Sitting in the Fayaway’s cockpit facing aft, toward the southwest. Taking in all there is in this relatively busy mid-coast Maine town.

I hear squawking ospreys, speaking to each other as they circle and perch atop nearby mastheads. I hear a slow rumbling murmur of the Vinalhaven ferry moving its passengers to a nearby island.

Smaller ducks, diving ducks, spotted black and white, paddle in a skewed line between the moored boats. A curious seal pokes his head up, then doubles over to silently dive again. A skiff of rowers, seven of them, with two not actually rowing. One is not supposed to row, being the coxswain. But the other apparently disrupts the others. I wonder, is she is tired? Or uncoordinated? Or both? Whatever the reason, they’re not going to win any races. But who cares?

The sun rose less than an hour ago, and then I did too. I made fresh ground coffee with water heated from power collected yesterday.

A noisy barge goes by, apparently off to tend somebody’s mooring. The barge, the ferry and a few lobster boats make the only unnatural sounds. Ok, maybe I also hear a few clanking halyards too. Off in the distance. They’re not bothering me at all, as I’m enjoying this time.

And I’m enjoying this place, juxtaposed between sailboats reminiscent of hundreds of years past, and then now.

A waning lobster industry from decades past, and wondering what’s to come after. I believe the sailboats will stay, but maybe one change will be to use electric auxiliaries instead of diesel.

Evidence of change was plainly seen here at yesterday’s high tide. Rockland’s famous breakwater, jutting across the outer harbor, submerged, prevents tourists from completing their momentous walk to the lighthouse. More than 4,000 feet long, the iconic stone structure was built more than 100 years ago to shelter schooner ships in the harbor. It seems to be going deeper underwater every year. Do you think it’s designers planned it that way?

Forgetting about the scientists for a moment, the evidence is clear – as seen with one’s own eyes, climate is changing drastically, within a single human lifetime, the differences my progenitors have not witnessed. How can anyone deny what I’m seeing?

Aqua Alta means literally high water in Italian. It’s the term used to describe flooding in Venice. Visit Venice in the winter you’re likely to appreciate Aqua Alta first-hand. Do you think when the architects designed St Mark’s Square more than 1,600 years ago, they would expect its markets and gatherings to be flooded? Or at least so often? Venetians won’t deny they’ve seen the flood getting worse.

I’ve been frequenting a small and unpretentious yacht club for almost thirty years. When I first started sailing there, day-sailors would wait for high tide, the higher water levels making for an easier launch. It was good to have that high tide. But during recent years we’ve added fill to the parking lot, staving water from the frequent flooding, and for allowing drainage on the outgoing tide. How much additional soil will be added in my lifetime? During my children’s lifetime?

Some say this “change” is normal, not influenced by humans, and has occurred cyclically throughout history. Perhaps. But from vast industrialization we’ve seen only during the brief history of time – only a few generations of humans, don’t you think we might have something to do with what’s happening? In other words, is climate change a coincidence with human industrialization? Regardless, Aqua Alta here we come.

Rowers and sailors have traveled, windmills have ground grain, the sun has warmed and water has turned wheels, long ago before we started burning what comes out of the ground, or started splitting atoms. I’m not adamantly opposing these practices, but we must discover how to progress sustainably – and do it soon. Else, upcoming generations shall need to row and sail more often, which may not be so bad!

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What’s happening lately in the world of Fayaway?

Fayaway is on the hard and fully-winterized in Rockland, Maine. In hindsight we pondered over the amount of work it took for us to do this: Two full days, 2.5 gallons of fresh motor oil, 12 gallons of pink anti-freeze and four big jugs of cheap vodka. Not to mention all the boatyard work involved with de-masting, hauling, and shrink-wrapping. We could have used all this cost and effort to bring her someplace warmer!

But we need another reset to be with family this winter, Fayaway can use TLC, and I’m working hard to pay for her fancy new gear that we’ll appreciate next year.

On the docket are many projects. Here’s the short list. Our hopes are high to check many off the list before launching again in May.

• New headstay furler and backstay
• Repair leaks: pedestal and at various stanchions
• Reconfigure stern pushpit; remove stern ladder; add side ladder
• New windlass (original has been rebuilt at least twice already)
• New mainsheeting system (I’m excited about this one)
• Strip and awl-grip boom
• Replace worn gooseneck fittings
• Add more lithium batteries (50% increase to 600 Ah)
• Add 200 watts PV to cover dodger (700 watts total)
• New prop (upgrading to Autoprop)
• Raise waterline 1” (yup, we’re heavy)
• New offshore liferaft (cheaper than re-pack)
• Add new spare halyards
• Replace worn sheaves in mast and boom
• Replace worn battcar bearings
• Oodles of smaller maintenance tasks