As evening fell on the night of Monday, August 11, I found myself alone on the boat. It had been a wonderful day so far, and it had been an incredible experience to take both my parents and Abby’s parents sailing around Ironbound Island. I definitely feel lucky for the fact that both Abby’s and I’s parents get along so well. So much so that we deliberately planned for overlap between each of our parents’ respective trips to see us. After a week filled with so much family time with my parents aboard, it was quite shocking to be alone. My parents had just left to check into their hotel room, and Abby had gone with her parents to take a precious land shower in their hotel room. Even Tots had gone with Abby, so I was truly alone. This was the first time in the first month of our sailing journey where I had been alone and it was honestly weird. Even when Abby, Tots, and I are all doing our own thing on the boat in separate rooms, you can still feel each other’s presence and yell through the boat if you find something funny to show the other online.

With no one to share funny Instagram reels with, I decided to get to work and knock out some of the minor boat projects I had put off while my parents were aboard. First up was cleaning the engine bilge. Our engine bilge is deliberately designed to be separate from our main bilge to contain any oily substances and ensure they cannot make their way to the ocean. In theory this makes perfect sense, and I appreciate the forethought that the Beneteau engineers put into the hull design for protecting our oceans. Luckily for us, our Volvo Penta MD2040 Diesel Engine has so far been great to us and leaks next to no oil and thus it has been easy to keep the engine bilge clean. Unfortunately for us, our aft water tank has a leaking fitting in the vent line so that when you fill it, water overflows to the engine bilge and becomes trapped. This means that after every filling of the aft water tank, 2-3 gallons of water fill the engine bilge and must be cleaned out by hand. To fully clean the engine bilge, you must unhook and remove the starter battery, unbolt and remove the battery box, and sponge out the water into a bucket. All in all, this task takes about an hour of standing on my head, and is therefore one of my least favorite tasks to do on the boat. I cannot wait for our new vent fitting piece to arrive so this job becomes a thing of the past. An hour (and a few curse words) later, the engine bilge was once again dry as a bone. Next up was checking all the engine fluids and draining the fuel water separator. All fluids were at the correct level and only a little water came out of the fuel water separator, so Salty Foxx was in good shape for the next few weeks of cruising.

With my chores done, I took a quick shower and dinghied myself to shore for a nice meal with the whole family. After tying up the dinghy, I was quickly reunited with Abby and Tots and we had a few spare minutes to kill before our dinner reservation. Our friends Jamie and Tyler had told us about Maine’s holy grail of cruising guides, The 7th Edition of A Cruising Guide to the Maine Coast, and we were determined to get ourselves a copy. We had looked in Portland and on Monhegan Island with no luck but figured the 3rd time looking could be the charm. Sure enough, the first bookstore we walked past had a copy displayed in the window. 60 dollars later, we were the happy owners of the new cruising guide. With that errand done, we still had some time prior to our reservation and decided a cold beer at the bar in our restaurant was a perfect way to use the time. After quickly taking Tots back to Salty Foxx, we were joined at the bar by Abby’s parents, John and Ann. We all took a seat at the bar and ordered blueberry ales. These blueberry ales are brewed right up the road at Atlantic Brewing on Mount Desert Island. To make these beers even more Maine, local wild Maine blueberries are added to the beer glass. Normally, I am not one for sweet or sour beers, but these Maine blueberry ales are in class of their own. Before I knew it, I had guzzled 2 of these delicious blueberry ales down and it was time for dinner. My parents met us there, and we all enjoyed a lovely meal together. My mom, of course, got her 5th lobster of trip while exclaiming “You are only in Maine once!”. After dinner, we said our goodbyes and Abby and I went back to Salty Foxx to try and get a good night’s rest, as there was a lot on the agenda for the next day.

