2008 Maine Cruising Notes #3
It is mid-August and the summer is passing quickly. We cruised Penobscot Bay, Eggemoggin Reach, and spent some time at Mt. Desert Island, where we had a particularly pleasant reunion with a friend I have known since graduate school. Now we have returned to Pulpit Harbor in Penobscot Bay, one of our most favorite spots.
We have continued to have rather challenging weather with lots of rain and fog. There were few of the warm sunny August days and spectacularly colored sunsets we enjoyed last year. The good news is that we have seen some beautiful rainbows (see Photos).
Last year we were never really put to the test in dense fog. A few days ago we left Isle au Haut with more than four miles visibility. About a half hour later we ran into a dense fog bank sailing up east Penobscot Bay. At times the visibility was less than a few hundred yards. Our biggest concern was other boats. Fortunately, the radar and GPS/chartplotter enabled us to proceed "on instruments", and we were able to spot and track other boats on the radar.
In part due to the weather, the scenery has seemed less photogenic, but as you will see in the images here below, we have been lucky to encounter many interesting boats and passenger schooners to photograph. The Maine Boats & Harbors Show in Rockland (August 8-10) was also especially interesting, The boats were almost entirely from Maine builders, with none of the "mass market" production boats that dominate most shows. Some of the boats were very new, others were beautiful restorations of classic vessels a century old.
Although the weather, especially fog, has been a bigger factor in our sailing plans, we are having a great time again in Maine.
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