But fortunately for us, it cleared up rather quickly and we were able to dingy onto the shore of nearby Vinalhaven Island. We tied up to some rocks and went for an energizing two and a half mile hike through the Huber Preserve in Seal Bay. The well marked trail loops took us through forests and fields and along the rocky coastline. Archie got to be off leash the whole time.
The only other people we saw were a young couple with a three month old baby. They were on family leave for three months. This New York couple was lucky enough to be able to spend their time bonding with the baby in this beautiful part of Maine!
The Maine Cruising Guide gave Frenchboro four stars and raved about what a great stop it was with wonderful hiking, a small village and even a little restaurant to get the freshest lobster and clams around. So it was an easy decision to choose Frenchboro! We arrived three hours later and entered the long, rather narrow and well-protected harbor. We grabbed what looked to be a good mooring and tied up only to discover that we were hovering very close to a lobster pot. The proximity was nerve wracking and we were afraid we would get tangled up in the lobsters pot’s lines so we moved a bit further out to another mooring.
We were close to a very friendly cruising couple from Newport aboard the most beautiful red 51 foot Hinckley yawl.
We saw some other boaters on the dock and asked them if anything was open and they explained that much of the operation there had been destroyed during a fierce storm last January. It looked as if it would be a while before anything was functioning again.
Returning to Zendo, we had lunch before taking off for our next stop at 12:45.
The Maine Cruising Guide gave Frenchboro four stars and raved about what a great stop it was with wonderful hiking, a small village and even a little restaurant to get the freshest lobster and clams around. So it was an easy decision to choose Frenchboro! We arrived three hours later and entered the long, rather narrow and well-protected harbor. We grabbed what looked to be a good mooring and tied up only to discover that we were hovering very close to a lobster pot. The proximity was nerve wracking and we were afraid we would get tangled up in the lobsters pot’s lines so we moved a bit further out to another mooring.
We were close to a very friendly cruising couple from Newport aboard the most beautiful red 51 foot Hinckley yawl.
We took the dinghy (or skiff as they call it in Maine) into the rather dilapidated dock and were a bit chagrined to see that nothing was open and the little restaurant looked like it had been closed for quite some time. There was a sign with a QR code instructing us how to pay for the mooring on Venmo which of course we did. It is clearly the honor system around here.
We saw some other boaters on the dock and asked them if anything was open and they explained that much of the operation there had been destroyed during a fierce storm last January. It looked as if it would be a while before anything was functioning again.
We walked around the area and saw that even some of the nearby houses seemed to be empty. The head of the harbor was about a half mile away. We could see a couple of buildings that made up the village there but we chose not to go and instead headed back to Zendo.
That evening we had leftovers for dinner along with a salad. We were a little disappointed that Frenchboro did not live up to the description in our cruising guide but this was clearly an exception to most of our experiences to date.
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