Block Island to Boothbay Harbor & Beyond

This treatise was written in 2008 for our cruising Club, Cruising Sailors of St. Michaels, many of whom took a two month cruise of Maine in 2008.

Mary and I spent 15 years cruising out of Newburyport, MA north to Penobscott Bay and south to Long Island Sound (different years)before we retired & moved down to God's Country on the Eastern Shore of MD. These comments are our personal observations, likes and dislikes of various places where you may consider visiting on your trip Down East this summer.

Jim Campbell
IP32 South Wind
Easton, MD

BLOCK ISLAND TO CASCO BAY AND SOME POINTS BEYOND


Although the main thrust of this write-up will be on the Casco Bay area of Maine, I thought it might be helpful to add some information on some selected, favorite ports to visit (or avoid), hide from the weather, or wait for favorable currents.

From Great Salt Pond, on Block, it is about a seven to eight hour sail to Cuttyhunk Island, the westernmost island in the Elizabeth Island chain, and about 30 miles more if leaving from Lake Montauk. At Cuttyhunk, town owned moorings in the Pond are generally available ($40.00/ night in 2006), but weekends can be crowded, and virtually unavailable during the fall Striper (Rockfish) Tournament; there is limited anchoring space outside the pond, but it is very exposed. There are no boat services available other than some very expensive ice at the town dock, and expensive diesel and gas at a fuel dock in the entrance channel. In the village there is a small grocery and souvenir store, Post Office, and an ice-cream parlor. If you want to hike up the hill, the view up toward Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket and out over Block Island Sound is magnificent in clear weather. Cuttyhunk’s outstanding feature is a “seafood bar boat” that makes the rounds every night with oysters & clams on the half shell, shrimp (cooked) and various condiments. The Pond also makes a good stopping place on the way “south” to Block Island, Montauk Point, or Long Island Sound from the canal, if you catch the tides right; otherwise Onset is probably the most convenient choice. There is some anchoring area between (west of) the town owned moorings and the seaplane landing area; anchor as near as possible to the mooring field to avoid the traffic headed to the end of the field.

Leaving Cuttyhunk, the next convenient stop heading north (“Down East”) is Onset at the western end of the Cape Cod Canal. You can anchor out of the channel east of Wickets Island in 6-8 feet; we usually picked up a mooring at the Point Independence Yacht Club ($25.00/night) on the north side of the bay NE of Wickets Island. The Club has diesel, gas, water & ice at their float; the showers—clean, and the water hot are included in the mooring fee. They do not have launch service; you will have to dinghy to their float behind the main dock on the left side. I recall their dining room only being open on Friday and/or Saturday night; we were never there when it was open. If you need provisions or a restaurant, take the dinghy to the town dock and walk a couple of blocks into the town center. The dinghy passage is North of Wickets Island; at low tide stay in the middle of the passage and go slowly as you pass between the island and the mainland, as the water near both shores is very thin. The town dock has a two hour tie-up posted, but I’ve never seen it enforced. There is (was?) a Dunkin Donuts at the end of the dock; turn left at the road and walk up a couple of blocks up the hill to town.
This is one of our favorite anchorages and makes an easy stop before tackling the canal headed east or to wait for morning for the morning to enter Buzzards Bay. We have both taken moorings from Point Independence and dropped the hook.

Because of the prevailing south west wind, Buzzards Bay usually develops a nasty late afternoon chop with standing waves at the north east end of the bay from about Butler Point to the Hog island Channel (entrance to the canal) and the condition is magnified with an ebb tidal current through Cape Cod Canal. If at all possible you want to traverse Buzzards Bay with a flood tide and time your arrival for early afternoon. Travel through the canal at slack or at the start of the favorable current, not at full ebb or flood; the canal floods east and & ebbs west (+/-3.5 Kn Flood & 4-6 Kn Ebb). The canal is VERY busy on weekends with a lot of pleasure boats and chop and is a much more pleasant ride during the week. Cape Cod Canal is a busy commercial waterway used by a lot of tugs with barges and tankers; monitor VHF Ch. 13, keep a good watch astern, and move over to the side to give them a lot of room. The canal is deep almost to the rip-raps so you don’t have to worry about depth.


