Maine - Casco Bay

We left Block Island on Saturday as planned. The only aspect not part of the plan was caused by the weather – the fog which cloaked us and the sizable ocean swells that pushed us around for several hours until we reached Buzzards Bay a bit after noon. Fortunately there was little boat traffic in the fog, a fact we learned as we kept a close watch on our radar. Arriving at the northern end of the Bay and the western end of the Cape Cod Canal at slack tide made for an easy transit into Onset Bay. We anchored and enjoyed a quiet evening in a picturesque New England harbor. We knew we were in New England now merely by listening to the voices on the marine radio. Gone were the southern accents now replaced by those more common in Boston and places further downeast.

After visiting for a day with Sandra's mother and sister in Raynham, MA, we continued on our trek to Maine. We began by traveling through the ten miles or so of the Cape Cod Canal. For sailboats, there is only one option for traveling this route – with the tidal current. We were fortunate that the current was running our way for a morning passage. What a boost we got as we managed to move as fast as 11.8 kts as opposed to our normal speed of 6.3 kts.

Our good fortune continued as we headed north through Massachusetts Bay overnight on to the Gulf of Maine, as the seas remained calm and the breeze helped push us along. Traveling past the north end of Cape Cod, we also were visited by a humpback whale which surfaced several times as close as 100 yards from the boat.

As a bit of an aside, I've come to the conclusion that, while I enjoy sailing along with Mother Nature providing all the needed power, we generally use the engine or motor sail when on trips rather than sailing without the engine's help. This is very non-purist, I know. It's just that we prefer to remain at sea only as long as necessary, hoping to avoid unnecessary risks. Often the wind is not blowing the right direction or not strong enough to give us the 6 kts we can get using the engine. And if the wind does blow strong enough, we would prefer to avoid the seas that such winds bring. Sometimes we have found that traveling within 5 or 10 miles of the coast keeps us from having to pound through the larger seas. Of course, our travel on the ICW where sailing is rarely much help probably gets us accustomed to using the engine.

Back to Maine. Arriving in Casco Bay, I was reminded of the striking beauty this portion of the coast offers. Everywhere one is treated to views of rockbound islands painted in several shades of green of the evergreens, the oaks and grassy fields bordered this time of year by the wild roses and the blooming berry bushes. Casco Bay is not generally the area of the Maine coast often talked about. Penobscot Bay is usually the area mentioned as the classic Maine sailing area. We spent several years exploring Casco Bay and really find it so accommodating with protected anchorages never more than a few miles apart. There are many islands to explore with trails and campsites, tide pools and rocky promontories.

We arrived in the morning and anchored by a group of islands call The Goslings. As you might imagine, these are next to two larger islands, Upper and Lower Goose. What I like about this particular anchorage is a rocky outcropping that harbor seals like to rest on at low tide. Their presence had always been quite dependable. Sure enough, as we arrived we could see at least 20 resting there. After anchoring, we got in the kayaks to pay them a visit. They are cautious and slid down into the water as we approached. Once in their own element, their curiosity became evident. They'd pop up their heads to check us out. Jennifer even had one swim under her kayak and look up at her as it swam by. Jenn also got close to a bald eagle on those same rocks.

We later explored the island and their tide pools before moving on to South Freeport the next morning. We picked up a mooring and, after enjoying some seafood, walked into Freeport 3 miles away for some shopping at L. L. Bean and other outlet stores.

This morning we moved on to another uninhabited island – Jewell, one we've visited many times before. This island had an army post here during WWII to help protect Portland Harbor. Today what remains are two towers one can climb for great views, the slabs of what once served as the floor for a barracks and other buildings as well as the remains of two gun emplacements and underground tunnels for protected storage – really an interesting stop. We've visited all this before. Today we chose rather to visit a large tide pool called the punch bowl as well as the exposed surrounding rocks where the ocean waves crash relentlessly.

Tomorrow we travel to our last stop in Casco Bay for a while. We move across to the eastern side of the Bay up one of the inlets a few miles to Great Island Marine where we'll pick up another mooring. We'll leave the boat on that mooring for another family visit – this one to our daughter Samantha and our two grandsons. We know that we'll be back for more of the coast of Maine. These first days of our visit here have merely provided a glimpse of what this coast offers. We'll look forward to heading more downeast for more adventures upon our return.

Captain Bob

Carpe Diem