The dreaded day finally arrived – time to turn back west.  We weren’t sure if our anchor would dislodge after sitting in that wonderful thick Maine mud for two weeks, but a couple of extra tugs on the windlass in low gear and she popped.

 

We headed down to Southwest Harbor to top off water tanks and do laundry.  Unfortunately the dryer was on the fritz (hardly any heat) and I had three loads to do.  While waiting and waiting, we happened to meet a fellow cruiser who was on the hard at the boatyard having his rudder repaired.  He was waiting for laundry as well and invited us up for cocktails in his cockpit to make the wait more tolerable.  Cocktails turned into homemade pizza and a completely lovely evening aboard Promise with Mike from Annapolis.  Mike – hope the rudder repairs went well, looks like you’ve been able to move on again per Marine Traffic!

 

Then it was off to Burnt Coat Harbor again to have one final rendezvous with James and Jenny during their summer vacation.  They came aboard with their pup Maggie (who ran laps up on deck while we had dinner down below).  It was a little bit bittersweet having that one last dinner with them but it was time to move on.

 

And then we hit the motherload.  Fellow cruisers Keith and Ida had not only mentioned how much they loved Maine, but one particular spot called Seal Harbor in Vinalhaven.  It’s a series of coves that you wind your way through until you get to just the right spot to drop anchor.  The particular cove we picked is called Outer Inner Seal Cove and there’s only room for one boat.  Though you could see other boats in the distance we had this little space all to ourselves.  A few homes dotted the shore, but it was all Maine granite ledges, pine trees, and seals.  Ah, the seals.  The first one that popped up was so big I thought he was a walrus.  We later found the rock where they sun themselves, unfortunately couldn’t get close enough for a good shot!

 

Unfortunately we only had one night in this magical place, so it’s already been added to the list of ‘return to’ next summer.