Maine, USA
Chartering in Maine: Camden, Maine to Camden, Maine
Contributed By: Michael Holt
Joe's flight was delayed several hours due to poor weather in New York. The original plan was that I would meet him at the Portland airport and we would drive from Portland to Camden together. Joe had made arrangements to charter an Ericson-38 for a week in mid-August, with Johanson Boatworks, in Camden Maine. There we would meet up with the rest of our crew, Joe's brother Mike, and three of Joe's friends Alex, Peter, and David. Peter's flight had been cancelled and we were unsure when he would arrive. But he had our cell phone number and would call if he could score a flight.
Joe's flight problems afforded me the opportunity to drive over to Portland's Harbor Museum. The museum is located on the grounds of Fort Preble at Spring Point. It was a clear day and the view, from the ramparts of the fort above Casco Bay, were the first of many beautiful sights I would see over the next week. I could have easily stayed a few more hours exploring the area, which included Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse. But time was running out and I had to make my rendezvous with Joe.
When we arrived at the marina, Joe and I quickly stowed our gear onboard Restless and the three of us headed to a local market to purchase some provisions. It didn't take us to long to discover that the prices for food items were a heck of a lot better then those at home, so we procured enough stores to cross the Atlantic.
We returned back to the boat and stowed our supplies in any available space we could. And now being a full strake lower in Camden's Inner Harbor, we were ready for Restless' checkout. Joe and I went over the various systems with Pete, the Johanson representative, while the other crew members wandered about the marina. She had the standard layout. A forward V-berth, aft quarter berth cabin on the port side, and a large settee that converted to a double. We found all shipboard systems in order, and scheduled an early departure time for the next day.
David, having discovered a CD player aboard, purchased twenty or so CD's and several bottles of wine, to heighten the crew's listening pleasure! The crew unanimously decided that dinner was to be the first official destination for the newly formed crew of the "Restless". We headed to a local waterfront eatery called "The Wharf". The food was good but our menu was limited because of our late arrival time, after 2100hrs.
On our first morning we awoke to an overcast sky and a forecast of 70% chance of showers. We got off the dock at 0930 and headed out into West Penobscot Bay. About an hour out, we received a phone call from Peter. He was en route to Camden. Joe redirected him to meet us at the Municipal Pier in Rockland. So we made our destination Rockland, which was good because up to this point we really had no particular itinerary. Once Peter and his gear were aboard we headed back out of Rockland Harbor and northeast for Pulpit Harbor, located on the northwest coast of North Haven Island. The winds were out of the southwest at force four and the sea was less than two feet. We spotted numerous seals and porpoises along our route, and we never tired in seeing them. After a two and a half-hour run we lowered our sails and started our approach into the harbor, recognizable by a high monolith like rock capped with an immense osprey nest. Our cruising guide stated "that a nest has crowned this rock for more than 150 years". We kept the nest, and its pedestal, on our starboard side and monitored our depth against the 13308 chart and located a suitable mooring. David passed cocktails and appetizers into the cockpit the second the kill switch was employed. The rest of us decided to take a swim. Well, it's not exactly the BVI. My swim lasted to my knees, the water temperature being 60f. We spent the remainder of day enjoying the view and listening to Peter's reading of the "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, now a tradition on any future charter.
It was at the end of our first day that I realized that we were going to have a great week. The crew had already fallen into their positions. Joe, whom I met on a Bermuda crossing a few years back, was doing a fine job as our skipper. Peter took over the task of navigator. David became our cook; Julia Child couldn't have been a better choice! Mike and Alex filled in as helmsmen and deckhands. And I, because it was the only billet still vacant, was appointed First Mate.
We sailed southwest along the north Coast of North Haven Island to the entrance of Fox Islands Thorofare. The entrance is well marked but does have some hazards. Drunkard Ledge and Fiddler Ledge, marked by a huge granite monument, guard the entrance. We never did discover the history of the monument. The Thorofare connects West Penobscot Bay to East Penobscot Bay and narrows considerably. We motored to the town of North Haven and tied-up at the J.O. Brown & Son Boatyard, located east of the ferry dock. We had lunch at a small eatery in town, bought more provisions, and loaded up the boat. We departed North Haven with our boot strip near where our keel should be and headed eastward to East Penobscot Bay.
Once on the bay we hoisted our sails and enjoyed a nice sail making our way to Eggemoggin Reach. Peter, our navigator, took multiple hand bearings during the entire passage, and constantly fixed our position. We confirmed Peter's handiwork against the boat's GPS. He was dead on every time.
While sailing through the Reach we passed a sloop, about thirty-feet in length, to starboard hard aground just west of the suspension bridge that connects Deer Isle to the rest of Maine. Nobody was aboard and she appeared to have several anchors out. Suddenly the two Cruising Guides, latest edition Coast Pilot, and chart plotter downloads, no longer seem like overkill. Not to mention all the charts Joe and I purchased prior to the trip, including one of the Irish Sea, just in case.
