Many people think that sailing on the coast of Maine is challenging. The
combination of challenges that confront the sailors in this part of the
world appear daunting to folks who normally sail in kinder and gentler
waters. Large tides with attendant tidal currents along the Maine coast make
some folks nervous. Numerous lobster trap buoys waiting to catch your
rudder, propeller, and keel are intimidating. Impenetrable fog and
unforgiving rocky shores are enough to give southern sailors nightmares. I
am here to tell you that you have nothing to fear and that all of these
conditions were put here for a reason and that you should consider them all
to be personal gifts.



You can enjoy yourself in Maine knowing that there are large tides with
currents that can reach four or more knots in some places. If you are used
to sailing in places with tide heights of a foot or two, our tides of nine
to twenty-four feet should fill you with feelings of reassurance. You can be
assured that should you run aground at low tide that you will float free
sometime tomorrow and if you run aground at high water you will have plenty
of time to scrub and paint your bottom while you wait for the water to come
back. Those of us who are used to the tides of Maine can not understand how
folks who sail in areas that have small tides ever get their bottoms cleaned
or for that matter how they get themselves off when they inevitably run
aground.



The tidal currents are a gift for those of us who only travel at four to six
knots but are always in a hurry. On a recent trip to Eastport for the fourth
of July, Pacem was traveling up the Grand Manan channel, around the end of
Campobello Island and down the Head Harbor passage doing ten knots. The
incoming tidal current for the area's twenty-four foot tides sped us along
at such a speed that I would have been scared if it were not for the fog
that kept me from seeing more that a hundred yards.



As I have told our crew, Ben and Brad ages 13 and 11, fog is like nighttime
at home. You know that if you get up in the middle of the night and walk
around the house without turning on the lights that everything is just the
same as it was when there is light. So sailing in the fog is the just the
same as sailing in the bright sunshine but you do not have to be distracted
by the sights of islands with summer houses the size of castles, mountains
with views over the sea, wildlife, and schooners with sails filled bearing
down on you. It frees you to be more introspective and to pay attention to
the numerous navigational aids that the friendly people of Maine put out in
the water for you.



The United States Coast Guard does a wonderful job of marking the major
hazards to navigation on the coast but with a decrease in available funding
the job of indicating the flow of currents has fallen to volunteers. The
lobstermen of Maine spend their lives putting little colored buoys in every
conceivable place along the coast of Maine. They help us figure out the
exact set and drift of the current by placing these beautiful little buoys
in the navigable channels. The density of the buoys seems to be related to
the amount of waterborne traffic expected in the area. The Penobscot Bay
area has so many buoys that it seems that one could walk across some
channels without getting wet. In some places from Muscongus Bay north, they
even put on small additional buoys or toggles before the main colored buoy
to help us determine the current by catching the horizontal line between the
two buoys on our propeller or rudder. Though most of our boats mount anchors
on the forward or pointy end of the vessel, these numerous lines help us
practice the age-old technique of anchoring by the rudder. We should all
thank these selfless volunteers and also try to support them by encouraging
everyone we know to buy the critters that they catch when they are moving
the navigational markers around our rocky coast.



The rocky shores of Maine are a great improvement over the sandy shores that
cover some of the rest of the planet. The sand that one brings aboard from
beaches gets into your bunk and your bilge and is impossible to get out of
either one. The rocky shore also tells you when the water is getting too
shallow to float your boat. I have run aground in many parts of the world
and I can tell you from experience that when you run aground in Maine you
will know it immediately. I have run aground in the Bahamas, Florida, and
Nantucket in such soft sand that the boat just slid to a quiet stop without
any notification to the crew. In Maine the notification of grounding is
immediate and usually relatively noisy. The noise of scraping or fracturing
of fiberglass from the forward part of the hull clearly sends the message
that the water has become too thin.



The challenges that people associate with sailing the coast of Maine are
really great gifts to all of us. Think of these gifts as lessons to be
learned and events to be experienced. The coast is a tough teacher who
thinks that you learn better when the lessons are difficult and the grading
is demanding.

I want to assure you of the friendly and benign nature of the coast of Maine
and encourage you to come up and sail with us. In few areas of the nautical
world is the combination of conditions as conducive to relaxation and
carefree cruising as the coast of Maine. Just watch out for the teacher.



Ansley Sawyer

SV Pacem

"Ansley W. Sawyer" wrote in message
...
Many people think that sailing on the coast of Maine is challenging. The
combination of challenges that confront the sailors in this part of the
world appear daunting to folks who normally sail in kinder and gentler
waters. Large tides with attendant tidal currents along the Maine coast
make some folks nervous. Numerous lobster trap buoys waiting to catch your
rudder, propeller, and keel are intimidating. Impenetrable fog and
unforgiving rocky shores are enough to give southern sailors nightmares. I
am here to tell you that you have nothing to fear and that all of these
conditions were put here for a reason and that you should consider them
all to be personal gifts.



