Anchoring/Cruising Questions for Maine Sailors

[John Stone]

So, even though I’m currently on the hook in the Virgin Islands...I’m thinking, already, about my next possible voyage. I just can’t help it.

This post has two parts: 1. Specifically, looking for general insights on anchoring along the Maine coast and the many bays and coves I have seen on some fabulous charts I have of Maine. 2. General knowledge useful in approaching a Maine Cruise.

I don’t have experience anchoring in rocky bottoms, either big ones or smaller stones. Good charts tell you a lot about the bottom. There must be good anchorages in Maine and I assume (danger Will Robinson) some of these anchorages are sand/shell/ grass bottoms but again I don’t have experience in Maine.

Can any of you old hands provide some insights about anchoring in Maine—planning, techniques, and gear? Recommend any cruising guides that would help me with the larger considerations of understanding how to approach sailing along the coast of Maine and perhaps Nova Scotia?

We carry four anchors on the FR and 240’ of chain, and a second bower of 300’ of 5/8” three strand nylon with a separate length of 50’ of chain that can be incorporated as needed. We have a third bower of 250’ of 1/2” three strand. We also have a manual windlass.

I’m not asking for a tome just some general insight. Thanks as always.

[Alan Stewart]

Maine has nearly as many different types of anchoring substrates as it does anchorages - everything from thick gooey mud to sand, gravel, shale, eelgrass, cobble, boulders and most anything that you can imagine... However, it is also the subject of at least a half-dozen excellent cruising guides and, of course, the Coast Pilot, so you needn’t worry about lack of information when selecting a safe spot to drop your hook for a night or a week. When in doubt, ask a native boatman, they’re friendly and helpful!
It sounds like you’re well-equipped with suitable ground tackle, although you didn’t specify the types of anchors you carry, but in most situations a Bruce or CQR is all you’re likely to need. Just remember to leave plenty of scope for both the tides (extreme in some cases), as well as the current, which is likely to shift on you sometime during the night... be prepared to swing!
Maine is cruising paradise - you’ll never run out of fabulous places to visit even if you return season after season. Be sure to pick up a copy of the Maine Island Trail booklet - it contains scores, if not hundreds, of island destinations accessible only by boat, many with onshore hiking, picnicking and even camping opportunities (!), its an amazing resource.
Enjoy your visit - you’ll not regret it...

[John Ring]

John - pick up a copy of the latest "Taft Guide," what the locals call a book titled A Cruising Guide to the Maine Coast, currently in it's sixth edition I believe. Link: https://www.landfallnavigation.com/cata ... qsEALw_wcB

You could easily spend a whole summer cruising around Penobscot Bay, thought by many to be the best cruising grounds on the East Coast. If you have time wander east to Roque Island. Cruising anywhere east of Shoodic Point leaves the crowds (and services) behind for sure, true natural beauty.

If you're short on time, I'd start around the west end of Penobscot Bay (around Tenants Hbr) and slowly work east exploring every nook & cranny. Camden, Pulpit Hbr, Eggamoggin Reach, Dear Isle Thorofare, Fox Island Thorofare, Southwest Hbr, Northeast Hbr, and Bar Harbor should all be on the list just to start.

If you decide to jump across to Nova Scotia, be prepared for a wall of fog. Shelburne is a convenient and friendly small port of entry for boats crossing over from Maine.

I'm sure lots of others will chime in here with great info. Shoot us a note when you're just north of Boston.

Cheers,
John Ring
CD36 Tiara

[Tod Mills]

Most of the places I've anchored in Maine (Penobscot Bay to MDI) have had mud bottoms. One place in Merchant's Row, between Russ and Camp islands seemed to be cobblestone, but that was in over 35' of water and not in a cove. I was anchored between the ketch Angelique and a schooner, and we stayed put. Had a blow been expected, I should have opted for a more sheltered anchorage. A few nights later, a strong front did come through and I chose well-protected Hatch Cove, up by Castine, where I had a good mud bottom and spent a day there until the weather improved.