From this point north you are in the area of 7 – 8 foot plus tidal ranges; keep this in mind when figuring scope and swinging room at anchorages.

Sippican Harbor and the town of Marion is another option after leaving Cuttyhunk, but it is about five miles out of the way if you are headed for the canal. There are no grocery stores convenient to the harbor, but there is an excellent shipyard and repair facility with a chandlery. The harbor is home to the Beverly Yacht Club which is a very nice facility. The club has moorings, restaurant, bar and showers available. They also maintain an Anchorage area (no charge) south east of the mooring field, marked by floats. Their launch services the mooring field, but I don’t think it extends to the anchorage. We have used both the anchorage & Yacht Club moorings; it’s an easy in and out.

At the east end of the canal is Sandwich Harbor, still shown on many charts as a “Harbor of Refuge”; it was, but is not now. The harbor is shore-to-shore moorings and docks, and anchoring is not allowed. I don’t believe there are any transient moorings and available dock space is very limited. They do have fuel, water and ice. The Town of Sandwich runs the entire basin—call for information.

Leaving the Canal and heading north to Cape Ann and above, you have two options if you are not intending a long passage north: Scituate on the mainland or Provincetown at the tip of Cape Cod. Sictuate is about 35 miles from the Canal entrance and P-town about 26 into the anchorage; then Scituate to Thatcher’s Island, off Cape Ann, is about 32 miles. P-town to Thatcher’s is about 42.

The first convenient, easy to enter, harbor Down East from the canal is Scituate. There are two yacht clubs in the harbor—Scituate Harbor YC & Scatuate (the old Indian name for the town) YC both of which maintain transient moorings; fuel and water are available at a dock further up the harbor. As you enter the harbor call either club on Ch. 9 or 16 and the launch will meet and show you to a mooring suitable for your size boat. The moorings seem close together but are grouped by size and we’ve never had a problem.
The town is very cruising boat friendly, and both clubs have launch service and will take you to and pick you up at the town dock which is convenient to all the shops and restaurants (take a hand held VHF with you). The club launch will also bring ice out to the boat from the club. This was always our first night stop when running from Newburyport, MA to the CC canal—great harbor, friendly town; the ladies love it.

Provincetown is a wide open, easy to enter harbor; there are commercially available mooring near the town and anchorage room west of the mooring field. You will see the Pilgrim Monument (342 feet above the water) long before you get to Provincetown. As you approach the West End Light stay about ½ mile offshore until you get to Long Point Light at the western side of the harbor entrance. Don’t anchor near the beach on the south as it has quite shallow slope. Holding is good but be aware that the tidal rise is about eight feet. The water taxi will service the moorings and the anchoring field. It is an “interesting” town, but may cause a lot of explaining to young children.

From P-town or Scituate you can make a direct run to Cape Elizabeth at the Southwestern end of Casco Bay or to Cape Small at the Northeastern end. Both routes take you outside of Cape Ann, the Isles of Shoals, & Boon Island. It is about 100 miles from P-town to Cape Elizabeth & about 90 from Scituate plus about ten more up to Portland on Casco Bay. If you plan to “harbor hop” between the canal and Maine, there is virtually little time distance whether you run from the canal to Scituate to Cape Ann or go to P-town and then to Cape Ann area. If you are planning a direct shot from the Canal or Scituate to north of Cape Ann it is definitely faster to go outside Cape Ann and not through Gloucester Harbor and the Blyman Canal/Annisquam River ‘shortcut’. The restricted speed through the harbor and thru the Annisquam makes it a long trip.


Convenient, ie. not too out of the way, stops between the Scituate and Cape Elizabeth, in south to north order, would be Gloucester, Newburyport, Gosport Harbor at the Isles of Shoals, York Harbor, Biddeford Pool and Richmond Island.

