Maine 2009 Rock Hall, MD to Boothbay ME

The adventurous IP fleet from ROCK HALL, MD, is planning a trip to MAINE, for the summer of 2009. All are invited to join in for the adventure. The plan is to depart Rock Hall the 3rd week of June, making a day hopping run for Long Island Sound. From there, we will head out Long Island Sound for Watch Hill, RI, and then to Block Island. From Block, we will make a run for Cuttyhunk and then the Cape Cod Canal. Once north of the Canal, we will head for Plymouth, Mass or Provincetown. If all goes well, and the weather looks good, we may make a direct run from P-town or Plymouth to Boothbay Harbor, home of the ever helpful owner of Pierce Yachts, Norm Pierce. Destination…..MAINE!

Once there in the center of paradise, we will head “Down East” towards Acadia Maine with Southwest Harbor, Somes Sound, and Northeast Harbor options. After the required Popovers and Strawberry Jam at the Jordan Pond House, along with some hikes around Acadia National Park, we will head back west towards Boothbay and decide on our explorations from there. We could continue on to Portland and return down the coast via day hops, or we could make an overnight run for P-town 200 miles to the south west. If I recall, the courses are 060 degrees to Maine and 240 returning home. I recall this because it is 060 from Cape May to Block Island and 240 home and it is nearly 240 Rock Hall MD to Annapolis and 060 home! Looks like we sail a lot of 060 / 240 courses!

Here is a list of days/anchorages for day hops:
1. Rock Hall, MD
2. C&D Canal or Reedy Island
3. Cape May, NJ
4. Atlantic City, Rum Point, NJ
5. Atlantic Highlands, Sandy Hook, NJ
6. Through NYC/Hell Gate/Port Washington, Long Island Sound
7. Northport, NY
8. Milford, CT
9. Fishers Island or Watch Hill
10. Block Island, RI
11. Cuttyhunk. MA
12. Poccasset Harbor, MA
13. Cape Cod Canal/ P-Town or Plymouth MA
14. Overnight to Boothbay, ME
15. DESTINATION MADE !
16. Tenants Harbor, ME
17. Vinalhaven ME
18. Southwest Harbor, ME
19. Somes Sound, ME
20. Long Island, ME
21. Overnight to Boston or P-town
22. Plymouth, MA
23. Mattapoisett, MA
24. Newport, RI
25. Watch Hill, RI
26. Northport, NY
27. Port Washington, NY
28. 79th Street Boat Basin, NYC
29. Atlantic Highlands, Sandy Hook, NJ
30. Atlantic City, NJ
31. Cape May, NJ
32. CD Canal
33. Rock Hall, MD

What’s missing in this is PORTLAND, MAINE, which is a wonderful city. Also missing is the Penobscot Bay area. There are also no lay days or sight seeing days. The problem is, Maine is just so beautiful you will never want to leave. That means we should get there as fast as possible, but that does not happen with day hops and with anchoring every night. So, at first look, this is a lot of days spent to get there and get back. I have been to all of these except Boston and Penobscot, so I know how long it take between points. Most of these are not hard days. A few are long, but most are 6-8 hr days. The overnights are short ones of 24 hrs or less, so that is not too bad either.

So here is a plan, a first thought to get a discussion going. What do you think? What would you change?

Hayden

Sheldon has asked...

For planning purposes approximately when would the trip begin and when would it end.

Sheldon Salzman
IP 37-55 "SEAS THE DAY"

Hi Sheldon:

The Rock Hall Fleet plans to depart....let's say the weekend of the June 20th with a destination / IP Rendezvous in Atlantic Highlands on June 27th Sat with the Hudson River Fleet and all in that area. Then we will blast out Long Island Sound ASAP trying to catch IP40 Top Cat as he makes a run for the cape Cod Canal Early July we guess. Once north of the Cape, it will be a "no holds barred" blast for the Stellwagen Banks to site a few whales then a nice beam reach overnight to Boothbay Harbor Maine.

The plan is to have no plan other then Leave Rock Hall, reach Booth Bay Maine, play in Maine until we all have to come home, then come back to Rock Hall, MD. The other plan is to go through NYC into Long Island Sound as some in the fleet will prefer a casual day hoping passage rather than overnight passages. Radeen and I have done many overnights of Cape May, NJ to Block Island and we have completed one overnight from Acadia Maine to Provincetown on the Cape. Then from Ptown we came directly to Mid Buzzards Bay, then Block, then Cape May, then Cape May direct to Rock Hall. So Maine can be reached in about 4 to 5 days with overnights and minimum stops. This trip will be more casual with the plan to stop as often as the fleet likes and take our time. The only problem with this is it then shortens your time in Maine, but hey, it is one plan.

Again, the plan it not plan too much, but yet to plan enough so everyone can jump in anywhere along the path and meet up as long as they have time for,

One required rule is...

YOU MUST FLY THE IP FLAG , THE LARGE ONE, TO JOIN THE FLEET...

Hayden