Shelburne to Northeast Harbor, Mount Desert Island, 8/12/19 - 8/13/19

8/12/19, 1030 mbar rising, partly cloudy, 57 degree water temp, 65 air, 11 knots of breeze out of the SW
The anchor was up and we were headed out by 8:00 am. By the time we got out onto the ocean, the water and air temperature had both dropped, the wind had built and it was foggy. The Labrador Current moves cold water southwest along the coast of Nova Scotia and the water is typically colder as you near the southern tip.  When we turned northwest toward Mount Desert Island, we used the main with two reefs and the jib for a very comfortable close reach. We were both bundled up as the fog and water temperature (we saw a water temperature as low as 47 degrees) made it very cold.  We had sausage and rice & beans for dinner and Bryan went below for a nap before his 9:00 pm to midnight watch. The fog cleared in time for sunset and I enjoyed a beautiful moon rise off the transom and sunset off my bow. The ocean was much more kind to us than it was on the sail from Halifax to Shelburne!  Bryan woke me up early during his 3 am to 6 am watch as he encountered lobster pots when we were still several miles out from Mount Desert Island.  He also noted that before dawn, he started to see all kinds of white lights, that looked like head lights coming at him.  It turns out that the lobster boats have a spot light that they shine in front of them.  We weaved our way through the lobster pots and picked up a mooring ball by 7:30 am.  We had been in Canada since July 4 and it felt good to be back in the US!  Our friends recommended we use the "ROAM" app to check in to Customs and it was quite easy.  Northeast Harbor was beautiful and the municipal Yachtsman Center was everything we needed - internet, showers and laundry.  We enjoyed the next 2 weeks in the same spot, out on Mooring "601 Dickson", doing some boat work, hiking in Acadia and hanging out with some Ohio friends.  I bet it was unusual to have 3 boats with an Ohio hailing port and 2 of them being Sandusky, Ohio, in the harbor at the same time!

Home near the entrance to Shelbourne Harbor

There were several "aquatic farms" in Shelbourne Harbor.  As we approached the anchorage at night, they looked very strange and it was very confusing.  We found out later they raise trout and salmon in the pens.  Here's what it looked like in daylight as we left.