Often, when I am down south extolling the virtues of Maine cruising to friends from south of the forty third parallel, I will say, “Of course, there are the lobster pots.”
Usually they will say, “Oh, we have crab pots here. I’m sure it won’t be a problem for us.”
Here is a dose of reality:
Note that the second and third ones back are a toggle and buoy pair that you can not safely pass between. Most of what you see in the picture are similar pairs. Matching them up is just part of the fun of Maine cruising. There is no standard of color coding. Some toggles are buoys of the same or similar color, some are just small floats, and many are just any odd buoy the lobsterman happened to pick up.
You have to look closely. If there is any swell or chop, the buoys will just lie still and the toggles will bob tilting slightly up and down because of the weight of the rope. In a dead calm, it is a real puzzle.
Because of Maine’s geography, the current is usually perpendicular to your course as if flows in and out of the rivers and bays. This stretches the buoy / toggle pairs across your course like overlapping slalom gates except that you must miss every one.
When the current is in the same direction as your leeway and you are close hauled, your course may be 10 - 15 degrees different than your heading. Pinching up to miss a pot will often result in the boat just slowing and the path remaining the same or worse. In thick pots, you will end up bearing off for pair after pair until you come up against a shore or ledge and have to tack in the mess. Keeping your speed up is essential so you have to drive the boat as hard as you can to have the momentum to coast up around pots when necessary.
Usually they will say, “Oh, we have crab pots here. I’m sure it won’t be a problem for us.”
Here is a dose of reality:
Note that the second and third ones back are a toggle and buoy pair that you can not safely pass between. Most of what you see in the picture are similar pairs. Matching them up is just part of the fun of Maine cruising. There is no standard of color coding. Some toggles are buoys of the same or similar color, some are just small floats, and many are just any odd buoy the lobsterman happened to pick up.
You have to look closely. If there is any swell or chop, the buoys will just lie still and the toggles will bob tilting slightly up and down because of the weight of the rope. In a dead calm, it is a real puzzle.
Because of Maine’s geography, the current is usually perpendicular to your course as if flows in and out of the rivers and bays. This stretches the buoy / toggle pairs across your course like overlapping slalom gates except that you must miss every one.
When the current is in the same direction as your leeway and you are close hauled, your course may be 10 - 15 degrees different than your heading. Pinching up to miss a pot will often result in the boat just slowing and the path remaining the same or worse. In thick pots, you will end up bearing off for pair after pair until you come up against a shore or ledge and have to tack in the mess. Keeping your speed up is essential so you have to drive the boat as hard as you can to have the momentum to coast up around pots when necessary.
