'll listen to the VHF weather station. And I neeed real charts. I have a depth finder. Also I've read that not all the islands are transient friendly. I have my camping permit in order. But the point of my going is that I just don't really want to see a bunch of people either. Have them asking questions. I just want to touch land to walk Penny. She handles the flat sea okay, but she does have to shit on dry land.
Moi - "When you got to go you got to go. Even dogs. Evven you."
Quinton - "She tends to like dry ground. I have more mental Clarity than for weeks ago. Yesterday I told my landlady about my trip. She said people where I'm going think on you as 100% away from there. There's a lot of basically uninhabited islands out there. yeah Anyway I mean like it is on me to chart my course to find nothing."
"Moi - "Looking at Casco Bay I see these islands out in the fucking middle of nowhere between Pemaquid point in Port Clyde. I read you that the poem about going to Thailand and finding myself atop of a mountain with a motorcycle in Northern Thailand. I was going to drive across Burma, which is totally illegal, but I just wanted to go to Tibet and then Nepal. I sat on the bike there. I hadn't gotten to the point of no return, but the point where I couldn't go any further.the point where you've hit the point of return not the point of no return but the point of return. Still haunts me."
Quinton - "I seen photos of these islands. The water looks like Caribbean Blue and there's plenty harbor seals."
"Too bad you can't portage your boat. Cruise up to Bath adn all those rivers all those estruaries to the Casco Bay."
Quinton - "I'm in no hurry."
Moi - "Yeah wintah's a few months off. I'll speak to you later. I got to sleep."
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