As You Wish - Our Adventures: Sept. 4, 2026 Deja Vu all Over Again

Friday-Sunday, Sept. 4-6, 2026 The Basin to Isle of Springs 25 miles and 3 hours

Beautiful morning to start the day. Weather advisory for fog in this morning. 6AM until 8AM. No problem for us as no plans to leave until 10AM. Slight haze when we first get up, but burning off as expected by 8. Light wind and sunshine pops up. Seems like a good day for a relatively short cruise. Biggest concern is the projected 2-3' seas for the short time we head out into the sea to work around Cape Small. Anchor comes up with soft mud that washes off fairly easily. Work our way back through the narrow entry - made a bit narrower as we're leaving at low tide. Plenty of lobster traps here to navigate.

We're seeing an occasional seal like this fella in the anchorage.
They just seem to be camera shy.

Sort of hard to tell, but this is a seal leaping out of the water

Yes, we had to navigate our way around and through all
these lobster pots to get out of the anchorage

Perfect Maine scenery. Old wood sailboat at anchor.
The narrow channel out is behind him and going right

Out the last of the channel and into open waters.
Looks like a lovely day for a cruise

Out in the main channel with depths of 125-150' we have clear cruising down the New Meadows River. Seas as we head into open water aren't bad. There are 2-3' swells but with a good period so we're gently being lifted and lowered. Round Cape Small with its long arching sandy beach anchored by the narrow passages at Bald Head and Small Point. We see a slow moving fin sticking up off the port side. Can't figure it out so shift the boat into neutral. It continues heading for us at a leisurely pace and we're able to see one of the ocean's weird fishes. An Ocean Sunfish - aka Mola Mola, comes right alongside the boat before giving a splash of his fins and dives deep under the boat. We learn that while our fish was maybe 2-3' across they commonly grow up to 5-6' across and weigh up to 800 pounds. Certainly one of the stranger creatures of the sea as it appears to be all head without a rear body or fins.

Lobstermen working their traps as we head down river

The last bits of fog wafting up off the beach at Cape Small

Our strange visitor - the Ocean Sunfish- laying on his side and basking in the sun

Fuller Rock Light off Small Point appears a bit hazy further out to sea. We're making a slight turn to port away from it and headed towards Sheepscot Bay. Sky above is filled with clouds and blue sky but ahead the surface is obscured. It's noon now and there should be no more signs of fog but that certainly isn't the case. In fact, it quickly goes to virtually zero visibility. We're in fairly open water, but shallower water and lobster pots have reappeared. Worse, we passed numerous lobster boats out working New Meadows River and have to assume they're out in these waters too.

Fuller Light Rock looking a bit fuzzy

Sunny skies above but looking a bit mysterious at sea level.

Back to instrument navigating. Navigation lights on, radar on, AIS working, we throttle back to idle speed. As we slowly proceed, I'm watching the radar. Blip from a known small island shows as expected about a mile ahead but another small blip in between also makes a mark. Double check the charts and no navigation buoys around that would ping back so make the assumption it's a boat. Just not moving. We continue to advance trying to stay off to the starboard side and inching closer. We're literally no more than 200' away when the white hulled lobster boat appears through the fog and we pass within 100'. Nerve wrecking to say the least. Happens a second time but this time we've got a bit more distance between us and a more visible blue hulled boat. We maintain our heading for the main channel up Sheepscot Bay where a sailboat going upbound is showing on AIS. At idle we're still catching up to him but at least I know he's there and he us. We're closing slowly on him and keep wondering when we'll see him. Our AIS vector line has us passing on his starboard side so I feel no collision is imminent but would still like to see him. Finally, his big white sails slowly make their appearance. We stay clear passing and then just as quickly they disappear in our wake like some ghostly mystery ship in a horror movie.

Even at idle speeds it's amazing how quickly boats appear out of the fog

Catching up to the sailboat as we travel up the Sheepscot River

We're approaching the area we'll need to cut in for our anchorage, so I head a bit closer to the shoreside. Amazingly the rough outline of the shore comes into view. Not clearly, but visible. Up ahead is a red buoy designating the entrance. We idle through and the densest fog lifts, leaving a somewhat viewable anchorage. This is another place we utilized on our Down East Loop. We pick a spot in 15' with good protection from the next several days of northerly winds. By the time the anchor's down and secured the anchorage is fog free although it's still laying hard over the Sheepscot River. By 2 PM even that is gone!! August and September are supposedly the best cruising months here in Maine as the chance for fog is diminished. But it sure is a fickle thing. Comes and goes as it pleases. Thick as the buttercream frosting in a whoopie pie at times. Other times just a light haze softly wafting about. Hoping that will be our last foggy cruising day, but somehow feeling very doubtful.