The big difference I find, compared to the Chesapeake or Martha's Vineyard area, or my home waters on the Great Lakes, is that the tides are big enough to have to think about what the present state is and what things will look like as the tide changes. One evening I was planning on anchoring in Somes Sound's Valley Cove, but the tide was ebbing and the wind was light, so I was swept out, so rather than motoring in, I went with the flow and anchored over in front of Norwood Cove.

Of course, lobster floats/toggles can be thick. Outboard power is a plus, as is an attached rudder. My rudder is not, and I've snagged a couple of toggle lines with it, that I pushed off with the boathook (kind of a pain as the floats have a surprising amount of buoyancy).

As my time there has always been late summer/early fall, I've not had to deal much with fog.

As others already said, the Taft guide is great.

[wikakaru]

John,

My wife and I have cruised Maine extensively for many years and we also spent one summer in Nova Scotia. We sailed on boats of a similar size (a 35 foot steel cutter and a Pacific Seacraft 34) to your Far Reach. We have anchored in hundreds of Maine harbors and I can count on one hand the number that had rocky bottoms. Mostly we have found mud or sand. Sometimes kelp is an issue, but not often. The anchors we used were a Bruce on one boat and a Spade on the other and they always did the trick. Leaving adequate scope for the big tides should always be a consideration, especially as you go Down East. For example, Roque Island has 15-foot tides at springs, and 8- to 10-foot tides at neaps.

More of a worry than bottom conditions is that many of the most popular harbors have been completely filled with moorings, making anchoring impossible (though this is more true in places farther south like Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts than in Maine). Not to worry, there are still plenty of excellent anchorages in Maine with lots of room to anchor, but just beware that if you have your heart set on visiting Camden, for example, you will need to include mooring fees in your budget. I suppose in that respect it's not too different from the Virgin Islands these days.

I echo those who have said that A Cruising Guide to the Maine Coast by Taft, Taft, and Rindlaub is the bible. If you want to hike or explore ashore on Maine's deserted islands, join Maine Island Trail Association to get the MITA Guide that gives details on which islands are publicly accessible and where the trails are. The MITA guide has far more detail for hiking than the Taft/Rindlaub cruising guide, though it is geared more toward kayakers than sailors. For Nova Scotia we used Peter Loveridge's A Cruising Guide to Nova Scota. After the Taft/Rindlaub guide virtually every other cruising guide is a letdown, but the Loveridge guide was fine. Nowadays Active Captain is also a good supplement to get more up-to-date information than is in the printed guides.

The other big consideration for cruising both Maine and Nova Scotia is fog. We have cruised both with and without radar, and while it was really nice to have, someone of your abilities will do just fine without it.

Many people will tell you that lobster pots are an issue (in Maine, not Nova Scotia--their lobster season is closed during the summer), and for boats with a propeller they are. You, however, don't have to worry about that (unless you have your outboard deployed, but even then it should be simple for you to clear a snag).

My wife and I now summer on Vinalhaven Island in Maine and sail an engineless Cape Dory Typhoon. I like what you have done with Far Reach. Though Far Reach is much bigger than our little Dory, it sounds like we have similar "zero systems" approaches to boating. When you get to Maine we would love to get together with you and Gayle and compare notes.

If you have any specific questions please feel free to PM or email me. I could go on for pages and pages about cruising in Maine.

Good luck and smooth sailing,

Jim

[Megunticook]

I live in Camden and spend most of my time in Penobscot Bay but have ventured beyond occasionally. Most spots I've anchored in are muddy--I have a Danforth anchor and it seems to work just fine. As others have mentioned plenty of scope is good to accommodate the large tides.

Easy to run aground/hit rocks around here if you're not careful, so good charts, instruments, and most of all vigilance is important.

September is the ideal time to visit if you don't mind cooler nights.

[Alan Stewart]

A follow-up note: I was remiss I’m forgetting to mention an important addition to your Maine cruising library that is considered S.O.E., namely Eldridge Tide & Pilot Book, commonly referred to simply as “Eldridges”. Loaded with valuable info for the entire northeast region.
Last June we sailed from Bar Harbor to Yarmouth, N.S. on an HR 42’, after leaving at 5pm we enjoyed a lovely moonlight sail with very little fog and arrived the following morning by 8 o’clock - just a short-hop from Mt. Desert to Canada... (6 month cruising permit issued upon arrival); Something to consider for an extra taste of fabulous unspoiled scenery and cruising...