You can enjoy yourself in Maine knowing that there are large tides with
currents that can reach four or more knots in some places. If you are used
to sailing in places with tide heights of a foot or two, our tides of nine
to twenty-four feet should fill you with feelings of reassurance. You can
be assured that should you run aground at low tide that you will float
free sometime tomorrow and if you run aground at high water you will have
plenty of time to scrub and paint your bottom while you wait for the water
to come back. Those of us who are used to the tides of Maine can not
understand how folks who sail in areas that have small tides ever get
their bottoms cleaned or for that matter how they get themselves off when
they inevitably run aground.



The tidal currents are a gift for those of us who only travel at four to
six knots but are always in a hurry. On a recent trip to Eastport for the
fourth of July, Pacem was traveling up the Grand Manan channel, around the
end of Campobello Island and down the Head Harbor passage doing ten knots.
The incoming tidal current for the area's twenty-four foot tides sped us
along at such a speed that I would have been scared if it were not for the
fog that kept me from seeing more that a hundred yards.



As I have told our crew, Ben and Brad ages 13 and 11, fog is like
nighttime at home. You know that if you get up in the middle of the night
and walk around the house without turning on the lights that everything is
just the same as it was when there is light. So sailing in the fog is the
just the same as sailing in the bright sunshine but you do not have to be
distracted by the sights of islands with summer houses the size of
castles, mountains with views over the sea, wildlife, and schooners with
sails filled bearing down on you. It frees you to be more introspective
and to pay attention to the numerous navigational aids that the friendly
people of Maine put out in the water for you.



The United States Coast Guard does a wonderful job of marking the major
hazards to navigation on the coast but with a decrease in available
funding the job of indicating the flow of currents has fallen to
volunteers. The lobstermen of Maine spend their lives putting little
colored buoys in every conceivable place along the coast of Maine. They
help us figure out the exact set and drift of the current by placing these
beautiful little buoys in the navigable channels. The density of the buoys
seems to be related to the amount of waterborne traffic expected in the
area. The Penobscot Bay area has so many buoys that it seems that one
could walk across some channels without getting wet. In some places from
Muscongus Bay north, they even put on small additional buoys or toggles
before the main colored buoy to help us determine the current by catching
the horizontal line between the two buoys on our propeller or rudder.
Though most of our boats mount anchors on the forward or pointy end of the
vessel, these numerous lines help us practice the age-old technique of
anchoring by the rudder. We should all thank these selfless volunteers and
also try to support them by encouraging everyone we know to buy the
critters that they catch when they are moving the navigational markers
around our rocky coast.



The rocky shores of Maine are a great improvement over the sandy shores
that cover some of the rest of the planet. The sand that one brings aboard
from beaches gets into your bunk and your bilge and is impossible to get
out of either one. The rocky shore also tells you when the water is
getting too shallow to float your boat. I have run aground in many parts
of the world and I can tell you from experience that when you run aground
in Maine you will know it immediately. I have run aground in the Bahamas,
Florida, and Nantucket in such soft sand that the boat just slid to a
quiet stop without any notification to the crew. In Maine the notification
of grounding is immediate and usually relatively noisy. The noise of
scraping or fracturing of fiberglass from the forward part of the hull
clearly sends the message that the water has become too thin.



The challenges that people associate with sailing the coast of Maine are
really great gifts to all of us. Think of these gifts as lessons to be
learned and events to be experienced. The coast is a tough teacher who
thinks that you learn better when the lessons are difficult and the
grading is demanding.

I want to assure you of the friendly and benign nature of the coast of
Maine and encourage you to come up and sail with us. In few areas of the
nautical world is the combination of conditions as conducive to relaxation
and carefree cruising as the coast of Maine. Just watch out for the
teacher.



Ansley Sawyer



The real beauty of places like Nova Scotia and I'm sure..Maine, is the
abundance of bays, harbours etc around every corner for exploring, anchoring
for a night or two or just visiting remote fishing villages for a glimpse of
a simplier life.
SV Pacem

"Ansley W. Sawyer" wrote in message
...

I want to assure you of the friendly and benign nature of the coast of
Maine and encourage you to come up and sail with us. In few areas of the
nautical world is the combination of conditions as conducive to relaxation
and carefree cruising as the coast of Maine. Just watch out for the
teacher.



Ansley Sawyer

SV Pacem


Nice post... on my list of places to sail... these days, we're stictly Left
Coast sailors or some place warm in the winter.


--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

"Silver K" wrote in message
...

"Capt. JG" wrote in message
...
"Ansley W. Sawyer" wrote in message
...

I want to assure you of the friendly and benign nature of the coast of
Maine and encourage you to come up and sail with us. In few areas of the
nautical world is the combination of conditions as conducive to
relaxation and carefree cruising as the coast of Maine. Just watch out
for the teacher.



Ansley Sawyer

SV Pacem


Nice post... on my list of places to sail... these days, we're stictly
Left Coast sailors or some place warm in the winter.


