Tuesday 18th August.

Another windless day dodging lobster pots.  We arrived at Boothbay Harbor, 43 50.98N 069 37.63W, at 1:30pm.  It was still very hot and windless!  We picked up one of our yacht clubs moorings (Down East Yacht Club). 

We’ll be leaving the boat in Boothbay over the winter so it felt like we were home.  In fact we’re planning to take a rental car home tomorrow, and pick up our car.  Teresa will visit her mum (mom) in CT and Ron will return to Boothbay with the rental car and do a few jobs on the boat. 

We took bike ride around the town and then to Ebencook Harbor, 43 50.11N 69 40.78W, (where our haulout is actually located).  It was a 10 mile ride with plenty of hills, and we were rather hot when we returned.  We had the best shower ever (for 50c) at the Tugboat Inn & Marina. 

We broke open the champagne to celebrate Quinita’s return to the USA. 

Ships Log: 5534, Todays Log: 27.3, Seasons Total: 1086.1

Monday 17th August.

Since the days are getting noticeably shorter (it’s dark at 8:15pm in these parts), we’re going to bed earlier and waking earlier.  So we woke around 7am, had breakfast, Ron fixed the composting head fan.  Then we went for a walk around North Haven.  It was another hot day, and when we returned to the boat, we were pleased to find the water temp was 20C (68F).  So we jumped in for a refreshing swim, followed by sun shower to wash the salt off. 

We set off for Tenants harbor, 43 57.88N 069 11.99W, just before 1pm.  It was another day of lobster pot dodging.  This is not fun!  Some pots are brightly coloured, but many are not and are difficult to see until you’re upon them.  At high water, some pots are partially submerged.  On the other hand, the lines on the pots seem to be weighted, so that they hang vertically from the pot and so theoretically are more difficult to catch on a prop or rudder, unlike many in Canada where the lines were floating on the surface!

After 4 hours of staring at the water just ahead of the boat, we picked up a mooring, complements of one of the DEYC members, in Tenants harbor. 

We took a dinghy ride ashore to explore the small town, and were pleasantly surprised to find a pub/eatery.  So we decided to support the local economy and had a very nice meal. 

Ships Log: 5506.7, Todays Log: 18.8, Seasons Total: 1058.8

Sunday 16th August.

Brenda and Vin had decided to stay put for a day or so at North East Harbor.  We pressed on to Pulpit harbor, 44 09.22N 068 53.12W.  Once again it was a hot, hot day with no wind, so we motored while dodging lobster pots.  It dawned upon us that a catamaran is not the ideal boat in lobster pot fields – we have 2 rudders and 2 props 16’ apart, and both hulls have to be clear of pots.  This is sometime tricky when the pots are 20’ apart.  A monohull or tri only has one hull, rudder and prop so it’s much easier to find a way through. 

We managed to sail for an hour in the afternoon in winds of 7 knots, but when the boat speed dropped to 1 knot, we gave up. 

Our guide suggested that Pulpit harbor was very popular and would be busy on weekends.  Since this was a Sunday we hoped that the locals would have left, but we were disappointed.  The harbor was full of moorings, so we spent some time trying to find a spot to anchor, with enough swinging room at low water.  Shortly after we anchored, another 2 boats dropped their hooks, one on each side, and in our opinion a little close!  However light winds were forecast so we weren’t too worried (and we had a very peaceful night). 

Pulpit harbor is naturally very beautiful.  Fortunately we were outside most of the boats and had great views out of the harbor towards the Camden hills.  When looking inward however, the mass of boats gave the impression of being in a campground. 

One of the boats on a mooring was a beautiful 92’ sailing yacht – which must be worth millions.

Ships Log: 5487.9, Todays Log: 35.1, Seasons Total: 1040

Saturday 15th August.

We had planned to leave at 10:30 to catch fair tides to Seal Harbor, 44 17.42N 068 14.51W, so we had time in the morning for a nice walk along the beach.  We were so close to the beach that swimming in would have idyllic, but not in water that was 13°C, (55°F) thank you very much!  We took the dinghy instead!  The beach was as nice as it looked from the boat. 

We set off as planned for Seal Harbor, 44 17.42N 068 14.51W, and started negotiating the many lobster floats in the harbor.  Nothing changed when we were out at sea and we both had to keep a constant watch for floats the entire day.  To make matters worse, the day ended with us squinting into the sun trying to locate the **** things. 

