How we spent our summer vacation

For 6 weeks, we joined 12 other PDQ catamarans on a flotilla to Maine called the Lobsta Crawl.

Dick, Carol & Beth of Rhumbline Yacht Sales (the original factory dealers & now the used broker for PDQ’s) annually plan & lead a flotilla of PDQ catamarans to a variety of exciting places which have included the Exumas, Georgian Bay in Canada, even to the Baltic (yes, Finland to Sweden – although the PDQ’s were transported across the Atlantic by ship).  This year: The coast of Maine, on the hunt for lobster.

We had already planned to be in Connecticut so we were fairly close, but many of the PDQ’s came north from Florida just to participate.  Most of us were in 34′ PDQ powercats, but also one 41′ PDQ powercat & one 44′ PDQ sailing cat.

 

Not being big follow-the-leader travelers or buddy-boaters, we weren’t sure what to expect, but they were a great bunch of people & we had a fantastic time!  The schedule was loose with only 8 or so organized/scheduled stops/group dinners, leaving lots of days to explore an area longer, go off on our own or to add our own stops.

The flotilla gathered at Block Island for the big kickoff, then headed north making about a dozen stops thru Massachusetts, New Hampshire & onward to Maine.  Our original northernmost stop was to be Northeast Harbor, but fellow PDQ owners invited us further north to their private John White Island.  Although only a few of us made the further excursion (the foggiest of the entire trip), we were rewarded by a fantastic time with Jack and Diane, our hosts & builders of this amazing rustic island house mostly built themselves including bringing the building materials in by boat.

Maine is a magical cruising ground with its breathtaking scenery & endless harbors, each with an unique draw.  Nevertheless it can be challenging with fog, up to 10′ tides & several million lobster pots.  In some areas they are so thick you can’t imagine fitting thru, especially when they completely fill up a channel.  To top it off, when in an area of strong current, they get pulled mostly & sometimes completely underwater!

One of our unplanned stops ended up being our favorite.  Benj & Lily decided to visit for a weekend.  Even though Vermont seems like it should be a short drive, it’s not, so we searched Google Maps versus our charts to find them the shortest drive near the area of Maine we would be in.  We checked out a place called Belfast – a nice little town with a town dock…  Not only did they have room for us, they were holding a large Celtic Festival right on the waterfront with a large fireworks display 200 yards off the docks.  In addition to the festival,  they hold the largest indoor farmers market with a enormous variety which impressed even our Vermonters.  Uptown we found the best French bakery ever!

Did we enjoy any lobsters?  You  bet!  Over 14 different ways.  Even found donuts!  For a little slideshow of our trip, click here:  Lobsta Crawl video

Once time to head back south, we all split up, having different plans & destinations.  Ours was back to Deep River, CT for boat work, birthday celebrations & resting up before we head further south of the winter.