A Seal Bay Circle Loop, then to Castine

Monday-Tuesday, 10-11 August, 2015

I love Seal Bay!  We are anchored where we watch the seals on the nearby rocks.  At low tide, none are on the rocks, but, as the tide comes in, the rocks, begin filling up. 

As it keeps coming in, and the land mass disappears, the seals start crowding together.  

Eventually, the rocks disappear, and you just see seals poised above the water!

We left Seal Bay and headed south to Brimstone Island, where there is said to be interesting round black rocks on the beach.  The island is pretty to look at (as they all are in Maine) but, there was enough of an ocean swell wrapping around the island that I was uncomfortable anchoring and going ashore.  The rocks are safe!

There wasn't any wind, so no chop, but, the swells were rolling in from the Atlantic.

We headed to the east, past Saddleback Ledge Light.  

We cruised up the craggy coastline of the western side of Isle Au Haut, but didn't go through the Thorofare as the tide was low, and the current would have been pushing us in.  We went around Kimball Island instead, and looked at the area where the Thorofare came out.

We went around Merchant Island, and booked at the anchorage behind Harbor Island.  Though the weather was forecast to be good, I just had that funny feeling... so we went back to Seal Bay for the night.  Good thing, because it blew during the night for hours, and I was glad to be there.

In the morning, looking at weather forecast to arrive later in the day, we headed for Castine.  Although the anchorage was great for the approaching blow, we were almost out of water.  That, coupled with a friend's mooring in Smith Cove looked like a good thing to do with a rainy, blowing, foggy forecast.

We went up the eastern side of Vinalhaven Island, and North Haven Island.  The "fingers" of islands sticking up to the east were magnificent in the morning sun.

We wandered between the Great Spruce Head Island and the Barred Islands, and peek into an anchorage there.  It looked great for a couple of boats.  We passed to the east of Beach Island, and west of Westerm Island, back towards Castine.

As we were pulling into Castine, a Nordic tug 32 was pulling out.  We waved to the Calypso, and later talked to them on the radio.  They were headed for Seal Bay!

We pulled into the town dock at Castine, to pump out, dispose of trash and take on water.  Ellen and the dogs went ashore for a walk while I was doing the boat stuff.

We eased into Smith Cove as the wind hit.  The cove is protected by the high hills surrounding it, making it almost like a lake!  What a great place to spend a day of inclement weather!

Castine, ME, con't

Wednesday, 29 July, 2015

This morning we went into Castine by dinghy.

The Schooner Days were starting, and the docks were full.  We were told we could tie the dinghy up for two hours, and I think we got one of the last spots.

We walked, with the dogs, up through town, to the Lighthouse.  There are a lot of informative signs along the way, telling a lot of the local history.

We walked through the woods near the lighthouse, to an overlook of the cliffs.

Then we continued along the streets through town, cutting through the Maine Maritime Academy campus, before returning to the pier, grabbing an ice cream along the way.

We went back to the MERCY for a little bit, and then went to Indian Bar to let the dogs swim.  The water was cold enough that our Florida dogs didn't get wet past their chests!  My legs were cold to the touch (below the knees) for 30 minutes after we'd left!

Ellen and I went into town after giving the dogs a bath, and ate supper at a booth on the town pier.  The food was really good!

Then we returned to our mooring for a gorgeous evening, watching a couple of harbor seals around the boat.

Castine, ME

Tuesday, 28 July, 2015

At 0530 this morning, the fog was thick!  We were nestled in our nice thick blanket of fog when there was a sudden flash of light ashore, followed a second later by a boom of thunder.  I don't know that I've ever experienced lightning before with the intensity that followed, while in heavy fog.  Then the rain began, and it washed away the fog, for a little while.

We ran the inflatable into Castine to say good-bye to our Nordic Tug friends, who are slowly working their way back home, while we plan to stay in the area for a little longer... so much coastline, so little time!  We walked around town a little bit, feeling a little lonely all of a sudden!  We've had such a good time with this group of people.

Castine is a pretty little town, and the home of Maine Maritime.  The State of Maine, the Maine Maritime training ship just came into port yesterday, which is a pretty big event, I think.

The town of Castine has a public dock where you can drop folks off, get a pump-out, or dock your dinghy if they have room on the shore side of the dock.  We tied up for awhile, and walked around.  If you go, be sure to pick up a walking map!

We ate a good bar b que pork sandwich in town, and started to walk up to the lighthouse, when we saw a couple with two yellow labs coming down the hill.  We walked with Jeff and Karen Siegel, and their dogs, Dylan, and Dee Dee, who started and run Active Captain.  They are a super nice couple.

Dylan looks like he and Mercy could be brother and sister, from their facial expressions, to the way their fur curves along their backs, to their "angel wings" on their shoulders.  

We lounged around the town docks for a long time, visiting with the Siegels, and watching the world go by, before walking a little more, and returning to the boat.

Northeast Harbor, Somes Sound, to Castine, ME

Monday, 27 July 2015

This morning the fog was thick at daylight, and thicker still as the sun allegedly came up.  The group decided to wait until 0930 to head out.  The fog would rise and fall, depending on the location, and the water temperature.  We could see just often enough to believe the others when they told us what a beautiful place Maine is!

MARNICK, AFTERNOON DELIGHT, and MERCY headed around the corner into Somes Sound.  Somes Sound is supposed to be the only fjord in this area, with a narrow passage with high banks.  The fog lifted until we got to the narrow passage with high banks, then settled on the side of the hill.  We'll have to go back and see how high those banks really are!

The end of Somes Sound showed a nice mooring field, great places to kayak and explore, and nice scenery.

When we left the Sound, we went by the S/V Rebecca to wave and thank the crew for the ride last night.

Then we did a Southwest drive-by.  Southwest is the name of the town opposite Northeast.

We continued westward, hugging the coast tight, and then passed to the north of Pond Island before dropping back to the south to Journey northwest through Eggemoggin Reach. The fog lifted a little as we approached the Deer Isle Bridge.  We passed south of Cape Rosier, and then turned close to its western shore.  It was foggy, low 60's air temp, low 50's water, and people in swim suits on the beach.  I was inside, long pants and shirt, socks, and drinking hot chocolate.

We passed by Castine, where MARNICK, AFTERNOON DELIGHT, and ENCORE stopped, while R C Caislin and MERCY continued into the back of Smith's Cove, behind Sheep Island to grab a mooring a friend is letting us use for a few days.  (Thanks!)  There are eagles and seals back here, and the cove is gorgeous!

R C Caislin tied up with us, and we celebrated Ellen's birthday.  They taught Ellen and I how to play Mexican train with dominos.  What a great end to another fun day!