Boothbay, Maine
July 25, 2013
Of the dozens of anchorages and harbors within 30 miles of this place we took the advice of a local in Portsmouth to visit this. The approach was in dense fog that did not reveal the shore or the offshore rocks, lest our chart plotter and radar keep us safe. Once near here, we did see a beautiful lighthouse .one of several small islands called The Cuckolds. It was hard to miss since it is 59 feet tall. As one nears the harbor, another smaller lighthouse surrounded by beautiful flowers. Since the harbor is not on a river, there is little current but the lobster pot count is way up there making the use of the autopilot worthless.
Boothbay is one of the small harbor towns that records it's residents who have been taken by the sea. The Fishermen's Memorial lists them all since mid 1700's. It is a long list. The local Catholic Church stands prominently overlooking the harbor and its bells strike on the watch schedule: eight bells to the four hour watch. Hence; two quick followed by a pause and one quick means it is an hour and a half into the watch. AM or PM it would mean 1:30, 5:30 or 9:30. Get it? The church bells are about 2 minutes early but whose counting?
The harbor is quiet, almost noiseless. Folks do not seem to want to impress boaters by displaying high horsepower here. The town offers great art studios, ice cream shops and more than a few eateries and tee shirt shops. The general feeling we have gotten here is that it is quiet, welcoming and eager to please. Not sure what it does in the winter.
For a view of the area go to this link: http://boothbayharborwebcams.com/controllable.html