Mola Happiness

After leaving Seguin Island we headed northeast to Penobscot Bay. We had a week to explore this bay before we were scheduled to be back in Portland to pick up our niece and nephew, who were flying in to spend a week on the boat with us.  Our usual decision to head to the farthest planned destination, and slowly work our way back, worked perfectly for this leg of the journey.  We anchored for one night in Tenants Harbor before traveling to Belfast, Maine...our most northeast point of travel for this year.

Many mornings we wake to fog, but it usually burns away fairly quickly to reveal a beautiful day.  The temperature is usually between 75°-83°, but the water is cold...so on the boat it feels cool, while on land it can feel quite warm.  I have enjoyed the cooler weather this year (much more than our trip here in 2019).  

The coastline and lighthouses are picturesque everywhere.

We enjoy watching seals catch their breakfast as we drink coffee on the deck.  We do cheer for the seal when he/she/they catch a fish.

Belfast is a wonderful town to visit.  They have a great dinghy dock and a shed that houses a book exchange for cruisers.  There are several restaurants, a wonderful river walk with a pedestrian bridge, and excellent ice cream shops (this is very important in my ranking system)!

Since our last visit here, they have decided to paint the crosswalks with whimsical nautical themes...cute!  We stayed in Belfast for a few days, hiding from wind, before making our way to Rockland.  I intentionally planned a stop in Rockland to visit the Bixby Chocolate factory.  During our last visit in 2019, we purchased the most memorable box of chocolate covered toffee, ever!  Sooooo disappointed to approach the door to find a sign that said “Due to Covid the retail/tasting room would remain closed through 2021”...ugh!  

Marine supply stores in Maine carry emergency gear I have never seen on display in a marine store before, but it does act as an effective reminder that the water here is cold!

Due to the frequent fog, the navigational aids here have bells that ring constantly.  If you look closely, you can see the large gongs that swing with wave movement and bang into the bell.

After Rockland, we traveled to Boothbay Harbor.  The waterfront properties here offer a great reminder of the 10 foot tidal range.  

Anchored floating docks offer storage areas for lobster boat supplies.

When navigating this harbor pay close attention to charts and buoys!  All of the dark brown growth on the rocks in this picture are totally under water at high tide.

It was fabulous entertainment watching these kids race around the anchorage.  The girl in boat 11 was kicking butt!

This coast offers such a wide variety of lighthouse designs.  

While working our way back toward Portland we finally spotted an Ocean Sunfish (Mola Mola) fin.  During our trip in 2019 we spotted dozens of these interesting looking fish, but this year we were in Maine for 12 days before finally spotting the floppy fin sticking out of the water.

This fish is close to 4 feet long, and is exhibiting horizontal basking behavior where they appear to stay close to the surface to get warmed by the sun. 

We were in neutral, taking pictures of the fish, when it changed course and swam directly toward us.  I giggled like a little kid...so exciting to see a Mola!

We anchored at Jewel Island, about 10 miles from Portland, in preparation for an easy pick up when our company arrived the next day.  This is still my favorite anchorage in all of Maine.

As always, I am slightly behind in my postings.  The next blog will share the wonderful adventures we had with two sets of guests, but at the moment we are hiding from Henri.

Calm before the storm...

We are currently hiding out in the islands northeast of Portland.  This location is providing good protection from the easterly winds we have seen most of today.  It has been a chilly, windy, and rainy day, but we are each snuggled in our recliners with a cup of tea, fresh baked muffins, and a book.  We will probably stay put until Wednesday when we know all remnants of the storm have passed.