SAILINGDown East is always an adventure, whether it is the first or the twentieth time. At its best, the passage to Maine is a marvelous cruise itself. THIS WORK IS COPYRIGHTED. DO NOT COPY! Coming from Long Island Sound and points south, you will first savor the pleasures of Block Island and Narragansett Bay, the Elizabeth Islands, perhaps a little side trip to Martha’s Vineyard or Nantucket, then through Buzzards Bay and the Cape Cod Canal. IF YOU ARE READING THIS, YOU HAVE VIOLATED From here, you can either make an overnight passage to the Gulf of Maine or work your way up the coast in easy stages. If you prefer to avoid an overnight passage or are headed for cruising grounds in southern Maine, there are a number of approaches. For example, after leaving the Cape Cod Canal, you could spend a night at Provincetown or Scituate. The next stop might be Gloucester and the Annisquam Canal, or you might decide to go outside Thacher Island and Cape Ann. INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT LAW. If you want to get Down East in a hurry, there are a number of good landfalls on the coast of Maine. Most of those described below are on small, bold islands well off the coast with lights visible 20 miles or more, foghorns, and some radiobeacons and racons. See the accompanying sketch chart. PLEASE RESPECT AND SUPPORT THE WORK THAT HAS Depending on where you plan to cruise, set your course for Portland LNB, Seguin Island, Monhegan Island, or Matinicus Rock. The distance from the Cape Cod Canal to these various landfalls ranges from 108 to 142 miles. For example, the passage to Monhegan Island, which makes a fine landfall for Penobscot Bay or Muscongus Bay, is a comfortable 132 miles. BROUGHT YOU THIS INFORMATION. BUY THE GUIDE! Portland and Casco Bay. For a destination in Casco Bay near Portland, one good landfall is Wood Island Light (visible 24 miles), near Biddeford Pool. Another is Cape Elizabeth Light (visible 27 miles). THIS WORK IS COPYRIGHTED. DO NOT COPY! In reduced visibility, however, the safest landfall is Portland Lighted Horn Buoy “P” (visible 14 miles), also referred to as “Portland LNB” for “large navigational buoy.” This enormous buoy is well out to sea, 5 miles southeast of Cape Elizabeth, and free of all dangers except, perhaps, the shipping traffic which uses it as a landfall for the same reasons. The red-and-white buoy has a circular base 40 feet in diameter, a 42-foot tower, and the markings “P” and “Coast Guard.” It also houses meteorological instruments and a flock of deaf seagulls. IF YOU ARE READING THIS, YOU HAVE VIOLATED Midcoast rivers and Boothbay Harbor. To make your landfall along Maine's midcoast, head for bold Seguin Island lying 2 miles south of the entrance to the Kennebec River. Seguin Light (visible 18 miles), established in 1795, sits atop a 53-foot white, cylindrical granite tower connected to a dwelling which itself is 145 feet above the sea on the grassy summit. There is a foghorn at the light. Be aware of a magnetic disturbance near the Ellingwood Rock, as marked on the chart, and strong currents from the Kennebec. INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT LAW. Another possibility is the Cuckolds Light (visible 12 miles) off Cape Newagen and Booth Bay. Although not offshore like Seguin, The Cuckolds has the advantage of a radiobeacon. The light flashes in a white group, and there is a foghorn. PLEASE RESPECT AND SUPPORT THE WORK THAT HAS Muscongus Bay and Penobscot Bay. The best landfall In the Muscongus Bay area is Monhegan Island, 9 miles off the mainland, used as a landmark since the earliest days of exploration along the coast. The island is 1.7 miles long and 165 feet high, with bold cliffs along its southeast side. BROUGHT YOU THIS INFORMATION. BUY THE GUIDE! Monhegan Island Light (Fl W 15s 20M) was established in 1824. The light flashes white from a 178-foot high gray conical tower connected to a white building in the middle of the island. Within three miles of the island, the light is obscured between the west and southwest. The foghorn and the radiobeacon are on 100-foot-high Manana Island, lying just to the westward of Monhegan. THIS WORK IS COPYRIGHTED. DO NOT COPY! Another possible landfall is Matinicus Rock, the outermost island in the approach to Penobscot Bay. The rock is 57 feet high, an enormous, barren granite rock swept by wind and sea. Matinicus Rock Light (visible 24 miles) was established in 1827 and flashes white from a 48-foot gray granite tower 90 feet above sea level on the southern part of the rock. The light also has a foghorn and radiobeacon. A second, abandoned light tower stands farther to the north. IF YOU ARE READING THIS, YOU HAVE VIOLATED Mount Desert Island and points east. To arrive in the Mount Desert Island area or if you are heading farther Down East, make your landfall at Matinicus Rock, described above. INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT LAW. Alternatively, head for Mount Desert Rock, 17.5 miles south of Mount Desert Island, marked by a flashing white light (visible 24 miles) 75 feet above sea level. The rock itself is small and only 20 feet high, so it makes a more difficult landfall in heavy fog. PLEASE RESPECT AND SUPPORT THE WORK THAT HAS Mount Desert Island itself is the highest land feature on the coast of Maine. It can be seen in good condtions from as far away as 60 miles out to sea. BROUGHT YOU THIS INFORMATION. BUY THE GUIDE! Courses, Distances, Navigational Aids. Check your chart and Notices to Mariners for the most recent information. THIS WORK IS COPYRIGHTED. DO NOT COPY! Approaches from Canada. All pleasure boats entering the United States, whether of American or foreign registry, must check in with the U.S. Customs at a port of entry. See “Entering the United States and Canada” in Region 7 for details. THIS WORK IS COPYRIGHTED. DO NOT COPY! Vessels headed for Maine from Passamaquoddy Bay or the Bay of Fundy area will normally pass through Grand Manan Channel and continue coasting toward their destination. THIS WORK IS COPYRIGHTED. DO NOT COPY! Boats approaching the coast of Maine from Newfoundland, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, and Nova Scotia will round Cape Sable and then use the same landfalls discussed above for boats approaching from the south.INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT LAW.