Lessons in Maine

Count the islands and you lose track fast. Maine's coastline runs more than 3,400 miles when you include them all, and much of it reads like a chart-plotter's dream: granite ledges Down East, sand beaches in the south, and a maze of coves and inlets between. Lighthouses still mark the working edges of it. Harbor towns like Boothbay Harbor, Camden, and Kennebunkport each keep their own marina culture (fuel dock here, schooner fleet there), and pulling into one at the end of a day's run remains one of the great small pleasures of New England cruising.

This is not lazy water. Tides run hard through the narrow passages, and fog can erase the shoreline in the time it takes to pour a coffee. That's part of the appeal for mariners who've earned their stripes. The Gulf of Maine feeds a serious working fleet (lobster boats are everywhere, and so are their pot buoys), and the same rich water makes for good recreational fishing and wildlife watching. Marinas along the coast handle everything from a runabout topping off gas to a transient cruiser needing repairs and a slip for the week.