Now for the Maine Event
Delta delivered us to Portland at midnight. It was good to get back to AQUAVIT at the Southport Marina and decompress from a busy two weeks back home attending to details, petting cats, and seeing friends.After a day recuperating from a late night and reprovisioning we were ready to get back on the water heading north. A clear calm day made it a nice run up to Boothbay Harbor. Along the way we caught a glimpse of a whale, a couple of seals, and several first and second year plumage northern gannets. The darker plumage on the gannets always catches us off guard and scrambling to the guide books.
Entering Boothbay Harbor we could see a hundred small boats were engaged in class races, confirmed by the radio chatter about race marks and starts. We were pleased our route bypassed this traffic but the harbor was crowded with moored craft and dotted with lobster floats as well as floating dock sections that are used to store unused lobster traps. Apparently, the lobster lobby has codified rights to place lobster pots anywhere they want - fairways, off docks, and the open ocean. We are not sure we'd consciously order a lobster from some of the waters where we've seen traps. Most harbors are "No Discharge Zones" but still...
Kim welcomed us to our slip at Boothbay Harbor Marina and we successfully backed in. The floating dock is off a restaurant at the center of town. Lots of shops, restaurants, and galleries have evolved from a waterfront community to serve a steady tourist clientele.
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| A really neat venue - how admirable that the community turned it into a vibrant performance space! |
We enjoyed walking about to see the town and along the way discovered the Boothbay Opera House - a 125-year old venue saved from demolition and restored to an active community hall. We got tickets to see Tom Rush - a 60s folk artist performing with a talented young musician, Matt Nakfa.
We enjoyed the concert, venue and friendly folks so much that we returned the next night to catch a very energetic next-generation hippie band from Boston. The Adam Ezra Band was fabulous, musically tight, and exposing progressive values that lit a candle of hope for the future. Instead of an encore, the quartet had an audience of 200 or so, totally enraptured and singing along in an acoustic version of Tom Petty's "Free-falling." Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLs-np_v2pQ
EXPLICIT ADVISORY! - for a taste of the wicked hard-core Baa-staan take on a southern classic - check out the "Devil Came Up to Boston" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWVcIn7Q4Cc
Kim, the dockmaster, arranged for her mother-in-law, Judy, to take us to the acclaimed Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. Judy ran the marina for 30 years and just recently turned over the docks to her son Chris and daughter-in-law Kim. We thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend the Botanical Garden. Started in 1997 from scratch by 10 like-minded friends, this nearly 300-acre site has blossomed with high quality gardens by top landscape designers and facilities to serve more than 200,000 annual visitors. It is recognized as a top tier botanic garden.
We also went to the Maine State Aquarium at Southport. It is a very small aquarium, primarily with touch tanks. It took only 1/2 hour to see the whole thing. It's interesting to see the variety of North Atlantic marine life and it's good to see kids and adults involved in learning more about the waters in the Gulf of Maine, including all about the lobster fishery.
On Saturday, the trip to Rockland was about 40 nm, deciding to take an outside route in lieu of weaving though the islands and rocks scattered along a more inland route. Seas were calm enough, and visibility was about 3 miles. The wind chill was enough to bring out wind breakers. After experiencing days of sunshine and warm temperatures (for us, but to Mainiacs, it's been "wicked hot!") this feels like the Maine we expected!
Our reservation at Rockland Landings Marina coincides with a week-long Lobster Festival. How serendipitous to arrive at a marina right next to the small time county-fair atmosphere celebrating these tasty crustaceans. The marina hosted their own celebration for the boaters at their dock with a lobster dinner and pot-luck for an $8.00 donation/person. What a spread –– corn, clams, lobsters, and a sumptuous spread of homemade salads and desserts.
We were invited to sit at a table with Dave and KellyRae, who coincidentally have a boat named Kelly Rae, at the marina dock. Dave said Marvin looked familiar and when we explained we were from the Gulf Coast of Florida, to our surprise, a couple at the next table chimed in that they knew us! Amazing that neighbors from our homeport, Pat and Frank, were at the same marina on their 28' Cutwater trailerable cruiser, the Honey Badger. What are the chances?! They are very experienced sailors who have cruised extensively on sailboats and travelled the world. Like us, they are getting used to power boating.
Staying an extra day to enjoy the 72nd Annual Lobster Fest, we also repaired a faulty switch that prevented us from lifting the cowling deck over AQUAVIT's engines. Fortunately, a Maine stalwart for supplies, Hamilton Marine, was adjacent to the marina. Hamilton Marine is like a serious West Marine store merged with a commercial hardware supply.
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| Check out the video clip at the end of this blog! |
Ending the day with drinks and dinner with Patty and Frank, we are ready to take off tomorrow for perhaps the most adventurous part of our trip. We will journey up along the rugged coast to out-of-the-way places that are unpretentious fishing communities off the tourist path with few conveniences for recreational boaters.
Oh - and the tidal ranges are 12 feet and more.
Adventure awaits outside of the comfort zone.
08.04.2019
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