# Maine and North



## AndreasNYC (Sep 6, 2010)

Hello Everyone

Does anyone here have experience with cruising North from NYC?

I aspire to taking our boat far enough north to go see Walruses. 

Are there any good harbors out ther, or is it mainly wild?

I hear good things about Maine, does anyone have experience with Nova Scotia and the islands up there?

Andreas


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## Mobnets (Apr 24, 2011)

Andreas:
You're going to have to go a bit further north than Nova Scotia and "the islands around there" to see a walrus in the wild. Actually quite a bit further north, as the range of the Atlantic walrus begins up around Baffin Bay. That's way way way North and about as wild as it gets.

Mobnets
1973 Paceship Chance 32/28 "Westwind"


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## tempest (Feb 12, 2007)

Hi Andreas,

Volumes have been written to respond to your question regarding Maine and Nova Scotia and beyond. A good place to start imho is with The Cruising Guide to the New England Coast by Duncan/Fenn and then A Cruising Guide to the Maine Coast
by The Tafts. The former takes you as far as New Brunswick, I believe. Beyond that others may be familiar with other publications.

With the desire, all you really need is Time and a well found vessel...and head the pointy end North. I hope to do the same in about a year. I'll probably settle for Lobster instead Walrus. When do you plan on leaving?


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## AndreasNYC (Sep 6, 2010)

I was planning to leave in about a year. Closing out the caribean season and want to do something different next time...

Thanks for the book recs I woll buy those...

I would love to hear from people who have had personla experiences out there.

Esp the far north. How livable is it? How bad do the seas get?


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## killarney_sailor (May 4, 2006)

I have cruised as far as the south coast of Newfoundland and it is incredible but a long, long way from walruses. You can see many whales and once around the corner to the north side of the island ice bergs. You need to be very self-sufficient even in Newfoundland, let alone further north. There are villages with a few provisions and sometimes fuel but that is it. You can tie up at village docks and can anchor often in fairly deep locations. Wonderful and exciting cruising, but make sure you are confident in yourself and your boat.


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## downeast450 (Jan 16, 2008)

Andreas,

Would you settle for Grey Seals? Lots of those before you get to Newfoundland. Many other natural wonders, too. It would be an ambitious goal to sail with the walruses. It will be a wonderful trip.

Down


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## CalebD (Jan 11, 2008)

There is a fairly recent book called "North to the Night" by Alvah Simon that is worth checking out. He spends the winter on his boat way, way up there and besides walrus he finds polar bears and Inuit.
North to the Night: A Spiritual Odyssey in the Arctic: Alvah Simon: 9780767904469: Amazon.com: [email protected]@[email protected]@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/[email protected]@[email protected]@51kDmGcn2AL

The book is written well but the guy is a bit of a nut in my opinion.

They get seals out by Montauk and the rare gray or harbor seal in the Hudson. Walrus, not so much.

Also check out Peter Smith's blog about sailing to Antarctica: http://www.petersmith.net.nz/
Great photos of all the places they visited.

Have you already got a new boat?


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## AndreasNYC (Sep 6, 2010)

I am on my boat now and so blessed with lots of spare time 

The route from NYC to the entrance of hudso straight is 1900 NM My boat will cruise at 8 knots. So 2 weeks should do it...

I think I could settle for fur seals though. 

The real question is weather. I dont mind cold but high wind and big waves and ice might be an issue. 

Any ideas how long the suitable weather window is ? From when until when?

I did sail from Newport RI to the USVI this Febuary, we had 55 knot winds and 20 ft waves for a day or 2 . The distance is about 1300 NM and we did it in 9 days. 

keep the info coming, and thanks for all the info. I will start reasing all the books when I get back from the USVI

Andreas


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## AndreasNYC (Sep 6, 2010)

Btw walruses seem to be further south than baffin bay

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Odobenus_rosmarus_distribution.png


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## JeffreySiegel (Jun 8, 2007)

I've lived on the coast of Maine for the last 21 years (although I've only been there for 3 months per year for the last 10 as we've been cruising south). I've given 4-5 seminars on cruising the Maine coast at different rendezvous and boat shows. If you have any questions or would like copies of my slides, I'd be happen to help.


