Maine - Near Orono or in Penobscot Bay???

erik.dasilva · Joined: 21 Jun 2010 Posts: 2

Hi Folks,
I relocated to Orono, ME 3 years ago - and that is how long it's been since I last sailed!!! I'll have an opportunity to grab my gear this coming week and was thinking it *might* be worth bringing it back up north with me...

Does anyone out there sail or know anything about the sailing in this area??? I've thought of Pushaw Lake, or perhaps longer drives to somewhere in Penobscot Bay - but in the 3 years I've been here I have never once seen a windsurfer in these waters Sad

Thanks!
-Erik

PS, 15-30 knots floats my boat.

U2U2U2 · Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 7:33 pm Post subject:

used to live in Bidderford Pool, a little sailing there, Pine Point , south of Portland another spot.

we have a cabin near Eastport, I sail there , usually a little wind, sometimes picks up, but rare, I keep a Formula and 7.5, 6.0 for the winds.

you could catch wind anywhere, no real hot spots that I'm aware of, but haven't lived there since the late 80s.

johnbrown · Joined: 22 Mar 2001 Posts: 1

The wife and I have been going to southern Maine for years and have sailed at Pine Point which is good.We now have a place on Sebago lake and sail there regularly. The winds on the big lake always seem to beat the forecast. and have had some epic days there. We are on Frye Island so we can sail any wind direction .Mostly big sails and large free ride boards, john

Meriel'sDad · Joined: 28 Feb 2008 Posts: 3

On the west side of Penobscot Bay there's a small group of us that regularly sail the SW and strong westerly winds off the Rockland breakwater. At high tide the breakwater acts as a 3/4 mile wave-break making for smooth speed sailing. And there's an even a smaller group that sail the gusty northwesterly winds from Bayside in Northport - both have decent public rigging areas. Our numbers are fast dwindling though and I can count the people I've sailed with this season on a single hand. The absolute best sailing I've had in this midcoast area is on south wind (thermal) out of Lincolnville beach on an outgoing tide - when the water's heading south at 4 knots and the wind's heading north at 20 the waves stack up between Lincolnville beach and Isleboro for epic bump and jump. As a bonus there's car ferry that cuts through every hour at 25 mph for added wave riding and show-boating - if you time it right you can do donkey kicks and cut backs for 10 minutes on a chin-high ferry wake while the passengers line up on the deck rails. Time it wrong though - winds or tides, and Lincolnville beach can really suck so be careful out there. Hope to see you on the water!

erik.dasilva · Joined: 21 Jun 2010 Posts: 2

Thanks all for the reply. It seems, as the last poster mentioned, that there are not too many of us up here, particularly in the Bangor area where it seems I am the only one.

I'm going to give Pushaw a run for its money (yesterday's 20 knot winds would have been great, too bad my fins were in my wife's car!!) and will post back with a reflection. It's only a 10 min drive to the landing from my house, that's too close to not be good.

I think I will hit up Lincolnville area too in the near future...