Brenda and Vin overtook us at about 4pm and arrived at Seal Harbor before us.  They didn’t like the limited anchoring room so pressed on to North East Harbor.  By the time we arrived at Seal harbor, we had had enough squinting into the sun and were ready to drop anchor, so we took a look and found a couple of likely looking spots and dropped the hook. 

Soon after the steaks were on the grill …

Ships Log: 5452.8, Todays Log: 42.6, Seasons Total: 1004.9

Friday 14th August.

The shortest way south from Eastport is by way of the Lubec  channel, 44 51.56N 66 58.79W, which saves 10 nm.  Unfortunately, the bridge clearance is 44 or 46 feet, dependent on which chart you’re reading and our mast is 45 feet high.  But the bridge clearances are given at high water, so with tidal ranges of 18 feet we should be able to clear the bridge at half tide or less.   But there are also currents that run up to 8 knots through this channel and our maximum speed is 6 knots!  So we did some calculations, and reckoned that we could get through at 6:30am today – low tide and small current.  That meant leaving Eastport at 5:30am.    We tried and it seems our calculations were correct!  We had hoped for slack tide, but we got 1-2 knts against us, (which is safer when passing under a bridge, since you can control your forward speed more easily when motoring into a foul current).  We passed under the bridge without problem, and had 1-2 knot current against us through the narrows.  As a bonus, our early departure meant we got to see the sun rise over the most eastern part of the USA – lovely and peaceful!

Once out into open ocean again, we had foul tides, and no wind for 5 hours, before the wind picked up and the tides turned fair, and we were able to sail the last part of the passage.  But we were in Maine again, with the proverbial lobster pots, so spent a lot of time dodging them.

We arrived at Rogue Island, 44 34.58N 067 31.21W, at 2:45pm and anchored.  It’s a beautiful bay, with a long sandy beach and pretty views out to the sea.  Judging by the other boats here it seems to be a popular anchorage.  

Brenda and Vin, who couldn’t fit under the bridge, set off way later than we did, and arrived at 5pm. We all dined aboard Quinita and had another pleasant evening. 

Ships Log: 5410.2, Todays Log: 46.7, Seasons Total: 962.3

Thursday 13th August.

We left in thick fog for Eastport, ME, 44 54.28N 066 59.01W just managed to see a little of Grand Manan when it lifted briefly.  The sail across the Grana Manan channel was also foggy, but it cleared a little when we reached Campobello Island, 44 57.44N 66 54.12W and we saw some of the beauty of this area.  We also saw a few dolphins, seals and a variety of birds.  It’s a big whale watching area however we didn’t see any. 

We cleared US customs, picked up a mooring at the Chowder House had lunch and took our bikes ashore to explore the town.  It was now sunny and warm – yippee!

We returned to the boat, Ron planned the next days trips and Teresa did the laundry.  We had dinner at the Chowder House with Brenda and Vin and had an early night in preparation for an early start tomorrow. 

Ships Log: 5363.5, Todays Log: 20.2, Seasons Total: 915.6

Wednesday 12th August.

The classic way of crossing the Bay of Fundy from Yarmouth is to sail to Northeast Harbor, where one can clear US customs.  This should be a good sail in the prevailing SW winds, however it involves an overnight since the trip is close to 100nm.  It can also involve big seas with wind over strong tides.  We chose to go via Grand Manan, which is reported to be a beautiful island to cycle and hike and we really wanted to visit the island.  So we had planned a lay day today.

Unfortunately, the day started out foggy, cold and wet and became foggier, colder and wetter as the day went on.  In addition, we needed to clear out of Canadian customs, since we had extended Quinita’s stay in Canada last winter due to repairs.  We called customs and were told that they would arrive in 2-3 hours.  They arrived about 2:30pm (having travelled on the ferry from St. John, NB!).  The paperwork was completed in about 15 minutes, and then finally we were free to explore the island. 

However, it was pouring rain, so we opted for a walk to the lighthouses on North Head.  The fog lifted enough for us to catch a glimpse of the headlands and all in all it was a very interesting walk,  We were soaked, but at least didn’t have to pack wet and dirty bikes.  We saw a little of the towns several shops and restaurants and were disappointed that we didn’t get a chance to explore the island more fully.

The day finished with dinner on Dragonfly.

Ships Log: 5343.3, Todays Log: 0, Seasons Total: 895.4