Crossing the Gulf of Maine, Back to the USA

Aug 2nd - We left West Head, NS in sunshine and a light breeze for our overnight, 160 nmi passage to Rockland ME.  

 Several miles out, we passed between Seal Island and Mud Island, and ran into a strong (3-4kts!) adverse current, which came as a surprise.  Much of the current info we'd gotten for the area was wrong.  But anyway, we muscled through.  However, as we were sailing along, there was a big "thump" and the boat slowed almost to a stop.... Huh?  Then we started moving again... Theory:  sunfish, a big passive fish that floats near the surface.  But we'll never know for sure.  After that, fog came and went, we saw a few largish ships on AIS and eyeballs at a distance.

 It was a pleasant, easy, moonlit night's passage, reaching on a southerly breeze, until the next morning.... We arrived in Penobscot Bay, Maine and the fog set in and lobster pots sprouted.  Fortunately, AIS shows most vessels (except lobster boats and the US Navy), and we have radar overlaid on our plotter.  Many large vessel operators (US Navy escorts), make securite hails on the vhf as they are passing through the fog, to let other know of their presence in the local shipping lanes, so we had a chance of survival.

So we wended our way among the lobster pots.  One of the first AIS signals we found was Lyric, CCA Commodore Lahmon's boat.  We were able to hail them on the VHF for a quick chat.  That was a treat.  Anyhow, Rockland is a wide open, well marked harbor, and the fog lifted.
So between phone and radio, we arranged our customs clearance, tied up at the town wharf and all went smoothly.  We picked a spot in the big anchorage and had a good night's rest.

All's well that ends well...