Chesapeake to Maine - Summer 2024

[Kd9truck]

The Long Island sound is good sailing west to east when you have to make progress and there’s prolonged heavy weather offshore. There’s anchorage directly behind the Statue of Liberty.

[Blue Ridge]

Thank you all for the great information. I really appreciate the time and thought that went into your replies. Have a great holiday season and a happy New Year!

[Bay Breeze]

Originally Posted by Blue Ridge

We are planning a trip from the Chesapeake to Maine next summer and were hoping for some guidance on the stretch from Block Island to Camden Maine.

We want to do it in day long chunks where possible to avoid dealing with lobster pots at night (we've learned our lesson on crab pots in the bay!) and were hoping we could get some thoughts on best ways to round the Cape and good anchorages heading north.

We appreciate any input folks have. Thank you.

Made the trip a couple times. Posted our experiences on our blog: shoalsailer32.blogspot.com

Fog, flotsam, and floats. Otherwise perfect!

[jen1722terry]

Ditto to what Kettlewell posted on Maine. We actually live aboard on our Cape Dory 31 in Northeast Harbor, on Mount Desert Island (MDI). We've been there for 9 summers and never tire of it. PM us if you're in the neighborhood.

Note that some sailboats are pretty much immune to snagging pot floats - it seems to depend on keel/rudder design. We've never snagged one in 10 years of cruising Maine and Nova Scotia. Nonetheless, it's sage advice to pack a wetsuit and snorkeling gear not only to clear a pot warp snag, but to inspect damage and even to clean off the prop and scrap off the odd barnacle.

There are some shallower places in Maine where the water is warm enough for swimming, e.g., Somes harbor at the head of the glorious Somes Sound on MDI. Also, MDI has free bus service to take you to some other fine beaches and swimming lakes on the island within Acadia National Park.

We also own a home in Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia. We cruised up there in 2015-16. Loved it. So much to see and the moorings/slips are often a bit cheaper that down south. Recommend Lockport, Digby, Shelburne, Lunenburg, our town as well as Chester and Halifax. We have not made it up to Bras d'Or Lake but have heard it's worth the trip. Again, PM us if you need more info. We are usually in Nova Scotia for the fall, mid-spring and early winter.

Oh, some other nice stops in Maine are Castine, Porpoise Harbor, Center Harbor, Blue Hill, Northhaven, Cranberry Islands, Swans Island as well as the aforementioned Roque Island (exquisite). There are about 70 lighthouses to see as you cruise along the coast. The sail thru the Eggamoggin Reach is a not-to-miss event and bring you into the bays surrounding MDI.

Finally, we also recommend going thru the Cape Code canal. It's an easy run and it's not too out of the way to visit Marthas Vineyard on the way. We bought our boat in the Chesapeake and that was the route we chose to get to Maine and did not regret it.

Okay, it Chrismas morning here in Nova Scotia and time to get up and visit all our very friendly neighbors.

Cheers and Good Luck.

Jenn and Terry
Kearsarge, NH
Northeast Harbor, ME
Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia

[BluePeter]

Try to get a mooring at Isle of Shoals.

[jbrasseul]

https://jbrasseul.wordpress.com/2013/07/28/chesapeake/

https://jbrasseul.wordpress.com/2013/07/29/c-d-canal/

And so on...

[earthbm]

3 things:
1. Block Island has a nice protected anchorage inside. The better bars are a 20min walk away and worth it.
2. Newport will be crowded but if you’re there on a weekday you may be able to find a spot. Bristol up the bay is a nicer experience overall, more interesting boats, and the Hereschoff museum is not a touristy affair unlike everything in Newport.
3. Time the 5kt tide through the canal.
3.

[walkabout08]

Originally Posted by Blue Ridge

We are planning a trip from the Chesapeake to Maine next summer and were hoping for some guidance on the stretch from Block Island to Camden Maine.

We want to do it in day long chunks where possible to avoid dealing with lobster pots at night (we've learned our lesson on crab pots in the bay!) and were hoping we could get some thoughts on best ways to round the Cape and good anchorages heading north.

We appreciate any input folks have. Thank you.

Here’s an itinerary I would recommend.
Block Island to Cuttyhunk
Cuttyhunk to Onset
Transit the Canal and head to Provincetown
Provincetown to Gloucester
Gloucester to Biddeford Pool
Biddeford Pool to Snow Island, Harpswell

Purchase the Tafts book A Cruising Guide to Maine for further information on where to cruise. Enjoy the greatest cruising ground on the North Atlantic.

