September 15-16, 2025 Portland, Maine

Monday Sept 15, 2025 Snow Island Anchor to S. Portland 23.4 miles and 3 hours

We have not gotten fuel since St. Peters up at Bras d'Or Lake on Cape Breton in Canada. I was waiting to refill once back in the US and hoping to find a decent price. In the meantime, I've been watching the sight glasses on the fuel tanks drop lower and lower. Finally tracked down a good price at South Port Marina in South Portland. Short run from that very nice anchorage at Snow Island to Portland.

Morning sun showcasing the shoreline of our anchorage

View off the stern

Passing a daymarker on this island along with lobster trap buoys

Shoreline around Portland becomes much more developed

Basically, just down and across Casco Bay, around a few islands and then pass the harbor proper to the marina. Had made arrangements with the marina the day before for an early arrival and need to fuel up. Got there about 10AM and unfortunately a 55' Fleming was at the fuel dock. We eased into our slip while waiting for them to finish and then headed over. Loaded up with 500 gallons. A fuel truck was fueling the Fleming and we opted for that also as it feeds much faster than the normal pumps on the dock. Dockage is pricey in Portland, so we were planning just a one day stay. Information on Portland was pretty limited in our guides which is weird as it's the largest city in Maine. Everything seemed to revolve around the large number and variety of restaurants. Virtually no mention of museums. We passed 2 large, docked cruise ships when entering the harbor so figured there must be something here.

Plenty of commercial boats like this ferry plying the harbor

BIG cruise ships dock here. These left and were replaced by 2 others.
Putting in the cruise ship docks was a catalyst for redevelopment of the Old Port area.

Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse with old Fort Preble in the background

Still an active lobsterman's harbor

Abandoned Fort Gorges on Hog Island Ledge. Supposed to be very spooky as well as haunted.
No formal tours although adventuresome people have been known to land there and explore.

Spent the balance of Monday in SoPo. Local lingo for South Portland - as compared to Portland proper across the river. Spent the afternoon running around getting prescriptions refilled, tracking down straight 30W oil and straight 40W oil. 30W for the upcoming generator oil change. Still needed a bit more 40W to top off the recent transmission oil change. Then to Hannaford's for some provisions. Dropped all that at the boat, then headed to The Send Brewery. Interesting place. Brewery and Japanese restaurant. Got a beer and split an appetizer. Talked to the barmaid who is a local and she convinced us we needed to stay at least another day and explore downtown Portland. Then headed to Taco Trio for some Mexican food. Probably some of the best we've had in a long time. Huge carnitas stuffed burrito for me, shrimp taco for Martha and some fried plantains on the side. Awesome salsa bar for your chips. Went to bed feeling as stuffed as that burrito!

Ocean Street downtown So Po a bit laid back on a Monday night.

Tuesday morning was for chores. Wash day. Martha taking advantage of the washers and dryers at the marina office while I gave a long overdue washing to the boat. Then a quick Uber ride across the bridge to Portland where we got dropped off at the Maine Historical Society Museum which also houses the Wadsworth-Longfellow house. This was the house Henry grew up in and remained in the family until his sister Anne donated it to the museum upon her death in 1901 to preserve it as a memorial to her famous brother. Built in 1785 by Henry's maternal grandfather it is the oldest standing all brick house in Portland. Preserved as it was in the mid 1800's. Museum had an interesting display of famous Maine murder cases through the years with lots of archived sensationalized news stories. Also had a small display of some antique quilts from the region.

The Wadsworth-Longfellow House. Originally 2 stories, the third floor was added in the early 1800's

The formal parlor. Panting on the far wall is of a young Henry.

We were both mesmerized by this quilt. Made in 1869.

Time for some food. Headed to Highroller Lobster Co. and split a classic lobster roll. Big chunks of plain lobster on a butter toasted bun. They are known for the variety of special sauces they make in-house and serve on the side. Pick 2-3 and create your own flavor profile. Walked that off meandering around the Old Port with it's unique cobblestone streets, restaurants, bars, and shops. Then to Otto Pizza which came highly recommended for a slice of their pizza. Uber back to the boat and called it a day. Glad we opted for that extra day rather than just a quick stop for fuel.