Categories
Travel

Lighthouses and Lobster Boats

Leaving High/Dix, we sailed around the islands and Two Bush Light on our way to Tenants Harbor. The wind was fickle, but with a short hop, we were in no rush. I love seeing so many lighthouses up close, and we also had a great view of Tenants Harbor Light as we entered the harbor. […]

Categories
Travel

Walking Under Water

Exploring Birch and Dix Islands We slipped past Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse on a flat, calm morning. The sea reflected the sky and the Camden Hills like a mirror. Warm morning light bathed Owls Head and its pretty little lighthouse as we motored around the point. The trip to the Dix Island anchorage was uneventful, aside […]

Categories
Life Aboard Travel

Sailing Into a Maine Summer

Preparing for a cruise is a major endeavor. There’s always something to be fixed, gear to load and stow, checklists to follow and provisions to buy. We spent Saturday tackling all of the above – loading in clothes, kitchen staples, and food taken from our apartment; getting the small propane canisters for our grill; and doing […]

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Travel Under Way

Full Circle

Our sail to Calderwood was beautiful and we were surprised to find only one other boat at anchor. We anchored about in the same spot we did last year and dinghied ashore for a quick walk on the beach. I would have loved to wander the island’s interior, but with everyone talking about ticks this […]

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Ashore Travel Under Way

Isle au Haut

Early Monday morning, we said goodbye to MDI, cautiously optimistic that in a couple of days, we’d be able to cross off one of our Maine cruising “must dos”. As I took in the parting views, I couldn’t help but notice how perfect of a subject the hazy mountains of Acadia would be for a […]

Categories
Ashore Travel

A Walk (or Two) in the Park

Our first day in Bar Harbor was foggy and chilly, and we spent a lot of time relaxing in the cockpit, watching the fog come and go. One of our goals this season is to break out all the stuff we’ve been lugging around and decide whether or not it’s worth keeping, so we finally […]

Categories
Ashore Travel

A Good Soaking and Some Sightseeing in Somes Sound

Saturday’s forecast was miserable and we were getting low on provisions, so we took advantage of the Island Explorer bus system to go grocery shopping in Bar Harbor. It would have been a relatively quick trip, but we misread the schedule and ended up waiting on the side of the road for an hour, then […]

Categories
Travel Under Way

Hells Half Acre, Revisited

Before kicking off my work day, we made the short hop on a windless morning past Stonington and over to Hells Half Acre. I was curious to see whether I’d love it as much on a second visit, and the answer was a resounding “Hell yes”. Windara was the only boat there, and I was […]

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Travel

Amateur Hour

So many of our cruising friends told us Seal Bay needed to be on our list, and we were excited to visit a new-to-us anchorage (my only “requirement” for this trip was to get in at least one new anchorage, so mission accomplished). Tucked into the Vinalhaven coastline, the deep water channel is relatively narrow […]

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Travel Under Way

Regaining our Sea Legs

Splash “We’re clear” – words I haven’t spoken in about nine months. As the mooring line slipped clear of our bow, a weight slipped clear of my soul. We motored out the channel and past the scattered lobster traps, then rolled out the jib for a lazy sail to Castine. There was patchy fog – […]