Gloucester, MA

This is the fishing village/town that was homeport to the vessels Andrea Gail that was lost in the Perfect Storm and featured in the movie, and the Can Do, a Gloucester Harbor Pilot vessel also lost that night on a rescue mission. It is easy to enter thru a breakwater from Eastern Point (see chart). If you are just planning to lay overnight, I would suggest the Eastern Point Yacht Club, behind the breakwater to the right. Call ahead, VHF 16 and 72 (I think) and the launch operator will give you a mooring based upon your length and displacement. The club has a GREAT dining room. If you are planning to visit the town, call the Harbormaster (VHF16) and he will give you a mooring closer to town. There is room to anchor but we have usually picked up a mooring at Eastern Point YC; once we got a mooring from the Harbor Master (no charge) and lucked out as it was right off the main town.

IF the Blyman Canal bridge is operating—it closed for repairs in 2007, but was scheduled to re-open mid-summer 2008 —and you are leaving at high or a rising tide you can take the canal and the Annisquam River cut through Cape Ann and save considerable mileage. But if you are coming from the Cape Cod Canal or Scituate and heading non-stop to north of Cape Ann, the detour through Gloucester and the canal makes for a slower trip—go outside Cape Ann. Even if headed for Newburyport or the Isles of Shoals, we always found it easier and faster to go around the Cape.

Newburyport, MA

The Town of Newburyport and the American Yacht Club both have moorings available for visiting yachts. The harbor and town is about 1 1/2 NM miles up river from the entrance, which is between two jetties; the north jetty is lit. The entrance can be a rough passage, especially with an onshore wind and an ebbing tide (2-3 kn in the summer, more in the early spring), but it is not as bad as it’s reputation. The last few hundred yards before the inlet frequently have a surprising ocean type swell due to the shallowing of the river and the flats to the south of the south jetty, but once inside the water flattens out. Without local knowledge or another boat to follow in, don’t try it in a raging storm. This is another place that, as a visitor, you don’t want to cut buoys! After entering, favor the north jetty which has a dogleg turn to the right at about 2/3 of its length in from the entrance. After the dogleg there is a floating green mark, G “7” Fl G 4s. It is a critical mark as it marks the end of a bar running toward the beach on the southern side toward the old Coast Guard station. Once you pass the green (watch that an ebb tide doesn’t set you down on the bar), the channel turns left for perhaps ¼ mile before turning right again around a red lighted buoy, R “8” Fl R 4s. The rest of the channel is well marked and is on the northern side of the river; in order the marks are C "11"… G "13" FL G 4s… G "15" FL G 4s… N "16". About a 1 ½ miles up river from R “8” there is a fixed (ice breaker), red mark Fl R “22” 6s, and you are now almost directly across river from the American Yacht Club, a brown shingle building with AYC on the roof (VHF72). Ice & water are available at the club floats—about 8’ depth alongside at low; showers are available in the locker house—ask the steward or launch operator. Just after the icebreaker, there is a Green Can C “17” to your left; if you are going to pick up a mooring at the club, don’t cut it, go around the can passing it on your port (it marks a submerged old bridge abutment and the edge of Half Tide Rocks) and head directly into the club. The club maintains several visitor moorings and also uses empty moorings with an appropriate weight block and depth for visitors. The municipal marina about another ½ mile upriver on the left has some overnight facilities but no showers (Harbormaster monitors VHF 16). The town maintains a pump-out boat service (free)—call on VHF 13. Fuel is available at the last marina before the bridge on the north side of the river.
See addendum at end; buoys upriver from Fl R ‘22’ have been moved.

