Southbound to Cape Cod

Tuesday, August 8, 2017

We must finally leave Acadia and start making our way south.  We never really found "summer" in Maine but suspect we will still see some warm weather once we are back in the Cape Cod and Long Island Sound areas.  We awake today to dense fog in Northeast Harbor but the fog lifted early and we are off.  Soon we are again in fog but have some visibility, maybe 1/2 mile or better.  By noon, the winds have picked up and the fog persists.  We decide our planned 10 hour cruise to Boothbay Harbor is not a good idea.  And yes, we're running the boat from inside in the pilothouse; it's cold and damp outside!

Penobscot Bay ME

We divert our course up Penobscot Bay to Rockland for our second visit there.  The marina we used on our stop here 3 weeks ago is booked so we tie up at the city pier.  Just before dark, this coastal cruise ship ties up next to us.

Rockland ME

We have learned there is to be a boat show at this marina over the weekend.  The largest boat show in this area, we look at the list of exhibitors and decide to stay to attend. 

This is what a 10 foot tide looks like.

Low tide, Rockland ME

Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Today we rent a car to do some sightseeing and run errands (groceries, boat supplies).  Robert will also change the oil in both engines:  overdue and he is stressing so this needs to be done.  We decide to drive a few miles up the coast to Camden, which has been recommended as a stop by several people.

Downtown Camden ME

Camden is another touristy "old town" with lots of shops and restaurants.  We saw some very nice B&B's on the drive into town.  The small waterfront would have been tight for us to enter and find a spot to tie up, but this big boat obviously made it.

Waterfront, Camden ME

Just north of town lies Mount Battie.  We drive to the top (should have hiked, but we were unprepared) and find expansive views as far as Acadia.

View from Mount Battie

A famous poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay (did you study this is school?) was written after she admired this view.

Poem inspired by Mount Battie view

The next day we drove to the capitol, Augusta.  We enjoyed seeing the scenery going inland, but the city of Augusta was rather sad:  minimal effort to revitalize the riverfront downtown.


Saturday, August 12, 2017

After a day at the boat show, we are ready to head south again.  We awake to dense fog and are finally able to leave late morning.  The fog persists for most of our cruise. 

Owl's Head in fog

After a 6-hour cruise, we arrive in picturesque Boothbay Harbor for a 3-night stay.  Our mooring is near "old town" and a short dinghy ride to our marina.

Boothbay Harbor ME

Sunday, August 13, 2017

Town is very touristy but filled with nice shops and some wonderful restaurants.

 Boothbay Harbor, ME

We enjoy lunch at Boathouse Bistro with views of the harbor and an excellent Italian dinner at Ports of Italy.

Boathouse Bistro, Boothbay Harbor ME

Boothbay Harbor ME

More colorful flowers everywhere!

Boothbay Harbor ME

Quaint B&B's in town.  This is a great walking town with most shops and restaurants within easy walking distance.

Boothbay Harbor ME

This is how we know we are too far north to stay for the winter:  the slim, red and white pole on top of the fire hydrant allows firefighters to locate the hydrant when buried in snow!

Boothbay Harbor ME

Monday, August 14, 2017

Today I tour the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, a short taxi ride from the harbor.  Robert opts to stay behind, doing boat projects and reading. 

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens - Sensory Garden

The Garden is a relatively recent addition to this area, conceived and planned about 25 years ago and open for 10 years. 

Coastal Maine Botanical Garden - Hillside Garden

The Garden's 295 acres has been thoughtfully divided between formal gardens and enhanced trails leading through native vegetation along the Sheepscot River.

Coastal Maine Botanical Garden

The Gardens can be accessed by small boats; not enough water depth for Sauvy B
 .

Coastal Maine Botanical Garden - Hydrangea

Blueberries are native to Maine.  We saw these Lowbush blueberries growing along all the trails in Acadia.  The taller Highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) produces the larger berries typically grown for retail sale.  It is not native to Maine but grows well here.  We have been able to buy the smaller lowbush blueberries at local farmers markets (yum!).

Coastal Maine Botanical Garden - Lowbush Blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium)

The landscape designer of this Garden did a spectacular job combining textures, colors and heights in the formal areas.

Coastal Maine Botanical Garden

Tuesday - Wednesday, August 15-16, 2017

We head south again, stopping in Portland, the largest city in Maine.  Actually, our marina is in South Portland, across the harbor from Portland.  This lighthouse marks the entrance to the harbor.

Portland Head Lighthouse

The city skyline lies in the distance.

Portland ME

Nice homes line the harbor entrance.

