Navigating the Foggy Charms of Boothbay Harbor, Maine

Ann has connections to coastal Maine on both sides of her family. A coincidental lining up of events saw us spending nearly two weeks there last summer. For Ann, there were several family-related events to attend, followed by a week for us to explore the area. We rented a house on the water in the small town of Boothbay Harbor and a small runabout boat. Not having spent much time in Maine before, I was looking forward to cruising the coastline and waterways I’ve read so much about.

It’s All About the Lobsters

Midcoast Maine has a long history of shipbuilding, fishing and trading. These days, it is primarily a vacation destination for people seeking peace, quiet and relaxation. Then, of course, there’s still the lobster industry.

Boothbay Harbor is a very charming little town, but it is also a very small town. By day 3, we had already seen the sights and sampled every bar and restaurant that we cared to. Not wanting to spend hours driving around to other towns, we turned our attention to the water.

But the weather had other plans for us. After 3 days of beautiful sunshine, the fog came rolling in. And then the fog decided to make itself at home. For the next week, we basically lived in a persistent pea-soup fog that lifted only occasionally and only for a short while.

Enter the Fog

We had paid for a week’s rental of our little runabout, so we weren’t going to let a little fog ruin our water adventures. We waited, and then we waited some more. Finally, the fog lifted enough to see the mouth of the harbor. This was our chance!

We exited Boothbay Harbor, cleared Ocean Point and set off up the Damariscotta River. A few miles up the river, we found a little restaurant in East Boothbay and enjoyed some lunch. By the time we finished our lunch, we could see the fog creeping back in.

As we started our way back, the fog had once again enveloped us and we very slowly picked our way through the thousands of lobster trap floats surrounding us. With a little luck and a good GPS chartplotter, we found our way back to our dock without any mishaps.

Windjammer Days

One of the major events in this area every summer is Windjammer Days, a festival of wooden boats from the Golden Age of Sail. We saw dozens of beautiful classic wooden sailboats arrive in Boothbay Harbor, preparing to take part in the week’s festivities. Being hardy Maine sailors, they certainly weren’t about to let a little fog stop them.

We took off in our little runabout to watch these boats under full sail, but perhaps got more than we bargained for when they would suddenly appear out of the fog just a few feet away. At least we got some good close ups.

When we did get a sunny day, we visited the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. In addition to their 250 acres of beautifully maintained gardens, they also featured a fun and whimsical exhibit of giant trolls sprinkled throughout the grounds.