Machias Bay ME USA

(Top) light wind but a decent swell (kicked up by Hurricane Florence a long way south).  (Bottom) West Quoddy Light, Maine

So, having waved goodbye to the last humpback off Campobello Island, we headed west.  It was about 22nm almost directly into wind to our chosen destination for the night and we only had 3 hours to get there before sunset.  Consequently, we elected to motor the whole way.

Now it’s mid-September, when the sun’s low in the sky not only is it difficult to see the lobster pot markers (left) it’s also jolly chilly on deck and windproof layers are definitely required (right)

By the time we approached the southeastern outskirts of Machias Bay, the sun was low on the horizon and it was getting difficult to see the lobster pots’ markers in our direction of travel. It was also pretty chilly on deck – autumn had definitely arrived!

Approaches to our anchorage and the nearby aerials of a large US Navy communications unit

There’s a large aerial farm, part of a big US Navy communications unit, on the eastern edge of Machias Bay and the aerials stand out clearly from long way off.  Counting them?  Well, that’s a difficult matter.  As you move along the coast the aerials blend into each other and then separate again. The most we counted was 26 ……. and the least was 21, just as the pilot booked suggested!

Anchorage between Cross Island and Mink Island in Machias Bay

The channel into Machias Bay from the east is well marked but the hundreds of lobster pots make it very difficult to navigate safely, particularly if the sun is bright and low as it was for us.  We squinted into sun, hands held up at odd angles to try to block out the worst of the glare and, happily, failed to have a really close call with any of the myriad lobster pot markers.  But that was probably more by luck than good judgement.  In retrospect, we should have gone the long way in, all around Cross Island and in from the east, but Nicky was concerned that if we did that it would be virtually dark as we made our final approach into the anchorage.

Sunset views

And that was a valid fear as the anchorage itself was also rammed with lobster pots.  Happily, there were no other yachts and we managed to find one space where we had enough space to swing without tangling with the pots, whilst still being able to put out sufficient scope for the rise of tide. But it wasn’t easy to find that spot and we had to anchored in relatively deep water to do so (min 9m at low). Having anchored safely, we enjoyed the sunset until the mosquitoes came out in force and then retired below with plans for an early start to catch the tide onwards to Roque Island as soon as the sun rose and we could see the wretched ‘Maine Menace’ (lobster pots) once more.

Machias Bay, ME, USA