Cruising Maine September 2011
01 September 2011 | The Basin, Vinalhaven, Maine
Roland
Cruising Maine September 2011 Thursday, September 01, 2011 - 5 PM The Basin Vinalhaven, Maine Water temperature 63 F
We had a change of plans today. Our friend Rich on Kelly Rae kayaked over to Carvers Harbor from where he was anchored in The Basin this morning. Our cruising guide talks about The Basin but our paper charts show no detail on the area at all. It is a landlocked body of water that's accessed by a narrow opening that is only navigatable at high slack tide. Rich came thru the cut at low slack in his kayak with a GPS and marked a safe trail before he brought his big boat into The Basin at high slack. This morning he offered to lead us thru the cut with his kayak if we wanted. We would have never entered The Basin on our own but the offer of a proven pilot was too good to pass up.
So at 2:30 PM this afternoon we were following a kayak thru a narrow cut with rocks and swirling water all around us. No problem. Once thru the cut, there is a small bay with 100 foot deep water, except for the occasional exposed rock. We are anchored in a little cove, not far from Kelly Rae, that will be about ten foot deep at low tide. The only other sign of life we have seen was two men in a small boat tending their lobster pots. It will be a quiet night tonight in The Basin.