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Old 06-10-2019, 13:40   #1
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Hurricane Season in Maine

We're almost at the end of our first season on our boat. We've stuck around Grenada for the summer to make the insurance company happy.

Unfortunately, we haven't found Grenada to be all that compatible with us. Sticky hot, so many (seemingly) abandoned boats filling up the bays, and surprisingly difficult to get work done by qualified technicians. That said, the locals here are simply incredible! So welcoming and friendly.

Our plans now are to start sailing North in November to visit and revisit the islands as we make a decision on where our stopping off point is for the next summer.

Being from the West coast of the US, we have no experience with sailing on the east coast. We have family in Maine so we're talking about that as our destination.

A few of questions:

Are there good anchorage for storm protection that we should be looking at?

Is it pretty cruiser friendly up there?

Are there good boat yards that can handle a 26 foot beam?

If not Maine, where?
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Old 06-10-2019, 13:59   #2
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Re: Hurricane Season in Maine

We put our boat on the hard in Chaguaramos, Trinidad over storm season and spend summers in the US north. Trinidad is totally out of the zone.

Not a lot of marinas can deal with big beams. You can anchor all over the Chesapeake and find lots to do. The Maine coast has a lot of protected holes and harbors. We had fun along the way in Newport, New London, Nantucket, Nova Scotia. Never did any dock time. Get a cruising guide. They speak a sort of odd English-like language there. You’ll get the hang of it.
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Old 06-10-2019, 14:18   #3
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Re: Hurricane Season in Maine

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Originally Posted by crayiii View Post
Are there good anchorage for storm protection that we should be looking at?

Is it pretty cruiser friendly up there?

Are there good boat yards that can handle a 26 foot beam?

If not Maine, where?
1) Lots of anchorages, many well protected from the usual summer weather. We almost never get hurricanes, but if we did there would be plenty of advance warning. And it would likely be less severe than if it hit farther south.

2) Yes, the people are friendly to cruisers, and there are a lot of other cruisers whose company you can enjoy, too. As anywhere, you might find some grumpy folks, like commercial fishermen and lobstermen. Especially if you are from away and present an arrogant or demeaning attitude toward the locals and local customs. But that's true anywhere.

3) There are boat yards that can haul you. At least one in Portland, and probably others elsewhere. But catamarans aren't common, so the yards that can haul one are fewer and farther between than you might like.

4) Maine has some fantastic cruising. You'll never see it all. From there, you can also take side trips to Nova Scotia, the Chesapeake or the St. Lawrence.

A lot also depends on your style of cruising. If you're looking for a place to anchor for the whole summer, with easy access to a large city, you'll probably be disappointed. You'd be better off at a seasonal mooring managed by a marina.

If you like to explore less populated areas, cruise around a lot, see new places, with occasional stops for repairs, provisioning, or a night on the town, then Maine is your place.
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Old 06-10-2019, 14:26   #4
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Re: Hurricane Season in Maine

Coast hopping, Nova Scotia. Many fjords to hide in. Make sure your Radar is working. AIS is good too. Natives very friendly.
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Old 06-10-2019, 14:36   #5
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Re: Hurricane Season in Maine

We spent the summer in Maine on our catamaran. Maine is gorgeous, and very cruiser friendly. We will surely return.

The primary downside to Maine is the very high density of lobster trap floats. With two hulls dodging these floats is exhausting. We found some places worse than others. Our coping strategy was to head a few miles off shore where there are fewer floats.

Maine offers plenty of snug harbors to ride out a storm. If a truly ferocious storm threatened I can think of suitable shelters all up the Maine coast. During our cruising this summer the weather was mostly excellent. It was nice to be out of the heat.

Finding a yard to haul a 26 foot beam will be a challenge in Maine. I expect if you called a few harbor masters in Maine they may have some options. There are lots of boat ramps wide enough if you can find someone with a wide trailer. It may be possible to careen a boat with that beam in a number of village harbors, providing of course that your boat can rest comfortably on her own bottom. It seems the established marinas are only very slowly adapting to serve catamarans in that area.

I would haul the cat in the Chesapeake at Deltaville or Cape Charles Virginia. Another alternative is Georgtown Maryland. These are all pleasant stops. The Chesapeake is a great place to explore on your way north.

