Travel I

Hailing Maine

WORDS AND IMAGES: DAYYAN ARMSTRONG, SAILING COLLECTIVE

Clustered with classic sailboats and wooden Windjammer schooners that navigate the winding channels as they have been doing for hundreds of years, Maine is no stranger to the nautical way of life.

The local boatyards and prestigious builders dot the coast and service the abundance of yachts: launching celebrations of newly commissioned luxury vessels and refits of world-class cruisers are common events in these waters. The seafaring community gathers over lobsters and local beverages and everyone is welcome. Recently, the Superyacht community has been setting its course towards Maine to partake in the adventure and the pursuit of the authentic way of life encapsulated in these coastal communities.

To understand this coast, you have to understand the seafaring Mainers themselves. It’s a true working waterfront led by native, self-reliant fishermen, many of whom come from families with five generations of navigating these waters in search of lobster, swordfish, cod, and haddock. Lobster boats circle their traps while they haul up their catch, focusing on one thing only. It’s understood by all other mariners passing by that the fisherman has the right of way.

An abundance of rocky shoals, frequent fog, and chilly waters makes Maine an ideal cruising ground for the intrepid adventurer exploring the bountiful number of islands. In Hank and Jan Taft’s famous pilot guide, A Cruising Guide to the Maine Coast, Taft writes, “more islands lie off the coast of Maine than any one person can know in a lifetime”, and goes on to write there are more islands within the Maine archipelago than all of the Caribbean and Polynesia. Read on to discover an itinerary along the coastline.

CASCO BAY, MAINE

In the Down-East region you will find Casco Bay, home to 785 islands, which says something about the size of this immense archipelago. Portland, being the most notable landmark in the bay and perhaps all of Maine, is a premier destination for yachters. Charter boats ranging from small classic sailboats to world-class schooners depart daily from the docks, carrying tourists on voyages through the bay. The Portland piers are home to slip spaces for super yachts, making the passage through the winding channel to port a good destination to pick up guests, provisioning, or simply enjoy the beautiful coastal city. Navigating eastward from Portland harbour is a labyrinth of islands, shoals and reefs.

Cocktail Cove located between Jewel and Little Jewel Island is a favourite anchorage. The two islands are long and run parallel to each other making the anchorage limited to 5 to 8 boats anchored in line with the shape of the long and thin cove. Both islands are uninhabited, with the larger island home to WWII ruins. Larger yachts can anchor between the northwest point off Jewel Island and the inhabited Cliff Island.

MID-COAST

Cruising down the coast, which actually means navigating northeast, is a pleasant area named Mid-Coast. From Cape Small to Marshall Point, this area is less familiar to cruisers. Unlike the large bays of Casco and Penobscot, this coast is home to a maze of tidal rivers: Kennebunc, Sheepscot and Damariscotta River are the most notable. Boothbay Harbor is a popular destination, with its well-protected harbour home to transit moorings and slips large enough for any Superyachts. Disembarking from Hodgdon Marina, the town is a short walk along idyllic streets lined with shops, restaurants and historic buildings.

MONHEGAN ISLAND

Puffins perch along the rugged Grande Rocks, with the fisherman’s huts overlooking the inner harbour slammed by the ever-moving sea. Monhegan Island, located 15 nautical miles off the coast of Bristol, has its roots as a fisherman’s island with lobster traps circling the deep waters. The lobstermen are not alone; notable artists like Winslow Homer have flocked to this island in pursuit of isolation, serenity and solitude. Monhegan brings a sense of exploration for those daring enough to make the passage. With only one other island situation further offshore, Monhegan is posed for only the most talented. Conditions can often change at a moment’s notice and the harbour is turbulent. A few moorings are located in the inner harbour and yachts are discouraged from anchoring due to the exposed harbour and fouled bottom, thanks to 300 years of heavy use. Instead, tender ashore to explore the sights before navigating to the mainland.

PENOBSCOT BAY

Rounding Owls Head is perhaps Maine’s most famed cruising ground, Penobscot Bay. West Penobscot Bay is lined with the notable coastal towns of Rockland, Rockport, Camden and Belfast with each harbour welcoming local mariners and visiting yachters. Penobscot Bay is home to thousands of uninhabited islands and shoals with five inhabited islands home to seasonal vacationers and year-round fishermen. Islesboro, North Haven, Vinalhaven, Deer Isle, and the Isle Au Haut each have their own local municipalities, yacht clubs, and marine services. The Windjammers navigate without auxiliary power through the winding reaches between the islands, an impressive sight. In any given cove, you’ll see disguised yachts like Eric Clapton’s Blue Guitar moored off Castine or navigating through the broad passageway of the Eggemoggin Reach.

ACADIA NATIONAL PARK & BAR HARBOR

The final stop is Mt Desert Island, which is world famous for being home to one of America’s most notable coastal national parks, Acadia. Southwest Harbor is home to Hinckley Yachts and sits protected at the entrance of Somes Sound, often described as a “fjord” and the only one of its kind on the East Coast. Across the bay is Northeast Harbor, another protected cove that’s home to hundreds of classic sailboats and cruisers. Cruising Somes Sound offers stunning views with both sides of the long and narrow sound lined by the Acadia mountain range cascading steeply into the Sound. Thick and lush greenery is magnified by the mountains, with not a town or civilization in sight. The call of the bald eagles nesting in the treetops of uninhabited islands echoes as you explore this enchanting body of water. Along the east side of Mt Desert Island are a jagged shoal of islands that rise up from the deep waters of Frenchman Bay that line the channel entering into the revered town of Bar Harbor. Any yachtsman in the region are obliged to anchor off this once-opulent area, where industrialists and their families would relax in the summer months at their grand “cottages” that still tower over the waterfront. Superyachts in recent years moor along the Bar Harbor docks tied up next to charming, rugged scooters that still cruise their ancestral waters.