Our Summer Cruise 2018

Sunday, July 15

This Photo Aptly Describes the Weather Today

Not a fine morning but we have a few jobs to do; shopping being one of them as the cupboards are getting bare. We dinghied around into the real Bar Harbor and tied up at the Town Dock so we didn't have to carry things as far.

The Real Bar Harbor - Surprisingly Few Recreational Boats, Mostly Lobster Boats

Couldn't Resist Taking this One for Mo'

Bar Harbor has an excellent Hannaford supermarket where we ended up with way more than we really wanted so it was good we were closer.

That was our big excitement for the day as we spent the rest reading, doing some blog writing, and editing photographs.

Monday, July 16

Bar Harbor to NE Harbor - 23nm

Just Like Yesterday But Denser!!

The Other Side of That Island About 30 Minutes Later

Wonder Who Lives Here?? - Beautiful Location Near Bar Harbor

Not much to report on our 20 odd mile trip today as we couldn't see a thing a couple of miles from Bar Harbor. Visibility was very low; in one place passing between a red and green buoy only 400 yards apart and not seeing either one. Radar screen and a vigilant watch were called for this morning.

As usual at Northeast Harbor we wanted to be on a float versus a mooring ball and found a vacant one for us to tie to one side with Carrie Rose on the other. Also, as usual, the NEH staff were messed up and thought someone was already on this float so we had to move to the extreme east floats with all the lobster boats that always sit idling for hours at a time - not good!

We dinghied across to town and ran into Nick and Mary Ann, some acquaintances who keep their trawler in Brooklin. They spend a lot of time in NEH! Laundry was a priority this afternoon for Judy while I did some work on the boat.

A communal meal tonight on Sir Tugley Blue of chicken quesadillas, bean quesadillas, black beans, rice, and salad.

Fed up with the lobster boats, we moved back to our original float - the next float along was the occupied one - duh! Carrie Rose joined us.

Tuesday July 17

The fog didn't dissipate overnight but we had jobs to do, more washing so we dinghied in to the dock and were passed by a familiar looking woman rushing off to her yoga class - the mat was the clue. By chance we were going back to the dinghy at the same time she was coming back - it was Lisa! We met her and her husband, Bill, at the Armdale Yacht Club in Halifax three summers ago and again in NE Harbor after the Three Amigos crossed from Shelburne, NS. They are from Harbor Springs and are friends of Dean and Bavaria who we have cruised with in the North Channel - small world!! We spent a good hour chatting with them about our cruises last year and plans for this year.

Lisa and Bill on "Changing Course" - A 48' Kadey Krogen

We spent some time at the Library, donating a bag of books and picking up some new ones, and browsing the stores of NE Harbor. We found a good little Ships Store we had never seen (behind the hardware store) and found a few things we needed. Unfortunately, the used and collectible book store in NEH is closing down but they had a 50% off sale and I found a good watercolor book for $10.

Would Look Much Better on a Sunny Day - Still a Great Location

We modified our plan to go to Somes Sound tomorrow based on the foggy weather and decided to head for Orcutt Harbor at the top of the Eggemoggin Reach in Penobscot Bay.

Wednesday, July 18

NE Harbor to Orcott Harbor - 30nm

Wouldn't you know it; we woke to sunny skies and a good breeze! But we decided to continue with our plan and had a good cruise from Mt. Desert Island through Casco Passage before turning NW.

The Sailboats Were Making the Most of the Wind Today.

Carrie Rose Approaching the Deer Isle Bridge

The bridge was built in 1939 to connect the mainland with Little Deer Isle that makes up a segment of the larger Deer Isle. It replaced an antiquated ferry system and opened up the Isle for tourism opportunities. Its construction used extensive prefabrication and some innovative engineering of the cable system. Unfortunately, it suffered some of the wind-induced problems and associated damage that caused the earlier collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and extensive modifications were needed to rectify the damage and preclude future issues.

Pumpkin Island Light

Just As we Made the Turn Into Orcutt Harbor, Sammy Showed up!

We went way into the harbor and anchored in 10' of water at low tide with just a couple of local boats on mooring balls. There was quite a bit of activity going on with larger fish feeding on the small fish, seals hunting for their dinner, and eagles soaring overhead. We probably saw more wildlife here than anywhere else to date.

Herring Jumping To Escape Bigger Fish - Possibly Striped Bass?

Just Missed this Eagle Taking Fish Next to Boat

Enjoying a Cuppa

Orcutt is a very scenic anchorage and we would rank it higher than in the Cruising Guide.

