Portland, Maine

Portland
Monday, August 12 - We left the mooring field and Boothbay for the second and last time at 8:40 a.m. In the harbor winds were light at 8.5 knots but once out in the open it picked up to 18 knots. There was a lot of fetch with 2 foot waves making a very uncomfortable ride. We had the mainsail out but it was too rough for the jib. By noon the waves were smaller, there was still a good amount of fetch but not as uncomfortable as the morning. As we passed Halfway Rock Light at 1:00 p.m. we pulled out the jib and sailed on a close haul port tack. That helped to pick up our speed to 6.6 knots. We anchored in the Portland harbor at 2:50 p.m. It was Renee’s birthday so we went out to dinner, first attempt was Eventide Oyster Company but the wait was at least an hour and half. We ended up at the East Ender. The downstairs was a bar and for the restaurant they took us upstairs that was behind a curtain. We were a bit skeptical as no one was there! The food turned out very good, it is a locally sourced establishment and the vibe was very pleasant, soft lighting and nice music that we could easily hear each other talk. Then we walked to a gelato shop for dessert and went through a fun part of town with lots of restaurants and shops. As we were walking back to the dinghy the guys got a few blocks in front of Renee and I and we thought it would be a hoot to stop at a bar and see how long it took them to notice we were not behind them! We stoped at one that had outdoor seating, got a drink and just as we sat down they came walking by with their hands in the air! It was quite funny! Kevin said “find my friends” showed we were at a Flatbread cafe then the credit card alert came up as RiRa next door 😂

Tuesday, August 13 - We took the dinghy to Fort Gorges, an abandoned fort built between 1861 and 1864. Its initial purpose was to guard against threat of foreign naval powers provoked by the War of 1812. However it was never used in battle nor were troops ever stationed there, by the time it was finished it was considered obsolete after the Civil War due to technical advances in military equipment. It was used as a storage facility during WW I and WW II. The US Gov’t turned it over to the city of Portland in 1960 and is now a public park. It’s on Hog Island Ledge, accessible by boat or kayak only and is not being maintained. Efforts are in place to try to raise funds and keep it on the National Register of Historic Places.
Next we went across the bay to a rock island looking for seals and found some! They were small and hard to see because you can’t get too close, but we could see them on the rock and playing in the water.
Ended the excursion going ashore and having lunch at $3 Deweys. Story behind the name is there used to be a brothel nearby where sailors would come in and for $1 they could get a “looky “, $2 a “feely” and $3 a “Dewey”! Later in the afternoon we went to Maine Yacht Center for diesel and water in preparation of leaving early the next morning, and talked to Christian that evening.もっと詳しく