On our next trip north we will probably plan for more time in the Rhode Island and Massachusetts area. Narragansett Bay and Buzzards Bay are places we enjoy.
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Old 06-10-2019, 15:07   #6
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Re: Hurricane Season in Maine

In Belfast Maine there is Front Street marina/yard that has a 485 Ton lift. I'm sure some of their large projects are 26' beam.(monohull) Their "small" lift is 165 ton- not sure of beam capacity. They have an impressive webb site. Further south in Portland they may be other boatyards that can handle that beam and that's not to say there could be many other as Maine is quite a boat building area.
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Old 06-10-2019, 15:17   #7
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Hurricane Season in Maine

Rockland Marine has an 85 metric ton travel lift. Plus all sorts of other stuff. They may be able to handle the beam.
And a few days sail south there are shipyards in Gloucester and Fairhaven that do both commercial and yachts and can handle 1000 tons.
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Old 06-10-2019, 15:51   #8
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Re: Hurricane Season in Maine

Great info! We are really looking forward to exploring the east coast. Our preference is to be at anchor and not in a marina then dinghy in and enjoy the local atmosphere.

I grew up in Alaska and was a commercial fisherman with my grandfather so I have a solid appreciation for that trade. We'll stay out of their way.

I have a few projects I want to do that will be easier on the hard but it isn't a necessity. I'll start doing more research on yards.
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Old 07-10-2019, 08:35   #9
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Re: Hurricane Season in Maine

Do not underestimate the pots issue. We found perfect anchorages made untenable by pots on many occasions. If you get in somewhere the next day you will find the lobster boat lifting and dropping without any consideration for your established swing. You then have to move.

You need to think defensively; ie shaft or drive cutters, underwater camera on a pole, wet suit and gear. Not sure how you protect sail drives!
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Old 07-10-2019, 09:02   #10
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Re: Hurricane Season in Maine

Greene Marine, Yarmouth, Maine, specialize in multihulls.
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Old 07-10-2019, 09:11   #11
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Re: Hurricane Season in Maine

Regarding lobster 🦞 pots. Some places are really difficult. Bar Harbor is about as bad as it gets. We were on a public mooring when a lobsterman set a trap under our transom overhang with the float bumping the hull. Traps stretched to the horizon on 30 foot centers like candy sprinkles. Travel only in daylight. Mostly you can dodge the things but stay alert, hand steer and have a spotter help direct the best rout through dense packed areas.
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Old 07-10-2019, 18:32   #12
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Re: Hurricane Season in Maine

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Originally Posted by Nicholson58 View Post
We were on a public mooring when a lobsterman set a trap under our transom overhang with the float bumping the hull.

Serioulsy?



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Traps stretched to the horizon on 30 foot centers like candy sprinkles.



Saw that around Port Clyde. It was truly astonishing. Makes one wonder how there's a lobster left in the water. They must breed like bunnies.





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Travel only in daylight. Mostly you can dodge the things but stay alert, hand steer and have a spotter help direct the best rout through dense packed areas.


Absolutely!!!
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Old 07-10-2019, 19:40   #13
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Re: Hurricane Season in Maine

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Serioulsy?








Saw that around Port Clyde. It was truly astonishing. Makes one wonder how there's a lobster left in the water. They must breed like bunnies.









Absolutely!!!
We got a pretty good deal on the lobsters the next day.
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Old 08-10-2019, 15:25   #14
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Re: Hurricane Season in Maine

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Regarding lobster 🦞 pots. Some places are really difficult. Bar Harbor is about as bad as it gets. We were on a public mooring when a lobsterman set a trap under our transom overhang with the float bumping the hull. ......
I owned a commercial fishing company when I was younger. I know how hard fisherman work and I fully understand the sense of ownership you get when you work a specific area for your livelihood. That having been said, we're all on this planet together and it gets more crowded every year. We have to learn to accommodate each other. I try my darnedest not to damage any fisherman's gear and will go out of my way so as not to impede them in any way when they are working. I expect the same courtesy and respect. If someone dropped a trap so close to my moored boat that the float banged against my hull and they were unwilling to move it, well come the morning they would find it moved by me. I wouldn't damage it but I sure as shootin' would move it. I don't subscribe to the idea that since my boat is being used for pleasure I have to put up with rudeness and disrespect from someone else just because they make their living from the sea. I worked just as hard as they do to acquire my boat, I love the sea as much as any one and I respect those that are capable of being out there to work or to play. Treat me right and I'll do the same for you.
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