CAPE PORPOISE

43° 21.78’N 070° 25.87’W

4th ed. Cruising Guide page 47

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Charts: 13286 (inset), 13286

Chart Kit: 58 (inset A), 15

Southern coast overview chart

CAPE43° 21.78’N 070° 25.87’W
Charts: 13286 (inset), 13286 Chart Kit: 58 (A), 15

Porpoise has, over the years, gained a reputation among cruising yachtsmen as having an entrance fouled with ledges and strewn with lobster buoys, and the taciturn fishermen who use this harbor might well like to keep it that way. The ledges haven’t moved, but matters have improved. The Coast Guard has added navigational aids where they are most needed and removed and repositioned others, and now the entrance is straightforward in most weather even if the lobster buoys are still spread like confetti. The entrance is narrow, though, and would be difficult at night or in fog and foolhardy when the seas are up and breaking on the outer ledges.
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The anchorage is broad but shoal, and the encircling islands and ledges provide reasonable protection. Forty or fifty lobsterboats make their home port here, with only several clusters of pleasure craft. For the first time, heading east, the buzz of tourism seems to have dropped astern. The Goat Island Light sweeps the evening sky, gulls cry, fishermen call to each other in the hole of sound left by their cut engines.
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In his 1837 History of Kennebunk Port, Charles Bradbury wrote, “Cape Porpoise is a small but very convenient harbor. It lies at the extremity of the cape, and is the only safe harbor for coasting vessels between Portsmouth and Portland, being equidistant from them. Great numbers put in there during the dangerous seasons of the year. Nearly a hundred have harbored there in one day.”
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Approaches. The harbor approach is marked by a string of nuns leading to the entrance. Start at nun “2,” which sits in deep water on all sides, and find nun “4” due south of the ledge called Old Prince. Keep it to starboard. Nun “6,” also left to starboard, marks the 10-foot spot south of Goat Island (with the lighthouse) and due east of Folly Island (with its leaning, weather-beaten shack).
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A green daybeacon and can “7” mark Folly Island Ledge. To enter the harbor, steer midway between can “7” and the red daybeacon “8” off Goat Island, and then between can “9” and nun “10.”
The presence of the ubiquitous lobster buoys in midchannel demands caution, but the careful skipper can wind his way through the maze, occasionally gliding in neutral, as in many Maine harbors. Entering at night multiplies the difficulty and is strongly discouraged except under ideal conditions.
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Anchorages, Moorings. The moorings are all private and most are used by lobsterboats. You might learn of an available mooring for the night by inquiring with harbormaster Dave Billings at his shack on the town dock.
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Anchor anywhere where the channel widens, preferably in the half closest to the entrance to keep a distance from the many lobsterboats moored farther in. Keep a close eye on your depthsounder and the state of the tide. There is a line of floats topped by sheds—known as lobster cars—moored along the western edge of the anchorage. In a strong southerly or southwesterly, the harbor may get a little lumpy, particularly when the ledges are covered at high tide. But holding ground is good mud.
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Getting Ashore. There are dinghy floats beyond the town dock at the southern end of Bickford Island.
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For the Boat. Town dock (harbormaster Ch. 16; 207-967-5040). This town dock is a fishing wharf, not designed to accommodate pristine yachts alongside its grimy pilings. Fishermen line the wharf with lines over the side, and lobsterboats circle while waiting to take on bait or fuel or unload their catch. Not surprisingly, yachts are not encouraged to land here, and bait has been known to fall unexpectedly on spotless decks. But if you an emergency or serious problems, you would undoubtedly find many helping hands.
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For the Crew. On the wharf, you will find a pay phone, the Cape Porpoise Lobster Co., and the Cape Pier Chowder House and takeout. For fine dining, the Seascapes Restaurant (967-8500) is at the head of the wharf.
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The village of Cape Porpoise lies beyond the head of the harbor, a fifteen minute stroll from the wharf. The quiet and peaceful town is clustered around a stop sign, a small hardware store, and Bradbury Brother’s Market (967-3939). Bradbury’s is well stocked and has newspapers and ice as well as a superb meat counter. The Post office is next door, a house of pizza is across the street, and a fish market is up the road toward Kennebunkport. The Cape Porpoise Library is in the proud Atlantic Hall.
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There are several salty restaurants in this little village with names like The Captain’s and Wayfarer. For good seafood and unusual atmosphere, don’t miss Nunan’s Lobster Hut (967-4362), one hundred yards down the road to the right, past the hardware store. Don’t expect anything fancy. Nunan opens for dinner only when he brings in his catch. Guests attack their lobsters with gusto and wash up in sinks next to the tables. As the menu says, “wine is served without undue attention to the complication of the wine ritual.”
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In the low-key atmosphere of present-day Cape Porpoise, it is hard to imagine what it was like at the turn of the century when a lively casino featured a dance floor and restaurant and patrons availed themselves of romantic strolls by the sea.
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Things to Do. Vaughn’s Island, southwest of the harbor, is owned by the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust, and visitors are allowed to explore. The island can be reached by dinghy or by wading across Turbats Creek from the mainland at low tide.
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Goat Island, at the entrance to the harbor, was the last lighthouse to be automated on the coast of Maine due to its geographical proximity to Walker Point. When George Bush was elected President, the island, less than a mile away from his home, was used as a security station. Another keeper was assigned, and military and security helicopters would come and go. The inevitable automation took place in 1990. Recently, though, the island was purchased from the government through the Maine Lights Program by the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust, and the island is occupied again. Volunteer lightkeeper Dick Curtis welcomes respectful visitors.