Sebasco Harbor, Portland, Falmouth
We left Boothbay Harbor just after 10:00 a.m., (click here to go to the Boothbay Harbor page), as we waited for the thick fog to lift. We toyed with the idea of just staying put, but the fog lifted a bit for partial visibility and we decided to head out. We planned a 20 mile day to Sebasco Harbor, a convenient stop over as we made our way to Portland. Not only did we have fog to deal with but the winds picked up to 30 knots with 4 to 6 foot seas, directly on our bow, making for a terribly uncomfortable slow ride. At times we were traveling under 3 knots. Finally changing course a bit, we were able to throw up some sail making it a more pleasant speedier ride.
We were not disappointed once we reached Sebasco Harbor. It is a lovely resort with plenty to do. We were especially pleased after pulling in on Sunday afternoon to see the sun come out in full force for the first time in 10 days. We sat out on the open terrace at the restaurant that faces the harbor, had dinner and then headed back to the boat for the evening. We decided, given the amenities, we would return to the resort after our stay in Portland.
Before the days of refrigeration, this harbor would fill with trade ships taking on ice from the Cornelius Ice Pond for delivery to all parts of the world. Today it is the home of the Sebasco Harbor Resort, a long established family resort in a beautiful wooded setting. The resort has cottages and cabins for vacationers. One of the cottages offers 10 bedrooms and 10 bathrooms, perfect for those big family reunions! It is an incredibly popular destination for urban dwellers as far away as New York City. The amenities are fantastic with a golf course, swimming pool that over looks the beautiful harbor, bowling alley, dinner theatre, dance hall, tennis courts, hiking trails, and scheduled activities for kids. All these are available to the visiting yachtsmen that stay at the marina.
The forecast was for winds out of the southwest again on Monday. We decided to leave before 7:00 a.m. and beat our way to Portland before the winds really picked up. The plan was good in that we had light winds leaving Sebasco Harbor, and our course allowed us to put up some sail for the majority of the trip. It was a 25 mile sail to Portland and we made fairly good time. For the first time in days we were sailing with no fog to speak of.
Portland, Maine’s largest city, was first settled as Casco in 1632, the town became Falmouth in 1658 and finally was incorporated as Portland in 1785. Its history is rich with revolutionary battles, fires, rebuilding, etc. Portland’s most recent revitalization began in 1966 with the restoration of a host of rundown 19th century brick buildings along the waterfront. Today, the Old Port Exchange, with its cobblestone streets lined with restaurants, galleries, and shops. It is a major shipping port and a major center for law and banking industries.
Monica’s friend, Addie Dameron, joined us for a few days arriving on Wednesday Aug. 13 and stayed with us until Sunday Aug. 17th. She and Monica had a great visit, taking advantage of all Portland had to offer…mostly shopping!
We left Portland on Wednesday morning around 10:00 a.m. knowing we had only a five mile trip up Casco Bay to Falmouth, home to the Portland Yacht Club which was our destination. We arrived at the yacht club before noon and picked up a mooring. It was hot, humid and sunny and was a terrific day.
The Portland Yacht Club is the second oldest yacht club in America. It is small and quaint and very accommodating to traveling yachtsmen. The facilities are some of the better we’ve encountered along the way. They have a restaurant where we had dinner Wednesday evening, the best part is, it’s BYOB. We enjoyed the club so much we decided to stay. On Thursday, the weather was unseasonably warm, topping out in the low 90’s during the day and very humid. So what better on a hot humid day than to go to the movie theatre and enjoy air conditioning with your movie. We saw Sea Biscuit and really enjoyed it.