Gosport Harbor, Isles of Shoals, NH

If it is a Friday or Saturday evening, this harbor can be very crowded, and I do not recommend it. During the week there are generally moorings available, some are Private and so marked; others, marked PYC (Portsmouth Yacht Club), are available for pick-up, but PYC members may ask you to vacate them if there are no other PYC moorings left; this is not usually a problem Sunday – Thursday, but it is a rocky bottom and holding is poor. I have never heard of anyone dragging one of the block moorings. The harbor is exposed from North to West (magnetic) but protected from other directions. There is a breakwater/causeway between Cedar Island and Star Island but the water is deep to within a couple of boat lengths of the causeway. There are no services on the island but you are welcome to tie up a dinghy behind their floats, when the ferry is not on site or arriving, and explore. Fishermen and their families out of Portsmouth originally seasonally inhabited the island. It is now owned and run as a retreat by a religious sect (I forget which one). The island trails are an interesting, not too long walk and there are some trailside markers explaining the happenings of the mid-19th century murders that took place on the island. Stay on the trails; Poison Ivy abounds the island. If you go ashore, visit the small aquarium near the hotel that is part of a sea life study activity. The Isles are split by the NH-ME line; north of Star Island you are in Maine.

YORK HARBOR, ME

This is a nice, well-protected harbor about five miles northeast of Portsmouth and about two miles south west of Cape Neddick; it is one of our favorites. Moorings are available from the Harbor Master (VHF Ch 16); anchoring is not allowed. Last time we were in there, 2003, the fee was $25.00. The Receipt/Permit says there is a one-night limit, but in 15 years of occasional visits, we have never had to leave after one night. The town has two dinghy docks, one north, one south of Bragdon Island which usually have space available (no charge) and you can walk to town. The Northern dinghy dock is closer to town. There are several restaurants in the area from casual to dressy. The Harbor Master will give you printed info and maps of the town. We like the Dockside Inn at the south west side of the harbor—casual clothes, moderate pricing; you can dinghy to it from anywhere in the harbor. For more formal dining, try the Stage Neck Inn on the west side of Stage Neck.

Entrance is not difficult, but the tidal current is strong; stay toward the middle of the marked channel. As you approach the narrow section between “N8” & “G9” go beyond “N8” before you start to turn; stay to the middle and be aware that the water around “G9” is thin.

On a rising tide you can dinghy up river all the way to the Maine Turnpike and beyond, but don’t get caught on a low tide; the river tends to dry out.

We have always found the gas dock near the Dockside Inn to have the least expensive gas and diesel north of Cape Ann.


BIDDEFORD P0OOL, ME


At 42 deg 27’ 10N, 70deg 21’10” W, the anchorage can be entered through the passage between Wood Island to the North and Gooseberry Island to the South; the passage is fairly well marked just watch our for lobster pot floats. You can anchor in about 6’ of water to the south of Stage Island. Stay close to the channel for the deeper water; the bottom is a combination of sand & mud with grass; holding is good but use an anchor that can penetrate the grass. The Biddeford Pool Yacht Club maintains moorings on the south side of the channel in a bit deeper water, but more exposed. The Clubhouse is inside the pool but there are no available moorings inside; the club launch will pick up from the moorings and the anchorage. Showers, water and ice are available at the clubhouse and there is a small grocery store just up the street. The club had gas & diesel but I don’t know if they still offer it. You can save a few miles exiting the pool to the north through a passage between White Island and Negro Island.


RICHMOND ISLAND, ME

The next anchorage “down east” is Richmond island, a few miles south west of Cape Elizabeth. There is a breakwater, exposed at low tide between the island and the mainland that runs northwest-southeast. There are two anchorages; one North East of the breakwater the other South West; the favored anchorage depends upon the wind direction for the night. Holding is good; there are no services at either location. At this point you are about two miles from the Cape Elizabeth light and about 12 NM to Portland. Richmond Island is very small scale on the NOAA chart with little detail. See Google Map link:
maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=&...040169&t=h&z=15&om=1
That’s a lot longer address than I thought it would be! Copy and paste it into Google maps, it will give you a better view of the entrance(s) than the NOAA chart—mind the buoy to the NE of Richmond Island!

