A Very Welcome Change of Scenery

Rockland Maine Public Library
NoLL

Oh we love it here. What a refreshing change of scenery and environment. After almost one year of warm to hot weather and no hills visible since leaving the Hudson River, here's what we experienced so far today.

Last night we slept great. We even used a blanket! This morning at 0600 I woke to the sound of diesel motors and a gentle rocking of the boat. I got up and looked out from the cockpit. In Maine one can hardly go 10 feet in the water without encountering a lobster trap. In the mornings, the lobster fishermen are all out checking their traps. It is wonderfully scenic to watch them move from trap to trap in the fog. Good fishing too. They seemed to have several keeper lobsters in every trap.



It was cold, even clammy as I sat there in the cockpit. How refreshing. Later in the morning it warmed up to about 70. That temperature and the light fog made for very comfortable weather indeed.

When I pulled up the anchor, it was covered in seaweed. Not Chesapeake black mud. Not sand and shells from the Bahamas. It was fresh broad leaf sea weed.

I saw a seal swimming near the boat.


We sailed in to Rockland past Owl's Head Lighthouse. Maine has wonderfully picturesque lighthouses, and today all had their fog horns sounding. We must have passed 50 lobster boats tending their traps on the way.

As we rounded Owl's Head and had our first full view of Penobscot Bay, we saw two giant schooners sailing across the bay. There are lots of those schooners around here. I think they take tourists for day trips.

Best of all. As the fog burned off, we could see mountains! Hooray. Not huge mountains but nice rounded mountains. Those are the biggest things we've seen since the Calvert Cliffs near Solomons Maryland. It is so monotonous in the south to not have any hills. We really miss them.

I called my local contact who put in a new radio and our radar two years ago. He's coming to the boat tomorrow to have a look at it.

Still more good luck. The Rockland Lobster Festival starts Wednesday. We had a lot of fun doing that two years ago. After that, it is the SSCA gam starting Friday.