Prospect Island to Black Island

Thursday, July 25 - This was not a fun day. We left Roque Island at 9:50 a.m. bound for Winter Harbor with fog so dense it felt like rain. The cockpit was drenched and water was dripping down from the Bimini. The temperature gauge read 60 degrees but the moisture in the air added another layer of chill. We could only see 100 to 150 feet in front of us and spent 7.5 hours dodging lobster pots. I sat in the front of the cockpit by the window, facing starboard and twisted to port, watching for pots and Kevin was at the helm zigzagging the boat to avoid hitting any. Around 2:30 we attempted an abort to an unspecified location but the area was small and so littered with lobster pots that we could not find enough space to anchor, much less for 2 boats. We went on for another 2.5 hours to Prospect Harbor where we found many boats moored and a building that looked to be a small marina or lobster house, we couldn’t exactly make it out as the fog was still very dense. We had to make 3 attempts to get the anchor to set properly and finally anchored at 5:27 p.m. We were both wet, chilled, and a bit grumpy!

Black Island
Friday, July 26 - Sun! After 3 days of cloudy, wet weather it was a welcome sight. We were now able to see the anchorage and there were houses and a lighthouse on land. I felt like we had returned to civilization after not seeing any other boats, houses or towns for 4 days. We left Prospect Harbor at 8:50 a.m. The temperature had warmed up and we wore light weight jackets and pants. After getting past a cluster of lobster pots we were able to pull out the sails and sail on a starboard tack with about 14 knots of wind. Between 9:26 and 10:55 we sailed on and off for a total of an hour without the motor, as the wind grew and died down again. After 10:45 we motor-sailed staying around 6 knots and anchored between Black and Opechee Islands at 1:45. It was a very calm and peaceful anchorage with islands on all sides and Mt. Desert Island in the background. We went ashore on a few beaches and learned that Black Island was donated in December 2023 to the Maine Coast Heritage Trust and you can hike and camp on it. We saw a seal on a rock when we were exploring in the dinghy but he quickly jumped off when he heard us. Another one popped up near our boat early evening and was checking us out! We also saw 2 bald eagles in a nest high up in a pine tree, on a branch that rose a few feet above all the other trees on the island.もっと詳しく