CASCO BAY

First two words of caution:
1. Casco Bay was formed from the melting of the great glacier of thousands of years ago and the islands are glacial deposits. Most of the islands and the peninsulas are situated in a Northeast--Southwest direction and most have significant rock deposits and/or reefs, frequently underwater, off the southwestern points. Don’t cut close without checking the charts.
2. After you leave Portland, there is NO diesel available in Casco Bay. Heading north the first available diesel is in Boothbay Harbor, unless you want to make the 10 – 12 nm detour up the Sheepscott River to Robinhood Cove. From there you can take the Townsend Gut passage between the Sheepscott and Boothbay Harbor but you miss the open water passage and scenery from Cape Small to Boothbay where the prevailing wind usually makes for a nice 15 mi broad reach.


Although the MapTech Chart Kits have very good charts of the entire bay area, I found the NOAA “Casco Bay” chart easier to use as it has the entire bay on one piece paper and distance and courses between points were easier to visualize and plot. We used Maptech’s more detailed harbor charts for close in reference.

Once you pass Cape Elizabeth you are in Casco Bay which is the body of water basically to the North west of the line between Cape Elizabeth and Cape Small, about 18 nm across. There are enough small islands, peninsulas, bays and ports of call in Casco Bay that you could easily spend a week touring the area and not see it all. The scenery is usually breathtaking, and every island is different. Casco Bay is a No Discharge zone but there are pump out facilities at some of the marinas and the region maintains a couple of Pump Out boats available on call throughout the Bay.

In late July/early August you can get thick fog all along the Maine coast. If you get fogged in, especially in Casco Bay, the best advice is to stay put until it lifts; there are a lot of small islands, rock and ledges so even with radar and a chart plotter (zoom in), some visibility is almost a necessity.

Portland, ME

Portland, the major city on the bay is at the South Western End and has all the facilities and things to see that you might expect of any old seaport city. The old seaport is a restored area with many small shops and restaurants and can be seen on foot with a day ashore. There are some transient slips in Portland and the Centerboard Yacht Club in South Portland also maintains transient slips. There is water taxi service between South Portland and Portland proper. One nice thing about Casco Bay is the ferry service that runs on a regular schedule between all the islands.

If we intended to visit Portland, our practice was to anchor just north west of Peaks Island between Peaks and Little Diamond Island. Take the dinghy to the Peaks island town dock by the ferry slip, pull the dinghy up on the beach just South West of the dock, tie it to something or put an anchor on the beach and take the ferry to Portland. The fare was $6.00 round trip in 2003, it has probably increased, but is easier than dealing with the docks in Portland. There isn’t too much to see on Peaks Island; there are about 1500 – 2000 full time residents, but the island population booms in the summer season with PFA’s (people from away). There is a more or less fully stocked grocery store, coffee café (I think it had Wi-Fi), candy & ice cream shop, etc—all the normal tourist things.

Falmouth Foreside

About five NM north East of Portland, this is the home of the Portland Yacht Club—in our estimation one of the nicest clubs we have ever visited. Moorings are (were) $25.00/ night and used to include a $20,00 discount certificate for dinner at the club, I believe the certificate is now $5.00, and the mooring fee has probably increased, but it is still a great place to visit and the restaurant is good. They have launch service, and ice and water are available at the dock; the showers in the clubhouse are clean, hot & roomy. There is a small grocery store (expensive—even for Maine) up the hill and to the right on the main road—about ½ mile each way. If you want to relax for a day with free entertainment, the Sailing School runs classes for their youth in Opties and 210’s in and around the moored boats. Handy’s boat yard in next door to the YC; it also has moorings, a chandlery, and a small restaurant—light fare, burger type joint.

