"Dean B" wrote in message
om...
The most encouraging destinations discussed so far are on the New
England coast. I have a few questions that I'd like to push back
about Maine:
Is the Maine fog less of a problem in September?

Yes.

Is the high season fog all that bad?

It can be. Out of roughly 20 Maine trips I don't think I've had one that didn't
involve some serious fog. Our joke is that although we've passed within 200
yard of Matinicus Light several times, we haven't seen it yet!

On the other hand, we've only been "fogged in" for more than a day once. As I
mentioned before, the fog tends to be spotty, usually staying a few miles
outside of the interesting islands, but sometimes getting pushed in. We've
learned to take advantage of the drier travel days, and to cope when it doesn't
work as planned.

Does it burn of in the afternoon?

You can almost count on a light fog in the morning, which often burns off by
noon. We usually wait until the first sign of thinning to take off, but I
confess we've used the "bread crumb" feature of the GPS a few times to retreat!

Do the winds hold up in Maine in Sep.?

Yes. And you'll find that they alternate between the summer SW and the winter
NW breezes, with the ocasional NE gale for added spice.

What is the public land situation in Maine? Are there public parks
where one can wander around?

There are hundreds of islands that are either deserted or public, or have small
towns that you're free to wander. Plus a number of formal parks. Acadia is a
"must see" place but it does get crowed. However, the island has a free public
bus system, so you can stay in a quiet harbor, like NE harbor, and use the bus
to see the major sights. After a few days, you can head in any direction and
find a beautiful spot with 10 miles.

An example: 6 miles south of Mt Desert is Long Island, with the town of
Frenchboro, pop 37, half named Lunt. You get a mooring from Lunt Marine in Lunt
Harbor, and make your Lobsta order from Lunt Restaurant on the VHF. You can
walk the town, visit the museum (one of the nicer "one room museums"), then sit
down for a great dinner. My wife had ordered a 1.5 pounder; they apologized
that there were none so they gave her a 2.5 pound monster. $15 with the
trimmings.

Check out the Hinckley Charters site - I think they have sample itineraries.