August 11 we left Rockport, Massachusetts at 6:30am with only a light wind from behind. Firing up the iron genie (what sailors call the engine) we made our way North. Along the way we passed Isles of Shoals off the NH coast, but could only see a faint outline given our distance. Then we saw Boon Island Light about five miles off of Cape Neddick, ME.
Along our path we saw numerous large fields of seaweed that we tried hard to avoid. Some even catch bits of trash. Our engine continually takes in sea water to circulate through the engine, similar to a car's radiator. Our goal was to avoid any surface debris as much as possible to assure we keep the engine filter from clogging. Then, several miles offshore in 250 feet of water our depth sounder started showing depths of 15 feet, 20 feet, 18 feet...what happened to the 250 feet? A huge school of fish, submerged seaweed? Weird. A while later we felt a pretty forceful THUMP in front of the boat! Had to be a pretty big fish that we ran into. We searched for visible dolphins, whales, large fish behind us - nothing! Another weird occurrence.
Remember to Click Photos to Enlarge
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| Boon Island Light |
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| Seaweed field |
Fifty nautical miles later, we pulled into a sweet little harbor called Biddeford Pool. While we were familiar with the town of Biddeford from land travels, we never knew about this long peninsula that wraps around a protected harbor just south of Portland. After picking up a mooring ball from the Biddeford Pool Yacht Club we called the launch for a lift into town. The launch driver happened to be a recent grad from Boston College where he majored in history. We were excited to hear he'd had two classes with Heather Cox Richardson (whose newsletter we read daily). Cool! In town we found hot showers at the yacht club, a beautiful public walking path beside the sea, and a general store with ice cream and cook-to-order lobster dinners! A great little stop!
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| View from the public footpath |
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| Wood Island Light |
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| Biddeford Pool Yacht Club |
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| Lobster Dinner - and you can throw the shells in the water! |
The next day we had several options for evening anchorages as we traveled up the Maine coast passing peninsula after peninsula. We chose delightful Potts Harbor at the Southwest end of Harpswell Neck. It gave us protection from the Southwest wind, lots of room, and beautiful scenery. It was perfect. While we enjoy visiting cities and towns and all they offer, it is such a special experience to be able to anchor in a remote spot and find peace.
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| Twin Lights at Cape Elizabeth |
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| A two-masted CS 17 homebuilt |
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| Reflections |
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| Some deer spotted onshore |
Continuing "downeast" we motored through a few cuts between beautiful islands and on into Boothbay Harbor. We'd had the boat at Robinhood Marine in the neighboring Sheepscot River some years ago, so this was familiar territory. Always a busy spot, we checked out the shops, had some lobster and clams, walked the hills, and generally enjoyed the sights. One of the fun things about cruising is meeting others who are doing the same. We have made lifelong friends this way. Fellow sailors are especially friendly when they spot a homeport they are familiar with (
Dream Catcher hails from Rock Hall, MD). We chatted with some other Island Packet owners and a couple who had sailed from California and were now based out of Annapolis. It is always amazing to see how many people are living this lifestyle we love so much.
One "problem" we often encounter is answering folks when they ask us "Where are you from?" Sharon's originally from Pennsylvania, grew up in Delaware, spent summers in Fenwick Island, DE, married and lived in Massachusetts for 15 years, lived aboard for five years and now has a home in Vero Beach. Greg's from the Boston area, and after living aboard with Sharon, now resides in Vero Beach, of course. But, answering the questions about where we're from is not straightforward. If we say PA, DE or Boston one would assume we still live there. If we say Florida, one would assume we've been there a long time. And living aboard.....! Our most common answer is to look at each other in the hope that our partner will have a quick and easy answer! Never happens, but certainly makes conversation. But - we digress.....
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| Halfway Rock Light at the end of Orrs Island |
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| Seguin Island Light |
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| The Cuckhold's at the western entrance to Boothbay Harbor |
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| Burnt Island Light |
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| Scenes from Boothbay Harbor |
After a couple fun days in Boothbay, we headed East again towards Penobscot Bay. We found a spectacular, sunny, breezy, clear day that turned out to be the best sailing we've had since leaving Annapolis. Our intention was to stop near the southeastern entry point of Penobscot Bay for the night, a 25 mile jaunt. Tenants Harbor was likely. The weather forecast said east winds in the morning and northeasterly winds in the afternoon.We left Boothbay with the mainsail deployed in anticipation of a good ride, and soon had the large foresail fully deployed, too. With a moderate breeze we made five knots in a relatively calm sea. As the hours ticked by the wind rose to twelve and then fifteen knots on the beam; perfect conditions for Dream Catcher. We glided along at six to seven knots still on a comfortable sea. Then, as we turned to port and headed west into Penobscot Bay, the winds veered north, continuing to be abeam. We didn't want the perfect sailing to stop. So we sailed past Tenants Harbor, sailed through Muscle Ridge Shoal, through Owl's Head Bay, past Rockland, and ended up in Camden Harbor, a 44 mile sailing day. Awesome!
