August 19 -- Rockland to Five Islands

A long day – 40 miles, by the most logical safe route, longer with the tacking -- 9:30 am to 5:15 pm. We were able to sail out of Penobscot Bay on a starboard close hauled reach and in fact replaced the genoa with the small jib when we achieved 8.5 knots, a bit of it from the current and with a lot of heeling. Once through Owl’s Head Passage and Muscle Ridge Shoals Passage, however, the course took us a bit more to starboard. This way the wind was too close to our bow to sail without the engine, which remained on until we rounded Southport Island and headed North in the Sheepscot River the last six miles, to Five Islands. Lene took the watch for an hour and a half, dodging lobster pots, while I took a break below and read. It was a cold wind until the beating stopped. But it was great for those last six miles up the Sheepscot: making good speed, albeit tide assisted, and not close hauled, but sailing large at last, without the noisemaker.

The most interesting thing about the passage for me was that I deviated from the “approved” or suggested path, the one marked out by buoys and with purple lines on the chart showing the distance and course between them.  The approved path, which I have taken every other time, is called Fisherman Passage, between Linekin Neck on the mainland and Fisherman Island, just south of it. But south of that, is an unnamed passage bound by White Island, The Hypocrites and Fisherman Island to the north and Outer Heron Island and Damariscove Island, to the south. We tacked south enough to be able to make it through there after tacking back to the easterly course. Such things give me a thrill.  Sadly, Lene is not turned on by geography.

Five Islands is an anchorage on the west side of the Sheepscot River, created by about five small islands off the shore. The eastern shore is not that far away.

There is a small Yacht Club here which does not allow non-members on its property, but maintains four moorings for transients, first come first served, for up to two nights at no cost.

If those four are full, which they were not this night, there is a commercial company that rents moorings.






The harbor has several lobster boats

and many small power pleasure boats

 and is dominated by the Five Islands Lobster Shack,

to which we repaired for dinner. (Ten dollars for a 1 1/4 pound lobster, an ear of corn and a tub of cole slaw; the only drawback: they don't sell desert.)

 I was here with Jim, from Camden, on our way out in 2008, and I wanted Lene to experience the place. On the way back that year, we were given a free mooring by the owner of a magnificent home in Harmon Harbor, behind an adjacent peninsula and we were given a lift the mile into town, but that is not the same as being here on a boat.  That year the waves were crashing on the rocks next to the boat but we had serenity because the rocks broke the waves; a precursor of several Caribbean anchorages. This year there were no waves at all.

We saw the full moon over our boat, though

and the tides will be higher and lower than normal these days, and the currents stronger.

After breakfast we explored the harbor by dink and visited the local market: “Just up the hill and turn left, you can’t miss it.”  and we saw the local Baptist Bible school at play

and its country cemetery.

Bad news: Lene’s friend Sherry, who had planned to meet us in Portland on Wednesday, is in the hospital and we will have to adjourn that rendezvous until the fall.