Lobsterpot traps and sailing in Maine. 43.49.00 N 70.07.00.W

Mandalay
Robin & Jenny Martin
Tue 19 Jul 2011 00:59
Sailing in Maine is a wonderful experience the scenery is beautiful and the summer months warm and sunny unless it's foggy. The biggest hazard for us however is the the LPT. there are simply thousands of them and that is no exaggeration. They look very pretty and the artists and photographers love them - very New England but for us they are a pain! Constant sharp eyes are needed  - so no chance to relax with a novel or top up on the tan. It is only a matter of time before we pick one up, we have had a few near misses.
When the lobstermen apply for their licence they also have to submit a unique design shape and colours for their markers and also display a float on their boat. When laying the traps a GPS is an absolute essential. There seems to be little restriction on where the pots can be laid and it's not unusual to find them in the middle of the deep water channel or even just off the fuel dock.

Wildlife in Maine is very similar to UK waters but there seems to be more of it. Seagulls, cormorants , gannet seals and dolphins are common place and welcome sights. We have also seen sea eagles and look forward to seeing ospreys when we get further "down east".
Typical of the welcome you get from the locals is their generosity and by waving down who we thought was the harbour -master but actually a local boat owner with a nice launch with big fenders and before you know it we are the best of friends and he gave us an expensive guide book of Maine. 

The outlet stores in Freeport are like Swindon and Clarkes all put together with LL Bean the centre of attraction as their flagship store. What a place,so Jen had to explore with me trailing but coming up trumps once again with all the goodies. I liked the 1890's winchester in the cabinet which reminded me of all the cowboys and indians.
We've seen some great sights like the transit van on a hull driving in for drinks at Diamond Cove and the crew on a  windjammer  who clapped us as we passed into Portland on seeing our blue ensign. They didn't know we had just come from Kennebunk just 20 miles down the coast. 

What has been a dampner on the whole proceedings has been the news from home, Wilf has taken a turn for the worst and now is desperately ill. We are all devastated and want to be with him. Phillipa and Charlie went to see him on saturday and we know all his friends are gathering round. This all comes at a time when my father is not too well either so we are worrying more than normal. Its always harder when you are away from home.

Maymio is going well and is a comfortable home for our short hops up the coast, the main GPS linked to the seatalk intergrated information system has gone down so we are relying on our chartplotter which is a stand alone GPS aswell.  In time we will replace the ariel for now the GPS is more than adequate. 

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