The next morning, we woke up early to try and get a head start on our chores. First up was walking over to the laundromat to get a few loads of laundry done. Funnily enough, we ran into my mom there, who had the same idea to try and get laundry done first thing before spending the afternoon exploring Mount Desert Island. With our laundry done, Abby, Tots, John, Ann, and I jumped in John’s truck and headed into Acadia National Park. Abby and I had been to Acadia twice in the previous three years, but neither of our parents had been in a long time, so we were excited to show them one of our favorite national parks. It was a Tuesday in August, so we were hopeful the park wouldn’t be too full. Unfortunately for us it was beyond busy. Realizing that parking was going to be limited, we set out for Otter Cliffs where you can park anywhere in the right lane where there is an available spot. Walking along Otter Cliffs is, in my opinion, the best spot in Acadia. The ocean is lined with a mix of beautiful pink granite and tall sheer cliffs. The ocean’s waves continually pound the shoreline, creating immense sound with every impact. It was on this trail where Abby and I had sat and watched the ocean a year ago and made a promise that the next time we would see these cliffs it would be from our own sailboat. That had been the previous summer, and it was an incredible feeling to have made that dream into our reality. Pretty soon, my parents called me, letting me know they had successfully picked up their rental car. We made plans to meet up in Otter Cove. Once again, we were all back together and we spent the next few hours popping around to our favorite spots in Acadia such as Little Hunters Beach and Eagle Lake. As there were so many people in Acadia, we decided to skip Jordan Pond and Bubble Rock and head straight for Atlantic Brewing where we could get some more delicious blueberry ales. Atlantic Brewing partners with a smoke house so after gorging ourselves on outstanding BBQ and sucking down some excellent brewskis, we headed out to explore more of Mount Desert Island. My mom has a friend who lives and works on Mount Desert Island, so my parents headed off to see her, while Abby, John, Ann, Tots, and I headed to Southwest Harbor on the other side of Mount Desert Island. Southwest Harbor has a quaint little downtown where we did some window shopping before moving on. We drove by Hinkley Yacht Services and then on to the Bass Harbor Light where we got out and explored. While it wasn’t the prototypical red and white striped lighthouse, it was still stunning. While admiring the lighthouse, Abby and I regaled John and Ann with how we had sailed right by the lighthouse two days prior.

Little Hunters Beach with the whole family

It was finally time for dinner, so we headed over to Thurston’s Lobster Pound which was owned by one of John’s friends from Virginia’s family. This was another one of those small world moments. My parents met us there, and soon enough we all had a full lobster in front of us. If anyone is keeping track, this was now my mom’s 6th lobster in as many days in Maine. After stuffing our faces, we piled into the cars and headed back to Bar Harbor where we said a heartfelt goodbye to my parents. They had a 3-hour drive starting at 0500 the next morning to make their flight out of Portland, so we weren’t planning on seeing them again on this trip. What an amazing trip it had been! There are definitely sacrifices you must make to budget and live on a sailboat, one of which is minimizing air travel expenses. This meant I haven’t been back to the west coast to visit my parents as much as I would have liked to in the past few years, but having them on the boat made it worth it. It was so special sharing with them the lifestyle I have fallen in love with. This was one of those weeks that I will never forget and I can’t wait for them to visit again.

After a slow dinghy ride back to Salty Foxx, our heads hit the pillows, and we were almost immediately asleep. We slept in the next morning as we didn’t want to leave until the tide turned to be in our favor around 1100. While we were having a lazy morning, John and Ann checked out of their hotel room and headed to the dock. Once they got to the dock, we piled everyone in Saltine and dinghied over to Salty Foxx where we made final preparations to cast off. Once everything was stowed for sea, we dropped our mooring lines and headed off. As soon as we got past the lee of Bald Porcupine Island, the wind filled in from the south and we unfurled our sails. We tacked our way out of the Bar Harbor Bay, going right by the beautiful Egg Rock Lighthouse. That morning had almost perfect sailing conditions, and we sailed all the way to the Cranberry Islands where we planned to spend the night. This time we planned to moor off Great Cranberry Island. We chose to go back to the Cranberry Islands as they were far enough away so that we could have a nice sail, but close enough that we would have time to explore once we got on our mooring ball. Like Little Cranberry Island, Great Cranberry Island also offers free mooring balls for town guests, and we were ecstatic that one was available when we arrived. After picking up the mooring lines and securely attaching ourselves, we dropped Saltine in the water and headed for shore.

