Cape Porpoise Maine

[Steve A.]

I sail a '92 H28 with shoal draft keel. I keep her moored near Boothbay, Maine. It is time to sail to Newburyport, MA where she will spend the winter. Has anyone stayed at Cape Porpoise Harbor Maine (just North of Kennebunkport)? I am hoping to pick up a mooring or anchor out. I have stayed in Kennebunkpot, Biddeford Pool, and York and am looking at trying somewhere new. I looked at the chart and at aerial photos and it looks a little exposed. On the plus side, there are lots of boats in the aerial photos. Any recommendations? Thanks.

 

[bffatcat]

Cape porpoise

Its a good deep water harbor. plenty of anchor room and a good overnight spot on the way to Newburyport. The only problem I
ever had with it was too many lobster pots in the channel entrance. Its
been a couple of years since Ive been in there things might have changed.
You could check with Maine sail, he might have more up to date info.

Bffatcat

 

[Tim R.]

Call the Harbormaster

I have not moored there. I have only spent 2 nights South of Portland. One was up the Saco and the other was in Marblehead. I have friends who anchor at Richmond Island a lot. It is just to the north of the Saco. When are you making the trip? Maine sail and I were out this weekend and it was very nice. Great weather and fun sailing.

 

[Maine Sail]

Cape Porpoise..

Is a quaint little fishing harbor and it is very much a "working" waterfront. It is a very narrow river/anchorage with little to no room for anchor scope or swinging amongst the moorings. There are very few pleasure craft there but it is a nice spot to duck into late in the day.

If you arrive late in the day, this time of year, you can likely pick up a mooring and hang till the a.m. as long as you don't leave the boat. Many lobestermen will still be in the water but there will likely be a vacant mooring or two. There is a great little bar and restaurant there if you can find a spot to anchor.

As Tim said the local harbor master will be able to give you more insight on a mooring. I still think you'll find plenty of vacant ones this time of year. Almost 1/3 of the 1300 boats in Falmouth have already been hauled..


Photo Courtesy of Bill Seabrook's Flickr Gallery

As I said little swing room:
Photo Courtesy of Kportimages' Flickr Gallery

 

[tcbro]

The folks in the slip next to me...

...just returned this weekend from a 5 month trip north. One of the places they mentioned was Porpoise Harbor. This was one of the places they had very strong feelings about. They said it was a beautiful spot but the entrance was littered with lobster pots, enough to put our Chesapeake Bay crab pots to shame. The said it created a very dangerous situation. Once inside they said there was no room to anchor among the mooring balls. Lucky for them they sail a Gemini catamaran and draw very little. This allowed them to find anchor room outside of the mooring field in fairly thin water. They were reluctant to pick up an unknown mooring, not knowing the size or condition of the underwater hardware.


Again, this is second hand info and if you trust an unknown mooring just watch out for the lobster pots in the entrance.

 

[Maine Sail]

Lobster pots..

Lobster pots are being hauled each day so they should not pose a problem this time of year but yes Cape Porpoise can be very thick at the entrance with pots in the high season.

We were out last weekend and the pots are down by about a full 25% from just 4-5 weeks ago..