03 September 2022 – Saturday – Yarmouth NS to Northeast Harbor, Maine

Our plan to leave the dock in Yarmouth at 4 am was on time. I untied the lines as Mark readied the boat to turn off the dock in the darkness. I jumped back onboard as Mark was ready to pull away. But he couldn’t leave. I hadn’t realized there was one more line tying us to the dock at the bow. I had seen one bow line but missed seeing the other one that was all the way forward. OOPS. Mark maneuvered us back along the dock. I jumped off and untied the line. I jumped back on and we were off! 

Yarmouth is a big commercial harbor that has a wide channel that accommodates a ferry that is 78 feet wide. Although not all buoys were lit, we were able to leave following the electronic chart. 
We also had the radar on to see who else might be up and moving. Often small boats are moving without AIS an (automated identification system) which gives the name, speed and direction. Radar can identify them as spots that move. Mark has great radar expertise! 

We had ideal conditions. The gulf of Maine was glassy flat. We couldn’t have asked for better for a trip that was 95 miles and would take a little over 12 hours. We saw a few whales and dolphins. Nancy and Bev saw a shark. Flat water makes it really easy to spot sea creatures. The day was so clear that we could see Mt Desert in Maine from about 45 miles out. Around 10:30 we saw the ferry from Yarmouth coming up behind us going 32 knots. The ferry makes the run to Bar harbor in about 3 hours.

As we approached Northeast harbor, we requested a mooring. The harbor is packed all summer but apparently people head south before Labor Day. We had no problem with getting a mooring. 

I had made a reservation at Copita, a great restaurant in Northeast harbor. We happily took a 5 pm slot because we had gained an hour from Atlantic time to East coast time and we were ready to eat and go to bed early. We did a little shopping in town at some favorite spots before dinner. We celebrated our return to US soil with some fancy cocktails. Dinner was delicious. Going back to the boat and to bed with a little heat turned on inside made for the end of a good day.