August 24 -- Cape Porpoise to Isles of Shoals

The insects were mostly gone in the morning. This shows the passage out of Cape Porpoise Harbor, the green squares to the right and the red pointy tops to the left.

The channel is only about half a mile long and the harbor looks big at high tide with water on both sides, but at low tide it is quite narrow, about ½ mile long and 1/10^th mile wide.

Here is the look inward from our mooring near the exit.

We decided to depart in the morning, 9:30 am, rather than in the afternoon, when the tide would be fair, for two reasons (in addition to the fact that the tidal flow is less here than further northeast). First, 10 to 15 knots of favorable wind were forecast in the morning, dropping to five knots in the afternoon. But in reality there was no wind in the morning or the afternoon so we motored the whole 23.9 miles, with the main up, solely to dampen the rolling. Second, this being a nice sunny summer weekend, we expected the place to be crowded, and it was, but we took one of the few remaining moorings. They are free. I had never seen this place crowded before. Lots of power boats. Many left and others arrived after us so our fear was unfounded. And the alternative, had there been no room at the inn, was to anchor in a cove near the entrance to Portsmouth harbor that we saw when we sailed north in June.

On the way, we passed west of Boon Island, a rock 100 by 200 yards, with a 137 foot high lighthouse to keep ships from going aground there. Your greatgrandfather's taxpayer dollars at work. The sail on the passing working boat is to stabilize her and keep her bow into the wind.

Isles of Shoals is a place of awe inspiring beauty, a group of small islands and rocky ledges, located on the Maine – New Hampshire border, about seven miles from Portsmouth. Our mooring is in Maine but our shore excursion was in New Hampshire. Smuttynose and Appledore are among the largest and sound like Harry Potter names. They have very few homes, but a U.N.H./Cornell oceanography site. Star Island, to the southeast, is where The Oceanic,

an old Victorian hotel sits, now used for groups who wish to conduct spiritual retreats. Its origin was with the Universalist Unitarian religion, which, correct me if I've gotten this wrong, is the least Christ-oriented Christian religion. The area between Smuttynose and Star Islands has been named Gosport Harbor. It is too deep for anchoring, in the middle, but the Portsmouth YC maintains several free moorings around the edges Thank you, PYC! ILENE is to the left in this view from the cupola on the hotel's grounds.

Smuttynose and Star are near each other and joined by a man made seawall which provides good protection against the prevailing southwesterlies. But what do folks with boats here do during a nor’easter?

Several buoys and a lighthouse on tiny White Island, to the southwest, which we will pass tomorrow upon leaving, make it easy to get in and out of the harbor.

We explored the southeastern corner of the island on trails past the monument honoring a 19th Century UU Minister/Physician. Ilene, standing 30 feet nearer the camera than the monument, gives one a sense of its size.

The place has rugged beauty. Here is the back side of the hotel.

These rocks are clear of most everything except themselves and their non-human inhabitants, who are unusually fearless around humans.

I know someone who will tell me what kind of birds these are.

There are several stone houses used as seminar rooms and a library. The Island is remarkably open to people who all arrive by boat – it is a long swim and there is no airport. A large staff cares for paying guests, who come by ferry, but we freeloaders felt very welcomed to land on and explore Star Island.

Kennebunkport on Dwellable