The "foggiest" place in Maine
While riding bikes in Acadia, we met a nice fellow just outside a local yacht club. He asked about our sailing plans and told us we should go East, or "Down East" as they say in Maine, to Roque Island.
Down East includes all of the coastline between Acadia and Newfoundland. The area’s reputation is tough: rock ledges, the worst fog Maine has to offer, and virtually no services. Enough said; we wanted to go. “We had the weather gauge…" and it was a beautiful day for sailing East.
Our route took us past several sobering places - Mistake Island, Drowned Boys Ledge, Misery Ledge, Roaring Bull, and Big Breaking Ledge. We were followed by another boat and soon-to-be friends, sailing sheep farmers from New Zealand. They trade-off running the sheep farm with sailing, switching every 6 months with their two adult sons.
The cove at Roque Island is ringed by small islands, and Roque itself has a long beach for nice walks. Not a house in sight. We shared the cove with 4-5 sailboats, plus local lobstermen that come every Sunday for a boat party.
At anchor, the ocean swell rolled Iolair and everything inside creaked all night; a total noisy chaos. Picture everything in your house making some little noise...all night long. Not much sleep the first night, but we didn't have anything to do the next day except relax and nap. The musical squeaks and clangs continued the next night, but it was easier to sleep through it. The third night, no problem.
Aria, our 'old friends' from the rally, sailed in the second day and Brain made great lobster bisque. We had a musical happy hour on Iolair, with sailors from 4 boats singing and grinning. We’d say Roque is totally worth the journey.
Boat quote for the day: "At an anchorage with an ocean swell, every object onboard finds it's voice and makes some kind of noise."
Down East includes all of the coastline between Acadia and Newfoundland. The area’s reputation is tough: rock ledges, the worst fog Maine has to offer, and virtually no services. Enough said; we wanted to go. “We had the weather gauge…" and it was a beautiful day for sailing East.
Our route took us past several sobering places - Mistake Island, Drowned Boys Ledge, Misery Ledge, Roaring Bull, and Big Breaking Ledge. We were followed by another boat and soon-to-be friends, sailing sheep farmers from New Zealand. They trade-off running the sheep farm with sailing, switching every 6 months with their two adult sons.
The cove at Roque Island is ringed by small islands, and Roque itself has a long beach for nice walks. Not a house in sight. We shared the cove with 4-5 sailboats, plus local lobstermen that come every Sunday for a boat party.
Aria, our 'old friends' from the rally, sailed in the second day and Brain made great lobster bisque. We had a musical happy hour on Iolair, with sailors from 4 boats singing and grinning. We’d say Roque is totally worth the journey.
Boat quote for the day: "At an anchorage with an ocean swell, every object onboard finds it's voice and makes some kind of noise."
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