N55 Bravo

We leave Portland and focus our energy on plotting cruising routes and overnight stops along the New England coast.  Our plan is to get back to the Chesapeake Bay area in October and then continue south to Florida in November.  Creating and executing a cruising schedule is a flexible process.  It is all dependent upon what the weather brings.  Plan A always includes a Plan B. Kittery/Portsmouth We stop overnight in Pepperrell Cove which is in Kittery, Maine.  At the back end of Pepperrell Cove is the Chauncey Creek where we have some fantastic steamed clams.  This is the only restaurant that we found in Kittery. Downtown Kittery Going up Chauncey Creek And from Kittery we dinghy up the river to check out downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire and the huge Portsmouth Navy Base. Lobster Boat versus Tanker Marblehead We spend two nights on a buoy and again experience the gracious hospitality of the Boston Yacht Club. Bo

We originally planned to stop in Portland, Maine on our way north.  However, the days we wanted to visit, there was no space available.  It was Lobster Boat Race weekend!  So, we decided to try Portland on our way back south. Portland Yacht Services  Success!  We find very reasonable dock space at Portland Yacht Services (PYS) at the north end of Commercial Street.  What a great spot!  We have a front row seat to watch evening practice for Sail Maine’s teen sailing program, the narrow-gauge railroad, joggers, cyclists, rollerbladers on the waterfront walking path, and the comings and goings of ferry boats, water taxis, and three ginormous Carnival and Royal Caribbean cruise ships that docked next door. The PYS dock master was terrific.  After a call on the phone, he met us at the dock and quickly and efficiently assisted with the lines and instructions for showers and laundry facilities.  He also had excellent recommendations for “best fried clams in Portland”.

One day’s cruise produces a wide variety of visual, sensual, and culinary experiences within a compact time frame.  These interactions with the weather, the outdoors, and the local food treats are difficult to convey in words.  Following is a dawn to sunset series of photos taken in about a 16-hour time span covering the trip south from Rockland, Maine to Boothbay Harbor, Maine.  They take you through our day on and around the water. Dawn We leave just before sunrise.  Because many Maine harbors exit east, a morning departure faces you directly into the rising sun reflecting off the water making it impossible to see the lobster buoys. Leaving when it is just getting light outside, but before sunrise, minimizes this problem. Underway Low light systems in the pilothouse allow better inside/outside visual transitions.  Although this lighting is different than a night crossing, when the monitors are switched to a red screen night mode, and courtesy lights at the flo