Eagle Island

Surprisingly, in 15 years of cruising Maine with several vacations spent on Casco Bay, we never got around to visiting Eagle Island. It is best known as Admiral Perry’s (official discoverer of the North Pole) retirement home, and the home is maintained as a museum. Almost everyone we know who has been there says it is a worthwhile weekday visit, but very crowded on weekends. There are a few moorings on the northwest side, but you can anchor in 16+ feet. It is quite exposed and the currents in Broad Sound run hard so you don’t want to make this an overnight.

Bailey’s Island/Mackrel Cove

This is another small harbor with some moorings available for an overnight stay; typical of anchorages at the western end of the islands and peninsulas, it is well protected except from the Southwest. Seals are a common sight around the entrance and sometimes in the harbor. There are few services available ashore; since about 1998, the fuel dock only sells to commercial vessels, primarily the fishing fleet. On shore behind the fuel dock there is a building with a small coffee shop on the first floor and a more complete restaurant on the second floor. Except that most of the tourist cabins have been converted to private residences, the village has changed little from its post war rural village “smallness”. I don’t believe there is any anchoring room; we never tried.

SEBASCO HARBOR, Cape Small,
(not Small Point Harbor aka Cape Small Harbor)

Leaving Casco Bay headed further down east the last harbor to visit is Sebasco Harbor, It is about five miles up the New Meadows River from Cape Small. Moorings are available or you can anchor if there is swinging room, but the number of moorings seems to be multiplying over the years. The harbor and transient moorings are maintained and controlled by the Sebasco Harbor Resort; make reservations for a Friday thru Sunday night mooring. Their launch monitors Ch 9 or 16 and will direct you and collect the mooring fee, or you can pay at the dock. The entrance is well buoyed, but read a cruising guide before you try it for the first time; there are some tricky spots. At “G1” aim for the cupola on shore and don’t turn north until you can see up the channel between the rows of moored boats. Even if you are on the hook, the launch will provide service to the Lodge, or you can dinghy into the dock. There is usually a lot of seaweed collected around the dock and the water behind the floats is shallow, watch out for your outboard prop. Water, ice and gas are available at the dock—no diesel. All the facilities of the resort are available to the visiting boats—pool, restaurants, cocktail lounge, & showers. Dinner menu at the Lodge is eclectic, good but moderately expensive. They have a Sunday Morning Blueberry Pancake (and other stuff) breakfast under tents on the lawn—inexpensive and good. The lounge is OK, but overpriced for casual dining.

àIf you need a Hurricane Hole, about three miles up the New Meadows River from Sebasco is a hole called The Basin. It looks small on the map but in reality is a fair sized anchorage with a mud bottom, good holding with enough scope and 3600 protection. The entrance from the river is on the North side; after perhaps ¼ mile the channel makes a 900 left turn, narrows to about 75’, and leads into an anchorage protected on all sides. Check the chart for the location of a ledge between two 11’ spots; the ledge is shown as a * on the chart.


IMPORTANT:
Leaving Cape Small if you are headed for Boothbay Harbor stay outside (south west) of the Cape Small red bell, Once you pass that you can go inside Fuller Rock, Seguin Island, and the Sisters. However, if you are making a nighttime passage and probably going further up the coast, I would suggest that you go outside of the three aforementioned hazards. The Sisters especially are only exposed at low tide and even at low have minimum exposure and are hard to see; they are marked by a single red buoy and the tidal set can be substantial.


A few comments “Down east” from Casco Bay


The next river northeast is the Kennebeck, the second is the Sheepscott. The tidal currents in both are “impressive”! We never explored the Kennebeck. The Sheepscott runs up to the town of Wiscasset at its head. About 5 nm upriver is the village of Five Islands, it has an excellent lobster pound, The Five Islands Seafood Co., which will boil your lobsters for eating on the dock or take out if you prefer to eat on the boat. There were, and probably are still a few moorings maintained by the Five Islands Yacht Club or you can anchor in the cove. The FIYC doesn’t have a clubhouse, but maintains the moorings for visiting boats. Another 5-7 nm upriver are Riggs and Robinhood Coves and the Robinhood Marine Co. with a full service marina, slips, moorings, pumpout and a restaurant; there is also plenty of anchoring room. Somewhat unusual today, but still often found in Maine, the marina maintains a fleet of FREE loaner cars for guests needing to get to town or restaurants ; just put in a request at the marina office.