At Sundown

With the sun going down and fish still jumping, I tried fishing for a while and got into something bigger than planned with just a light line on to try and catch some herring. I played it for a few minutes but there was no way my 4lb line was going to hold for long and it didn't. I'd like to think it was a striped bass as that would be a good possibility in the area. I now have registered as a saltwater angler in Maine - cost $1!

Thursday, July 19

Just another short run today and fine weather.

Orcott Harbor to Holbrook Harbor - 17.5nm

Just a couple of sunny hours and we were at a new location which is a narrow channel between Holbrook Island and the Mainland. The Wildlife Sanctuary on the Island maintains one heavy mooring ball which Carrie Rose used and we anchored nearby. The Island was owned by a woman who donated it to Maine to preserve it as a Sanctuary.

The Sanctuary has a good dock so we dinghied ashore to walk the trails around the Island and ran into a group of children led by some interns from the University of Maine who gave us a map which helped considerably.

The trials are through a mix of woods and meadows giving access to several beaches.

One of Several Varieties of Mushrooms in the Woods

The Island has widely different geology with very rocky shorelines on the west and sand/cobblestone beaches on the east. The rocky side is much more scenic!

A Rare Group Photo!

Friday, July 20

Like a pond today and sunny as well as we left for Belfast and a weekend of music at the Maine Celtic Celebration. The mission of the Maine Celtic Celebration is to renew the rich Celtic history, culture and hospitality found along the coast of Maine. The 3-day celebration is planned as a "donation only" event. No admission to the shows or workshops is charged and visitors are free to donate what they feel the event is worth.

Even though this is a celebration of Celtic culture, all people are encouraged and welcomed all to attend. Belfast, ME and the surrounding area was founded and built by the Celtic people of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Isle of Man, Cornwall and Brittany. John Miller named Belfast after his hometown after he won a flip of the coin. The heritage and culture continues today in the Celebration.

Holbrook Harbor to Belfast - 10nm

With Dean leading the way, we were soon in Belfast tied up to the Town fuel dock to fill our tanks up with diesel. We managed to get 110 gallons in but will wait until the end of the season to do our calculations on overall fuel usage. So far, it doesn't appear that the addition of the prop cage has had a significant impact on our fuel consumption. RPMs at our normal cruising speed of 7.5 to 8.0 knots have increased about 200 rpm - not too bad considering the advantages.

Our water maker has been getting a good workout since we topped up with city water in St. Andrews three weeks ago. Since then, we have relied on the water we produce and it is noticeably better tasting and very soft. Makes great coffee and tea! Another advantage is we do not have to be too frugal. The additional solar panel has been doing its job very well and on a sunny day, we can easily keep up with our usage. Even on a cloudy day, we can come close (90+%) and just top the battery bank up the next day when it is sunny. If not, when we make water every couple of days.

Although the slips are relatively expensive at Belfast at $2.25 a foot per day, they are in good condition and much better protected than the moorings Anchoring would be possible but exposure may be high and a long dinghy ride in. Water is available so we took the opportunity to wash the boat down well to get the salt off and dry it. Electricity is an extra option at $10 a day but we decided to forego it and seen how well our solar did.

We wandered around town checking out the stores and, by chance, went into a coffee shop we had breakfast at two years ago when we left Brooklin to drive home with Stephen, Fran, Bob and Jan. Dean and Charlotte had already found it so we enjoyed a break with them for a while before just getting a taste of the Festival listening to a pipe band for half an hour.

Many buildings in the downtown area date to the 1800s; one store has the unique claim of the oldest shoe store in continuous operation in the USA - in business since 1832

Charlotte had researched the best restaurant in Belfast and so we cleaned up and headed to out to eat at

where we enjoyed an excellent Italian meal with dessert after at the Wild Cow Ice Cream Parlor - delicious.

Saturday, July 21

With our schedule all planned out for today from the Celtic Celebration Program we headed just a short distance away to the main stage on the Commons. It was predicted to be a hot day and it was - in the 80s, but with an umbrella and lots of sunscreen we survived. While we were primarily interested in the musical aspects of the Celebration, numerous other activities are included in the weekend's activities including a 5K Run, Heavy Highland Games, a Celtic Dog Show, an Artisan Show, children's activities, and a church service. Needless to say, we had a full day alternating between the main stage on the Common to the Steamboat Flats tent. Photographs tell the story.