The fog lifted this morning long enough for us to reach Mackarel Cove on Swan Island. Not long after we anchored the fog rolled back in. It's kind of pretty watching the fog come and go. Sometimes we can see for miles and other times we can only see 100 feet or so. 
One thing in Maine you have to look out for is lobster pots. ln Long Island Sound, you only have the one buoy to mark the location of a lobster pot. In Maine you have both kinds: the one buoy like in Long Island Sound and also the kind with a toggle which is attached to the main buoy with a long line that can be anywhere from 20 ft to almost 100 ft away! In negotiating the lobster buoys you pay attention to which way the current is flowing. 
The main buoy is always the one most visible, the toggle is smaller and harder to see. It is also suseptible to being drawn underwater by the current. So the technique is to pass the main buoy down current since the toggle will always be upcurrent from the main buoy. Otherwise you may be surprised to find yourself passing over the toggle of a buoy that you thought had none! Passing between a toggle and its buoy is not recommended since you can snag the line connecting the two. With water temperatures in the 50s, you really do not want to dive to free your prop or rudder from a tangled buoy! On the other hand, on the way to Maine we had a certified diver on board so it was not a problem. Luckily, we didn't have to use his talents.
Tonight (7/19) we are supposed to have 15 to 20 kt winds out of the south so we are tucked in Mackarel Cove with protection from that direction - which will probably assure a wind direction from anywhere but the south! Such is sailing.
The main buoy is always the one most visible, the toggle is smaller and harder to see. It is also suseptible to being drawn underwater by the current. So the technique is to pass the main buoy down current since the toggle will always be upcurrent from the main buoy. Otherwise you may be surprised to find yourself passing over the toggle of a buoy that you thought had none! Passing between a toggle and its buoy is not recommended since you can snag the line connecting the two. With water temperatures in the 50s, you really do not want to dive to free your prop or rudder from a tangled buoy! On the other hand, on the way to Maine we had a certified diver on board so it was not a problem. Luckily, we didn't have to use his talents.Tonight (7/19) we are supposed to have 15 to 20 kt winds out of the south so we are tucked in Mackarel Cove with protection from that direction - which will probably assure a wind direction from anywhere but the south! Such is sailing.
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