Boothbay Harbor
Gosh, how the days fly by. It seems like I just updated the blog, and now see that almost another week has gone by. We’ve made a few stops so I’ll start with Cape Porpoise and get us up to date.
August 19:
Motorsailed 25 miles to Portland, ME. Arrived in the harbor to see 6 huge tugboats racing each other. Then they went head to head in a push-a-war contest. Turns out they were having a charity event, and we were in the middle of it. The Coast Guard had several boats out watching all of the Sunday traffic. We did a “fly-by” of the harbor, and then headed for Peaks Island looking for an anchorage for the night. There was a mooring available in a yacht club area so we borrowed it for the night. This practice is common in these parts, but you have to stay on the boat in case the owner of the mooring shows up and wants it back.
August 20:
Motored back to the Portland harbor to get fuel and water. A moments’ inattention left us lightly grounded in the mud just outside the marina, so we had to wait 30 minutes for the incoming tide to float us off. Kathy and Rachel went on into town for some groceries while I waited on Stardust, and then docked at the fuel dock. The only damage was to my ego, but the dockworker helped when he said, “Don’t worry, you’re not the first”.
Kathy took the helm for the short 7 mile sail to Jewell Island. Besides navigating away from rocky shores, the only other hazards are the numerous lobster pot buoys. We anchored among 8 other boats in the narrow channel between rocky shores in this well protected spot.
August 21-22:
Rachel started 8th grade! She’s very excited to learn more and is willing to do any work Kathy or I put in front of her. After school we all hiked around this beautiful island with great trails amid the ruins of WWII sub spotting towers and gun emplacements. The US deemed the Maine coast the most likely to be invaded due to the proximity to Europe, and some German subs were spotted and attacked in these waters. I recall a movie made about some German sailors invading a Maine town but can’t remember the title, so if you know it please send me a note so we can watch it.
Whitefoot and I spent some time drifting over shallow water in the dinghy, watching crabs scuttle around the rocks in the clear water.
On Wednesday we motored to Boothbay Harbor, weaving in and out of the lobster pots through Casco Bay. This is a fantastic area of small islands, and one could spend an entire summer here, never anchoring in the same spot twice. We caught weather reports on TV of heat and floods everywhere, but we wore sweaters and light jackets in the 60-70 degree temps. It feels good to be in Maine in the summer!
August 23-25:
Boothbay Harbor is yet another beautiful Maine harbor with lots of boats, and several restored windjammers full of tourists sailing around the islands. There are more lobster markets and restaurants than any other type of establishments on shore, so we’ll have to have a lobster dinner tonight. Yesterday we did laundry and errands, and today I changed the Yanmar fuel filters and did some other light maintenance while Kathy and Rachel were in school. Some friends from the Jacksonville marina last winter anchored next to us, and we spent a few hours catching up on each others sailing adventures. Since Brad and Trish on Intuocean are headed back south and have been “down east” for a few weeks, they filled us in on the places to visit as we continue along the many islands dotting the coast, and loaned us a great Maine guidebook.
We’ll be here in Boothbay another day, waiting for a cold front to pass, and then head for Penobscot Bay.
August 19:
Motorsailed 25 miles to Portland, ME. Arrived in the harbor to see 6 huge tugboats racing each other. Then they went head to head in a push-a-war contest. Turns out they were having a charity event, and we were in the middle of it. The Coast Guard had several boats out watching all of the Sunday traffic. We did a “fly-by” of the harbor, and then headed for Peaks Island looking for an anchorage for the night. There was a mooring available in a yacht club area so we borrowed it for the night. This practice is common in these parts, but you have to stay on the boat in case the owner of the mooring shows up and wants it back.
August 20:
Motored back to the Portland harbor to get fuel and water. A moments’ inattention left us lightly grounded in the mud just outside the marina, so we had to wait 30 minutes for the incoming tide to float us off. Kathy and Rachel went on into town for some groceries while I waited on Stardust, and then docked at the fuel dock. The only damage was to my ego, but the dockworker helped when he said, “Don’t worry, you’re not the first”.
Kathy took the helm for the short 7 mile sail to Jewell Island. Besides navigating away from rocky shores, the only other hazards are the numerous lobster pot buoys. We anchored among 8 other boats in the narrow channel between rocky shores in this well protected spot.
August 21-22:
Rachel started 8th grade! She’s very excited to learn more and is willing to do any work Kathy or I put in front of her. After school we all hiked around this beautiful island with great trails amid the ruins of WWII sub spotting towers and gun emplacements. The US deemed the Maine coast the most likely to be invaded due to the proximity to Europe, and some German subs were spotted and attacked in these waters. I recall a movie made about some German sailors invading a Maine town but can’t remember the title, so if you know it please send me a note so we can watch it.
Whitefoot and I spent some time drifting over shallow water in the dinghy, watching crabs scuttle around the rocks in the clear water.
On Wednesday we motored to Boothbay Harbor, weaving in and out of the lobster pots through Casco Bay. This is a fantastic area of small islands, and one could spend an entire summer here, never anchoring in the same spot twice. We caught weather reports on TV of heat and floods everywhere, but we wore sweaters and light jackets in the 60-70 degree temps. It feels good to be in Maine in the summer!
August 23-25:
Boothbay Harbor is yet another beautiful Maine harbor with lots of boats, and several restored windjammers full of tourists sailing around the islands. There are more lobster markets and restaurants than any other type of establishments on shore, so we’ll have to have a lobster dinner tonight. Yesterday we did laundry and errands, and today I changed the Yanmar fuel filters and did some other light maintenance while Kathy and Rachel were in school. Some friends from the Jacksonville marina last winter anchored next to us, and we spent a few hours catching up on each others sailing adventures. Since Brad and Trish on Intuocean are headed back south and have been “down east” for a few weeks, they filled us in on the places to visit as we continue along the many islands dotting the coast, and loaned us a great Maine guidebook.
We’ll be here in Boothbay another day, waiting for a cold front to pass, and then head for Penobscot Bay.
posted by Stardust at 4:31 PM
3 Comments:
Could the movie you are thinking of be "The Russians are coming, the Russians are coming!"? As I remember it was a 70's comedy about a Russian submarine accidentally invading a small New England town.
Released in 1966 (near the height of the cold war) it starred Carl Reiner, Eva Marie Saint, Alan Arkin, Brian Keith and Jonathan Winters.
Jim -
Please let me know your email address. I am interested in info about flying HG in the Taos area. Have been going there since the 60's, but have never flown there.
Also, had a Gulfstar 41 for several years in the gulf.
Hal Hayden
hhayden@commspeed.net
(928) 710-7701
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