The Middle of Maine

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Who knew we would fall in love with Maine? Just the thought of picking our way through all the crab pots and fog gave us great consternation.  We could easily have blown Maine off except for the fact we were meeting our friends on Gratitude 58, (Kadey Krogen), Torie  and Gary.  Our first stop in Maine was Derecktor Robinhood Marina in Georgetown, an island of 1000 people. Just as we came around the bend and spotted the marina a storm blew in. It blew and rained the entire time we were docking. Five minutes after we had all the lines tied we were rewarded with a beautiful rainbow. Torie and Gary had been docked at the marina for almost 3 months and owned a car so we made the most of it.  Shopping, dining, pedicures, hiking, and more shopping and dining kept us busy. It was a fabulous opportunity to see the land side of Maine which is quite beautiful. We even stopped whining about the cold! I do believe we’ve worn more “winter” clothes in the past two weeks than we do all winter in Florida!

On our hike on Mackworth Island Scott took some fabulous pictures of an array of mushrooms and flowers. Too bad we are not mycophiles…the forest floors were amazing! Such a wide variety of colors, shapes and textures.

We began our visit in quarantine. Why did we quarantine you may ask? The day we left Provincetown, MA, we learned that there had been an explosion of Delta cases there and everyone was told to quarantine and test, and grumpily we complied.  Although, we had masked and avoided crowds while in Provincetown we still felt a huge relief when we received our negative results. It is also a relief to be in the state of Maine where cases are low and the vaccine rate is high. I am already dreading our return to Florida.

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After spending 6 nights in Georgetown we followed Gratitude south to Sebasco Harbor Resort which resembled the setting in Dirty Dancing. It had such a fun family atmosphere with great activities. Despite only having 1 afternoon there we managed to hike, read by the pool in our jackets, dine, and play corn hole. The best part of Sebasco Harbor Resort however, was the mooring experience… four people came out in a skiff and handed me the mooring pennant! Talk about service!!!!

Snow island anchorage was our home for the next two nights and it was a lovely spot.  This idyllic area had good protection, scenic shorelines, a bald eagle, and seals. What it didn’t have was fish. I learned that no matter how much excitement and enthusiasm one has, one may not catch a fish, perhaps may not even get a single bite! If there were fish there they were certainly well hidden. Nevertheless, I am determined and will try again to get enough for a dinner of Maine fish!

Torie had made a plan for us to anchor the next night at Jewell Island. Upon arrival it was evident that there were way too many boats and crab pots so we cruised on to the plan B anchorage, Cliff Island. Upon arrival we see the are fewer boats but even more lobster pots in a smaller space. Hmmm, what’s plan C? Torie contacted Dolphin Marina in Harpswell and got us mooring balls. Technically they only hold 50′ maximum length. It was a tight squeeze but we fit, caught the launch and went to shore for a fabulous lunch. I was rather excited about this stop as I heard from many boaters about their famous Maine blueberry muffins which accompany almost every dish on the menu. We enjoyed our delicious seafood and muffins seated outside while wearing our coats on August 1, and we didn’t complain. The following morning they delivered blueberry muffins and coffee to our boat, we might need to return on our way south!

Gratitude 58 headed south for the season and we headed north to Boothbay Harbor. This was the yuckiest mooring we have ever seen! Green slime hung down several inches long on the line. I had to pull it up with my hands and bring the abnormally long line up to the boat where I fit our line through the ring. I always wear gloves to protect my hands when docking and mooring but it was SO DISGUSTING I was tempted to ask Scott to move us to another mooring. Here we met up with Claiborne and Mike, some people we met in Warderick Wells, Exuma. It’s such a small world in boating! We had a great hike the next morning to an outstanding outdoor yoga class, another lobster roll for lunch, shopping, and haddock for dinner…my kind of day! Boothbay is quite touristy but had a lovely appearance, especially from the water.

Several days ago our horn started misbehaving and Scott had to order parts which he had shipped to Derecktor Marina…so back to Georgetown we go. A working horn is imperative in foggy Maine, especially during “Fogust”! (Fog+August). Scott installed the new compressor but the tank also had a previously unrecognized problem, it leaks. Now we have a new tank ordered to be delivered to SE Harbor; hopefully, this will get it going fully.

Although we enjoyed this picturesque marina and its delicious restaurant, after 4 more nights in Georgetown it was finally time to head north, technically referred to as “down east”, to Penobscot Bay. We have had many friends recommend their favorite spots in Maine and the list is so long it is overwhelming! This may require several more summers in Maine!