East Coast Travels

8/31 to 9/14 2007

We're working our way Northeast. Visiting places we'd only dreamt of as we read our sailing magazines.

We plan to post and update at least weekly. We move the older portions of the log to secondary pages accessible at the bottom of the page. Join our voyage!

Updated on 09/17/2007

8/31/07 - The storms never materialized last night, a good thing. We woke up to find we were in the middle of a cloud - dark gray fog so thick we couldn't see shore 100 yards away. North and west of us we could hear the foghorns from the lighthouse and commercial vessels; occasionally we'd hear the throb of a large engine pass by. We are secure in a little pocket of water behind an 8' shoal. The fog lifted (thinned) at 10am, at noon we headed up to Camden... a little over an hour. Wow, what a neat place. Proving that even a blind squirrel can find an occasional acorn we stumbled into Windjammer Weekend. The harbor is jammed with schooners! What a sight. Add to that the fact that Camden is a cool waterfront town where you can provision, eat, drink or just plain ogle; it's a real treat! We took a mooring - again the harbor is too crowded to anchor and went shore-side. George at Wayfarer lent us his truck to go shopping as Buddy's food could be found only a few miles away. Tonight we have fireworks, tomorrow I start my search for the Cabot's Camden Knockabout. Fireworks tonight. Wow, with the mountains behind us the echo's were like surround sound. It was unlike any fireworks display I'd ever heard. Ruth and I were overwhelmed. Amazingly we just stumbled into it. 9/1/07 - The wind came up last night, screaming down the valley between the foothills. We were generating electricity all night. The Canadians call it hydro because much of it came from water driven turbines... I wonder what we should call wind generated electricity? Beautiful morning - not a wisp of fog nor a cloud. We don't have a good wireless connection here. In fact not for the past couple of days. Sprint must not be strong along the Maine coast. We started our day with a visit to the Camden Yacht Club looking for leads on the Cabot's Camden knockabout. Interestingly the club that launched the design had little history to relate. They directed us to a couple of bookstores, and the library looking for magazine articles. We did learn that the vessel was likely in Pulpit Harbor on North Haven Island... there in Cabot Cove we found The Knockabout. Later we watched an Amel Super Maramu enter the anchorage, recognizing her as Faraway Eyes, owned by Paul & Barbara. We'd met in Port Colborne and Fairport  on Lake Erie 2 years ago while we were all headed for the North Channel. By late afternoon there were two more of the 53" Amels in the little anchorage... more than I'd ever seen in one place. 9/2/07 - Sunday dawned cool and clear. We explored the harbor in our dinghy and settled down for brunch listening to the Osprey, herons and sea birds. We decided to make it a lazy Sunday and stay at anchor and read; plus I was hoping to catch The Knockabout out sailing. Ruth noticed a lobsterman transferring his catch into bins at a float nearby. We took the dinghy over to see if we could buy boat-side. In s short time we owned 2 1-1/2 lb lobsters at a cost of $14.00 for the pair. When he learned we were from Wisconsin he threw in 3 big crabs and cooking instructions. After a relaxing afternoon reading and watching a wide variety of boats (primarily sail) arrive and moor or anchor we embarked on our first lobster boil. I boiled the 2 lobster and 3 crabs while Ruth made mashed garlic potatoes and kernel corn. A little white wine and we had a Labor Day weekend feast for two. It was great! We'll definitely do this again! 15 minutes, $16.00 total for lobster and side dishes for two people... unreal! 9/3/07 - Another cool, bright cloudless morning. The weather has been good to us up here. Cool, but good. We followed Faraway Eyes out of the harbor, hoisted sail and went our respective ways. Hope we meet them again. We had a good 7+ knot sail for two hours to Rockport (searching for a good cell signal for Ruth for Tuesday). At Rockport we took a mooring as a south wind really rocks this port - aptly named. Rockport is a picturesque small town (pop 1,100) that was a major source of lime in the early 1900's. All that remains of the lime industry today are a few waterfront kilns and some limestone tailings. Aurora is anchored next to us. They've had the helicopter in the air a number of times today... see Maine from the air? It is interesting watching the pilot set the little bird on the back deck - not much room. I told Ruth the ultimate put down would be to ask them "Isn't that about the smallest boat that can carry a chopper?" Bad Barry! 9/4/07 - Rockport sunrise revealed bands of clouds looking like corn rows. Again in the lower 60's or upper 50's - haven't needed a/c up here nights. The wind whipped up as the barometer rose during the morning. Another cold front passing through. Ruth's been on the phone researching the rejection of one of her shipments. A sale isn't a sale in her business until the check is in the bank. Lost this one - material tested funky though all the specs say it shouldn't. We had a quick sail to Rockland in 15-25 knot winds and flat seas - the wind was coming offshore. Dropped Ruth and her phone off at a promising beach while I anchored out and did boat chores. Yes, we've been to Rockland before... we checked the calendar this morning and decided we were going to have to save the "Down East" portion of Maine for another season and start working our way back to Boston to pick-up Dennis, Rory and Mitch for a weekend visit the 15th-17th.  No chopper, they'll have to meet us at a dock. 9/5/07 - Miles and Laureen arrive back in Barrington today if they are on schedule. The biggest problem cruising Maine is that there are soooo many places to visit it's hard to decide where to go. Another beautiful low 60's morning with a brisk wind. Ruth commented it's weird not to have worn (or even wanted to wear) a swimming suit since we got to Maine. Sure makes for nice sleeping though. We had a great sail today. Winds of 10-15 knots most of the day. We met another "Looper" boat, MV Kokomo, headed east. Big waves as we acknowledged each other's flags. As we approached Pemaquid Point we saw another Minke whale about 100 feet from the boat. They appear for such a short period we haven't be able to get a photo. As Ruth rounded the point and we were faced with thousands of lobster buoys... she thought she was going to hit a black one but the seal dove just before we got to it.  At 4 pm we slipped into Pemaquid Harbor on John's Sound and dropped anchor in 26/38 feet of water just outside a cute little fort. Our jeep sold today... I think. We have to arrange the transfer of funds, etc. to get it done. Now if we could just get the house sold! We had an internet connection and received our e-mail so I tried to publish the web update. Noooah, the connection wasn't strong enough and the server kept timing out. As we get closer to Portland we should be able to get the site updated. By then it will be time to put most of this page to history. 