We started our day, as planned, by going to the fuel dock in Rockland. We got there about twenty minutes before it opened and I was able to give Moonraker a quick fresh water washdown with the hose on the dock. When we tied up it was a beautiful clear morning but that didn’t last long. As we waited for the marina to open we could see fog coming in from the harbor. Should we go ahead with our plans or go back and anchor again? We are no strangers to running in the fog now so we decided to go ahead. There was a short period of time, just as we got to Owl’s Head Lighthouse at the end of Rockland Harbor, where it was really clear. That is when Bill took the picture above.

The rest of the trip was a powerboat ride in total fog. We had our automatic fog horn on for so long this time that the horn started to sound a bit funny when it sounded. I’m sure the scenery on our almost four hour trip was beautiful but we didn’t see a bit of it. Following the chart plotter we were able to keep on the right course without getting into shallow water or too close to rocks. We used radar, AIS, and searching through the fog to make sure we didn’t hit any other boats. We did have a couple close encounters where a boat would materialize out of the fog at the last minute. We needed to be completely focused at all times. We figure that for most retired people their biggest challenge is finding a parking space at the mall, our life is not like that at all.

We got to Port Clyde by lunch time. Luckily the fog lifted enough while we were anchoring so we could see what we were doing and where all the other boats were. It wasn’t very clear for long though. We decided to take showers and then a well deserved nap. When we got up it was clear enough to take the dinghy in to town and see what Port Clyde was like. They have a general store that has a decent market and a fun store upstairs. They also have a restaurant that serves breakfast, we will give it a try in the morning. We walked around a bit and sat looking at the waterfront at these wonderful little fire pits which did help ward off the cold.

On our way back to the boat a woman on one of the moored boats waved at us and Bill decided to go say hello. We were invited up for drinks and had a nice time talking to them and comparing stories of cruising through Maine. When we got back to the boat Bill decided to play with his single side band radio (SSB) for a while. He was able to talk to several people in all different parts of the country while I made dinner.

Hopefully it will be clear tomorrow morning so we can walk to Marshall Point Lighthouse here in Port Clyde. It’s claim to fame is that it is the lighthouse that Forrest Gump ran to in the movie.