Harbor Island, ME

I had an 8 a.m. Spanish lesson on Saturday, August 3 but due to a spotty internet connection we had to stop after only 20 minutes. It was a rainy morning and we waited for the rain to stop before heading out.  Jonny first took Archie for a quick walk and dropped our contribution for the mooring into the attached canister.  We left by 10:45 in a foggy mist for the relatively short cruise to Harbor Island in Muscongus Bay.

We had recently purchased the latest copy of A Cruising Guide to the Maine Coast which has proved to be invaluable to us.  There are literally hundreds of suggested anchorages all along the coast and it’s a pleasant challenge to decide which ones to select. They are each rated by their safety, beauty and access to resources so we can choose isolated spots or others that are near towns with restaurants, stores and other facilities.   Now that we have come this far down east we are prone to select more isolated anchorages and to choose places that we had not visited previously.

Harbor Island looked very appealing and we  arrived there three hours later. We found a really nice spot between Harbor and Hall Islands.  The water is very deep here and the tides are quite dramatic. We tried to anchor between two sailboats but the man in one of them rowed over to us to suggest that we would be safer to anchor a bit further away because we were so close to them and our trawler would tend to act differently on anchor with the tide and wind than sailboats do.  We appreciated his advice and we moved Zendo a bit further away and felt more comfortable doing so.

The Harbor Island anchorage was very beautiful,  probably the prettiest place we’ve stayed so far this trip. We took the dinghy in to shore and Jonny used this opportunity to try out the new rigging system he assembled for tying up the dinghy with Maine’s extreme tides.  The system worked well except for one minor issue - the dinghy anchor didn’t grab in the water. Oh well, live and learn!

Harbor Island is privately owned.  Their home looked like it stepped out of a painting by Andrew Wyeth.

The owners kindly allow visitors to explore the island along a path that winds through the island and along the coast. So that’s exactly what we did. It was a beautiful walk through woodlands and along a very rocky shoreline.  We hiked up to the high point of the island with a huge rocky promontory jutting out into the bay.  It was gorgeous!

Upon our return to Zendo I made a delicious vegetarian  dinner using the big cauliflower that had been sitting in our refrigerator for a while. I adapted a savory recipe to the ingredients we had on hand using tomatoes, olives, capers, garlic and wine and it came out great!  Afterwards, we had a quiet evening on board in our peaceful and lovely anchorage.

Five Islands, ME

We took one last walk through South Portland on Friday, August 2 passing this interesting sounding brewery.

Leaving the dock at 8:30, we passed this osprey nest.  

It was a perfect  summer day with calm seas as we made our way to our next anchorage. After a little over four hours we arrived at a beautiful area known as Five Islands in Georgetown.

The harbor was good-sized with lots of moorings.  The town provides several moorings for visitors and we chose one close to the dinghy dock.  This was the first time we had seen the unusual arrangement of a can tied to the mooring. Boaters are requested to make a donation for using the mooring.

After having lunch on board we dinghied in to shore to explore,  This location, nestled among five islands, is a popular spot with mostly day boaters.  Most of the boats were considerably smaller than ours - we were definitely one of the biggest boats in the harbor.

At dockside there was a lobster shack that sold lobster, clams, fish, etc. that you could eat there or take back to your boat.

We took Archie for a walk up the hill to a very popular and charming little gourmet store. It was well-stocked with all kinds of interesting foods including lots of local produce. We filled our knapsack with an assortment of goodies even though we had just gone grocery shopping in Portland.

From there, we walked back down the hill in search of a walking trail that we had read about. The trail provided us with a pleasant walk through a conservation area and Archie got to be off leash so he was happy. 

Our plan included coming back at dinner time to get a lobster dinner from the lobster shack and bringing it back to Zendo to eat and that’s exactly what we did. While waiting for our order we strolled around the dock. This is a very popular place this time of year!

Back onboard Zendo we feasted on those delicious 1.5 lb. lobsters and the accompanying cole slaw. We had bought corn on the cob at the market but we were too full to eat it that evening.   Sitting on the aft deck eating a lobster dinner is the quintessential way to end a day on the fabulous coast of Maine!

S. Portland, ME

We got an early start on Wednesday, July 31 leaving our Saco River mooring by 7:30 to head for Portland. It was a cloudy day and the seas were quite rolly. 

Fortunately, we only had a three hour cruise to get to our reservation at South Point Marina in South Portland which is right across from Portland. As we approached our destination we passed the Portland Head Light, Maine’s oldest lighthouse which was constructed in 1791.

It was a relief to arrive at the marina after only three hours. And it always feels a little luxurious to be able to plug in, to use AC if needed, and not to have to take a dinghy into shore!  We can also get a lot done - boat chores and repairs, laundry, shopping, etc. 

