Sail to Rockland

This place is very hospitable. I called the harbormaster just before I got here to enquire about the availability of a mooring but he said they were all taken. But I arrived and decided to take a look myself. While I was motoring inside the mooring field I started talking to Jim on a motor boat who said that I could use his, so here I am.

Afterwards, he took me into the dock on his boat, and we ate dinner together at a family style restaurant.

Frenchboro, Lunt Harbor, Long island, Maine

This off shore Island is the opposite of where I just came from because there are zero tourists here. The lobster Industry is the main source of income.

There is a museum and gift shop here in which Carolyn kindly opened up for me after it had closed so that I could get a T-shirt.

This place does have a church.

There is no cell phone coverage here so I am using the wifi signal from the deli/dockside store that I plan on eating fresh lobster at tonight.

A pound and a half of fresh lobster with corn on the Cobb for $12 can't be beat.

There are some serious tides here. It may not be the Bay of Fundy but they range from 10 to 15 feet.

We had a great dinner

Biking the carriage roads in Arcadia National Park

Before air conditioning, the wealthy residents in New York used to spend their summers up here in Maine and they built special roads called carriage roads to ride their horse and buggy.

They have been kept for the tourists to walk or bike on.

There are also opportunities to paddle your canoe on the many lakes in the park.

Notice the ice sign that reminds us of how cold it gets in the middle of winter.

The beavers are evident with their cosy homes.

Northeast Harbor

The third town on Mount Desert Island, is Northeast Harbor and here is Main Street.

Adjacent the center of town is the harbor.

The fog can get quite dense up here in Maine and about 30 minutes after I took the photo, the sea fog started rolling in.

Arcadia National Park

This is the view of part of Arcadia National Park on the track down from Cadillac mountain. You can see the town of Bar Harbor in the distance.

There are blueberries wherever you walk.

This was Thunder Hole, where normally the sea surges up through a blowhole.

These climbers were abseiling down the cliffs.

Jordan Pond in the middle of the park is great for kayaking.

Bar Harbor

LL Bean provide a bus service on the island here that took me to the largest town called Bar Harbor.

It overlooks Frenchman Bay where you can catch a ferry, rent a boat or if you are brave enough, swim in the 55 degree water. Brrrrrr!

There is a well tended square in the middle of town with lots of shops.

Look closely at the next photo and see the reason for the line of people wanting ice cream queueing up out the door.

Lobster ice cream. Can you believe it. And it is not just red colouring. They actually put lobster in it.

Southwest Harbor

The island that am staying at is called Mount Desert Island and one of the three main towns here called Southwest Harbor, overlooks Somes Sound.

It is a quaint little town with a fishing village atmosphere and the best part of this place is this.....

It was the middle of the summer at the hottest part of the day and the sign was in the sun reading 92 degrees, whereas the high for the day was just 86.

Somesville

It was mostly a motoring day today to get to my Anchorage in Somesville.

I came through beautiful Somes Sound in Arcadia National Park to get here.

Tomorrow I hope to check out the area on the LL Bean bus.

Doughnuts anyone?

Today I sailed 50 miles from Boothbay to Isle au Haut in Arcadia National Park. About noon I came across this in the middle of nowhere.

I said doughnut but it is an inflatable raft about 6' X 6' that is tied behind a speed boat to go tubing. I couldn't just leave it out there so I tied a line to it with the intention of towing it. Well that didn't work because it was too heavy. I jumped on it and found where it was inflated and pulled the plug.

Well that still didn't work because there was more than one tube and I couldn't find the plug for the other tube. So I punctured the other tube and managed to haul the whole thing on board.

Phew! What a lot of effort that was. Now I have to find a place to dump it.

Boothbay

A lively little fishing village here in Maine where the lobster is king.

Pubs side by side with t-shirts for sale and whale watch tickets.

The town is easy to get around but if you want a ride you can catch a bus.

The harbor is where all the action happens.

The local church is also prominent.

Along with the memorial to the fishermen lost at sea.

Sail to Boothbay Harbor

I had a great sail today but I had to wait for noon because of the wind. The islands and rocky shores often with lighthouses, are beautiful here.

The scenery is gorgeous.

I am in a quiet little cove not far from downtown Boothbay with protection from the south winds that are supposed to kick up tomorrow.