EASTPORT

44° 54.40’N 066° 58.95’W

4th ed. Cruising Guide page 385

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U.S. Charts: 13396 (inset), 13328, 13394 Chart Kit: 79 (inset)

Passamquoddy region overview chart Harbor chart

Tidal Range: Mean 18.4 feet; Spring 20.9 feet

Coast Guard: 207-853-2845
U.S. Customs: 207-853-4313 8AM - 4PM; 207-733-4331 after hours

EASTPORT is the easternmost deepwater port in the United States and one of the most isolated. It is dubbed "Island City," because it is built on Moose Island and it includes Carlow Island, Dog, Treat, Spectacle, Matthews, Goose, and others. Three causeways connect Moose Island to the mainland stepping-stone fashion via an islet at Sipayik and Carlow Island. The small city sits at the northern entrance to Cobscook Bay and looks out across the border to Deer Island and Campobello.
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Eastport is a particularly interesting fishing town. Since the mid-1970s, it has attracted millions of dollars in state and federal funds to rebuild its waterfront area. This has resulted in a large cargo pier from which freighters load lumber and paper for shipment overseas. Eastport has also been the center for American efforts at aquaculture. Salmon smolt are raised here in pens until they reach market size.
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However, it’s still a toss-up which will win out—the periodic renovation efforts or the process of decay. The National Trust for Historic Preservation has just named Eastport as one of its Main Street programs in Maine, which try to stimulate economic development in the context of historic preservation in towns and small cities. The city struggles, however, with little industry and high unemployment. Eastporters look to Calais, 28 miles away, for entertainment.
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Water Street is the main street of Eastport, where everything happens. The old stone post office is here, and the Customs House, and the huge cargo wharf which forms a man-made harbor as good as those in Canada. The wharf proved so successful that a new, larger terminal was recently built off Estes Head.
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Twice every day, 70 billion cubic feet of water enter and leave Passamaquoddy Bay. Underlying the three causeways that link Eastport to the mainland are dams built in the 1930s as the first step in harnessing this enormous source of free power. Another dam exisits between Eastport's Treat Island and Lubec's Dudley Island. The project languished during the Depression and was finally killed, but the concept of tidal power on a huge scale is still intriguing, and schemes for reviving the project surface periodically. The Quoddy Maritime Museum, on Water Street, has a model of the proposed dam.
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From a beach just north of town, a ferry barge leaves for Deer Island, in Canada. Another ferry runs from Deer Island to Campobello.
The most easterly U.S. Coast Guard station is in Eastport, a division of the USCG facility in Jonesport, with search-and-rescue capability (Ch. 16; 207-853-2845). The Border Patrol also operates from here.
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Approaches. Eastport is easily approached through the deepwater entrances of Head Harbour Passage and Western Passage, which converge into Friar Roads. Aim for the south end of the L-shaped breakwater, which dominates the town. The pink granite seawall lining the shore behind the breakwater is visible a long way.
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To enter the harbor, go between the southern tip of the breakwater and the Fish Pier, which extends eastward from the shore to form the southern end of the anchorage.
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This entrance is wide enough, but there is a large dolphin with a bollard standing in the middle. Sometimes boats at the end of the dock warp barely-visible docking lines to the dophin—or the lines may be in the water—so pass to the left of it and turn northward into the anchorage. There is often a tugboat tied up at the southern tip of the breakwater, and someone may be coming out, so enter cautiously.
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Another float, reserved for pleasure craft, lies outside the breakwater to the north of it. Obviously, it is much more exposed to the north and east, but depending on the state of the inner harbor and the state of the wind, it may be easier to lie here. Head in toward the north, outer face of the breakwater where you will see the floats. Depth is ample except on the inner face of the inner float.

A new pleasure-boat float has been placed south of the fish pier to accomodate more cruising boats.

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When leaving Eastport for St. Andrews through Western Passage, time your departure to avoid maximum turbulence in Old Sow, the largest whirlpool in the western hemisphere, between Eastport and the southern tip of Deer Island. Old Sow is most active during flood tide, about three hours before high.
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Anchorages, Moorings. Inside the breakwater. Although space inside the breakwater is reserved primarily for commercial fishing boats, transient cruising boats may still be able to find space. There are three possibilities. You can tie up alongside a large fishing boat or dragger on the inside face of the breakwater, remembering that the fishermen may well be getting under way at dawn. A second possibility is to find room at the floats along the landward side of the harbor, though these are likely to be occupied by small craft used in the salmon aquaculture business or rented seasonally. The third option is to tie up to the town float at the north end, with permission from the harbormaster. Next to the town float is the Coast Guard float. There is 13 feet of water in the southern end of the harbor and 9 feet in the northern end, but no room to anchor.
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Outside the breakwater. Pleasure craft are requested to come alongside the floats lining the northern, outer face of the breakwater and the finger heading north, in depths of 12 feet at low. The town charges a dockage fee. Protection here is excellent from prevailing winds, but you would have to move inside the breakwater in the event of severe weather from the north or east.

