Portsmouth, NH to Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia - any advice?

[jen1722terry]

Hello fellow CD owners.

Well, have much planning and rushing to get our 31 in the water after the long bitter winter, we're underway for our summer cruise along the Maine coast to the border, across the Bay of Fundy, around Cape Sable and up the easter Nova Scotia coast to our other home in Mahone Bay (near Lunenburg).

This is our firs Maine cruise. If any of you have experience in any or all of these waters, we'd very much like you to share it with us.

We plan to take our time, and anticipate the cruise taking 5 to 8 weeks, if we're fortunate with repairs. We'll post updates on occasion, including those below to the cruising guide.

1. Cape Nedick was a godsend in the building seas we found ourselves in. As the forecast was southerlies through the night, we tucked in just off the sanding beach at the crook of the cape. Nice area, good holding and quiet enough to sleep.

2. Cape Porpoise is an understated little community with a narrow harbor, but a pleasant place to lay over at anchor while the southerly subsided.

3. Wood Island harbor was another nice anchorage for all but strong easterlies.

4. We had planned to anchor at Diamond Cove in outer Portland harbor. NOT! Though the cruising guide (2012 edition) says it's a nice quiet anchorage, it's been recently taken over by a resort with mooring and music. they plan a big hotel on this little gem of an island. Progress, in some respects. So we anchored behind the north end of Peaks Island and had lovely views and a quite night.

5. Tomorrow we plan to head north into Casco Bay, hugging the west lee of the islands in predicted 15-20 knot winds and 5-7 foot seas. If it's too bumpy, back behind Peaks Island!

Looking forward to hearing from other cruisers.

Jenn and Terry McAdam

[David Patterson]

I'm looking forward to more description as your cruise proceeds. Your sailing conditions seem more challenging than mine, in the Pacific NW right now. David on CD25D #85