Browsing: Down East

Cruising Life
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This Summer’s New Cruising Destination: The Maine Island Trail

If you’re looking for another reason to go cruising in Maine this summer, think about exploring the Maine Island Trail, a 375-mile water trail that connects more than 200 wild islands and mainland sites from New Hampshire to Canada. You can visit them individually, or plan a summer-long cruise to stop at them all, and enjoy the best of Down East cruising while you’re at it. Many people’s plans for long-distance cruising have been upset this summer, by a combination of COVID-19 problems and previously announced lock closures for long-delayed maintenance. People planning on cruising the Great Loop, for example,…

Destinations
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Eastport, Maine: All the Way Down East

If you’re cruising Down East this summer, you might want to think about heading all the way Down East, to Eastport, Maine. It’s as far as you can go in the United States, just across the bay from New Brunswick, Canada, and near the top of the Bay of Fundy, with its powerful currents and 23-feet tidal range. But if you want to experience real cruising, away from the crowds, where you can travel for hours without seeing another vessel, it’s the place to go. You won’t see many people either; Eastport’s population is only about 1,300, but you probably…

Cruising Life
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Rockland, Maine: Iconic Laid-Back Boat Show, Museums and Lobsters

You really don’t need a special time to cruise to Rockland, Maine, because it’s one of the most interesting spots up there. But if you do need an extra reason to go to Rockland, the annual Maine Boats & Homes Show starts there on Friday, August 9, and runs through Sunday, Aug. 11, in Harbor Park right in town. With its offbeat mix of Down East boats, dogs, straw-hat musicians and totally laid-back vibes, the Rockland show is in a class by itself. For boats, it usually has most of the area’s favorites, including Hinckley and Hunt (its sister company),…

Cruising Life
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Five Best Islands in Maine To Visit This Summer

If you’re heading Down East this summer, or even if you’re already there, here’s a list of five not-to-be-missed islands in Maine from New England Today. Chances are, you may already have been to some of them, in which case these pictures may touch some favorite memories. But the chances are better that you haven’t been to all five, so here are some fresh ideas for your destinations file. Chebeague Island in Casco Bay, the largest island in Casco Bay, is just ten miles from Portland, and it has the flavor and feel of an elegant summer resort town. It’s…

Cruising Life
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Belfast, Maine: A Summer Cruising Destination with a Now-Thriving Waterfront

Once a major shipbuilding and commercial fishing center that fell on hard times, Belfast, Maine, is enjoying a revival that makes it an attractive cruising destination this summer if you’re heading Down East. Way up Penobscot Bay, Belfast seems a bit off the beaten track, but it’s well worth the detour. For one thing, the newly invigorated waterfront, centering around a public Harbor Walk and the thriving Front Street Shipyard, is worth a visit in itself. For another, because of its location, Belfast often gets less summer fog than many other Maine ports. Belfast dates to 1630, when it was…

Boat Reviews
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Eye-Catching, But Still Traditional, Ellis 28 Just Launched

It doesn’t get much more traditional and Down East than this – an Ellis 28 “lobsteryacht” just launched in the company’s family-owned yard in Southwest Harbor, Maine. I’m pretty sure that it never crossed Don Ellis’ mind that he’d be building a red-hulled boat when he took over the Bunker and Ellis yard in the early ‘80s. He’s launched 300 boats since then, with the 28 as the most popular. (The Ellis line goes from 20 to 36 feet, and Ellis’ two sons are now running things.) Ellis started out with traditional lobster boats and then turned to fishing and…