Northbound in Maine

Wednesday, July 12 - Sunday, July 16, 2017

We depart the Boston area, heading north, in light winds and light fog.  Guess this is a good introduction to the legendary Maine fog we are expecting (dreading) in the days ahead.  Here we round Cape Ann, just offshore Gloucester MA, the fishing village setting for the book and movie The Perfect Storm.  Thankfully we have calm seas today!

Cape Ann twin light stations

An uneventful 68-mile cruise brings us to the New Hampshire / Maine border and the Piscataqua River.  Portsmouth NH lies on the south side of the river with Kittery ME, on the north. We pass Seavey Island up the river, home to Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

The Piscataqua is known to have extremely strong currents during peak tidal flows and, of course, we arrived with three knots of incoming tidal current associated with an 11 foot tide.  No photos of our transit past the worst areas as we were fighting whirlpools, eddies, standing waves, lots of boat traffic, and a lift bridge that opens every half hour.  The bridge tender decided to cop an attitude and tried to get us to lower our antennas (while fighting the current) and squeeze under the closed bridge with 6" to spare - NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!  He finally opened the bridge for us after an anxious exchange of words.

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth NH

We are stopping at another boat yard, this time to replace our original engine mounts.  The prop work we had done in Solomons MD several months ago solved part but not all of our vibration problem.  This routine maintenance should fix the rest.  On Saturday, our boat yard has an open house to celebrate new floating docks at their facility.

Kittery Point Yacht Yard, Kittery ME

Despite being mid July, several boats are still shrink-wrapped from winter storage.  The truly warm boating season here is a short one!

Kittery Point Yacht Yard, Kittery ME

We are NOT in Texas any more!

Kittery Point Yacht Yard, Eliot ME

Our repair work is complete after a day and a half, but our next stop is booked until Monday.  So we rent a car and do some sightseeing in these twin cities on the river.  Downtown Portsmouth is charming with lots of restored historic buildings housing shops and restaurants and a lovely waterfront park.

Portsmouth NH

We enjoyed this farmers market, finding a great variety of veggies, fresh berries and meats.

Portsmouth Farmers Market

Of course, now that we're in Maine, we have to try the fresh lobster!  Lots of places to buy live lobster here.  Our first attempt to cook them was not great - overcooked them, but still tasty.  Need more practice!

Live Maine lobster

Monday, July 17, 2017

We are on the move again, cruising 68 miles to the Casco Bay area near Portland ME.  We opted to skip Portland; may visit on our return south, but didn't see much there of interest.  Early morning passing downtown Portsmouth finds few boats on the move.

Portsmouth NH

This is the lift bridge we found challenging on our way in last week.  Today the current is almost slack and we wait for the next opening with much less drama.

Memorial Bridge, Pistacaqua River

We are again blessed with calm seas as we make our way north, passing this lovely sailboat along the way.

Sailboat in Bigelow Bight

We are starting to see numerous "right whales".  They can be seen surfacing all around us but none have come close.  These baleen whales are reported to grow as large as 50 feet long, weighing up to 80 tons. It would be nice to get a closer look but maybe not.

North Atlantic right whale

We arrive at our marina and tie off to a mooring ball.  We have come to this marina based on its reputation for excellent service and their outstanding restaurant.  Our first impression is a good one as the staff boat meets us to show us our mooring and hands us the rope to tie to - no trying to snag the line with a boat hook.  Yea!

Dolphin Marina, Harpswell ME

Soon the fog closes in.  This is our view for the next three days.

Mooring field, Dolphin Marina

Tuesday, July 18, 2017

We soon realize the two boats closest to us on the nearby dock are both flying Texas flags!  We catch a ride to the dock on the marina's complimentary launch service and meet both boat owners.  One couple is from McKinney TX but keeps their boat on the east coast.  The other couple live in this area but the wife is from Dallas and insists on flying the Texas flag.

We join the McKinney couple for lunch at a nearby lobster shack.

Erica's Seafood

Some local color ...

Erica's Seafood

A late afternoon walk takes us down a local road through a residential area.  We are located on a long peninsula called Harpswell Neck with lovely views on both sides of the road.

Harpswell ME

The fog has never completely lifted, providing eery views across the water.

Middle Bay from Harpswell Neck

Wednesday, July 19, 2017

We dinghied to the dock to have lunch onshore where we chanced upon this "lobsterman", just arrived with the day's catch.  We gladly buy 2 live lobster to enjoy for dinner.  We learn that Lexi (Alexis) runs this lobster boat as a summer job, tending 20 traps and selling the catch each day for several hundred dollars.  Most impressive as Lexi is a 13-year-old girl!

Lexi

After lunch, the fog has lifted enough to go for a dinghy ride around the harbor.  Lots of working lobster boats here.

Lobster boat, Potts Harbor ME

Here's a closeup of a lobster trap float.  These are attached to a rope that is connected either directly to a trap or to a second float connected to a trap.  These are used to mark the trap and to help pull the trap up to the boat to retrieve the catch.  They are everywhere here in Maine!  And we must avoid hitting them or risk getting the ropes tangled in our props or shafts, potentially requiring a diver to remove.

Lobster trap float

Note the boat name - a Southern reference Down East!

Lobster boat, Potts Harbor ME

We stop on a nearby island to explore.  Not sure if this is all native vegetation; lots of wild roses in bloom.

Upper Flag Island

The "beach" is mostly shell, quarter-size and larger.

Upper Flag Island

Geologically, this area is mostly igneous with later glacial erosion.  We didn't learn much about this particular island.

