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Ashore Travel

Belfast

On a foggy Sunday morning, we slipped the lines at Warren Island and headed off for a slow, peaceful sail to Belfast. The wind was light but we were able to sail most of the way regardless, and the fog was high enough off the water that visibility wasn’t an issue. At least, not until […]

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Ashore Travel

Warren Island

Just off the coast of Islesboro lies Warren Island State Park, which can only be accessed via private boat. The park maintains nine moorings between Warren Island and Spruce Island, available on a first-come-first-served basis for $20/night, and the mooring field is well protected from most wind directions. We fell in love with this beautiful, […]

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Ashore Travel

Camden

A Cruising Guide to the Maine Coast describes Camden as “…one of the jewels of Penobscot Bay,” and gives it five stars, and I can see why. In one direction, you have beautiful sunrise views over the Penobscot, and in the other, the sun sets just behind the picturesque Camden hills. Windjammers sail in and […]

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Ashore Travel

Pulpit Harbor

If you think of quiet little fishing harbors, pine forests ending in seaweed-covered rocky shores, and pitch black nights as quintessential Maine, you need to visit Pulpit Harbor. Tucked away on the west side of North Haven, the entrance is hidden by Pulpit Rock, topped by an osprey nest that’s over 150 years old and […]

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Ashore Travel

Rockland

Maine cruising isn’t easy – between the fog, thick carpets of lobster traps, and unforgiving rocky shoreline, you’ve got to be on constant alert. But the more of the Maine coast we explore, the more I find myself falling in love. I’m a total lighthouse nerd, and I am in absolute heaven – we see […]

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Ashore Travel

Boothbay

We wish we’d had some time to explore Casco Bay – we passed so many pretty little spots – but we’re trying to get up to Belfast to get our estimate done there too, so it was time to move on. We’d heard so much about Boothbay that we had to add it to our […]

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Ashore Travel

Portland

Sailing into Portland was another bucket list experience – we’d vacationed here almost 20 years ago and I remember talking way back then about how cool it would be to arrive on our own boat someday. For a lighthouse nerd (me), it was so incredibly cool to pass so many (I promise you’re going to […]

Categories
Ashore Travel

Portsmouth

Friday morning we sailed for Portsmouth. We chose to get an early start so we could catch what little breeze was forecast for the day, and sailing out past Beverly was beautiful. We sailed past little rocky islands that looked like what we imagined Maine would be like, past Hospital Point Lighthouse and Bakers Island […]

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Ashore Travel Under Way

Cape Cod Canal to Salem

The Cape Cod Canal has been a bucket list thing for both of us for years, and we were super excited to finally do it. It was a gray, damp and chilly morning, and Chris and I were dressed for full-on winter… we even put on sneakers. But nothing could dampen our spirits as we […]

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Ashore Travel

(Almost) Home

Buzzards Bay has a (well earned) nasty reputation. In the summer, there’s a consistent southwesterly afternoon sea breeze, and with up to 5.5kts of current at its peak, the ebb tide flowing out of the Cape Cod Canal can cause some gnarly standing waves. Growing up nearby, this was not news to us, so we […]