A passage through Muscongus Bay

By the plotting I had done on my chart, it was only 10 miles from Maple Juice Cove to Oar Island Harbor. The weather seemed like it would be okay, and there was a lot of time. This turned out to be the most interesting day of sailing so far. I decided to sail the entire way, even if it took a long time due to wind speed or wind direction. There were lots of little islands to go around and little passages to tack down, but it was a great day! The town of Friendship Harbor is on the way – this is the home of the Friendship Sloop, a traditional sailing work boat. Of, course there is only one of these in the harbor. All of the other boats are diesel-powered work boats – so much for the romance of the seas.

On the other side of the harbor is a big row of “lobster cars”, the floats that lobstermen use to store their gear.

Running downwind, I set the sails on opposing sides, called "sailing wing-and-wing".

Several times this summer I have seen these strange sailing canoes. This was the closest I have gotten to one – I have decided that they may belong to an Outward Bound type of group.

Oar Island Harbor is mentioned in the cruising guide as not getting many visits from yachts, but I found it a very enjoyable place to be. As always, there were a lot of moorings and some lobster pots, but I found a spot to anchor just outside of the moorings. Interestingly, the lobster boats seemed to be quieter here that elsewhere I have been. I wonder if this is some sort of agreement with the Audubon Camp on adjacent Hog Island? Here is a picture of Rincewind in the harbor with a fleet of lobster boats.

Oar Island Harbor has the rotting hulk of the Cora F. Cressy, a huge hull from a wooden schooner. Some funny guy has put a sign on the hull that says “speed limit 75 mph”.
Audubon runs the neighboring Hog Island as a camp and nature preserve. This is a picture of their camp with a couple of dorys in front.

Speaking of dorys, a little boat at Oar Island Harbor had this name:

I finally got a picture of one of the scoters. I saw this guy swimming by the boat and took the picture out of the cabin portlight. There have been quite a few of these birds in this area. They are diving birds and also like to run across the water while flapping their wings.