The new floats south of the fish pier are more exposed to the prevailing southwesterlies but safer in northerly blows.
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Heavy moorings may be available at Eastport Fuel Dock, well south of the fish pier, but they are very exposed.
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Getting Ashore. Ramps lead from all floats in the harbor to the top of the breakwater.
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For yachts returning from Canada, Eastport is the most convenient port of entry. U.S. Customs (207-853-4313, 8AM - 4PM) is beneath the granite post office, right next to the breakwater. After hours you need to call Customs in Lubec at 207-733-4331.
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For the Boat. Eastport town docks (City Hall, 207-853-2300). Water is available at the pleasure craft floats on the northern, outer face of the breakwater. Ice can be purchased at the convenience store across the street from the wharf.
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Northeast Marina and Fuel Depot (Ch. 69; 207-853-4523). This fuel dock, also know as the Eastport Fuel Dock, is run by Jim Segien about a quarter-mile south of the harbor, just south of the inlet shown on the chart. He has gas and diesel and engine lubricants, but, because of permitting restrictions, no water. The floats have—or had—14 feet of water at low, but Robert Godfrey informs us that the floats have not been in the water for several years, after one of the floats' pilings got pushed over in a gale. Approach the wharf into the current, which normally runs south both on the flood and ebb. Northeast Marina may also have one or two heavy moorings for rent, though they are totally exposed.
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Moose Island Marine, Inc. (Ch. 09, 10, 11, 16; 207-853-6058; www.mooseislandmarine.com). Across the street from the head of the breakwater, Dean Pike’s Moose Island Marine handles all sorts of dockside service, particularly mechanical repairs. The chandlery offers the largest selection of marine supplies and fasteners east of Mount Desert Island, including charts, courtesy flags, outboards, and Volvo parts. They also have a larger repair yard in Deep Cove.
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Cobscook Bay Boatworks (207-853-0675; www.cbboatworks.com). Despite the name, this new operation is located in Eastport, in the northern part of town, on Harris Cove, off Western Passage. They specialize in the restoration, repair, and new construction of wooden boats, but they can handle all kinds of repairs, and they are a Yanmar dealer. Plans are under way for a 120-ton marine railway and a full-service marina, with slips, moorings, pump-outs, showers, and laundry.
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S.L. Wadsworth and Son (207-853-4343). This classic hardware store and chandlery on Water Street claims to be the nation’s oldest ship chandlery, with charts, maps, fishing gear, and hardware.
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For the Crew. Chamber of Commerce. There is a pay phone on the town wharf, next to Rosie’s hot dog stand, but you won’t need it to check in with customs. Walk around the corner to the left and across the street to their office.
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A number of restaurants, takeouts, and diners line Water Street, along with a hardware store, a drug store, galleries, and bookstores. Banks are located on Washington Street, up the hill from downtown. A laundromat is two blocks up the hill from Water Street.
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The big IGA supermarket (853-6138) is four blocks up from the post office on Washington Street. It is also a liquor store. Deliveries or rides can be arranged if you stock up.
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If your crew is jumping ship, a coastal bus route runs southward down Route 1 and then connects to buses in Bangor. The nearest stop is at the intersection of Route 190 and US Route 1, seven miles out of town. For a taxi call 853-6162. If you or your crew happen to be driving the stretch of Route 190 between Eastport and Route 1, be especially careful as you pass through Sipayik, the Passamaquoddy Reservation. Route 190 cuts dangerously through the tribe's community, so the speed limit is vigorously enforced.

Crew members who need dry sheets and a roof have the choice of several bed and breakfasts in town, including Kilby House Inn, Milliken House, Todd House, and Weston House.
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Things to Do. Stroll one way along Water Street and back along the attractive waterfront path. If it is dawn or later, you can swill coffee with the locals at the Wa-co (pronounced “whacko”) Diner, where the regulars once had running tabs, the eggs fly, and the signs read, “Please take care of your bills.” “Don’t ask for credit if your bill is over $50. Bills due yesterday.” Not surprisingly, credit is no longer offered. New renovations have replaced some of the character and added an outdoor deck.
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It’s interesting to watch the loading and unloading of fishing boats and freighters—quite an operation, especially when the tide is down. The office of the Quoddy Tides newspaper, next to the wharf, also houses a little marine library, shop, and aquarium. And if, having come this far, you’ve begun to feel like an old salt, you’ll find DownEast Tatoos behind the IGA.
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Jim Blankman, a true Eastport character, gives picnic tours in his passionately restored “woodie” wagon, which he calls the "sardine bus," and small teardrop trailer. Call 853-4831 for reservations or visit his shop, which is currently across the street from the wharf. For an even more exciting ride, ask about his land luges.

Captain Butch Harris runs Eastport Windjammers: day charters aboard the classic Maine windjammer Sylvina W. Beal, and, soon, on his new schooner, the Halie and Mathew, designed by Eastport naval architect, instructor, and marine publisher Tom McNaughton. Harris also offers fishing and whale-watching trips.
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Celebrating the Fourth of July has been a big deal in Eastport for more than a century, and it is lots of fun. Festivities last for several days, involving everything from beauty contests and parades to water sports and a codfish relay. Events may include the Caledonian Bag Pipe Band, in kilts, a torchlight parade, and a blueberry pie-eating contest. Parachutists come floating down out of the sky to land at the wharf, and usually a U.S. Navy ship makes an appearance (Robert Godfrey writes: There has been a navy ship in port on July 4th every year within locals' memory, except twice: once in the 1960s, I think, and in 2001.). The finale is a grand display of fireworks over the bay, watched by half of the population of Washington County and New Brunswick. Even on Grand Manan people head to the west coast to watch. Firecrackers continue to go off unofficially until 2 AM, and sleep is scarce.

Many thanks to Robert Godfrey, who helped clarify and correct our entires for Eastport, Lubec, Western Passage and Old Sow, and Grand Manan. Please visit his Quoddy Loop website for more information on the Passamaquoddy Bay area.