The Cow’s Yard ME USA

We left Shorey Cove on Roque Island in thick fog at 0915 on Saturday 15 September.  We wanted to stop at Jonesport where we had been told we could buy lobsters from fishermen at the dock but the tide wasn’t high enough for us to go onto the pontoon or jetty there, we’d have gone aground well before reaching the pontoon.  So we decided to find a suitable anchorage in Eastern Bay, a collection of rocks and islands just south of Jonesport, where we could leave BV and then take the dinghy across to the ‘metropolis’.

The Maine Menace – lobster pots in fog

It wasn’t to be a long passage, only about 8nm, but messing about in narrow channels is never easy in fog and in Maine everywhere is littered with lobster pot markers which makes things even more awkward.  Whilst dodging a dense group of those markers Nicky turned left slightly towards shallower water and almost immediately we felt BV skip up over the top of a rock. Nothing was marked on the chart as that shallow, so the decision to turn left was sound, but piloting BV would be a damn sight easier if the lobster men didn’t completely cover all the navigable routes with lobster pots and their associated markers!  Presumably we’ve now got a scratch in the GRP on the bottom of our keel that we’ll need to get looked at when we next haul out [Ed: ‘presumably’ because the water’s too darned cold here to go diving on the keel.]

Slightly shaken, we continued the twisting, turning route amongst the rocks and made it into a suitable anchorage, helpfully marked by the presence of another yacht.  It didn’t take us long to inflate the dinghy and then, handheld chartplotter (iPad with electronic charts) and emergency handheld compass at the ready, we headed off towards Jonesport.

Larry, Loretta and Lionel

We found the public dock, abandoned the dinghy there and set off on a long walk to the grocery store and lobster cooperative.  The grocery store, in particular, was much further away than we had expected, so it was just as well that we didn’t need/want too many items.  The lobster cooperative too was further from the public dock than we had expected – down towards the road bridge between the mainland shore and Beal’s Island, probably about a 2km walk (happily, in the same direction as the grocery store!).  But the fishermen were keen to explain the difference between soft-shelled and hard-shelled lobster and dug us out 3 hard-shelled ones of about the right size for a reasonable price so we were happy.  I’m not sure that the lobsters were quite so chipper about the 2km stroll back to the dinghy but at least they had a ride!

Jonesport near the public quay. (Bottom left) view of the road bridge, close to which is the lobster co-operative.  Next time we’ll take the dinghy straight there

Back at the public quay, the fog had started to lift, which made all the difference to our outlook on Jonesport.

Heading back to BV in bright sunshine. (Top) the channel between Pig Island (left) and Great Wass island (right).  (Bottom) lobstering shacks on the north shore of Great Wass Island

Now that we could see more than 100m, we had a fast trip back to BV, enjoying the scenery as we went.

Little Hardwood Island to the south of BV

And when we got back to BV, we could also see what our anchorage looked like!

(Top) Middle Hardwood Island to the north of BV. (Middle) view across Eastern Bay. (Bottom) Lobstering/fishing shack on (we think) Mink Island.  Note the lobster pot bobbers in all the pictures!

Despite it being later in the afternoon than we had expected, we decided to press on westwards, intending to reach Trafton Island in Narraguagus Bay before nightfall.

Leaving Eastern Bay

But once we had worked our way out through Eastern Bay and into the deep water south of the rocks and islands, it was clear that, with the fog starting to come in again and the tide now against us, there was no way we would make it that far before dark.  Instead, we turned around and went back into the most easternmost part of Eastern Bay, Cow’s Yard Bay, an almost entirely enclosed pool sheltered between Head Harbour Island, Steele Harbour Island and a load more small rocks.

Anchored in Cow’s Yard Bay

There we were able to comfortably find a good anchorage (in between the lobster pots markers!!!) and settle in for the evening.

No, it’s not a last minute reprieve!

Our 3 lobsters, who had been living in a bucket of sea water for the duration of the passage, were let out in the cockpit for final conflab whilst we changed the water.  Two never made it back into the bucket, instead they were dispatched with a cooks knife and then steamed in the pressure cooker.

In the pink!

So dinner that evening was a veritable lobster feast, complete with aioli, new potatoes and salad. Delicious!  And Larry, wasn’t going to last much longer – he was earmarked for a lobster linguini the next day.

The Cow’s Yard, ME, USA