At the end of July, I flew up to Portland, Maine, to join Lori, Mike, and Louie aboard S/V Trident. They have been on board together since June, making their way from the Chesapeake up to Maine. I joined them for the two-week cruise along the coast and islands of beautiful Maine, ending up with a visit to Acadia National Park (’cause, you know, goals).
Friday & Saturday – Austin to Portland to Boothbay Harbor
I flew into the Portland airport. After several unsuccessful tries, I finally found an UBER driver that agreed to take me the 90-minute drive to Boothbay Harbor. Mohammed was at first reluctant but finally agreed to drive me, and we had a great talk along the way.
The first night in Boothbay, we dinghied to the Lobsterman’s Wharf for the first of many lobster dinners I indulged in during my stay. In the morning we taxied to and from the grocery for provisions, loaded everything up, ready to head out the next day.
Sunday – Boothbay Harbor to Monhegan Island
We sailed to Monhegan Island. Its beautiful, sheltered harbor has only a few visitor mooring balls, available on a first-come-first-serve basis. We snagged one and enjoyed a great hike up each of the two hills – one led to the Monhegan Lighthouse, and the other to the Monhegan Brewing Company. I logged a geocache along the way, earning my Maine badge! 🙂 (’cause, you know, goals…) I even found a few pieces of sea glass where we beached the dinghy.
Monday – Monhegan Island to Matinicus Rock to Camden
Lori & Mike raised the dinghy and we dropped the mooring line early the next morning. Lori graciously added a long side trip out east to visit the remote Matinicus Rock, home to the largest colony of Atlantic Puffins in Maine, and Razorbills and Arctic Terns as well. We didn’t stay long, but I thoroughly enjoyed seeing these rare birds. Mike saw a shark, we think it was a blue shark, along the way.
After seeing the Puffins, we headed back to the northwest to the vibrant harbor of Camden and grabbed a mooring ball before sunset, for two nights.
Tuesday & Wednesday – Camden to Rockport to Isle au Haut
Camden Harbor has hundreds of moorings. We explored both sides of the harbor, checking out their wine bars, and bakeries. On our second day there we went ashore for a short walk, and ended up walking the 2 miles or so to neighboring Rockport. Along the way we stopped in to the Camden-Rockport Historical Museum. We grabbed a taxi back to Camden in time to clean up for a nice dinner ashore. The next morning we left Camden, and headed to the southernmost portion of Acadia National Park, an island called Isle au Haut. We anchored there for one night. We took a long dinghy ride to their town dock, and walked down the road to the Acadia National Park Ranger Station for our first official park visit. We visited the lovely Shore Shop Gifts store and bought some ditties, and then picked out 3 big lobsters from the local lobsterman to boil on the boat for dinner.
Thursday – Isle au Haut to Seal Cove to Burnt Island
Bad weather was in the forecast for the next few nights, so we all took one last dinghy ride to shore for a morning walk along the rocky beach and then we said goodbye to Isle au Haut and made our way to a sheltered anchorage. Along the way, we stopped and anchored in Seal Cove for lunch, a beautiful undeveloped place, but we didn’t spy any seals. After lunch, we headed to and anchored off of Burnt Island (near North Haven) for two nights. We were the only boat there, so we had the entire island, its trails and coastline, and a pair of osprey and bald eagle nests, to ourselves. We explored the island at the end of the first day, and spent a rainy second day aboard the boat, doing boat chores.
Friday & Saturday – Burnt Island to Southwest Harbor
After the storm passed, we moved farther up the coast, to Southwest Harbor, one of several harbors on the biggest island in Acadia National Park, Mount Desert Island. After we grabbed a mooring ball for the night, we headed to shore for dinner. We ended up at Beal’s Lobster Pier for my third lobster of the trip!
Sunday – Southwest Harbor to Somesville
The next morning, we moved on, exploring the Somes Sound, which cuts up the middle of Mount Desert Island. Somes Sound was formed by glaciers many years ago and the sea filled it in when the glaciers melted. It is a rare US coastal fjard, which is like a fjord, but not as deep or mineral-rich as those found in Scandinavia. Regardless, it was beautiful, and we made our way up to the top of the sound to anchor overnight outside of Somesville.
yacht to the left is the S/V Rebecca, owned by the CEO of H-E-B
It was a peaceful, beautiful spot. We got there early in the day, and we took the opportunity to go ashore and hop on the Island Explorer free Acadia Park Shuttle for a ride into Bar Harbor for some more provisions. The bus is a fantastic way to explore the entire park. It’s a well-run outfit with 11 different routes that you can take to visit different spots in the park.
Monday – Somesville to Northwest Harbor
The next day we headed back down Somes Sound, this time going into a slip at a marina, as there were some strong storms expected for the next few nights. Lori and I explored the downtown area, and for dinner we all walked over to the Nor’Easter Pound and Market for dinner. I had my fourth lobster of the trip!
Tuesday & Wednesday – Northwest Harbor to Winter Harbor
The next day was a rainy lay day, so we got up early to shower and do laundry. Then Lori and I donned our rain jackets and boots and took the Island Explorer bus to Sand Beach, hoping to find some sea glass. Sadly, we only found one jagged piece of recently broken brown glass. Oh, and a sand dollar! We walked the Ocean Path from Sand Beach to Otter Cliff, catching the bus to Jordan Pond, and then back to Northeast Harbor. We made the most of a rainy day and saw more of the beautiful Acadia park.
We all walked back up to mainstreet and enjoyed some beverages at the bar at Colonel’s Restaurant, then had another fine meal aboard the boat for the evening.
Thursday – Winter Harbor to Bar Harbor
The next morning, we had a lumpy sail over to the Schoodic Peninsula, getting a ball at the Winter Harbor Yacht Club. This area is home to the only portion of Acadia National Park that lies on the mainland of Maine. We went ashore, walked into town and caught the Island Explorer one more time for a ride around that portion of the park.
In the morning, Lori and I took Louie on a lovely walk down to the end of Grindstone Point and enjoyed the views. Back on the boat, we dropped the mooring and headed to Bar Harbor for the night, where we got one of the 5 mooring balls that the city of Bar Harbor maintains.
We went ashore, and I walked along the shore path and back to take in more of the beautiful sea views. We had drinks at Paddy’s Irish Pub and then went back to the boat for dinner aboard – my last night of the trip.
Friday – Bar Harbor to Bangor to Austin
Friday morning, Lori dinghied me over to the dock and we hugged goodbye. Another adventure come to a close. I grabbed a taxi & a bus to the Bangor airport, and then made it home at the end of a long travel day.
Maine calls itself ‘Vacationland.’ After spending 2 weeks there, I can see why. The Maine coastline is huge and full of rustic islands to explore. Acadia National Park is the 3rd most visited US National Park. The scenery is amazing. The free shuttles make it easy to get around without a car. The seafood is delicious. There is a nice mix of remote destinations and tourist destinations to explore. The summer weather is pleasant. The wildlife is abundant. I’ve never seen so many beautiful b0ats. This is definitely a must-see sailing destination.
Lori, Mike, and Louie were very gracious to let me join them on this part of their summer cruise. I had a really wonderful time. ❤
Sheila365 