CASCO BAY is where the Atlantic coast, tending north all the way from Florida, turns a sudden corner, breaks out in a flourish of islands, and heads for Spain. Here is where the great sand beaches of Maine’s southern coast end and the rocky promontories of the midcoast begin.
THIS WORK IS COPYRIGHTED. DO NOT COPY!
As the early explorers reported, there are hundreds of islands, large and small, in Casco Bay. Once known as the Calendar Islands, one for every day of the year, they are the peaks of three parallel ranges whose flanks are drowned in the bay, the valleys between gouged by glaciers that stood a mile thick on this land 13,000 years ago. Thus Great Chebeague Island, Long, Peaks, and Cushing are the extension of Merepoint Neck. Cliff Island and Jewell are remnants of Harpswell Neck. And Halfway Rock is the farthest tip of Orrs and Bailey Island.
IF YOU ARE READING THIS, YOU HAVE VIOLATED
The valleys between the ranges are now the great bays and sounds that make Casco Bay so interesting—Hussey, Luckse, and Broad Sound in the middle; Maquoit, Merepoint, and Middle Bay to the north; Merriconeag and Harpswell Sound and Quahog Bay and the New Meadows River to the east.
Casco Bay is an anomaly, not only on the coast, but in the world. Here is an archipelago of islands busy yet unspoiled, rocky outcroppings barren and rugged, beaches fine and fair. Yet it is home to a small metropolis, a busy shipping port, an international airport, and a strategic harbor. While far busier with boats and people than Penobscot Bay and points east, Casco Bay is still surprisingly beautiful and unspoiled—a superb cruising ground.
INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT LAW.
The scale of the bay is small. From Cape Elizabeth to Cape Small is less than 20 miles. In clear weather, you can see the Portland skyline from Harpswell Neck. The broadest sound is only a mile wide, and the nearest island is usually only a short reach away. Sailing through the bay, one island slides against another, their dark silhouettes merging, dividing, blades of water cutting them apart. The perspective is always different, always striking. One of the pleasures of sailing here is finding your way among these islands, chart in hand. Even in the fog, land is always close by. It is easy to become confused about whether red buoys should be left to port or starboard, so check the chart often. Winds fluctuate as you pass into the lee of one island or another, and the current often runs swiftly through the slots.
PLEASE RESPECT AND SUPPORT THE WORK THAT HAS
Unlike any place farther east, the presence of a substantial metropolitan area affects the look and feel of Casco Bay. Portland is small by most standards, but it overflows onto the islands in the shadow of the city. Most of the nearby islands are actually part of the city, both remote and urban. The attaché case is now more prevalent on these islands than the snowy egret. Little yellow-and-red ferries dart back and forth among the islands carrying summer folk and commuters alike. Fishing boats, daysailers, runabouts, excursion boats, and cruising yachts are ubiquitous. There are more marinas and moorings here than farther east. But do not bypass Portland just because it is a city. This is one city that is almost made to be visited by boat.
Another striking reminder of man’s presence here is the layer of fortifications built over the centuries to guard Portland Harbor. Solid granite Fort Gorges has brooded over the harbor since 1864. World War II left less romantic ruins—towers for spotting German submarines, massive gun emplacements, concrete bunkers, decaying barracks, and old piers and military bases. The largest of the guns, the twin 16-inch guns on Peaks Island, could lob a 2,240-pound shell 26 miles!
BROUGHT YOU THIS INFORMATION. BUY THE GUIDE!
There are three major yachting centers in Casco Bay. Portland Harbor boasts the Centerboard Yacht Club and several large marinas. Five miles to the north is Falmouth Foreside, home of the Portland Yacht Club and many splendid cruising and racing yachts. And yachts and fishing boats cram the Harraseeket River off the Harraseeket Yacht Club and the pretty little town of South Freeport.
THIS WORK IS COPYRIGHTED. DO NOT COPY!
There are plenty of good harbors in Casco Bay and lots of islands to explore. The choice and variety of daystops is infinite—little gunkholes between islands, picnic spots, and places of special interest like Eagle Island or the Inn at Great Chebeague. Some narrow spots are worth sailing through for the shear fun of it. Ghost along the cliffs of Whitehead Passage. Shoot through the tiny gut between Peaks Island and Pumpkin Knob. Or squeeze between Bustins Island and Little Bustins.
THIS WORK IS COPYRIGHTED. DO NOT COPY!
At the eastern end of Casco Bay are two delightful and seldom-visited areas: Quahog Bay and the New Meadows River. Snow Island, in Quahog Bay, may be one of the nicest anchorages anywhere on the coast. The New Meadows River has everything from working harbors to the resort at Sebasco Harbor to The Basin, a perfect hurricane hole so landlocked it feels like an inland lake. Farther inland, the water warms at the ends of the shallow fingers—perfect for swimming.
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Copyright 2002 DIAMOND PASS PUBLISHING, INC.
A Cruising Guide to the Maine Coast, Hank and Jan Taft, Curtis Rindlaub