Cruising Penobscot Bay
The Penobscot archipelago is regarded by many as among the most picturesque cruising areas in the world. Forty miles long by twenty miles wide, it is populated with a few larger islands, Islesboro, North Haven and Vinalhaven, and hundreds of smaller secluded islands with remote anchorages, small fishing villages, commercial harbors and summer resort towns. On any given day, one is likely to meet local ferry boats, lobster fishermen, power yachts as well as classic sailboats and coastal windjammer schooners. Warren Island, a “water access only” State Park, is in Gilkey Harbor near Islesboro.
Unless there is occasional fog, most summer days follow the well-known and predictable pattern. In season, the sun rises nearly every morning to find the Bay "flat as a mirror". You can hear every bird, every seal, every fish jump for miles. Ducks and gulls float effortlessly by heading up the Bay. The sounds of life on land are hauntingly absent.
Mid-morning, the first noticeable ripples begin to appear on the surface of the water. By late morning, the breeze picks up and the boats in the anchorages swing in synchronized harmony. Come noon and the breeze freshens enough for sailboats to venture forth from every harbor. By mid-afternoon, the sailboats heel gently in the southwest breeze. Late afternoon as calm returns, harbors beckon and boats make for their moorings.
Penobscot Bay Chart - Click for larger version
On the Foredeck – W. Penobscot Bay
Fun on the Flybridge
Marsall Point Light
Summer Cottage at Islesboro
Merchants Rows – McGlathery Island
Birdwatching on the Flybridge