We were excited to get together that evening with my old friend from Fairfield, Glenn Austin (we were in home room together for four years) and his wife Dee, who live about forty minutes away. I only see Glenn every ten years at our high school reunion.  Jonny also knows Glenn because the three of us went to UConn together.  But this was the first time I got to spend any time with Dee and it was such a pleasure getting to know her. They came over to see Zendo and have a drink and then they brought us to have dinner at DiMillo’s on the Water, a famous seafood restaurant in Portland. We had a delicious dinner and caught up on each other’s lives, 

The next day we took an Uber to bring Archie for his 9 a.m. grooming appointment in a nearby town. While he was busy being groomed I indulged myself in a mani-pedi and browsed through the nearby stores - WalMart,  Marshall’s and Homegoods where I effectively refrained from buying anything of note.

Archie got quite a haircut - next time we’ll make sure they don’t cut it quite as short! See the before and after photos below. He looks so skinny when he gets a haircut, but at least he won’t need another one for a long time!

We got back to Zendo just in time to catch another Uber because Jonny and I had a lunch date at our favorite restaurant in Portland called Central Provisions.  We had been there twice before and loved its creative offerings and its intimate, comfy ambiance.  It did not disappoint!

Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time to explore Portland more during this visit. On our return trip we’ll make it a point to spend more time in this cool city.

The rest of the day was spent trip planning, doing chores and shopping that can only be done at a marina.  Jonny was a gem having done all the grocery shopping - something he actually loves to do!  We’ll be leaving the next day to continue our journey up the coast to down east Maine. 

Saco River, ME

We left Newburyport at 7:30 on Tuesday, July 30 for a fairly long day’s journey up the coast. The skies were overcast and we had a very rolly passage due to ocean swells.  We considered making it a shorter trip but decided to push on because the following day was going to be worse.  During passages like this Jonny is at the helm the whole time (as he usually is) but he had to be much more attentive due into the rolling seas and the many lobster pots that have to be avoided.  I usually like to keep busy blogging, reading or doing needlepoint but when the conditions are like this all I can do is hold on to Archie (who is glued to me) and keep my eyes on the horizon.

We passed the New Hampshire coast and crossed into Maine and as we got closer to our destination we saw this scenic lighthouse called Wood Island Light. Sometime between 1886 and 1905 the keeper, Thomas H. Orcutt, had a dog named Sailor who became famous for ringing the station’s fog bell with  his mouth or paws. He was supposedly very intelligent and was known for understanding all that was said to him (unlike another dog that we know)!

We continued on until we came to the Sago River where there is a tiny vacation community called Camp Ellis.  The nearby beach was filled with happy vacationers. We arrived by 3 and heaved a big sigh of relief.

Jonny took Archie in right away for a walk and made our contribution to the town dock master since they don’t charge a formal mooring fee. 

Camp Ellis is a small community with mostly summer homes and this cute little general store.

That evening I made a dinner of sausage, pasta and salad and we had a quiet evening on board.

The next day, which was Wednesday, we needed to get to Portland because we had a 9 a.m. grooming appointment for Archie the following morning. It’s been very challenging to be able to get a grooming appointment for him because we are constantly on the move. Just like doctors, many of the groomers along the coast here are not taking new clients so I was lucky to get this appointment time which had to be made weeks in advance!

Newburyport, MA

We took a final walk through Rockport on Sunday morning, July 28.  We strolled up to a spot overlooking the harbor that a friendly woman had shown us the last time we were here.  The view from the rocky outcroppings was beautiful!  Returning to Zendo we took off for Newburyport by 10:45. It was a good day, the seas were flat and calm and we had a pleasant cruise up the Massachusetts coast.

We arrived in Newburyport by 1:15 and grabbed a mooring that had been arranged for us by a friend of Joe Apicella because this was a very busy time for Newburyport - it was the Yankee Homecoming.  This is a week long celebration with all kinds of activities for families in the area. There were lots of food stalls, face painting  and other activities for kids, art exhibitions and music in the park every night. We took the dinghy to the main dock in this historic town located up the Merrimack River from the coast. Newburyport is a very popular town for tourists with lots of attractive stores and restaurants.

We got a kick out of this sign in one of the pet shops.

We stopped at a restaurant called the Sea Level Oyster Bar to have a drink and an appetizer. It had an appealing outdoor area which made for good people watching. We had delicious Rode Island style calamari for a nibble before heading back to Zendo.

That evening after dinner Jonny brought Archie into town and stopped by the concert in the park that was featuring a Billy Joel cover band.  We could hear some of the music onboard Zendo but I skipped the outing that evening.

The next day, MTOA members Curt and Cathy Downing came by for a visit. They live over an hour away but they have a Heritage East just a couple of years older than ours and they wanted to see Zendo.  Curt and Jonny talked mechanics and repairs while Cathy and I talked about books and our families. Unfortunately it was a rainy day, but we put on our raincoats and went to a local pub called The Grog for lunch. The rain lightened up enough to walk around town since they had never been to Newburyport. The rain put somewhat of a damper on the festivities that afternoon but we had fun strolling and chatting before it was time for them to leave.

Luckily, the rain stopped altogether and after having dinner onboard we went in to hear the band that was playing on the green that evening. They were not as good as the Billy Joel band so we just walked around a bit before heading back for an early night.