I Like Buoys
07 July 2015 | Trafton Island, Maine, USA
Vicki– Weather: Air 16 c/60 f, Wind 10kn SW, Sea 8.6 c/46 f , Clouds High Haze/Foglike
Well we’re definitely back in Buoy Country up here in Maine. The fog, the pot buoys, the screeching seagulls and the seals all have a beautiful and familiar feel to them reminiscent of our previous visit in 2012. So far we haven’t come across as many pot buoys as in 2012 but we still have to be extremely vigilant as the lobstermen have placed them in harbours, anchorages and all navigable passages. I spend a great deal of time racing from side to side taking photos of all of the different styles and colours of buoys while we do everything we can to avoid running over them as we don’t want them getting caught in our props.
We weathered the blow in Quahog Bay over a week ago where we were confined to the boat for a day of horizontal rain and 30 knot gusts of wind. Unfortunately we chose “Mad Max Fury Road” to watch on TV which was a bad choice. It was far more interesting watching the weather outside as we sat in comfort inside in the warmth of Vanish.
We moved over to Rockland, Maine which is one of our favourite towns as we especially like Hamilton’s Marine Store the Puffin Center and a number of restaurants in town such as Café Miranda, Thorndike Cremery, and the Sunfire Mexican restaurant and many other interesting shops and galleries. Kevin, the Marina Manager of Landings Marina told us that the blow we went through a few days ago was like a hurricane at Rockland. He said the wind was out of the east to 40 -45 knots and the docks were heaving so much that it was impossible to walk on them. He said it was the worst blow they’ve had since May 2014. He also went on to tell us that during the 2014/15 winter, Rockland had an average February temperature of -14.4 c/8 f and the entire harbour was iced over out to the rock wall. It’s so hard to imagine but ice breakers were used to make way into the harbor. At nearby Bangor, 139” (3.5 meters) of snow was received for the winter season, the snowiest season in 52 years which is double their normal amount. This might explain why the water temperatures are still so low as the water temp was only 14 c/57 f. At Jonesport, another fishing village we visited, the locals told us they received 30 feet (9 meters) of snow last winter and that temperatures in Alaska were warmer than in their town.
After a few days with 4th July approaching we headed up to Bar Harbor but first we had to pay a visit to David Marlow’s mooring buoy and summer home off Eggemoggin Reach. Earlier we’d contacted him by email hoping he and Barbara were home but he’s such a busy man that we think he was probably overseas at the time. We did a pirouette around the buoy taking happy snaps and continued on with our scenic tour. The following day at Bar Harbor we went ashore for the Independence Day Parade and lunch. In the afternoon we took Oli’s bus tour to the top of 1,500 ft Cadillac Mountain to see the panoramic view of the offshore islands and bays before we headed back and settled ourselves on the foredeck to watch the fireworks. As always, there is much to see and places to explore. With the sea temperature now down to 8.6 c/46 f off Trafton Island I don’t think we’ll be doing any swimming in Maine this cruising season.
Please see Gallery for more photos.