From Robinhood or Riggs Cove, the fastest passage to Boothbay Harbor is through the Townsend Gut passage. There is one swing bridge at the eastern end of the passage, but it opens 24 hours a day on demand, VHF 16 or 13. The bridge tender is not always at the bridge so give some warning. Just beyond the bridge there is a red nun which marks a mid-channel rock; I think it is on the northern side with the channel to the south, but check your chart. Once through the passage, Boothbay Harbor is only about 30 minutes to the northeast. Once in the harbor guest moorings and slips are maintained by almost all the marinas and hotel/motels. If you want to be closest to town, try the Boothbay Harbor Marina or Tugboat Inn on the northwestern shore; on the eastern shore try Browns Wharf Marina (look for all the IP’s), Captain Fish’s or the Rocktide. Even from the east side it is not a long walk around the harbor and the town maintains a Trolley service that makes continuous loops around town; the service is FREE (another surprise), but the custom is to tip the driver, usually $1.00 pp. The town has a pump out boat—call on VHF 16. Fuel is available at Carousel Marina, and it is easy to get alongside. They fuel a lot of large yachts so the fuel is always fresh and they have a low flow diesel pump.

NOTE TO THE IP OWNERS: Pierce Yacht in Boothbay is the home of the northern NE IP dealer. Norm and Mary Pierce own the business; they no longer have a marina on the water, but can usually be found around Brown’s Wharf and Marina. Be sure to contact them (tel. 207-633-2902); they are two of the most friendly and helpful people in the IP “family”, and Norm has more knowledge of IP’s than any person I’ve ever met.


Tennants Harbor and Long Cove

These two locations are probably our two least favorite places on the Maine Coast! Although easy to enter and a convenient spot on the northwestern shore of lower Penobscott Bay, the entrance channel is wall to wall lobster posts and the torturous twisting and turning to avoid them takes all the fun out of this spot. Best avoided. If you do decide to go in here, there is adequate water in Tennants Harbor, but the water in Long Cove is a bit thin.


Rockland & Penobscott Bay

After you cross Muscongus Bay and pass the point by Port Clyde, if you are you are heading for Rockland and the Penobscott Bay, take the Muscle Ridge Channel passage for a interesting scenic trip up to Owl’s Head just east of Rockland. It is a shorter passage than the main ship channel, Two Bush Channel, but the current runs hard so check the tide tables; it floods northeast, ebbs southwest. The channel is well marked and the buoys are reasonably close together, but in a thick fog would be a nerve-wracking passage. Penobscott Bay is one of the areas where you are sure to see many of the old, and new made to look old, Gloucester and Grand Banks type schooners now employed in the weekly “windjammer cruises”.

Rockland is an old Maine seaport and fishing city, and still has almost any boat service or chandlery item you might need. The downtown and the city are on the western end of the harbor and right on the waterfront. You can get a slip or mooring from any one of the many marinas. The Rockland Municipal Marina also has slips and moorings for visiting yachts, or you can anchor outside the mooring field; a little west of the municipal marina would probably be the quietest spot, but be sure your anchoring spot is outside the tug/barge channel leading to the cement storage silos. The Municipal dock has dinghy floats with and easy access to downtown. Provisions and a chandlery are within a couple of blocks of the municipal marina.

Pulpit Harbor on the North shore of North Haven Island is a protected deep anchorage, not extremely busy except on Thursday evening when the windjammers come in for the last night of their cruise and generally drop anchor under sail. It is a sight to see and the harbor is pretty. There is a grocery store but it is a long walk from the waterside.

