Diamonds Edge Restaurant


We drove from PEI to Maine on Monday, arriving on Mt Desert Island in late afternoon. We did a short grocery shop, so spent the evening unpacking and had a late supper then to bed. On Tuesday, we did some final shopping and I had a new radar reflector mounted. We cast off our lines from the boatyard in mid-afternoon to start our fourth trip south in Estelle.
I was alone on the boat as Jeannie was driving the car around to Northeast Harbor where we would store it for the winter. Five miles later, I was picking up a mooring in Northeast Harbor and we settled in for the night. Tuesday we did some final provisioning in Bar Harbor then dropped the car at Haynes Garage where it will spend the winter. Back aboard we dropped the mooring in late morning and headed out of Mount Desert Island.
Out the Southern Way, we headed west past Bass Harbor, across Blue Hill Bay to Casco Passage where we threaded our way through the narrow channel and its lobster pots. Across Jericho Bay and through Merchants Row and into East Penobscott Bay. From here we sailed across to Fox Island Thoroughfare and dropped the anchor in Perry Creek. Total distance sailed 23.5 nautical miles (nm).
Perry Creek is a beautiful anchorage, but we chose it because it is also extremely well protected, and with the forecast for 20-25 knot westerlies during the night, we wanted to be secure. Wednesday morning we awoke after a quiet and flat calm night. So much for the forecast! But I'd rather be safe than sorry. We followed another Canadian boat out of Perry Creek and into Fox Island Thorofare, then out into the glassy waters of Penobscott Bay across to Muscle Channel. Down through Port Clyde and into Muscongus bay we motored until the sea breeze filled in. We had a lively beat to windward across Muscongus Bay in 15 knot southerlies.
We reached Christmas Cove, our objective, with time enough to go for a walk ashore. We picked up a mooring from Coveside Restaurant, but they were closed for the season, so we found no one to pay. Below for dinner we had steak in the rising breeze.
Christmas Cove was our destination because of its great protection from the east, and the forecast for the night was again a windy night with easterlies 20-25 knots with gusts to 30 and heavy rain. This time they were right!! It blew stink for a few hours, then the rain took over.
By morning the dinghy was half full, so I spent the next half hour bailing. Off in light northerlies, our plan for the day was a short one. We circled through Boothbay Harbor while waiting for a bridge opening, then through Townsend Gut. Normally the line up for the bridge is at least six boats in each direction, but today we were alone. The season is clearly over here.
Out the Gut, we crossed the Sheepscott River and up Goose Passage with its strong swirling currents and into Robinhood Marine. Here we picked up a mooring for the night. Settled in early in the day, we took the Courtesy Car in to Bath for some shopping. We needed groceries, as we always seem to, and a new small inverter for me to use for the computer. Those tasks accomplished, we headed back to Robinhood and settled in.
We had called Bruce and Nancy Montgomery, who live in nearby Woolwich and arranged to see them in the evening. We met them the first year we cruised and have cruised with them on and off ever since. So we had a great reunion. Our plans again are similar and they will be leaving in two weeks, so we will be looking forward to seeing them in the future.
Saturday morning, we pulled in for fuel and water (I haven't commissioned the watermaker yet), then off again down the coast. Our destination was Great Diamond Island in Casco Bay. Just 3 miles off Portland's waterfront, we pulled in to the Diamond Edge Marina, run by the restaurant of the same name. Up to check in, the bartender just asked if we were having dinner. When we said yes, he just said "What time?" We told him and that was that. No check in, no marina fees, nothing.
We walked the length of the beautiful island, a step back in time in the shadow of a bustling city. Then in for dinner. I had Halibut in a bed of Gazpacho and Jeannie had Haddock in a lobster cream sauce. And a Simi Chardonnay, followed by Profiteroles! A great evening.
Tomorrow we'll be running down the coast trying to beat more high winds and huge seas from Igor! It will be a dull day, but it gets us out of Maine and truly on our way again!!