sy Timoneer

Timoneer is on her way back from Portland, Maine to Nantucket after a week of cruising with Ashley, Anna, Frances and Nicole. We left Nantucket for Provincetown on the tip of Cape Cod. After a couple of hours we had encounters with whales. We think we saw Fin, humpback and the very rare Atlantic Right whales.  We also encountered the first of the many lobster pots we were going to see in Maine. Little did we know that this was nothing compared to what Maine had installed for us. The evening was  beautiful and calm and perfect for a wakeboard. After dinner the girls went ashore and discovered why P-town is know as the gay capital of the US.

We left at 5am for the 100 mile trip to Portland. The weather just got better. Hardly a cloud was seen in the entire week. We were welcomed to Portland harbor passing the “most photographed” lighthouse in the US at Portland head. We tied up in the middle of the old port area of town which is full of life due to the large number of shops, bars and restaurants along the many docks and in the historic brick buildings on the few blocks inland.

In the morning we headed out in to the 1000’s of island’s Maine has scattered along its coast. First stop was Jewel and Cliff islands where the guests had a go on the  stand up paddle boards and Ashley was sporting enough to volunteer as a moving target for the water balloon slingshot. We then moved on to the tiny Seguin Is for a memorable tour of the lighthouse before the short dash across to the very picturesque town of Fort Popham. We anchored off the fort in the river and at times had 2.5 knots of current ripping by. The weather was perfect for a BBQ and Penny’s world famous ribs did not fail to please. The light, as the sun set, was amazing and then the starved mosquitoes arrived and forced us to retire for the night.

The next day we headed off to Damariscove Island but the swell and the lobster pots prevented us from stopping. The wind picked up and we headed off out to sea for a  lovely sail before turning around and heading in to Boothbay for the evening. This is a quaint little fishing town. In the morning the guests went off on a kayak tour and had perfect conditions. We headed off to Muscongus Bay in to the most dense concentration of lobster buoys we were to encounter. It was impossible for us not to run over some of them. The line cutter on the propeller shaft more than payed for itself that day. We finally had to stop off Hog Island and continue in the tender up the river to see the wreck of the Cora F Cressy, the rotting wooden  hull of a once glorious 5 masted schooner. With a crew member on Timoneer’s bow guiding us through the buoys we made our way back out of Muscongus bay to the equally congested anchorage off Allen Island. Perfect weather and fresh lobster on the BBQ made for another great evening. It was topped off with “smores” and watching a few sky lanterns drifting off into the darkening sky. (Thanks Bill)

We got underway for Monhegan Island and anchored off it around 9am. The guests went ashore to check out some of the 20 or more art studios and the museum at the lighthouse. After a couple of hours hiking they returned and we set sail for Portland. In the morning Ashley felt she had not accomplished all she had wanted to on the wakeboard and so went out for one last go and succeeded in crossing the wake a few times before having to head back to Timoneer to pack and hit the road.

Half an hour after Ashley and friends left, Nick and 4 friends arrived for a lunch cruise. There was no wind so we motored out through the islands. By the time they had finished lunch the wind picked up and we went out for a great sail reaching speeds of 13 knots before turning around and sailing back up the harbor to Portland.

A great week and none of Maine’s infamous fog to be seen!

JC

Comments are closed.