[John Stone]

All
Thanks. Lots of great info to help me think about how to plan a cruise to Maine. I sincerely appreciate all the responses. I even received several very thoughtful PMs. What a great sailing family the Cape Dorians are.

We have been camping in Maine and NS for about 12 years. We just love it up there. We usually camp at Camden Hills State Park and use that as a base of operations for day trips. I have a chart of Penobscot Bay and the Eggmogin Reach and it thrills me to look at all the bays and long stretches of sailing water. Good to know the anchoring, allowing for the tide, is straight forward. We carry a 45 lb Spade, a 35 lb Spade, a 70 lb Luke, and 15 lb Danforth kedge, and a 35 lb CQR. Will probably be removing the CQR from the boat. It’s mostly ballast anyway.

Nothing going to happen this summer. I’ll singlehand home from the VI to NC in May and be there to support the kids starting college in late Aug. Right now, I plan to put the FR on the hard...maybe haul her to the back yard. For probably a year. I have a couple major projects I’m thinking about. Not sure though. Just thinking it may be time for a few changes. Need to ponder on it for a while. More on that another time.

Many thanks to all who responded. I feel encouraged and a little more confident about a Maine cruise. Not a simple thing to get there from NC or to get back. I’m not planning on the ICW so it’s going to be an offshore passage both ways I think. So I need to plan carefully....

[Steve Laume]

One more thing to consider when putting out enough scope to hold at high tide. When you anchor at high tide, in tight spot, those rocks that seem to be at a comfortable distance will be much closer when the tide goes out. In some places, with large tidal ranges, I have felt the need to set a second anchor off the stern to keep the boat from swinging into unwanted areas. For this purpose a Danforth and is ideal. They are light, easy to row out and hold very well in this situation where you will not be changing the direction of the pull.

There are lots of rocks in Maine and they can sneak up on you when the tide goes out, Steve.

[John Stone]

Thanks Steve. I carry a danforth HT 12H in a rack on the port quarter of the FR. It’s always rigged to 250’ of three strand nylon stowed in port locker via a spartan chain pipe. So, easy and quick to deploy. But it’s a kedge anchor so not as big an anchor as I would use as a primary anchor. What are your thoughts about anchor size for the task you described?

[Steve Laume]

I think you have exactly what you need for this situation. You want something fairly light and easy to deploy. If it was blowing like stink you probably wouldn't want to be a situation where you couldn't swing with the wind anyway, so a light anchor is fine.

[John Stone]

I think you have exactly what you need for this situation. You want something fairly light and easy to deploy. If it was blowing like stink you probably wouldn't want to be a situation where you couldn't swing with the wind anyway, so a light anchor is fine.

Thanks Steve. Used as you recommend, does my dandorth need a length of chain? If so, how long? I typically keep the kedge without chain to make it easier/faster to deploy. I have plenty of extra chain I can shackle between the anchor and line.

[Steve Laume]

I have some chain on mine. Maybe 20' or so. I think having some chain is good to prevent possible abrasion and to help it settle to the bottom. If you row it out, it isn't too bad to have some chain in the dink. Those danforts tend to plane along when you drop them and I think the chain helps eliminat that tendency, Steve.

[John Stone]

Makes sense Steve. Thanks.

[Joe CD MS 300]

We started sailing in Maine in the late 80’s with our three sons after getting into sailing on the Chesapeake. Technically much tougher on the Maine coast. Anchoring was not typically a problem. Mud bottoms are pretty common. I do try to avoid kelp. Just harder to set and reset. What I did pay attention to a lot was the possibility and effect of wind shifts which are pretty common. Also be conscious of how quickly the depth can change in the vicinity of where you might anchor. Depths can go from 20’ to 100’ in short distances.

The weather changes pretty quick up here. It did take a while to get use and feel comfortable fog. It can be very disorienting. It makes it harder to hold a course without any targets on the horizon. Anytime there was a remote chance of fog I would typically scan the chart for a harbor or anchorage that would be easy to enter. In fog you want to make sure that all the information you have available is consistent and confirming of your position, charts, depths/sounding, radar.