Boothbay, Portland, ME - August 31-September 2, 2011

The family operated marina in Rockland works hard and does a great job.  They splashed Kelly on Tuesday so as soon as I awoke on Wednesday, we dropped our mooring and motored across the sunrise out of Penobscot Bay.

Rockland sunrise

 It was a beautiful day with a cool beginning so I was wearing my sweater as I have most of this trip.

The day went by quickly as I dodged the uncountable lobster pot buoys.  As the day warmed up, I basked in the sunshine, enjoying views of the working lobster boats, a few large yachts and even a few dolphins and a seal.

We passed by Allen Island and a Black and Gold lobster pot, I've dubbed the “Pittsburgh Pot”.

Kelly and I steered northwest sailing past two lighthouses to Boothbay Harbor.  The slight southwest breeze gave us a lift into the harbor as we sailed past two Maine schooners.  Boothbay harbor was chock full of moorings.  With no space to anchor, we picked up a mooring and dinghied in to do a little laundry and meet the locals.

Ram Island Lighthouse at Boothbay Harbor

Kelly IV on her mooring in Boothbay Harbor

Portland was only 32 miles away, so we didn't leave until after 7am and raised the sails as we were leaving Boothbay Harbor.  The easterly breeze was from a favorable direction, given our southwesterly course, but only blowing about 6 knots.  With full genny and mainsail Kelly could only make about 2 – 3 knots, so we motor sailed to Portland, the breeze adding a little help.
We passed by a number of working lobster boats again, just as we have all along the Maine coast.  The lobster boats haul the traps up on their starboard side, but I have seen two (out of several hundred) that were rigged to haul their pots on the port side.

Lobster boat working his port side

Another infrequently seen lobster boat rig included one using a riding sail.  Many boats use them at anchor to reduce the lateral motion and keep their boats pointed calmly into the breeze.  I suppose the sail stabilizes the working lobster boat in the same way.

Lobster boat with riding sail

For several hours a large freighter sat on the distant horizon, slowly and gradually getting larger, but never changing its bearing from Kelly.  The sailors among you will recognize the classic notice for a potential collision.  As Kelly and I steered into the harbor at Portland, so did an extremely large blue tanker.  Three tugs maneuvered the humongous vessel through a 90 degree turn and slipped her into the dock a smooth as you like.

Portland Yacht Services mooring

A few minutes later I picked up the mooring at Portland Yacht Services, across the harbor from the blue behemoth.  I changed the engine oil and filter, but had a mechanic check my work and walk me through a number of questions I had about the Yanmar motor.  I learned a number of things about maintenance that should keep the new engine running smoothly.

Kelly IV and I have now traveled over 2254 nautical miles from Erie, PA.