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| Monhegan Island |
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| A lobster boat on the move! |
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| Whitehead Island Light |
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| Owl's Head Light |
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| Ferry from Rockland to Vinalhaven |
We finally caught up to Jim and Cynthia on Neverland, whom we hadn't seen since Martha's Vineyard. Though the mooring field was pretty full, fortunately Camden Yacht Club had one for us near the mouth of the harbor. Even though we didn't use the facilities, the club managers were very accommodating.
Camden is called the "Jewel of the Maine Coast." It has always been a favorite for us. You will often see sleek, modern sailing vessels right alongside the old schooners. In town, you will find a large number of shops, restaurants and art galleries. The neighborhoods offer wonderful, scenic walks. As has been true all summer, the gardens are lush with variety and color. The wet and hot weather patterns experienced this summer in the Northeast have provided excellent growing conditions. Camden's neighborhoods were in full glory.
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| Camden's old schooners |
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Camden Library had a contactless pickup where
you could sign out your book online and pick it up here |
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| Scenes from Camden |
Unbeatable!
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| A statement about sea levels in Camden Harbor - and global warming! |
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| Morning View |
Camden has a new art gallery called "Page Gallery"
New spokesperson, Greg!
One day we took a walk to Rockport Harbor, about a mile or so away. It too is a pretty little harbor and a favorite stop for sailors.
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| Rockport Harbor |
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| Along our walk |
After a delightful three days, we decided to continue north to Belfast (no, not Ireland, Maine!) Heading out early (as we usually do) we motored again as there was no wind on this short trip to Belfast. Since entering Maine, we've had to be hyper vigilant about lobster pots. Getting one snagged on your propeller will really ruin your day. But this run up to Belfast was pretty wide open, so we could enjoy the coastline and not worry so much.
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| Views along the way to Belfast |
Belfast is an interesting seaside little city. Apparently the city has grown and developed in recent years. There are several nice restaurants, shops, a food co-op, a Hannaford Supermarket, an impressive shipyard servicing very large yachts, and an excellent chandlery.
Given the coming wet weather and the high humidity, we decided to spring for dockage. It is a true luxury to be at a dock where we can turn on the air-conditioning to dry out the boat, charge up the batteries and all our devices, enjoy unending hot water, and have easy access to land and all it offers. We checked out all the shops, walked up the steep hill to Hannaford, did a few loads of laundry and took full advantage of the rail trail right along the water.
Since Henri was moving into the area we extended our stay and several large boats came in for safe harbor. In fact, we became surrounded by them, which actually offered excellent protection from expected high storm winds! The winds never came, thankfully.
There was a Saturday Farmer's Market that we could now check out, made more miles on our feet, and enjoyed cocktails and meals on one boat or the other with the Neverland crew.
The Harbormaster, Cathy, and her team are very efficient and really kind. The Assistant Harbormaster, Tim, brought each boat a few ears of corn and a watermelon one day from his commercial garden.
It is a busy little spot. And this turned into a lovely visit.
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| Outside the Beanbag store |
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| Old and beautiful! |
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| A rowing skull for six |
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| Morning fog |
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| Painted Crosswalks |
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| A carved bench |
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A 25' duck appeared in the harbor
(apparently made the regional news!) |
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| The view at high tide |
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| The view at low tide |
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| Low tide |
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| Unloading Bait fish for lobstermen |
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| Bow of a large classic yacht in drydock |
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| Tomatoes at the Farmer's Market |
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| Sweet little thing |
Finally, it was time to move on. We shared a really yummy and delightful dinner with Jim and Cynthia last night. This morning, we untied the lines and pulled out of the slip at 7:30, slack tide. The no wind pattern continued and we motored across the bay in dense fog to the little town of Castine where we dropped the hook a few hours later. The day turned into a brilliant, sunny day. We will leave what adventure we find on land for next time.
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| Jim, Cynthia, Greg and Sharon |
But first let us leave you with a story -
When we were in Rockport, Massachusetts, Dream Catcher was at a floating dock just in front of the Sandy Bay Yacht Club. There was a wide fairway between us and the pilings that held up the club building and this was the path in and out for the little class sailboats. Many kids learn to sail here starting on an Optimist and graduating to a 420. We watched them sail in and out a couple times each day. One afternoon, Sharon was onboard and two boys, maybe age 8 or 9, were heading back in, each in their own boat. On their way, they encountered a duck paddling toward them. The boy in the front exclaimed "Oh look, a little duckie. I want to pet him!" The boy in the back yelled "Run Him Over!!" It was such a dichotomy of attitudes. Do you suppose one is born with the attitude or learns it as one grows? Something to ponder.
Thanks for traveling along.
'Til next time -