Upper Flag Island

Closeup of rocks exposed at low tide.

Upper Flag Island

Against our better judgement due to patchy fog, we move on via dinghy to the next island about a mile away.  Eagle Island was the summer home of arctic explorer Admiral Peary.  His home is now a designated National Landmark and is open for tours.

Eagle Island ME

A docent gives us audio tour guides and we walk the grounds and home.

Admiral Robert E. Peary summer home

Perched high on this small island, the home is surrounded by classic Maine views of rocky cliffs and crashing seas.

Eagle Island ME

The home's interior displays many of Admiral Peary's memorabilia of his service with the US Navy and his Arctic expeditions.  He was the first explorer to reach the North Pole in 1909.

View from Adm. Peary's study

Peary first saw Eagle Island as a young man attending college in the area and vowed to one day own it.  After working for some years, he was able to save enough money to purchase it.  Years later, he built his summer home here.  He and his family spent many summers enjoying life in this remote location.

3-sided fireplace, faced with local stone

Once we finish our tour, we come outside and realize the fog has completely socked in.  It is late in the afternoon and we have over a mile to go with lots of islands and rocks along the way.  Fortunately we have a course plotted on our portable GPS and pick our way carefully through the now-dense fog with visibility maybe 20 feet.  As we near the mooring field, we are almost run over by a lobster boat.  Yikes!  Don't want to do this again!

Thursday, July 20, 2017

The fog has finally lifted and we are ready to leave.  We have enjoyed several outstanding meals at the Marina's restaurant, including their signature fish chowder.  We have also become accustomed to their homemade blueberry muffins, delivered fresh with coffee to our boat every morning.  Like the other boaters, we await our morning muffins one last time, salivating like Pavlov's dog!

Delivering morning muffins

Now, I just really need these extra 500 calories!

Homemade blueberry muffins from Dolphin Restaurant

Muffins on board, we are on our way!  This is one of the worst seas of lobster trap floats we have seen.  And still some fog, making the floats harder to see.

Lobster trap floats, Potts Harbor

We finally have a clear view of Peary's Eagle Island as we cruise toward open water.

Eagle Island ME

We have wonderful calm seas as we pass Seguin Island.  We are now in the Gulf of Maine.

Seguin Island ME

The rocky bottom has lots of topography, thankfully very deep where we are cruising.  This charted underwater "hill" has over 200 feet of relief.

Bottom topography

We pass lots of small islands as we move toward Penobscot Bay.

Island from Two Bush Channel

Rain in the distance looks threatening, but we stay dry all the way to our destination.

Rain over Rockland Harbor

We have rounded the bend toward Rockland Harbor, nearing the end of our 75 mile day.

Owls Head, overlooking Penobscot Bay

This sturdy breakwater protects Rockland Harbor.

Rockland Harbor breakwater

We tie up in a marina for a couple of nights to see this artsy town.  Our dock faces the local Coast Guard station; their boats can be seen in the background.

This planter is typical of seasonal color we are seeing all over New England.  Gorgeous!

Journeys End Marina, Rockland ME

Friday, July 21, 2017

Rockland is home to the Farnsworth Museum, the premier collection of Andrew Wyeth paintings, a well-known Maine artist.  We spend several hours at the Farnsworth, enjoying several different Wyeth exhibits, in addition to other works in the collection.

Farnsworth Museum, Rockland ME

A nice sculpture garden connects the museum exhibits in two different buildings.

Farnsworth Sculpture Garden, Rockland ME

Rockland has another restored downtown, filled with very nice galleries, shops and restaurants.

Main St., Rockland ME

Odd display in a small waterfront park.  No signage, so we didn't learn about this colorful piano.

Park, Rockland ME

More lovely flowers ... for having such a short summer season, the New Englanders certainly love their gardens!

Park, Rockland ME

While Carolyn was browsing the galleries and shops, Robert was getting his boat store fix!

Rockland ME

Saturday, July 22, 2017

We are heading north once again, this time to our northernmost destination for the summer - Acadia National Park!  An early start gives us a closeup look at one of the many ferries connecting the mainland with outlying islands.

Ferry in Rockland Harbor

The fog is truly gone today, giving us a great view of Owls Head as we proceed into Penobscot Bay.

Owls Head, overlooking Penobscot Bay

What a gorgeous day!  Glassy smooth ocean waters, even if the air is a bit chilly.  Temps are staying in the low 60s offshore, close to the water temps.

Penobscot Bay

We pass lots of small islands in this area.  More rocky shorelines and heavily wooded summits.  A few of these islands are inhabited, mostly with summer vacation homes, but most are not.

Isle of Haut

We have seen a few dolphins in this area, but they are quite small by southern standards and never approach the boat.

Dolphins, Gulf of Maine

This guy was a little friendlier, but a zoom lens makes him look closer than he really was.

Seal, Gulf of Maine

The hills of Acadia National Park are finally visible in the distance.

Acadia National Park from Gulf of Maine

As we pass near Southwest Harbor, we encounter a regatta with dozens of sailboats racing our way through a sea of lobster trap floats.  Ugh!

Southwest Harbor ME

This is the worst concentration of floats we have encountered.  Just had to run over a few as they were closer together than the width of our boat.  Fingers crossed!

Entrance to Northeast Harbor ME

We are finally tied off to our mooring ball in this very sheltered and picturesque harbor!

Northeast Harbor ME

We will stay here at least a week, enjoying Acadia National Park.

Sunset over Northeast Harbor