[wgerstmyer]

Wonderful to read so many charitable views of my home, and summer cruising grounds, here in Maine. Everything everyone has said is true but then no two experiences are alike. In summer 2019 there were zero bugs and we had long sunset dinners in the cockpit with fantastic lightshows 90 out of our 110 nights. In 2020 the opposite.
Maine has 3500 islands, lots to explore if you like hiking in nature. There is MITA, Maine Island Trails Association, that wonderfully keeps up many of the trails. So basically, each day you see which islands are a beam reach from you and depart mid-late morning after the fog has burnt off and the breeze fills and there you go. Buy a couple lobster from meandering fishermen near you and grill —yep, don’t boil meat please—‘em up.
While I prefer nature to towns, lightly populated, huge coastline Maine has an inordinate number of boat people, harbor towns, and old school yards and nice mechanics. The number of people who just understand why you need ice or a lift to the chandlers is incredible. The stops you find interesting, like J O Browns or Frenchboro for me, you might discover anywhere—even beyond the thorough documentation you’ll find in the indispensable Taft guide already mentioned. There is a lifetime of unique sailing here, with a tad more variation than the Chesapeake.
Lastly, there are tons of mooring balls in many places. An unwritten code says that if a ball is still unoccupied by sunset, use it. I have been asked (politely) by an owner to leave a mooring ball exactly 1 time. Probably half of our anchorages are actually ball pickups.
All this is to say spend time here. You won’t find nearly the number of interesting places on your way up and others have identified those pretty well. Dirigo!
Will
sv The Now
Brewer 12.8

[White Rabbit]

There can be a lot of fog. Dense fog. Make sure you have AIS transmitter and chart plotter that shows AIS ships. Radar is necessary for non-AIS ships.

I would sail straight up from Cape May or Cape Henlopen (which is not a bad anchorage) to Block Island and skip all the New Jersey inlet stuff. Takes about 40 hours from the mouth of the C&D Canal in Delaware River. Not a bad passage for an experienced couple. Only one overnighter. Block Island after mid June is packed after mid June.

Consider joining the Salty Dawgs. They have a flotilla run from Chesapeake up to Rockland, Maine in June.

s

[Dave Bick]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

That area is undoubtably an extremely scenic travel area for a sailboat, at least I thought so.
But the inordinate number of lobster traps everywhere did me in.

If I were ever to return, it would be by car.

I have been sailing NH/ME for decades and couldn't agree more. The outrageous amount of lobster traps, placed in the worst possible places, takes away from the enjoyment factor for sure. It's crazy that there is no regulation by the states. One can never ever let their guard down.

[merrydolphin]

We did this trip mostly costal hopping and the biggest problem that I ran into was lack of good affordable to free anchorages. Through out New England boating is set up mostly for locals, not cruisers. The locals have seasonally rented docks and moorings. Little free anchorages available. Everyone has their hand out. Sure we can help. Fifty a hundred. Come on folks. This is suppose to be free spirited cruising not capitalism at its worst. Ha ha. Oh well, once past MA it got a lot better. Maine is pretty cruiser friendly unlike New England from NJ north to main. Eg. Newport main anchorage was large and full! Had to anchor on outer edge of the pack. If your dingy davits protruded over an imaginary line between small marker buoys, there were regular patrol boats that were quite happy to tell you that you were illegally anchored and would have to move. Where? Who knows. We ended up adding Kellets on the anchor chain to shorten scope enough to squeak in! And even then hoped that the wind didn’t pick up too much. I will not be in a hurry to make that trip again in that manner. Next time will go non-stop as much as possible to the canal and then on to main.

I won’t go into details of the negative experiences we had until we got to Maine. We found the Carolinas and the Chesapeake the most cruiser friendly areas in the US. We have cruised much of the world over 25 yrs and were quite put out (sometimes literally) by this area. If anyone wants specifics, let me know.

[sailingharry]

Two links to help.


First, I've written a short guide on the trip from Mid-Chesapeake Bay to Long Island Sound. This is an annoying part of the trip, but it's just the price of admission. Newcomers find it daunting. Just my thoughts, but I've had good feedback on it:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...it?usp=sharing


Then, my wife has done an awesome job of documenting our two trips north. Everyone who reads it says it reads like a cruising guide. We have two years documented, the 2021 is more relevant for you than the 2022. Select year in the upper left corner drop down.
circe.travelmap.net


About the Cape Cod Canal. Northbound is easy, just pick the currents. Southbound is normally a bitch. You come south with a southbound current (obvious, right?) and as you exit the canal into Buzzards Bay with 1-2 knots behind you, you find you are heading right into the prevailing southerly! Classic wind against the tide. The waves are big, and square. No good advice, just be aware..... Well, one good tip -- Onset, just after you leave the canal, allows you to reset the tide/wind equation over night.

[SailFastTri]

@sailingharry has it right, and all of the prior posts have good advice. Due to the prevailing winds I suggest you leave 3 times as much time to get back. You’ll likely be sailing as you travel northeast (“downeast”) and you’ll be more likely to bash to windward coming back. If you leave time to “stop and smell the roses” on your trip back you can choose your weather to travel SW between stops.

[SailFastTri]

I recommend installing line cutters on your propshafts, if you don’t already have them. In my catamaran I often motored on one engine when in thick trap areas also, to reduce our chances of snagging.