Portland ME

We buy 2 live lobster for dinner.  These are likely to be our last from Maine.  Lobster fishing is an important industry for Maine coastal communities.  Even though the number of lobster fishermen has decreased the amount of lobster landed has dramatically increased over the past decade.  Maine produces 130 million pounds of lobster which is 80 percent of the US market.  Even though lobster fishing goes on year round the main fishing season is during the summer when at any one time there are approximately 3 million lobster traps deployed in coastal waters in depths from 10 to 300+ feet. The closer you get to a coastal community the higher the density of traps.  There is no pattern to how the traps are deployed and it is impossible to find open navigation lanes thru many areas which requires lots of zig zagging thru the maze of floats.  Thankfully most of the floats are large and brightly painted.  We have seen a number of floats that were submerged by one to two feet as the line to the trap was not long enough to accommodate the big tides in this area. We will miss buying fresh lobster but will NOT miss dodging all the traps - very stressful cruising!  Especially in the fog!

Lobster!

So into the pot they go.  They will steam in about 10 minutes; an easy dinner.

Lobster going into the pot

Thursday, August 17, 2017

We are again moving south.  Today will be a long day; 88 miles, almost 10 hours, to an overnight stop in Gloucester.  As we round the bend at Cape Ann, we have a hazy view of Boston in the distance.

Boston skyline

We pass the breakwater and enter Gloucester Harbor.  We're making a stop here to buy fuel.  We have been advised by another cruiser that Rose's has the cheapest fuel in the northeast - an impressive recommendation. So we settle on a mooring and arrange to buy fuel early tomorrow morning before moving on.

Gloucester MA Breakwater and Lighthouse

Friday, August 18, 2017

So "Rose's" turns out to be this fuel boat (the one in the middle) operating out of Rose's Marine, nearby.  Doesn't look like much, but we are able to fill up with diesel for $2.07 per gallon.  Woohoo!  This will easily get us back to the Chesapeake.

Rose's fuel boat

Overnight we notice the weather forecast has changed, calling for stormy weather overnight and into tomorrow morning.  We arrange to stay another night and use the launch service to go ashore for some sightseeing.

Gloucester MA Harbor

Gloucester is a working harbor.  Famous as the setting for The Perfect Storm, the book and movie dramatizing the loss of the Andrea Gail fishing boat, many fishing boats still work from here.  The area has also been an artist's colony for many years.

Gloucester MA Harbor

We enjoy an excellent sushi lunch on the recommendation of other cruisers.

Sushi dinner at Latitude 43

Latitude 43 restaurant has a most interesting light fixture hanging over the bar.

Sushi bar at Latitude 43

The city launch service is very accommodating, taking us to various docks in the horseshoe-shaped harbor for sightseeing.  We walk around the art colony in Rocky Neck, then cross the harbor to downtown.

Gloucester MA City Hall

The Cape Ann Museum is across the street from City Hall.  The current exhibit covers the 400-year history of various maritime industries based here.  The exhibit was very well done, combining art depicting the area over the centuries with museum-quality maritime artifacts.

Saturday, August 19, 2017

The stormy weather is gone, replaced by fog!  Again!  By 9 am the fog has mostly lifted and we are able to leave.

Gloucester MA Harbor

Another long day, we go 60 miles in about 8 hours, crossing Massachusetts Bay and Cape Cod Bay.  We cruise through fog most of the day with conditions finally improving as we pull into Sandwich MA, just inside the Cape Cod Canal.

Sandwich Marina MA

Sunday, August 20, 2017

We get an early start for a relatively short cruise today - 33 miles in 4 hours.  Current in the Cape Cod Canal can exceed 4 knots, so we prefer to transit this 15-mile long canal at slack current.  This railroad bridge has very unusual stainless steel towers.

Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge

We take a short-cut passage from Buzzards Bay through Woods Hole Passage to Vineyard Sound and Martha's Vineyard, our destination.  Nothing in our cruising guides prepared us for the conditions we encountered in this passage!  Standing waves, whirlpools and a strong opposing current reduced our speed from 9 to 3 knots and we almost ran over a large sailboat in front of us, going even slower.  Yikes!

Woods Hole Passage MA

The passage was made more difficult by the number and variety of other boats going through at the same time.  We had considered stopping to visit Woods Hole (home of the famous oceanographic institute of the same name), but we're not going through this again!

Woods Hole Passage MA

We survive the passage and are soon entering the harbor of Vineyard Haven.

West Chop Lighthouse, Vineyard Haven MA

We tie up to a mooring where we will spend the next 3 nights.  We made it to Martha's Vineyard!

Vineyard Haven Harbor