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 […]
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 […]
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 – […]
I’ve been sailing for most of my life. I started out sailing sunfish on Lake Wequaquet on Cape Cod, later graduating to faster, more tender boats like the Sidewinder 16 that Melissa not-so-affectionately named Miss Manners. Eventually we bought our first keelboat – a 1974 O’Day 23 Sorcerer’s Apprentice – named for the many buckets […]
With provisions secured, we had a wonderful sail through the Deer Isle thorofare, past the lighthouse on Mark Island and over to Calderwood Island. We anchored between Calderwood and Burnt Islands just in time for golden hour. There were more boats there than we were expecting, but we found a great spot to drop the […]
Anchored off Hells Half Acre in the Merchants, I realized I’ve run out of adjectives for the beauty of this place. Hells Half Acre is a small, granite island with a little forest, wild flowers, wild raspberries and a surprising number of birds. The Maine Island Trail Association maintains three primitive camp sites, and small […]
Tuesday morning, we were up early to make the hop down to Little Cranberry Island. Windara felt super sluggish, and we were down about a knot from where our boat speed should be as we motored in the morning calm. We were worried that it might be an engine issue (we’re just past the 4,000 […]
After work, we hauled anchor and raised the sails, bound for the anchorage behind Bar Island. The wind went light, and we eventually had to turn on the engine in order to make it before dark. Normally night sailing isn’t an issue for us, but with the carpet of lobster buoys all along the Maine […]
We left Belfast as the breeze filled in and raised sail off Turtle Head at the end of Islesboro, beating our way to the Eggemoggin Reach. It was a perfect reach through the Reach, and we managed to avoid the minefield of lobster traps. The scenery was amazing, Windara was fast, and it was one […]
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 […]