Camden

The week up to and through the 4th of July we departed Isle au Haut eventually reaching Camden by the holiday. We left Isle au Haut on a very foggy morning sailing NNE through the Merchant Island chain up to Eggemoggin reach eventually stopping in Bucks Harbor. Our radar and chart plotter worked well during the trip, though it was unnerving to see a intra-island car ferry turn from a purple smudge on our radar screen into a live moving object only 100 yards off our bow before we could see it.

Bucks Harbor was outstanding, packed to the gills with boats, but very scenic with great services. We pushed on the following day to Isleboro Island, mooring eventually at the Warren Island state park. We spent two days there hiking the trails and having camp fires and cookouts in the evenings, to which the kids very much enjoyed.

Our last stop during the week was Camden, which has a marvelous harbor. Many of the cruise schooners leave from here as well, which adds an even more nautical air. There is a park right at the head of the harbor that held a free concert during the weekend that we all enjoyed. For the 4th, while the fire works were a bit disappointing, we celebrated with a lobster dinner and way too much wine. By the end of the evening the kids had lobster claws doing god knows what with them while mom and dad let chaos reign. We were handed our check without further inquiry as to further dining needs.

We snagged our first and hopefully last lobster pot while sailing in Eggemoggin reach. It was a float and toggle and I mistakenly sailed in between rather than around. The attaching line wrapped our rudder and hung in the bottom most “hinge”. After trying to pull it out resulting in a bent boat pole, I had the pleasure of going in the water and yes the water is still 56 degrees. I warned Rae Ann that the policy is for whoever is at the helm at the time of the snag to go in to correct matters.