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## fallard (Nov 30, 2009)

AndreasNYC said:


> I am on my boat now and so blessed with lots of spare time
> 
> The route from NYC to the entrance of hudso straight is 1900 NM My boat will cruise at 8 knots. So 2 weeks should do it...
> 
> ...


Would you settle for harbor seals? These critters were in Fishers Island Sound (eastern extension of Long Island Sound) in November several years ago. They are annual visitors in large numbers here and usually start showing up in October.


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## Knee Deep (May 16, 2013)

Cruising to Nova Scotia will give you great sailing. From Boston you are about a 3 or 4 day sail across the Gulf of Maine. Expect lots of Fog, but with the right weather window its an easy sail.

Once in Nova Scotia waters check out Clarks Harbour, Carters Beach, LaHave River Yacht Club (good People warm hospitality), then sailing between West Ironbound and Halifax there are over 365 Islands for perfect cruising with lots of water.

Climate here in Nova Scotia is Med 50's at night and High 70's and low 80's in the daytime from June to September.

Marine life you will find is Pilot Whales, Humpback Whales, Sunfish, Seals, Porpose, if you fish from your boat then expect to catch Cod, Mackrel, Haddock and Polluck. Lots of Blue and Mako Shark in the water, tuna, swordfish, etc.

Let us know if you make it up to the Lahave River Yacht Club, and we will certainly introduce you to some great times. You can google the club and it has a nice website.

Cheers

Todd n Robin


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Tuck yourself back in Seal Bay on Vinal Haven in Maine and you'll see about all the seals, birds, etc, you'll ever want. One of the most beautiful and peaceful places I've ever been on a sailboat.


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## Dharmabum (Jan 30, 2013)

For some nice sailing videos of Nova Scotia, sailing from Nova Scotia to Boston etc check out Downeast Circle on YouTube.


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## Dharmabum (Jan 30, 2013)

Minnewaska said:


> Tuck yourself back in Seal Bay on Vinal Haven in Maine and you'll see about all the seals, birds, etc, you'll ever want. One of the most beautiful and peaceful places I've ever been on a sailboat.


I can second that! As I've said before: there is nothing like sailing the coast and harbors of Maine. Although the more I read and see about Alaska, Maine may have some competition.


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## Maine Sail (Jan 6, 2003)

Minnewaska said:


> Tuck yourself back in Seal Bay on Vinal Haven in Maine and you'll see about all the seals, birds, etc, you'll ever want. One of the most beautiful and peaceful places I've ever been on a sailboat.


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## Dharmabum (Jan 30, 2013)

Maine Sail said:


>


Pics like these have me second guessing my decision to spend the season in RI


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## Tim R. (Mar 23, 2003)

Dharmabum said:


> Pics like these have me second guessing my decision to spend the season in RI


These photos are obviously photoshopped. Seal Bay on Vinalhaven is really not nice at all.


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## Dharmabum (Jan 30, 2013)

Tim R. said:


> These photos are obviously photoshopped. Seal Bay on Vinalhaven is really not nice at all.


Ha, good one.

It looks like the seal bay I know...............maybe a little nicer though


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Dharmabum said:


> Pics like these have me second guessing my decision to spend the season in RI


Different, but we have some great sailing grounds too. Not as quiet, but still fun.


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## Plumbean (Dec 17, 2009)

I have great memories of Nova Scotia. My family did several cruises up there in the early '90s, and my father said it reminded him of cruising in Maine in the '50s. The people were very friendly, especially when you got off the beaten path. I suspect some of that may have to do with the fact that it is a long winter, so not many visitors during much of the year. The season is pretty short. 

If you get all the way up the Cape Breton, you can actually go swimming in Bras d'Or Lake without freezing your *&^%& off.


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