Center Harbor is my notion of a perfect anchorage. This little haven had every vessel I've ever hoped to own moored in it. They were all there... Hinckley, Morris, and Cape Dory... Schooners, Cutters, and sloops galore! As far as I could tell there were only two moorings available as we entered the harbor. Ours and the Cherubini's, which I was sure would show up to make this picture complete.
Restless was provisioned for a circumnavigation, but once again all hands headed ashore to eat. We had a wonderful, no phenomenal, dinner, at the family home of Bob and Susan, yet two more friends of Joe's. Bob and Susan were on vacation with their young son, Henry. They were kind enough to provide a lobster feast with all the trimmings for our entire crew. We showered, drank, and did laundry at their house, then disappeared into the night. Thanks guys, and little Henry too!
Sadly we headed out of Center Harbor, leaving Bob, Susan, and little Henry behind. But we couldn't let emotion get in the way. We were on a mission. "We had to buy more provisions", and the only place to do this was in the town of Blue Hill.
The winds were very light, but the current was with us. So we kept the sails up and took turns at the helm and inched our way up Blue Hill Bay. The boat was making so little headway at one point, that some of our crew dove over the side and did laps around the boat. This must have been a breech of etiquette in those parts, because not soon after the first swimmer hit the water, that we were visited by a local waterman. He came abreast of us and gave us a look over. Observing that the two naked swimmers couldn't possibly conceal any lobsters bid us a "goodbye" and left.
When we boarded Restless we were told to avoid the lobster buoys. This is akin to telling Tiger Woods to avoid the grass. The lobster pots are everywhere. The little floats, painted in every imaginable color, peppered the water. We snagged three pots during the week and considered ourselves lucky! I'll never complain about the crab pots on the Chesapeake again!
Blue Hill harbor is divided into an outer and inner harbor. Strict observance of the buoys is a necessity. We made our way into the inner harbor but could not locate a mooring. We circled until we found a suitable anchorage in about twenty-two feet of water and set a bow and stern anchor to check our swing.
Mike, Alex, and David piled into the dinghy and headed for the Blue Hill town wharf. Alex would return with the dinghy to take the rest of us in. After a twenty-minute wait, for what should have been a five-minute trip, we started to wonder why Alex had not returned. We couldn't see the wharf from our location. Thirty-minutes went by before Alex's return. We knew our landing would be a difficult one when he hailed, "Get your boots". He explained that the tide was out and the dinghy could not make it to the dock, and that we would have to wade in. Alex was telling no tales. We motored in to within one hundred yards of the shore and waded in through the blackest, stickiest, most pungent mud I ever care to be acquainted with.
We walked around Blue Hill, which is named for the nine hundred-foot plus hill covered with blueberry patches that stands within the town's limits. I am told that this hill was the inspiration for Robert McCloskey's children's book Blueberries for Sal. We broke off into various groups and went about the business of shopping, getting cash from the ATM, or making phone calls home to our wives and family. There is a fair amount of things to see and do here, besides filling your new boots with black mud. We saw and did none of them. We walked up K2 for dinner and by the time we descended down, from the restaurant, darkness had already set in. "Provisions... Provisions... Provisions" was David's cry! David, who should have been a purser for the White Star Line, marched us to Merrill & Hinckley's market to stock up. The six of us, with bags in each hand, made our way down to the wharf to discover that the mud flats were now completely covered with, of all things, water. One problem, our dinghy was tied to a tree halfway down the shoreline. This area was now inaccessible. Alex and Peter climbed down a rocky ledge in pitch dark and recovered the dinghy. We ferried our beloved provisions and ourselves back to the Restless.
Finally some good winds! Restless sailed at a steady six-knots down Blue Hill Bay to an area just north of Naskeag Harbor. Here we hove-to and ferried Alex and Mike ashore. They were unable to stay the entire week. We said our good-byes and started to make our way towards Swan's Island. In route we flagged down a passing lobsterman and purchased six lobsters, which David prepared for lunch. As we neared Swan's Island fog started to roll in and the wind tapered off. We maintained a diligent radar watch, a requirement in these parts, and sounded the proper fog signal. Two hours later the fog cleared and the wind picked up. We made good headway against a strong current and rounded Cranberry Isles south of Mount Desert Island. Steering a course for Northeast Harbor we hailed the harbormaster on the VHF and requested a mooring. We docked at a mooring float, which was twenty-yards from the public dock. Will and Michelle, friends of Joe's, met us at Northeast Harbor. Later we went into Bar Harbor for dinner and drinks.
The next morning we had breakfast in town at a restaurant called the "Twin Cats" then headed to the Hinckley Boatyard, for a prearranged tour of the facility. Charles St. Clair was our guide and walked us through the plant. We were educated on the SCRIMP process; the system employed on all Hinckley hulls. This method uses layers of Kevlar/E-glass mat, which are combined with carbon and then dried, vacuum bagged, and permeated with resin. These boats are remarkable to say the least. The workers can only be described as craftsmen. We headed to the Hinckley Ships Store, at the end of the tour, and purchased some tee shirts and caps.
