After our adventurous hike ashore on McGlathery, we won our anchor and slowly poked our way through the literal sea of “lobstah” floats in the channels between the islands of Merchants Row. Not only was the density of lobster pots really high, but most of those we’ve encountered on this side of Pen Bay are toggled which effectively doubles the amount of visible floats and additionally provides horizontal tethers between the toggle and the main float. When negotiating fields of toggled lobster pots, it becomes necessary to understand how the toggle warp lies in the water due to wind and current, so that you can go around the entire mess and avoid getting the warp caught up in your prop. This becomes exceedingly difficult in situations like this where you have a high density of toggled pots and it very hard to determine which toggle goes with which pot. To date, the Song has successfully dodged or run over 379,561 lobster pots on this voyage, and we have not become entangled yet.

We hoisted the main sail as we poked our way between the islands and the pots. I elected to throw out the headsail as well and to sail our way through these little islands just for fun. So the jib was hoisted and the engine killed. We had a great time sailing to and fro between and through the rocks and channels. It was challenging, but very fun as well. Soon we cleared the Merchant Row islands and were sailing in the larger waters of Pen Bay. The density of pots was less daunting here and we merely had to sail across the bay to make entrance to our next destination at Seal Bay on Vinalhaven Island. In all honesty, this was probably one of the rewarding sails to date because it was challenging and because the accumulated skills are really becoming well honed. What once seemed difficult now appears easy and it’s so much easier to find the proper sail trim needed to maximize our way on a particular point of sail. This is what we came for.

We expected to see some stunning scenery in Seal Bay, based on all that we have heard. The entrance into Winter Harbor and then Seal Bay did not disappoint, as we were treated to subsequent vistas of 150ft sheer cliffs, incredible rock formations, and the clearest green water you could imagine. As we turned into the narrow cut entering Seal Bay, the formation of islands, beautiful rocks, and combination of colors was truly a sight to behold. We also spotted seals in the bay which would certainly support its name sake. We continued deep into the bay until we came to the anchorage in its deepest western recess. We dropped our hook in mid channel among 6 or 7 other boats already there.

The scenery ashore was truly awesome and we were again excited at the prospect of some island exploration ashore. So we readied the Dixie to carry us ashore and we cruised the area looking for a good landing. We chose Hay Island because we knew it to be state owned, while many of the other nearby shores are private. We saw what looked to be an inviting snail beach, but we soon found it to be soft, sticky, and deep mud. We pulled away and looked for another landing. Every landing we tried was mud and more mud. Finally we chose to land near a rock and attempted to go ashore. In the process, Hunter became stuck in the mud, which would trap him and his shoe at each step. It took him 10 minutes to make it 6ft across the mud bank with both him and his shoes – this clearly was not going to work. We managed to pull the boat close enough so that Amy and Austin could leap ashore. Once ashore, the walking was treacherous in every aspect. It was either slippery, seaweed-covered rocks, muddy bottom, or muddy marsh pocketed with holes and trenches. The only place you could easily walk was on the rock them selves. It became clear why the state had this island – nobody else would want it! The dinghy and its occupants became coated with mud and we elected to end this away mission while our dignity was still in tact. We retired to the Song to clean up, cook dinner, and enjoy some DVD’s before bed time.

When we awoke the next morning and got underway, the fog was just beginning to seed. You could see it begin to develop right in front of your eyes and it was really cool. The only way that the scenery could have become more beautiful and interesting than our entrance the day before, was to bath it in a combination of fog and bright sunshine – wow. Our departure and passage to North Haven was marked by one surreal scene after another as we made our way in the fog-shine.

Cap’n Monty
s/v Song Of The South
At anchor in Seal Bay on Vinalhaven Island, ME