Wednesday Sept 17, 2025 Portland ME to Kittery Point, ME 56 miles and 5.5 hours
Time to say goodbye to Maine. We certainly can understand why boaters love the area from Casco Bay northward with all the scenic islands, secret anchoring spots and small, delightful towns. We probably rushed our way through it all a bit too quickly not fully appreciating it.
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Portland is definitely the cruise ship hub up here. There were two that were here
when we arrived left. This one came in overnight |
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| And we passed this one coming in as we were leaving |
South of Portland to the border has a different feel. None of the tantalizing anchorages. This is more coastal. Beaches, rock cliffs, stunning houses overlooking the water, lighthouses on points of land, and an occasional river entrance. We run an almost uninterrupted straight line offshore for hours. Otto finally getting a workout again as just an occasional lobster trap buoy is out here.
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Plenty of multicolored markers still out there. These were more easily seen ones.
Picking out a dark green, dark blue or black ones are more difficult. |
Kennebunkport was a potential stop but it's just a few hours cruise and it's a small river town with limited facilities. So on to the next bigger town which is Portsmouth, NH. This is another river town and home to a naval shipyard. The Piscataqua River flows strongly here with a combination of outgoing river current and outgoing tidal current creating a difficult harbor. We decide to grab a mooring ball across the river from Portsmouth in Kittery, Maine for a quick overnight stay before getting an early start in the morning for Boston. Good cruising day with overcast skies, 60 degree temps, virtually no wind and a minor ocean swell of little significance. Hard to believe this is the open waters of the North Atlantic, but glad we're getting these smooth days of coastal cruising.
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| Lobster traps out to sea and lighthouses anywhere close to shore |
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| Journey for Sept. 17, 2025 |
Thursday Sept. 18, 2025 Kittery Point, ME to Boston, Mass. 67 miles and 6.9 hours
Picking up the mooring ball was a smart decision. The river current really rips, so making our early morning escape with just a quick release of the mooring line was so much easier than if we had anchored.
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| The pull on the mooring ball verifies the current on the Piscataqua River |
Forecasted light rain overnight never materialized but we did wake to overcast and hazy conditions. Started out to sea and had the swells like the previous day - just a little larger but still a long period between waves so nothing jarring. Misty rain and hazy or light fog conditions for the first few hours. Another day of primarily straight-line offshore cruising with a few passes closer to shore with lighthouses.
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| Dreary weather as we pass by Eastern Point Lighthouse |
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| Still dreary passing by Graves Lighthouse |
Water got a bit confused and lumpy as we rounded Cape Ann and the peninsula that sticks out around Gloucester. Once around the cape and changed our heading to SW things settled down and the rain clouds moved off as the weather continued to improve. Temperatures into the 70's and the sun broke out as we entered Boston Harbor.
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| Seas settling down and sun breaking out through the clouds |
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| Passing by downtown Boston on the way to our marina |
Reservations for four nights at Constitution Marina. Great location right on the Freedom Trail, close to Little Italy and all the historic sights. We've never been to Boston and are looking forward to exploring.
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| Journey for Sept. 18, 2025 |
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