As more boats appeared at Eastern Egg Rock, we decided it was time to go. The sail to Boothbay was peaceful, and I’ve really been enjoying the chance to get more sailing in, even on very light-air days. On the way, we passed Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, its grounds swarming with tourists. As one of the very few boats with our sails up, I’m sure we ended up in more than one photo.
Our first year cruising, our friend Laura introduced us to her friend Heath, who was also sailing south. We connected on social media, but timing didn’t work out for us to meet up until we were in Cocoa Beach. Heath brought Susan and Tom – friends from his marina – and we had a fun night. Susan and I have kept in touch on Facebook, and she mentioned that they’d be spending part of the season in Boothbay, where she grew up. I wasn’t sure if the timing would align, but I decided to reach out on our way over just in case.
It turned out to be their last night in town, and they invited us to join them and her sister and brother-in-law for an early dinner. She took us for a grocery run beforehand (which we greatly appreciated), and then we headed to Boothbay Lobster Wharf. After dinner, they showed us some local hangouts. We had such a great time, but I really do need to get better at remembering to take photos when we get together with friends!
As much as we would have liked to spend more time in Boothbay, the mooring field is pretty open to the southeast, and with storms in the forecast, it was time to find a more protected spot. We offloaded our garbage and got pump-out (a detail I’d normally omit, except finding pump-outs – especially a pump-out boat – in Maine is somewhat of a luxury) on Sunday morning, then headed just around the corner to The Basin, which offered 360° protection. We started sailing in what turned out to be a harbor hurricane, but the wind died off once we got out to open water, so we ended up motoring in a sloppy, short-period swell. We’d hoped to be able to spend a night at Seguin Island, but with the potential for afternoon storms, we agreed to save it for another time.
We motored into The Basin at low tide so we could run the entrance at just about slack. We’ve taken Windara through some narrow cuts before (Grand Key and Hatchet Bay in the Bahamas come to mind), but between shallow rocks on one side and lobster pots scattered throughout the channel, this one felt positively tiny. The final challenge was crossing the ~7′ spot at the final bend before the channel opened up, but we made it through without issue. I was worried it would be crowded, given that the southern migration is starting and Tropical Storm Erin was lurking offshore, plus it’s a favorite weekend spot for locals. While we definitely weren’t alone, it wasn’t too busy and we found a good spot to drop the hook.
About those afternoon storms – Mother Nature definitely delivered. While we were spared the thunderstorms we heard rumbling in the distance, we got the sharp temperature drop and gusts into the mid-30s with driving rain. We dragged a little, and when we hauled anchor to head out and found a large tree branch tangled around it, we understood why. Once the storm passed, we got a beautiful, if brief, rainbow over the anchorage as the sun began to set and calm returned.
Two trails from the Nature Conservancy’s Basin Preserve are marked on NoForeignLand, and we couldn’t wait to explore. The only catch was that there were no dinghy docks or even beaches to land Williwaw. But that didn’t stop us – we made our way over some slippery rocks at the “landing” and tied up to a sturdy tree. The water shoes we bought for this season have been worth every penny.
A short walk from the first landing was the Mica Mine Trail, an easy walk leading past an old mica mine scar (surprisingly, there’s little to no information available about the mining operations here). Mica and quartz glittered in the rocks all along the trail as it wound through pitch pine forest with lots of lichens. Both here and along the edges of the Basin, we noticed the first hints of fall color.
After work yesterday, we hiked the Denny Reed Trail, which seemed to change character with every turn. Since it was late in the day and light fades quickly in the forest, we didn’t do the whole loop, but the warm, golden-hour light and quiet woods all to ourselves were the perfect way to wrap up our time here.
