To Maine and back...

[Joesaila]

Hoping to do a July sail trip to Maine. The plan is to leave Friday afternoon and sail all night and arrive Saturday afternoon at a yet to be picked island. There will be two couples and both wives are apprehensive. We have done a bit of sailing together, but not an overnight trip. Any suggestions on good places to stop if the weather kicks up? I googled it am really impressed w all the possibilities. It will be a 10 day trip.

Oh yeah, we will be leaving from Boston.

[klem]

There are a few options but if the weather is really crummy, they are not great.

Gloucester- you will be passing close by anyways and probably there around dark.
Rockport- A little less out of the way than Gloucester but pretty rolly.
Newburyport- Kind of off of your track unless you go through the Annisquam Canal. In rough weather, you can't get across the bar safely.
Isles of Shoals- This is a pretty good place to stop except in a NW breeze. It is on your way which is good.
Portsmouth/Kittery-A good option if it is blowing NW and you can't do Isles of Shoals.
Biddeford Pool- This can be extremely crowded but a decent option. I don't know that I would want to try to pick my way through the boats in the dark though.
After that, you are at the entrance to Portland Harbor.

There are a few other places that you can go in but they are not ideal in the dark and they won't necessarily have space. I have done the trip from Gloucester to the midcoast overnight many times and it is very straightforward. For the most part, the harbors that I listed are not too hard to enter in the dark, you might be anchoring in slightly deeper water though. Once it gets dark, you are probably better off finishing the trip unless crew morale really suffers.

[cruisingmom]

Are they apprehensive about the sailing or the sleeping on the boat??
So many great places. I recommend the TAFT guide . Cruising Coastal New England , or something like that.( borrow it from the library.)
Are you looking for a remote island or some civilization??

Not too many stops between Gloucester and Portsmouth.
Isles of Shoals is charming,crowded on weekend.
Newburyport and Portsmouth, also, though the currents are quite strong.( no swimming!)

Near Portland , we love Chebegue. charming .Check out the bicycle man.Loans out old Schwinns for free. Lovely old INN, charming walks, golf course. Moorings near the Inn or on the back side of the island. 4 stars.

Stay away from Jewell except during the week, recommend a day stop there. Too many people drag. Party boats on weekend. Great hikes though.

Eagle Island good day stop. Home of Admiral Perry, North Pole explorer. Great history.

The Basin is nice up the New Meadows. Watch the rock in the middle
Sebasco Harbor Resort.

There is of course, Boothbay Harbor. Damariscove ( narrow).
The weather can turn, don't recommend heading too far north as you need to head home. If the crew is apprehensive, esp with Fog probable in July,better to have some sitting out weather.
Have fun!!!

[paulk]

If you add another couple - or a couple of college students - you'll have six crew, which will enable you to have two people on watch all the time, with two hours on, four off. This should go a long way to calm any spousal worries. The additional crew don't have to stick around any longer than the weekend. If you head to someplace like Portland (Chebeague, Jewell, et al. ) they'll be able to get back to Boston easily, after having had a lovely weekend with you. We took a similar trip last summer, starting by going through the Cape Cod canal with an early tide and than overnighting in Gloucester. We changed crew there, watered and fueled up, and headed to Deer Isle the following morning. Arrived there about 12 lovely hours later and sailed through the moored schooner fleet while they were setting up for breakfast in the lifting mist. Simple and delightful trip.

[mgiguere]

Sounds Like Fun:

We have done the trip to Maine (Boothbay) a number of times. It's 110 miles from Marblehead, so if you leave from Boston in the early morning, you will arrive in Boothbay after sunrise. You will go by Gloucester, and if the weather is forecasted to be bad, you can easily stop there without going out of your way. From there on, all the potential stops will be progressively more inconvenient, but in July, the odds are in your favor. Of course, at that time of year, (if it's late July) your biggest challenge will be the fog in Maine. Radar is advised if you can. Anyway, sounds like a great trip. Good Luck.

[sailingdog]

Joe-

do you have The Cruising Guide to the New England Coast?

If not, order it now...

[catamount]

I have made the trip from Marblehead to Boothbay (or vice-versa) several times, and the one time we stopped enroute was at the Isles of Shoals.

Bringing a couple extra crew is not a bad idea, especially if you have not done an overnight trip before. Portland would be easiest for them to get transport back to Boston (good train and bus service).

[Joesaila]

I have done some overnight trips but the two ladies have not. I think its a go... I have been in Gloucester a couple of times, Rockport too but always though Isle of Shoals questionable from what I've seen on Active Capt. Nice to know though. From what I've heard, to should not be difficult [3 hr. tour?? ] Worse case, we'll leap frog during day time if the weather is questionable. Thanks for the tip on the sailing guide Dog, I followed yr link and got it!

Casco Bay looks enticing! The Chebegue area too looks like a great area. The free bike note, super.
We are looking for seclusion, peace and quiet...so this is great info.

How often does the ferry run? I hate the noise and wake they create. It does not look too difficult to avoid the ferry travel route though.

We do have radar, wouldn't be without it esp. in Maine. Thanks!

[catamount]

Duncan and Fenn's Cruising Guide to the New England Coast is good, but the best cruising guide for Maine is Taft and Rindlaub's Cruising Guide to the Maine Coast

[sailingdog]

Originally Posted by catamount

Duncan and Fenn's Cruising Guide to the New England Coast is good, but the best cruising guide for Maine is Taft and Rindlaub's Cruising Guide to the Maine Coast

Yes, but the former is far more useful, as it covers Joe's home sailing area as well.