Before work we hauled anchor and motored past Peake’s Island, bound for the anchorage near Maine Yacht Center. There were already a few boats at anchor — including one in the spot we’d hoped for — and we knew there was a shallow patch just inside the anchorage. Naturally, we found it. Fortunately it was dead low and the bottom was soft mud, so we only needed to wait about a half hour for the tide to free us. We also learned that our depth gauge is incorrectly calibrated – when it reads 0, we still have about 2 feet under the keel. In the meantime, we had breakfast and as luck would have it, the catamaran that was in the spot we wanted headed out, so once we were free from the mud, we dropped anchor and settled in for the next few days.
The next morning, we dinghied out to Halfway Rock to look for seals, and this time we found them. Last time we visited Portland, we went out there twice but had no luck finding them. We always turn off the engine and keep a safe distance, but one of the babies kept popping up to check us out as we drifted (the shot below was taken with my 300mm lens and is cropped significantly).
Later in the day, some intense rainstorms blew through, but we were rewarded with a beautiful rainbow over the racing fleet as we headed into town for dinner. Chris’s co-worker recommended a few restaurants, and we decided to check out Terlingua – she did not steer us wrong. We shared the Terlingua BBQ board, and it was amazing! I was not expecting to find good BBQ in Maine, and it was a pleasant surprise. Unfortunately I was battling a migraine and didn’t get to eat nearly as much as I would have liked, so we’ll definitely have to go back.
We’ve walked by Standard Baking Co. several times, so we decided to dinghy in for breakfast. We got some delicious scones and also picked up a fresh-baked baguette. Storms threatened around sunset, and we did get some rain, but the worst of the storms missed us. We did get some beautiful skies, though!
Since we were in a major town, we made sure to take advantage of the opportunity to run some errands yesterday that are more difficult in most of the places we sail. One of our propane tanks was empty, so I dinghied Chris to the beach over near the local U-Haul first thing in the morning. After taking FOREVER to even acknowledge him, they ultimately refused to fill the tank because it was an older tank even though it was properly inspected, so we ended up having to Uber to the local Ace Hardware after breakfast at Tandem Coffee Roasters. The line for Tandem was LONG, but it was worth the wait – the biscuit and jam that I got was to DIE for.
Since Ace was next door to the Portland Hamilton Marine, we stopped in to see if they had a newer propane tank, but 10lb tanks are hard to find and we did not luck out. Before heading back to the boat, we made a pit stop at Hannaford to stock up on provisions. I sat outside with the propane tank while Chris did the shopping – my only request was some Maine blueberries (yes, I’m obsessed).
With all the errands behind us, we spent the rest of the day exploring Portland. In search of something to drink, we wandered into Browne Trading Company, which turned out to be a really cool specialty food shop with a nice selection of cheeses, wines, gourmet foods, seafood, and caviar. It’s on our list to visit next time we’re in town.
Before heading back to the boat, we stopped at Harbor Fish Market – definitely the most touristy lobster pound we’ve visited – and picked up a couple lobsters and some Pemaquid oysters, then grabbed some local beers at Portland Beer Hub to take back to the boat for our last night in Portland. We ate lobster in the cockpit at sunset, and it was a perfect evening. The couple anchored next to us stopped by to chat, and I’ll admit I’m jealous they’re already making their way south. The FOMO is definitely setting in, but we still have a few weeks left on the water, and we plan to make the most of them.