Fox Islands Thorofare is the passage between North Haven and Vinylhaven; it is a fun, pretty and interesting passage, except in fog. J. O. Brown’s Shipyard and the North Haven Yacht Club are both on the island of North Haven and both listed in some Cruising Guides as having moorings and facilities available. Don’t even bother trying to call the Yacht Club; it is a small boat sailing club, does not answer the VHF and has no facilities for guests. Brown’s is an old turn of the last century shipyard (1899) and still builds wooden boats “the old way”. Pick up a mooring, dinghy to their float, walk up the old rickety ramp and try to find someone to pay. When we were there in 2005 the mooring was $10.00, and as fast as they update things, probably still is $10. If you stop here be sure to wander through the old sheds and see the old machinery and tools still in use and the old signs on the buildings: “No cash-No Gas”, and on the now closed general store “If we don’t have it, you don’t need it”, etc. The town of North Haven has no facilities for visitors; there is a Post Office, Library and small store, but most provisions must be pre-ordered and then come in on the ferry the next day.


Across the Thorofare is Seal Cove that is supposed to be a very nice, quiet anchorage but shallow in the center and deep along the edges; check your charts. We were unable to get in there as the fog was so thick we couldn’t see the boat at the next mooring at Brown’s.

The cruise from North Haven up through East Penobscott Bay towards Castine, around the northern point of Islesboro Island to Searsport and back down on the western side of Islesboro to Camden and Rockport is one of the prettiest cruising grounds in Maine. Castine is the home of the Maine Maritime Academy and another interesting, but small town to visit. Pick up a mooring at the Castine Yacht Club; you can dinghy to the town floats or take the short walk along the shore road. If it is in port, the Academy school ship is open for tours given by the cadets. There are several good restaurants in town.

At Searsport you can pick up a mooring or sometimes anchor within or outside of the mooring field—they are that far apart. The town is about a ½ -3/4 mile walk; take the dinghy to the town dock and walk up to the main road (Rt 1 or 1A) turn right and you will come to town. The stores are an interesting mix—not overly “touristy”, the grocery store is well provisioned; the Searsport Maritime Museum is an interesting take, and the Library has a Wi-Fi connection.

Camden is another old shipping sailing town, and has become a vacation destination in the last 40 years, but is still a fun place to visit. Because it is such a popular spot and the inner harbor is small you will probably end up in the outer harbor mooring field. It can be rolly as it is exposed to the south and southeast. The “rental” moorings are so marked. The Camden Yacht Club has a dinghy float as does the town public landing.

That’s all folks, have a great cruise. E-mail me if you need any more specific information. If I can’t answer it, I’ll try to get the answer from some of our friends still in Newburyport.

Fair winds and no following seas.

Jim and Mary Campbell


ADDENDUM

Merrimac River, & Newburyport, MA

Please make the following notation and correction to the report I sent out in late March about this port of call.

This past weekend we learned that contrary to previous information this river started to shoal last summer. It probably stared several years ago, but has just now become noticeable. The entrance has periodically been dredged—twice in the 17 years we have been members of the Yacht Club—and is being budgeted again but most assuredly will not be done before your New 2008 England Cruise.

If you enter stay to the middle of the river between the jetties and only move to the starboard, toward the North jetty, after you pass the “dogleg” about at the location of the second tower. Stay at least 50 off the jetty and round the green #7.

At high tide you will not have a problem as the tidal rise/fall is about 8’, but one of our boats, a J40, which I believe carries about 6 ½’ draft bumped last summer. I don’t know what the tide status or if he was in a trough at the time.

Once you are past #7 just watch the channel markers and you will have enough water.

Note that after you pass the ice breaker, R #8, opposite the American Yacht Club on the southern shore, the channel, the channel marks have been moved 50-100 yards to the south toward the Newburyport shore. This change was just made last summer and probably does not show on your charts or chart plotters; it will not affect your “safe water”, but faithful allegiance to your chart plotters may put you on the wrong side of a couple of marks or into the Salisbury mooring field which has been extended further out.

Jim