Great Cranberry Island is another one of Maine’s 15 islands that supports year-round residents. There was a small general store right off the dock that was serving soft serve ice cream, so of course, we all had to get some. After enjoying our soft serve, we headed inland to check out what else the island had to offer. As we were leaving the general store, we heard there was a silent auction at the library put on by the island residents occurring later that evening. As we headed towards the library, we stopped to check out the Great Cranberry Island Museum. Unfortunately, we showed up right before closing so after a quick look around we continued onwards. Next up was a local pottery gallery, where once again, we had to remember that pottery and sailboats don’t mix and left empty handed. We finally made it to the library where we were graciously greeted by the locals – what a friendly island! After looking at what everyone had to offer, we thanked those that were putting on such a great event and headed back towards the dock. This time we took a different route so we could see the island’s boatyard and a beach on the way. I really like all of Maine’s boatyards as they feel so local. For example, this boatyard has been family run since the 1970’s and builds and repairs fishing and pleasure boats for those living Downeast. That specific day, they had a beautiful, old, custom wooden boat that was pulled out of the water for a fresh coat of paint and some varnish. These old boatyards truly make me feel like I am taking a step back in time.

After doing a little shell collecting on the beach, we all headed back to Salty Foxx to get ready for some dinner. Up for dinner that night was Greek salad and grilled steak! We definitely ate a lot better than normal when family was visiting. After savoring every last bite of scrumptious steak, we cleaned up and decided that some post dinner card games were in order. After a few riveting games of cribbage, we called it a night. As Abby and I lay in bed that night, we discussed what we wanted to do the next day. The weather was supposed to be foggy and drizzly, so we were debating staying at Great Cranberry Island or heading to one of the other islands in the area. We ended up deciding to wait on making any final decisions until we saw what the weather looked like in the morning. Sure enough, when we woke up, we were encased in fog, so we made the decision to stay on our mooring at Great Cranberry Island. As we waited for the fog to clear, we made bacon and eggs on the grill (we have a griddle attachment) and discussed how we wanted to spend our day. We decided to wait out the fog on Salty Foxx with a few more games of cribbage before hiking to Preble Cove for lunch. Soon enough, the fog started to clear, so we packed up some sandwiches and drinks and headed to shore.

Preble Cove is about a 30-minute walk from the dock, with the first half being on the town road and the 2nd half being through very typical Maine woods. We popped out of the trees to see a stunning cove filled with crystal clear water and a myriad of rocks and shells. Eager to explore more, I quickly set off down the beach to see what the rest of the shoreline looked like. After 20 minutes, I had lost sight of Abby and her parents, so I decided it was time to turn back and see if they had any luck with their shell collecting. When I came back around the point, I saw that they had found an excellent place to set up for the afternoon. Abby and Ann were still in the midst of their shell collecting. Once I reached them, we pulled out our sandwiches and exclaimed at what a beautiful day it turned out to be. After finishing lunch, Abby and I set off back down the beach to continue exploring. We walked to the next two coves before deciding the second was our favorite. On the way back, we stopped at our favorite cove where we sat skipping rocks for a few moments before I decided to jump in and cool off. By this time, the forecasted storm clouds started to roll in, so we walked back to Abby’s parents to pack up and head back to Salty Foxx. On our way back, we passed the general store again, so of course we had to get another afternoon soft serve. Finally, we were back on Salty Foxx waiting for the storm to materialize. While the clouds continued to look ominous for the next few hours, the rain never came and by sundown the skies were once again clear. After enjoying a nice pasta and mussel dinner cooked up by Abby, we sat down to play cribbage one last time. Soon it was dark, and John pulled out a special surprise - two cigars and a bottle of port wine. Excited to indulge, John and I headed up to the bow while Abby and Ann continued playing games below. John and I enjoyed the stars while sipping on the port and enjoying the cigars - What a life to be living! As we sat there chatting, time flew by and before we knew it, the bottle of port was empty, and we were down to the butts of our cigars. I guess that meant it was time to head below and get some sleep.