9/6/07 - Sunny, high 50's and no wind. We laid in bed listening to the rise and fall of the lobster boat engines as they moved from pot to pot; their waves lapping against our hull. Yesterday we overheard a couple of  fishermen complaining about the poor catches of the day. We watch one pull up a trap, 4 lobsters, all undersize, all back in the water to grow up. I joined Ruth on an expedition to Fort William Henry. It proved to be an interesting archeological dig... closed an now open to the public. After that we "glassed" and had lunch at "The Contented Sole" - a delicious crab wrap for me and a large zesty salad for Ruth. Very quiet lunch trade... summer is almost over here. 9/7/07 - It's warmer today - the wind switched from the south overnight. We motored a short jump (14 miles) to Boothbay Harbor where we can do wash, pick up an alternator belt, water and diesel. With a wash in the dryer we headed into Boothbay, a town of about 2,500 year-round inhabitants. It is a charming village of winding one-way streets (reflecting a time when horses passed closely) lined with restaurants, art galleries and shops. A pleasant walking town. We found a supermarket on the outskirts and provisioned for the next week to find out the town cab was booked for the next 3 hours. A local took pity on us and gave us a ride to the boat. Thank you! Ruth talked her into taking gas money at least. She gave us a tour on the way back, filling us in on a little local history. The mega-yacht sailboats are in town for a race. Crews are flying in and trucks are delivering the "racing sails". The marina crew wanted to know if we were entering. Let's see... 43' versus 165'... I think not. 9/8/07 - After an 8am pump-out we headed toward Casco Bay under power into 3-5' seas. After an hour we were able to put up sail and drive along at 7 knots toward Portland. As we cut through a narrow channel south of Peaks Island a seal decided to check us out. Best view of one we've seen as it rose out of the water like a prairie dog out of its hole to better see us. We anchored off Peaks Island again as Ruth wanted to do a little beach combing. Enroute back to the boat in the dinghy I stopped to admire a 45 year old wooden yawl named "High Country" owned by Rick and Jenny West - learning that Jenny was a native of Green Bay. Small world! 9/9/07 - Last night AA got a good wash-down from Mother Nature. Sure needed it! Today is gray with threatening rain - though radar says most of it will pass inland of us. We are keeping an eye on tropical storm Gabrielle as it works its way up the east coast. Current forecasts indicate Ariel will see the edge of its winds while it will pass well east of us. It rained off and on all day while temps hovered in the low 60's. Ruth graded glass while I checked and filled batteries, drained and checked a sample of diesel and cleaned out the storage room - fun stuff. The good news was no ugly surprises. We are about 50 miles from Salem so we have time to kill. Tuesday currently looks like the best day to make that run but we may break it into smaller hops and visit some other ports. Kennebunkport is along the way but it is very expensive to dock there (priced like Key West). I guess that's because you can see the Bush gardens. 9/10/07 - Woke up to pea soup fog and cold drizzles. We had the diesel heat on all last night. We have 4 days to make the one day trip to the Boston area so we can afford to sit this stuff out. Gabrielle looks to be headed offshore and winding down so that shouldn't be an issue. Fog all day... not much we can do about it. Ruth went glassing for a few hours and I read. Portland, about 1 mile away, would periodically disappear and reappear like a David Copperfield act in a remake of Groundhog Day. Wakes slapping the hull were often the only sign of passing boats. The fog was so thick it would form droplets on my fleece when I went on deck. It's getting too cold and damp up here. Ariel is heading down the Long Island Sound... think we should be jumping offshore to join them in New Jersey. Man, I hate those overnight runs at sea - guess I'm not a real sailor. 9/11/07 - Gray morning with a low ceiling. Fog settled in with visibility varying between 1-3 miles so we headed to Plymouth, NH. We were able to run at speed all the way as the fog dissipated a little (good news) because a heavy cold rain started (Ugly) and stayed with us the rest of the day. Enroute a yellow Finch was flying beside us in the fog. The heavy rain must have sent it seeking shelter and it landed on my foot, hopped off and explored the whole deck. It would go within inches of Ruth's hand when she stayed still. Finally, as we approached land, it took off into the rain. By 3pm we were anchored (3rd try in driving rain) and snug in the heated cabin. Love that heater! Of course a cup of hot chocolate with a touch of rum never hurt either. After the rain stopped several more boats came in. One of them was Faraway Eyes. 9/12/07 - Yes it's still September. My brother and Don K. pointed that out to me. But guys, it's been windy, raw, rainy and cold the past couple of days... sure feels like October - even the trees are turning color. Today it's windy, 25-30 knots, and our next leg takes us 10 miles offshore and around Cape Ann. We have a slack day in our schedule so we decided to gamble on tomorrow being better - the weatherman says it should be. Yah, I still believe in the weatherman, and Santa. 9/13/07 - A cool (high 50's) sunny morning with a 5knot NW breeze. At 7:30 I hoisted anchor and headed out intent on rounding Cape Ann 2 1/2 hours away before the winds built later in the day. We motor sailed to Cape Ann, shutting down the engine after we rounded the cape. By mid afternoon we were anchored behind Misery Island - a repeat for us but one of the few spots we've found to anchor in the area. We'll head into Salem and take a mooring tomorrow so we can pick up Dennis, Rory and Mitch. We just heard on the VHF that a Right Whale had been sighted about a mile from our anchorage. Wow, if we could see one while the guys were here - they're fairly rare. 9/14/07 - Another cool sunny morning. The trees are starting to turn around Misery Island. We ran the heater half the night (for Buddy). The mosquitoes were ferocious at dusk... can't figure how they can fly in their little red long underwear. Must be the lust for last blood. We motored to Salem in light air, taking a mooring in preparation for our guests' arrival late tonight. Picking up a mooring here is a real treat. The mooring lines are sunk and attached to a foot or more of large link chain. If you snag the chain while reaching for the lines you have a real fight getting the boathook dislodged before the mooring claims it. Took 3 tries today. I dropped the dinghy in the water and helped another couple pick up their mooring after they radioed the water taxi for assistance. They'd been trying to pick up their mooring for 45 minutes, loosing their boathook in the process. Today is a boat cleaning day... getting ready for guests aboard.

