As mentioned, last week was land-based, following a long weekend in Rochester, NY for a wedding. On the way back, we met up with Jim and Donna, our dear Lake Ontario sailing friends, for breakfast.
We’ve often written about the Penobscot Bay, at the mouth of the Pebnobscot River in Midcoast Maine. It boasts over 200 islands, quaint lobster fishing villages, and beautiful, secluded anchorages among breathtaking scenery. It draws tourists to its pictoresque towns such as Camden, Rockland and Bar Harbor, and to Acadia National Park. There are festivals all summer long, celebrating windjammers, music, and lobsters.
But what about Casco Bay? Casco Bay is the archipelego, just offshore from Portland. It also has hundreds of islands, tourist attractions such as Portland itself, and Freeport, home of LL Bean. Massive cruise ships come to the area. Many of the islands are inhabited year-round, and there’s a constant flow of ferries from Portland carrying residents back and forth.
Even though we live in the Casco Bay, we never spent much time exploring it, until this weekend. With sunny late summer weather, we sailed the short 9 mile distance to a couple of islands called the Goslings. These, as many other islands in Maine, were purchased by the Maine Coast Heritage Trust. This organization raises funds to purchase coastal land with the goal of protecting it from development, keeping it accessible to the public, and preserving the ecosystem making up the region’s natural patrimony.
We met up with our next door neighbors, Paul and Betsy, who are also avid sailors and who were also anchored near the Goslings for the weekend. Neighbors on land and neigbors at sea.
This week, we will start preparing Fregata for winter. This consists of going through every cabinet and bilge, removing anything that doesn’t fare well in cold, damp weather, and thoroughly cleaning her bow to stern, emptying holding tanks, and filling the fuel tank to minimizue condensation during the cold weather. Next week, we’ll move her to Great Island for haul-out and winter service. More on that to come.