--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com




I have sailed the Coast of Maine many times and experienced near 15 knots
of speed being flushed through Western Passage around "The Old Sow" .
The nice thing about Maine is the lobster that you can sometimes buy
directly from the fishing boats and have boiling in sea water before you
even set your hook. By the way, you do need a considerable amount of line
to set a hook in Maine. If you consider that the water will get up to 24'
deeper while anchored. Yuou also have to really consider what you will
swing into at low tide. I have also sailed the Sea of Cortez recently and
find all that sunshine hard to take. Give me fog anyday.

SilverK



I wish we experienced lots of sunshine in Baja last time we were there.. it
was relatively cold and not much sun, although the wind was great!

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

"Capt. JG" wrote in message
...
"Ansley W. Sawyer" wrote in message
...

I want to assure you of the friendly and benign nature of the coast of
Maine and encourage you to come up and sail with us. In few areas of the
nautical world is the combination of conditions as conducive to
relaxation and carefree cruising as the coast of Maine. Just watch out
for the teacher.



Ansley Sawyer

SV Pacem


Nice post... on my list of places to sail... these days, we're stictly
Left Coast sailors or some place warm in the winter.


--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com




I have sailed the Coast of Maine many times and experienced near 15 knots of
speed being flushed through Western Passage around "The Old Sow" . The
nice thing about Maine is the lobster that you can sometimes buy directly
from the fishing boats and have boiling in sea water before you even set
your hook. By the way, you do need a considerable amount of line to set a
hook in Maine. If you consider that the water will get up to 24' deeper
while anchored. Yuou also have to really consider what you will swing into
at low tide. I have also sailed the Sea of Cortez recently and find all
that sunshine hard to take. Give me fog anyday.

SilverK

On Jun 3, 6:03*am, "Ansley W. Sawyer" wrote:
Many people think that sailing on the coast of Maine is challenging.

Ansley Sawyer
SV Pacem

Yes, you are truly blessed. I only wish that the PNW had as many
gifts. But alas while we share the fog, strings of Dungeness crab
pots, 6-12’ tides, we lack all those wonderful inlets, harbors, sounds
and bays. It must be reassuring knowing there are so many potential
places to dive into when the weather get snotty. Between the top of WA
to the bottom of OR we only have about 6 improved bars to enter. There
are a few others but all are too hairy what with the shallow sanded in
channels when the weather gets over small craft warnings. Sounds like
a fun place.

I would also advise not bragging so much about your sailing grounds.
Before you know it the likes of those more southern recreational yacht
operators will attempt traveling in your area. Humm, now that might be
interesting to see

bob

Bob wrote:
On Jun 3, 6:03 am, "Ansley W. Sawyer" wrote:
Many people think that sailing on the coast of Maine is challenging.

Ansley Sawyer
SV Pacem

Yes, you are truly blessed. I only wish that the PNW had as many
gifts. But alas while we share the fog, strings of Dungeness crab
pots, 6-12’ tides, we lack all those wonderful inlets, harbors, sounds
and bays. It must be reassuring knowing there are so many potential
places to dive into when the weather get snotty. Between the top of WA
to the bottom of OR we only have about 6 improved bars to enter. There
are a few others but all are too hairy what with the shallow sanded in
channels when the weather gets over small craft warnings. Sounds like
a fun place.

I would also advise not bragging so much about your sailing grounds.
Before you know it the likes of those more southern recreational yacht
operators will attempt traveling in your area. Humm, now that might be
interesting to see

bob

Strange reply. San Juan's, Gulf islands and inside passage are
generally considered, along with the south pacific, to be some of the
finest cruising in the world.
Gordon

On Jun 3, 11:23 am, Gordon wrote:

Strange reply. San Juan's, Gulf islands and inside passage are
generally considered, along with the south pacific, to be some of the
finest cruising in the world.

Gordon


Shhhhhhhh. They are listening..........
Do you really want a bunch of Limon Drop drinking yachties from
Shilshole flooding Friday Harbor or Barkley Sound..... Keep them
scared.... very scared.....

Bob

Bob wrote:
On Jun 3, 6:03 am, "Ansley W. Sawyer" wrote:
Many people think that sailing on the coast of Maine is challenging.

Ansley Sawyer
SV Pacem

Yes, you are truly blessed. I only wish that the PNW had as many
gifts. But alas while we share the fog, strings of Dungeness crab
pots, 6-12’ tides, we lack all those wonderful inlets, harbors, sounds
and bays.

You should dip into Puget Sound. There are hundreds of inlets and bays
and more than fifty harbors/marinas, not to mention numerous national
parks with tie offs and docks and a cool set of locks leading to a fresh
water lake and more marinas!

Stephen

On Tue, 03 Jun 2008 17:45:38 -0400, Scooter wrote:

snip

quote so many lines and just add your dumbass 2-line comment at the
bottom?

*plonk*

moron