We spent one more morning at Great Cranberry Island before dropping our lines and heading back to Bar Harbor. On the way to Bar Harbor, we planned to stop in Northeast Harbor to top off our fuel and water tanks and pump out our holding tanks. As we approached Northeast Harbor, we called the harbormaster on the radio to inquire if there was room for us on the fuel dock. The harbormaster quickly let us know it was “picnic hour” and there wouldn’t be any dock space for an hour. Abby and I heard this, both looked at each other and shook our heads. Neither of us had any idea of what in the heck this “picnic hour” was. We needed water, so all we could do was motor in circles and wait. A little over an hour later, room at the dock opened up and we were finally able to pull in. As we still hadn’t figured out what “picnic hour” was, the first order of business was finding the harbormaster and asking. He chuckled and let us know that every day between 1030-1200 the people on the island come down to the dock to use it as a pickup point for rides out to their yachts. The fuel dock tolerated this use of their dock because the people tended to tip really well. A little smarter into what “picnic hour” was, it was time to get down to business. As it was lunch time, we decided to divide and conquer. Abby and her parents would walk down to the lobster food truck and pick up lunch while I took care of the boat. I figured that this was a good arrangement for me as I was getting some lobster out of the deal. Right as I was finishing filling up our second water tank, Abby and her parents appeared bearing lobster rolls. We decided to cast off the dock and munch underway.

It was another day of fickle wind, so the sailing took constant work before we eventually gave up and started the engine. We went right by the Otter Cliffs of Acadia and pointed out exactly where we had walked only a few days prior. As we turned the corner around the southeast side of Mount Desert Island to enter Bar Harbor, the wind picked up and we quickly unfurled sails and shut the motor off. As soon as the wind came, it disappeared, and we were forced to furl the sails and motor the last little bit into Bar Harbor. After we picked up our mooring ball for the night, we unloaded all of John and Ann’s things back into the dinghy and took them to shore.

Before they had to leave, we decided to go to Abby and I’s favorite restaurant in Bar Harbor, the Barnacle, for, in my opinion, the best oysters and dark n’ stormy in Maine (if not the world). We had been here when we last visited Bar Harbor the previous summer, and we were very excited to go back. After enjoying our drinks and oysters, I think we had John and Ann also convinced that these were the best oysters out there. As oysters and rum aren’t the most filling, we found a waterfront restaurant to get John and Ann one last lobster dinner before they had to head back south. Before we knew it, it was time for them to hit the road and try and make a few hours of headway south, as they were trying to make it all the way back to Virginia the following day. Even though it was short, it was great to share what our lives looked like with Abby’s parents. They had been instrumental in helping us get off the dock for the summer cruise as we were able to use their home in Virginia as a base to live while we were getting Salty Foxx outfitted for the cruising lifestyle. They had seen the whole evolution of our journey from us buying the boat, to redoing the electrical system, to casting off and heading north.

The best oysters in the world from The Barnacle

After we said our goodbyes, Abby, Tots, and I headed back to Salty Foxx where we had to make the decision on whether to head east into the unknown or to head back southwest and stop at some of the places we had missed on the way up. It was now August 15th, so we had just over a month left that we planned to be in Maine, but with no more planned visitors, it was now entirely up to what we wanted. While we were leaning towards heading back southwest, we decided to sleep on it and make the final determination when we woke up the following morning.

Discovering the Finer Details of Mount Desert Island & Greater Cranberry Island

My Parents Join us to Start Exploring Maine