Working our way South

After 2 wonderful nights n Portland we dropped the mooring line this morning and headed on south to York, Maine. Tomorrow we plan to get to Gloucester, Massachusetts and then on to Boston Monday.

Sunrise in Portland.

Portland was a really great town. Lots to see and do there. The waterfront was hopping with tourists and locals. On Thursday night we were walking back to the boat from enjoying a beer at a DiMillos on the waterfront and we heard Beach Boys music.Linda did a quick Google and found they were performing on the public ferry dock so we walked over and stood outside and watched the concert. What a great surprise!

The old Narrow Gauge railroad that used to run throughout the area.

Friday we walked around Portland grabbing lunch at the Green Elephant, a vegetarian Asian restaurant. We walked on and did some shopping before heading back to the boat.After stowing our provisions we walked back to the fish pier where we scored some fresh lobster and had homemade lobster rolls and corn on the cob for dinner.

Every place we saw in downtown Portland was packed! Our mooring was pretty exposed and with lots of wind and chop was just like being underway mot of the time. But, it always makes for pleasant sleeping with the gentle rocking of the boat.

So this morning we pulled pitch at sunup to catch the falling tide to give us a boost out of the harbor and to get down the coast early in advance of forecasted storms. The weather forecast was for rain and thunderstorms beginning this afternoon so we wanted to be tucked in before any storms hit. Don't mind rain and storms its the lightning we want to avoid.

Mt. Agamenticus in the background behind York.

In our trip today there was very little wind. Started out at 1 kt and did build up to 10 kts by the time we got here but it was all right on the nose. Since we wanted to be sure to beat the storms we didn't try to tack and came straight here.

The old mill pond dam and York Beach.

The entrance channel was easy enough but just before the harbor there is a 100 degree turn where the deep water is only 80 ft wide with a current up to 4 kts running through it and ledges on each side. We plan to leave in the morning at slack water to avoid the current we faced today.

This afternoon we had a pleasant walk around the town enjoying the beautiful and serene ambiance of this little town that is one of the oldest in Maine.