Maine - Rockland & Devil’s Half Acre

Saturday, July 13 - The weather prediction was correct again with rain starting at 6 a.m. lasting until 8 a.m. After a nice 4 days of rest in Boothbay we left for Rockland, buddy boating with Gary and Renee. We released the lines from the mooring ball at 8:10, the sky was cloudy and the air was foggy but no rain. We headed ENE with winds behind us at 11 knots. We pulled the main sail out and motor-sailed to Rockland. We hit a small amount of rain mid-morning, slight drizzle and not enough to get the cockpit wet. We arrived at the anchorage location around 2:30 and circled the area for maybe 20 minutes to find the best spot to put the hook down. The water was deep and Kevin was trying to find a location that was less deep and not too close to the moored boats or lobster traps. In the end we had to choose an area with deep water away from traps and that meant pulling out the chain past 120 feet. The chain after 120 feet was twisted in the anchor locker and we spent the next 30 minutes hauling the remaining chain out of the anchor locker, lowering it overboard to remove the twists, then hauling it back onboard and into the anchor locker. Kevin then let out another 30 feet of chain to give the appropriate amount of scope. We finished anchoring and turned the motor off at 3:28. After quick showers we departed for shore along with Gary and Renee, docking at the public dinghy dock. We picked a great weekend as the North Atlantic Blues Festival was there! We didn’t hang out there (technically you needed to enter from the street and pay) instead we walked through the festival and went to a bar nearby for a beer where we could hear the music.

Sunday, July 14 - In the morning we went into town with Pepper to go to a local marine store, Hamilton Marine. After lunch on the boat we went for a long walk down Main Street and stopped in a outdoor equipment/clothing store and bought me a pair of Keen hiking sandals, not that I need more shoes but these are too comfortable to pass up and will replace my 30 year old Teva. On the way back we stopped at a brewery and listened to a duo that were very good. Their vocals were amazing and the volume of music was perfect as we could still hear each other talk even though we were right next to them. That night Gary and Renee came over for dinner and we made plans on getting to Mt Desert/Bar Harbor where Acadian National Park is located, and where Brian and Krista from Watergate Marina (they bought Dusty’s sailboat) have a house.

Devil’s Half Acre
Monday, July 15 - The anchor was pulled up at 9:10 and we circled around the harbor waiting for En El Viento to finish getting fuel and water. Got underway a little before 10 a.m. The sky was clear and no fog in the harbor but also no wind, our instruments read 3 knots. Once out of the harbor and in open water the wind picked up to 17 knots and we sailed on a starboard beam reach at 6.3 knots with a little help from the motor. From Rockland we went north of North Haven Island then cut through several smaller islands south of Stonington including Crotch Island, Green Island, Scot Island, Flea Island, Russ Island, Coots Islands and finally anchored at 2:33 in Hell’s Half Acre. Appropriate name given all the lobster pots we had to navigate around. People warned us about all the pots and up to this point I didn’t think it was that bad but now I understand! We also tacked a lot to go around the islands and pots, which we have not done since day sailing in Galveston bay, I was a bit rusty. Once anchored we took the dinghy for a little spin and walked on a very small rock island. The funny part is we did not hit any lobster pots with the sailboat but we snagged a line with the dinghy! No damage done, we saw it in time to stop the propeller before it tangled up and just had to unhook it from the prop.Baca selengkapnya