Well my friend Jason, in a typical Jason Duplissis move took a major gamble and held a wedding on a Maine island (Cow Island) in October. The wedding turned out quite nice despite a cold boat ride over, a very memorable trip that went from from skipping on the choppy surf to cruising in peaceful sunny inlets. Lets just say some of the travelers had more contact with the waters of the Atlantic then they perhaps appreciated at the time, however it made for some great photos.
The groom's party travelled aboard a schooner called the Bagheera.
The bride's schooner sailing ahead. The bride and groom of course not being able to see each other before the ceremony.
I really find this photo of my Mom and Kate really funny, and for lack of a better term... really cute. Notice the water droplets all over their coats. I'm also pretty sure my Mom is wearing a pair of sunglasses of mine that I thought were missing. I didn't notice it till now. Oh well... I picked myself up a pair of bad-ass aviator glasses (gave into the fad) to replace them... I'm pathetic, what can I say. At least they aren't mirrored, but then again, they might be even cooler if they were. I digress....
I think at this point, Scott, Jason's brother and best man, decided to go below deck.
The Cat off in the Portland harbor.
The dude in the fleece is the captain of the bride's schooner, the Wendameen, and the Justice of the Peace who married Jason & Millie. A Renaissance man.
Some great shots of Millie's Dad giving her away, unfortunately my camera went dead right before the exchanging of vows, however Kate got some shots that I will get from her and put up at some point.
The entire evening was a bit of an adventure that will make this day just that much more memorable for Jason and Millie. The boats at first tried employing one sail because of significant wind. After testing the water with mixed results they began navigating between islands to avoid some of the choppy seas. We ended up having to disembark the schooners at Diamond Cove which is near Cow Island where the wedding and reception was to be held. The seas on the port side of Cow Island were too rough for the Schooners, and we had to take water taxis over which could only take 6-8 people at a time with some light cargo. As a result it took several trips to get everyone onto the island. Once on Cow, we had a quarter mile walk down a trail. After deciding where to hold the ceremony things began to fall into place. The ceremony was picturesque and conducted as the sun was setting.
Afterward the chilled friends and family rushed to the heated reception tent and hungrily attacked some hot New England clam chowder, steamed lobsters and grilled chicken. By the end of dinner the island was dark, and some of us lit our ways back to the dock with our cell phones. Still others placed their judgement in their sense of direction, and the dim glow of the evening stars. I felt like a kid creeping through the forest in crisp fall air at night, perhaps past my curfew. It was exciting, and all of us, most of us strangers seemed to share that same sense of anticipation of what the night would unveil to us next.
To our great pleasure the seas had calmed and our Schooner, the Wendameen, was there waiting for us. The sky was cloudless, and we had a wonderful trip to Chebeague island where we would be staying at the Chebeague Island Inn. The stars were spectacular and Kate and I laid back on the roof of the cabin and looked at them with wonder. Our adventure was not yet over.... at some point the crew member at the bow yelled "hard right (40?) degrees!!" Everyone turned and gasped as a lobster boat anchored in the water emerged in the darkness and we missed it by inches. Finally, the sailboat could not dock at the Chebeague Inn's dock which was stone, so a water taxi came and unloaded our boat. We formed a chain passing luggage onto the boat. Finally we made it ashore where a roaring fire, hot cider, and wine welcomed us in the Inn.
Kate and I stayed two nights with the Wedding party and Jason's family. Saturday we biked and hiked all over the island. To bring the day to a close we watched the sunset with Jason & Millie and several members of the wedding party. We had a toast of wine at Indian Point a small beach as the last of the day's sunlight danced upon the calm waters of Casco Bay.
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