Camden inner harbor !0 Windjammers were moored in Camden The Knockabout moored in Cabot Cove Locals say the osprey nest's been on Pulpit Rock for over 150 years Our lobster source Welcome to dinner! Rockport harbor and town - most of it The shredded rocky coast of eastern Casco Bay, hummm, where to go next? The fort at Pemaquid - cute The source of Calmato juice? The big boys came to Boothbay to play - the short mast is a 65 footer Sailing the Shredded Coast Looking at the charts of Maine you'd think Freddy Kruger had gotten at the coast. It is literally shredded with deep narrow fingers of water threading inland between walls of towering rock. Add the constant threat of fog to the mix and one realizes this is an area where charts are a must, chart plotters are a dream come true and radar is better than insurance. Ruth and I fell in love with Maine. We definitely want to return... our short stay was not enough time to reach Down East nor enough time to visit the dozens of "must see" coves and harbors our eastern friends marked on the charts for us. We were lucky with the weather - no storms, very little rain and little fog. The fog is amazing in how quickly it rises and descends. One can be lulled into believing it is clearing only to be socked in minutes later. We saw wildlife we'd never experienced before - seals, whales and a wide variety of seabirds. We've experienced 7' tides before on the southern coast so we knew we'd have to live by the tide charts with the 10-12' tides of Maine. We bought a copy of Eldridge Tide and Pilot Book and referenced it daily along with the tide charts on our Raymarine system. Every time we anchored we'd check the tide heights and calculate how much water we'd be in at low tide so we wouldn't be grounded as well as how much chain we needed to have out in order to have adequate scope in high tide. Anchorages were crowded with moorings. Most local boats are moored and their mooring fields range out to 40'. Moorings are available to transients, but doing that every night would chew up a thousand dollars a month. The number of lobster pots were amazing - over 3 million in Maine alone. That said, they are easier to see than the southern pots as most have center poles and are shiny and brightly colored. The lobstermen also do a much better job of keeping the lines from floating on the surface where they trap boats. The exception are the ones with two floats - a larger one terminating the line and a smaller, fist sized, one 10-15' away. Go between these and you're entangled in a lobster trap - guaranteed. As we head south we agreed that this is definitely an area we want to revisit.   Tugs escort a tanker past us on the way into Portsmouth - it took 4 tugs in the 30 knot gusts.

Visit earlier portions of our east coast travels...