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I arrived in Portland at the end of June to sort the boat out. Most things had weathered well, the wrap had certainly helped since the boat was dry and showed little sign of leaks. The water filter I'd installed had cracked, well actually completly broken in half. I discovered the break only once I tried to pressurize the water system. Mental note, drain the filter when leaving the boat in cold climates.

Hamilton Marine in Portland is a wonderful place for sailors, they have everything you need there and a lot of other things too. The boat wintered at South Portland so it was a bit of a walk to get there, but then again thats what Uber is for. Luckily there's plenty of brew pubs on the way there and back.

I lost a few days through rain and a couple through some kind of flu I'd pick from somewhere (probably the grandkids) but was out on the water by the 11th. It would have been the 10th but I couldn't get the engine started and ended up having a mechanic bleed the system.

So the plan was to see some of Maine. I'd felt a little cheated at not seeing much of Maine the year before, because I'd headed to a dock as soon as I'd got back in the States. Maine has some of the best sailing in the US and if I just kept heading south I'd miss out. So the plan was to spend a week or so seeing some of Maine, and have a little quiet time before meeting my daughter Lizzy in Boston. I was going to head to Acadia National Park then go pick her up. The intent was to take my time, anchor at night, fish at the end of the day and just enjoy the water.

Casco Bay was a glorious beam reach right through the length of the bay. At my anchorage at the end of the day, I was serenaded by sea lions. Raucus singing like drunken sailors. I could really have done with.

I sailed to Penabscot Bay before running out of time, didn't catch anything bigger than mackerel, and found northern Maine absolutely beautiful.The anchorages on the small islands were wonderful. The stop at St. Georges (Tenants Harbor) worked out wonderfuly. That was the day I put the dinghy together and went ashore. There just so happened to be a local festival. The local fire brigade was cooking lobster and serving it up with chips, corn, mussels and a soda, all for $20. I was a happy camper indeed. I'd actually tied the dinghy up at the lobster processing plant and then walked into town, so you could not have have had fresher lobster unless you caught it yourself. And, the mussels were huge, probably the best I've ever had. Part of the event was to talk to Lobster fishermen, that was a real treat. It answered a lot of questions for me. After that I didn't mind the all the buoys quite as much.

The journey to Boston was a lot faster. I made fewer stops but it was also a tougher journey, a lot of the time the wind was on the nose. But despite this it was still a really enjoyable trip. This was probably where I hit the worst fog. There was one anchorage where I went in by GPS alone, not being able to see more than 15 yards ahead of me. I could hear the seagulls on the cliffs but couldn't see them. The fog lifted 30 minutes later and I could then see just how tight the anchorage was and how close to the other boats the moosing was. That was Seguin Island with a Lighthouse museum on it. I took the dinghy and did the walking tour and the trip inside the museum. Those old lighthouse must have been a different breed. They lived in isolation and were tougher than nails.

One day, sailing through fog, I came across Booboo 3. I have AIS on the boat so I can see other boats transmitting their position. Well Booboo 3 and I were on a collision course, so I get on the radio annd ask him to change course. I get the reply "Sure I can see you on radar, I'll change course". Well 5 minutes later we're still on a collision course, visibility is at 60 yards so I get on the radio again. No reply. Three minutes later we're too close and I tack, not the way I wanted to be heading but Booboo 3 is hasn't changed course. We must have passed within 100 yards but I never saw him. I heard Booboo 3 hailed another 7 times in the next half-hour as other boats were trying to get out of his way. He went like bowling ball through the fleet. It makes me wonder what hppened to Booboo 1 and Booboo 2. Never was a boat more aptly named.

I headed into the Saco River and picked up a mooring there. I went into the town of Saco and picked up fresh food, and had a haircut. Also had dinner out a restaraunt and a shower, the first time since leaving Portland, for both. This area was all about the stripers with people fishing all hours of the day. This place was an idyllic area, very pretty, but soft and green not rugged and rocky like northern Maine.

Made stops at Portsmouth and Gloucester, two very storied marine towns. I did not however go ashore but still I enjoyed being there.