Maine events
After nearly 2 weeks of cruising Maine on our own, we were thrilled to share the wonders of exploring Maine by sea with our friends and our daughter
According to VisitMaine.net, while Maine’s general coastline is only 228 miles, when you include all its inlets and bays, Maine’s coastline measures 3,478 miles—the 4th largest coastline in the US, after Alaska, Florida and Louisiana. Add to that Maine’s 4,600+ offshore islands—~1,200 of which are an acre or more, and only 15 of which are populated year-round—and there’s an unbelievable amount to explore! (If you click on our “Track Us” link and zoom in, you can get a feel for Maine’s expansive shoreline and island archipelago.)
We were joined in Rockland by friends Joanne and Matt, who drove up from Boston accompanied by our daughter, Katia, who’d flown in from Denver. The three of them braved a drenching dinghy ride from Rockland’s shores to Catalyst, where we hunkered down for an afternoon of catching up, Rummikub, a lobster feast, and champagne, since the seas were too rough to venture on.
The next morning dawned foggy and calm, so we motored past the picturesque island of North Haven to the incredibly beautiful Seal Bay, using our radar and horn to navigate safely until the fog cleared. We arrived with plenty of time to bask in the sunshine, SUP around the nearby islets, take in an ocean dip, slurp oysters, and enjoy Matt’s delicious Clams Casino – coupled, of course, with evening Rummikub and Yahtzee challenges.
We were able to show off Catalyst’s sailing prowess (as well as our network of Balance Catamaran friends, as we were hailed by the owners of both Galileo and Wahoo) when we returned to Rockland the next day. We regretfully waved Joanne and Matt goodbye before continuing down from Maine’s Penobscot Bay to Monhegan Island, a remote island about 9 miles off Maine’s Midcoast. There, Katia and I enjoyed a scenic 7-mile hike around the island (culminating in a stop at the Monhegan Island Brewery), while Captain Pete relaxed after days of constantly dodging lobster buoys.
Many folks had recommended we stop at Christmas Cove, but it was jam-packed with moored boats and nowhere to anchor, so we continued on to Boothbay Harbor. Katia and I had a fun afternoon of window-shopping before Pete joined us for a delicious dinner at Thistle Inn. We then braved another rainy, foggy day to rejoin our friends Mike and Rainy in Harmon Harbor, sharing a delicious meal with them and their friends, Kim & Emory, who have already circumnavigated the world twice in their sailboat Someday.
We started early the next morning to take advantage of the winds for a terrific sail to Long Island, just outside of Portland, with Katia embracing her role as Pete’s “first mate”. Later, Katia and I SUP’d ashore for a 6-mile walk around the island, delighting in the friendly waves from the island locals.
After some heartfelt hugs, we left Katia in Portland the next morning and were joined on Catalyst by my Dartmouth pal, Gail. We anchored that evening at the Isle of Shoals – a special stopover for me, since I’d spend a summer studying marine biology there in my college days. Gail cooked us up a delicious meal of Maine specialties, culminating in wild blueberry pie.
The next morning, as we sailed down the New Hampshire and Massachusetts coasts, we were reminded of how much there is to see in the world. We’d barely touched upon Maine’s wonders during our 3 weeks there, and we’d heard great things about Manchester-by-the-Sea and Marblehead, among other destinations, but Boston beckoned…
