Crew Log for September 11th and 12th, 2022
Trip Summary:
Perry’s Creek (Vinalhaven Island) to Rockland
Trip Distance of 12 NM, Total Distance To-Date of 660.1 NM
Departed at 1000 hours and arrived at 1240 hours
Perry’s Creek is a very quiet and extremely well protected anchorage on Vinalhaven Island, a short distance from North Haven. And, if you read the last update, you’ll know that it is surrounded by walking trails, which are part of the Vinalhaven Land Trust.
We enjoyed our time here, hiking, talking to other cruisers and our surprise happy hour with the folks from Brunswick. However, Perry’s Creek isn’t perfect. First, the water is very murky, which rules out swimming and diving to look for lost cell phones. Secondly, there is a lot of debris in the water. Most of it is harmless, trees, sticks, seaweed, but then there is the odd plastic bottle and other non organic waste.
We departed Perry’s Creek on the flood tide, which of course meant that any debris in the water was flowing into our anchorage. Steve on Adanaco found a brand new paddle amongst the “flow”. My find was far less dramatic. I only found a golf tee on top of an island of seaweed.
The trip to Rockland was uneventful. However, it was interesting to note the contrast between North Haven and the surrounding area. North Haven was what I used to refer to in my former professional life as, “a working coastal community”. It was scenic but tending towards practical rather than ostentatious. In contrast, the surrounding summer mansions seemed to lack the modesty of a working-class town.
We were advised not to go to Rockland by the local sailing community. Apparently, it was a rolly anchorage and it’s waterfront was “industrial”. While it was again, “a working coastal community” and there was the occasional roll from a passing boat, we found Rockland to be a lovely Maine small town with lots of cafes and restaurants, several marinas, a Hamilton Marine Chandlery, a grocery store and of course, a Walmart.
We stayed at the Rockland Landings Marina, on a mooring close to the dinghy dock. The Landings is a full service marina, with fuel and water, the best WiFi on the coast of Maine, showers and laundry facilities. Unfortunately, Adanaco had to go over to the Journey’s End Marina and from their account, the experience was less than positive.
We came to Rockland to address the cell phone woes. And yes, while I do enjoy posting these updates and others updates on social media, the more practical issues were that we used our phones to check weather, tides, route planning and a host of other boat related things. You would think that in 2022, buying a cell phone would be easy. You would be wrong. The real value of the cell phone is locking you into a 3 year contact for a substandard cell plan that you can’t get out of, even in death.
Long story short. I got a phone. I will stop talking about it.
In the evening we were sitting on the boat and a couple and their daughter came up to the boat and said, “we love Nova Scotia!”. Turns out their daughter attended StFX and graduated last spring and their second daughter just enrolled there. On closer inspection we noted they were sporting StFX gear and HFX hats. They had a Pacific Seacraft 34.
“Dad”, a family doctor in Rockport, single handed the boat from Rockport, Maine to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia earlier this year. It had been a 50th birthday bucket list adventure that was delayed 2 years due to…you know. We really enjoyed meeting them and were happy to hear they liked Nova Scotia as much as we did.
Most people prefer to be in some remote anchorage, by themselves. We understand why. It’s free, usually nicer and you’re usually alone. However, I really enjoy the goings on around a marina. We got to meet the family who’s daughter went to StFX and, I got to see a guy off load a Gold Wing Motorbike off his trawler and drive it down the dock and up the ramp. And I thought I brought too many clothes!
The other thing we always sort of knew was, everything takes longer when you’re on a boat. Taking a shower, getting fuel or water, when you’re on a mooring. It consumes most of the morning to do basic tasks. I waited over 45 minutes for a cab to go to Walmart. The trip took less than 15 minutes once it arrived. We have learned to celebrate little accomplishments.
It was also interesting to note that a lot of the boats were being prepped for haulout. The marina we were in shuts down next week and the docks were coming out in 2 weeks. When I asked the Marina Manager why, he said that things really slow down after the long weekend and, it was a precautionary thing in the event of a fall storm.
We were glad we went to Rockland and glad they were still open when we got there.
We are off to Boothbay Harbor next. Another place we were told to avoid.
But more about that, next time.
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