Cruising culture, resources, facilities, and numbers along Maine coast.

[The Traveler]

Hello,

I'd like to learn more about living and cruising along the Maine coast. My wife and I are visiting the Bar Harbor area and she is falling in love with the beautiful coastline here. We've been exploring from Prince Edward Island, along the Bay of Fundy, and now Maine. It's gorgeous and I love the little working fishing towns. But I'm not seeing much recreational boating. Granted, it is October but I don't really even see many Marina's or other facilities.

I understand the coastline and tides are totally different then where we live on the Chesapeake Bay so it's not possible for every house to have it's own dock and every neighborhood to have a little marina and community boating facilities. I'm wondering if we were to move up here at some point what the resources are supporting recreational day sailing and cruising. Are there little port towns along the coast with transient facilities for weekend trips? Is there a strong boating culture? Certainly there's a great fishing/crabbing culture. I've read about cruisers traveling along the coast and loving the beautiful anchorages but I'm wondering actually living and boating here.

Unfortunately we don't have any time to explore beyond Bar Harbor so I'd love to hear about other little towns along the coast for a return trip. We're from Annapolis, MD so something similar to that would be wonderful.

Thanks!

[Suijin]

You might want to poke around on the map on activecaptain.com to learn about various areas. But you’re generally right, less recreational sailing facilities/support outside of the bigger destinations.

[dfelsent]

But ... off the top of my head.
Skipping kennebunk and other ports south of Portland.
Portland
Falmouth Foreside
Robinhood
Hodgdon Marine
A couple of places up the Damariscotta river
Boothbay Harbor
Friendship
Tenants Harbor
Rockland
Vinalhaven
Camden
Southwest Harbor
Bass Harbor
Northeast Harbor

Then it gets thin proceeding East.

Not all of these are large but all have recreational boating culture.

Also check out Points East magazine as well as Soundings magazine.

[kerrydeare]

Originally Posted by The Traveler

... Are there little port towns along the coast with transient facilities for weekend trips? Is there a strong boating culture? Certainly there's a great fishing/crabbing culture. I've read about cruisers traveling along the coast and loving the beautiful anchorages but I'm wondering actually living and boating here ... we don't have any time to explore beyond Bar Harbor ... love to hear about other little towns along the coast for a return trip. We're from Annapolis, MD so something similar to that would be wonderful ...

I'd suggest that a good reason to sail the Maine Coast is to get as far away as possible from "Annapolis Culture." I've cruised extensively in both areas over recent decades, and I would not presume to label one or the other as "better" in some fashion. However I hope that the differences (and quite separate pleasures) between each area can be maintained for a very long time.

To answer your questions more directly, I'd suggest that a standard (and up-to-date) cruising guide by a reputable and experienced author would be a very good investment.

[Utahsailor]

We live in Belfast, ME and cruise nearly every winter through the Chesapeake. First place I'd look is Taft's "Cruising Guide to the Maine Coast" which describes all the places you would want to see. The weather here is much cooler than the Chesapeake, especially the water temperature, which makes windbreakers necessary even in July. Our season starts in mid June and winds down on Labor Day. Fall sailing is still great- we had a foliage sail yesterday with vivid primary colors. We are staying in Maine this season- sailing still and launching April 15 and cruising south of Cape Cod until mid June, when it warms up.

The best: Many sheltered harbors, deep water, friendly people, lobsters, low costs, cool nights, no crowds. Canada is close, with many other adventures.

The worst: Lobster pots (unregulated, they are every where, unlike the Chesapeake), fog, granite, not sand or mud.

[Emouchet]

Center harbor (town of Brooklin) has a great sailing community, mostly around wooden boats.
They welcome visitors, as we have been able to experiment earlier this summer.

[salfarina]

Read "The Lobster Chronicles: Life on a Very Small Island by Linda Greenlaw",- You may recall her as the other swordfisher captain from "The Perfect Storm". After her experience of the storm she retired, returned to the Maine island where her Family resides and became a lobsterman (with her Dad). Apart from it being a warm and humorous read, it details many of the Maine islands and coastal areas that are off the "beaten (tourist) path". This could be a good starting point in your search for the right location. By the way, she's an excellent authoress and has a prolific catalog of works - mostly all good, nautical reads.


Good luck

[Kenomac]

Be sure to install a good radar and learn how to use it. The coast is ptetty when you can see it through the fog. Install the best rope cutter on your prop shaft that you can find due to the millions of lobster traps that are everywhere.

[The Traveler]

Originally Posted by salfarina

Read "The Lobster Chronicles: Life on a Very Small Island by Linda Greenlaw",- You may recall her as the other swordfisher captain from "The Perfect Storm". After her experience of the storm she retired, returned to the Maine island where her Family resides and became a lobsterman (with her Dad). Apart from it being a warm and humorous read, it details many of the Maine islands and coastal areas that are off the "beaten (tourist) path". This could be a good starting point in your search for the right location. By the way, she's an excellent authoress and has a prolific catalog of works - mostly all good, nautical reads.


Good luck

Thanks. Will check it out. Believe me, after our brief visit to Maine and Prince Edward Island, my wife's trying to convince me to drop everything and become a lobsterman up there somewhere.

The cooler temperatures are actually welcome, and the shorter season doesn't bother me too much because we're looking at this as a retirement option so we may spend the winters elsewhere.

Bottom line, its unquestionably gorgeous, but do you consider it a great place for easy cruising, day sailing or 3-4 day getaways?

Thanks

[Pendragon35]

I sail on the Chesapeake (Baltimore) and can't imagine leaving. But if you have the bug, I strongly suggest "Penelope Down East: Cruising Adventures in an Enginless Catboat,, by W R. Cheney, Breakaway Books, Halcotsville, NY; it's available on Amazon, my version is for Kindle. Great book... I've read it several times.