We went to Acadia National Park later that afternoon and hiked around one of the many trails, stopping at many of the vistas along the way to soak in the scenery. A light rain started to fall towards the end of our trek.
Our goal was Stonington or Deer Isle, a short sail from Northeast Harbor. Restless' complement now included the addition of Will and Adam. Adam and Kathy, Joe's wife arrived the night before and Kathy decided to spend the day with Michelle bird watching in Acadia. Because our destination was so close at hand and the sailing conditions so perfect, we decided to take Restless out on the Gulf of Maine. With force-5 winds out of the west, we sailed close hauled. Restless found her groove and started to behave the way her designer intended. The true sailors among the crew sat silent and smiled. This is why we do this, I kept thinking to myself as the white foam curled off our bow. The skies were clear and the air grew colder the further out we went. Then it happened! Our helmsman"me" ran Restless directly over the one loan lobster buoy in these open waters. Actually there were hundreds. Glancing over the stern and hoping for the buoy to surface, I turned her into the wind and ordered "all sheets lose" but it was too late. All hands peered over the side and offered suggestions as to how best to resolve our new problem.
A nearby lobsterman noticed our dilemma, they always do, and motored over to our position. He called over in that Maine tongue, "You're fouled on the toggle". This information we had. What we needed was advice on how to remove ourselves from the "toggle". The line had wrapped itself around our wing keel several times. Joe donned a wetsuit and dove under the boat and successfully removed the snag. The lobsterman, who assisted us, thanked us for expelling the energy to save the trap. The crew felt pride in these comments. Joe just felt wet and cold.
We pointed Restless towards Deer Isle and the mainland. Steering a course that paralleled the eastern coast of the Isle Au Haunt, we threaded our way through the various islands to Deer Island Thorofare. Here things get tricky if you're under sail and winds are out of the west. We dropped our sails and fired up the iron spinnaker. Motoring passed the town of Stonington one realizes where all those lobster pots come from. The harbor is jammed packed with commercial fishing and lobster boats. According to our cruising guide, A Cruising Guide to the Maine Coast by Hank and Jan Taft, there is a local ordinance giving commercial fishing boats first choice for moorings, passenger vessels are next in line, and pleasure boats last. Apparently, Stonington is not concerned about tourism.
We contacted Billings Diesel and Marine Service on channel nine and reserved a slip. Billings is a working boatyard, which caters to the fishing fleet. We were assigned a dock and as we rounded the, stockade like, bulkhead that protects the marina from the wake of passing boats in the Thorofare, we saw a dock boy waiting to assist us. We said our good-byes to Will and Peter who caught a small plane out of the local airfield back to Bar Harbor. Kathy rented a car and drove to meet us. She wanted to make the final day's passage back to Camden with us.
We walked into the town of Stonington, a much greater distance by road then by water. The town is at sea level at the water's edge but quickly gains in vertical height a few short blocks away. The main street is lined with B&B's and small restaurants. There was a large building with a painted facade that read "Opera House". An unlikely place for "Lucia di Lammermoor" but somebody has to be watching these things. The night sky was brilliant and we saw several shooting stars and a possible orbiting satellite. We returned to Restless, for what would be our last evening aboard. We sat in the cockpit with drinks in our hands, we contemplated the past week and started to plan our next charter.
Our final day aboard found us crossing our course, for the first time all week. We motored westward through Fox Island Thorofare. We hoisted our sails near the mid-channel marker at the mouth of the Thorofare. Several windjammers were there to escort us on our final leg. We headed northward toward Camden Harbor and our journey's end.
We stood, by our cars, in the parking lot of Wayfarer Marine, each promising to do this again next year. Driving home, my car loaded with surplus provisions, I thought about our promise "... to do it all again next year... ". I've heard that exact expression so many times in the past. I have chartered out of numerous locations with as many crews. Never did a trip repeat itself. That is why I love it so... .
Maine Charter Planning
Charter Company
Johanson Boatworks
RR 2, Box 4517A
Camden, ME 04843(207) 236-7021Fax: (207) 30-0846
Peter & Mary Johanson
Required Charts
* NOAA Chart 13302 Penobscot Bay and approaches
* NOAA Chart 13305 Penobscot Bay
* NOAA Chart 13308 Fox Islands Thorofare
* NOAA Chart 13312 Frenchman & Blue Hill Bays & approaches
* NOAA Chart 13318 Frenchman Bay and Mount Desert Island
Suggested Reading
* A Cruising Guide to the Maine Coast by Hank and Jan Taft, Curtis Rindlaub (ISBN 0-9649246-1-7
* Eastport to Cape Cod Coast Pilot
Navigational Considerations
Maine is not for the novice navigator. Be prepared to navigate against strong currents with large tidal changes in fog. Lobster pot buoys are everywhere. A wetsuit, snorkel, and face mast should be included with your gear.
* Knowledge of anchoring procedures is a must.
* Bring a hand-bearing compass with you to take fix your position. Don't rely on electronic gear alone.
Weather Reports
You can get NOAA weather reports on VHF WX channels 1, 2, and 3. Canadian weather forecast can also be picked up on VHF.