Sailing in Rockland, ME

[31seahorse]

Hello Members,
In mid September I will be in Rockland, Maine with our Celebrity daysailer while Eileen participates in a week long watercolor class. I have a cruising guide for the Maine coast, but no actual charts yet for planning.

Questions: (1) Has anyone used a launch ramp in Rockland Harbor? I have read about a public ramp, but have not found pictures or descriptions. (2) Is the harbor too crowded with ferry traffic and moorings to make daysailing there a reasonable activity? (3) Would you recommend trailering to an inland lake for daysailing or to any other nearby salt water location?

I welcome any discussion here or PM if you prefer.

Thanks for any suggestions. Phil

 

[Robert M.]

Try the CSBB forum: http://cruising.sailboatowners.com/csbb/index.cgi

Several Maine residents frequent the site.

Robert M.

 

[TomY]

Hello Members,
In mid September I will be in Rockland, Maine with our Celebrity daysailer while Eileen participates in a week long watercolor class. I have a cruising guide for the Maine coast, but no actual charts yet for planning.

Questions: (1) Has anyone used a launch ramp in Rockland Harbor? I have read about a public ramp, but have not found pictures or descriptions. (2) Is the harbor too crowded with ferry traffic and moorings to make daysailing there a reasonable activity? (3) Would you recommend trailering to an inland lake for daysailing or to any other nearby salt water location?

I welcome any discussion here or PM if you prefer.

Thanks for any suggestions. Phil

It's in the south end of the harbor with easy access and parking. The harbor is not congested and would be great for daysailing. Depending upon how easy it is to launch your boat, there's an easy convenient public launch in Camden Harbor. It too is a good harbor to daysail. Then there's one more. Right between the two is Rockport Harbor(my home harbor) with another easy convenient public ramp with easy parking.

Rockport is an easy 2 mile daysail to either Rockland Harbor to the south, or Camden Harbor to the North. Any of these three harbors will get you close enough to reach the larger islands in the bay if the conditions suit you and your boat.

The area you'll be sailing is second to none on the east coast, if I do say so myself.

 

[dscribner]

I'll let Kris do the talking about sailing there, I haven't yet strayed to that chart. But, print up a copy of the booklet chart for that area. They're free from NOAA and formatted to be put in a 3-ring binder, perfect for a day sailor at the perfect price. Nothing beats the full size chart for trip planning, but for blow-by-blow let's-miss-the-rocks instruction, they fit the bill. We never travel without a full size, a booklet and our GPS. I put ours in plastic covers with the slot on the bottom and sealed with clear tape on the bottom, to keep moisture out. So far so good. Make sure you print color though. B&W is hard to see.

http://ocsdata.ncd.noaa.gov/BookletChart/13307_BookletChart.pdf