Camden, Maine
Leaving Provincetown Monday morning at a decent hour we sailed strait to Penobscot Bay making landfall around dawn on Tuesday, July 11. Dan got off in Rockland and got a bus home. Tom and Barbara continued with me day for a few more hours to Camden where they rented a car to visit a friend. I first got a mooring in the outer harbor at Camden, but it was unpleasantly rolly, so I then moved to a floating platform in the inner harbor. Janet joined me a few days later and stayed with me for the rest of the cruise.
Applied Physics is in the upper center of this photo at a floating platform rented from Wayfarer Marine whose facility is right behind the boat.
Bucks Harbor
From Camden we sailed straight to Bucks Harbor, always a great destination. First, the hardbor is well protected. Second, and even better, the floating dock hides a lobster pound. A short walk from the dock is a small grocery and the ghost of Condon's Garage, from the chidrens' book, "One Morning in Maine".
Smith's Cove
A few hours sail from Bucks Harbor is Smith's Cove, also well protected, and a pretty good place to anchor, although sometimes it takes us several tries to get a really good grip on the bottom. Here we have seen bald eagles, ospreys, dolphins, and seals. Usually we share the anchorage with only one or two other boats.
Around the corner from the anchorage there are some large tidal pools with a fine collection of tasty mussels. I picked, cleaned, boiled, and ate a bunch. When I didn't die from red tide poisoning Janet ate some too.
Penobscot Bay
On Penobscot Bay, when the sailing is good, it is very, very, good. But when it is bad it is horrid. This photo shows a good day, with a clear sky and a 15 - 20 knot breeze from the south. The deep sections of the bay are relatively free of lobster traps, but side channels can be heavily mined. Many days have thick fog. We have been caught in wind, rain, fog, and lobster pots all at the same time. Someone has to watch the radar-chart plotter while driving the boat (usually me) and someone has to watch for pots and trim the sails(usually Janet). This can be a white knuckle experience and isn't much fun. There are places that are especially nasty, like Muscle Ridge Channel and Jericho bay. Sailing into the sun in Merchant Row isn't much fun either since you can't see the pots. We haven't been caught by a pot yet, but our winged keel, fin rudder, and exposed prop are easy targets for a stealty trap line.
Northwest Harbor
We had planned on anchoring further south down the bay, but the fog was closing in so we made the lucky choice of anchoring instead in Northwest Harbor. I remember it being a bit narrow and worrying about swing room if the wind shifted. There is minimal protection from the west. In the end, there was no problem. Maybe we were lucky. I am always nervous when we sleep on the anchor. Applied Physics hasn't dragged on us yet, but on other boats I have gotten up in the middle of the night and had to sail out into a strong wind and nasty chop when the anchor dragged in a wind shift.
McGlathery Island
Anchoring off McGlathery was tricky, but we took our chances and went ashore for a hike in what looks like a temperate rain forest. I don't know if there is a lot of rain, but there is certainly plenty of fog.
Round Island
We anchored between Round Island and McGlathery on July 17 as the fog rolled in and the sun set.
Ship Harbor
Bill Skocpol met us at Northeast Harbor on Mount Desert Island and then gave us a tour of his favorite places including Ship Harbor.
Back in Penobscot
Rob and Mara met us in Northeast Harbor and then sailed with us to Rockland. We stopped at the Wayfarer dock in Camden for supplies.
Getting Home
Rich Howard (photo right)met us in Portland. We did an overnight across the Gulf of Maine, spotting whales at dusk north of Cape Cod. It was cold night; Janet baked cinnamon buns to warm the cabin and our bellies. We transitted the Cape Cod Canal before dawn, passed through Quicks Hole, and then grabbed a mooring at Vineyard Haven. We then took our time working our way through the various sounds back to Keyport.