Maine, sweet Maine

To the Goslings for the night - now this is Maine!  70's, sunny, rocky, beautiful.   We passed the Cape Elizabeth lighthouse as we entered the Casco Bay.  This is a typical Maine lighthouse, but a little larger and better kept than some.

The Casco is full of lobstermen and their lobster floats.  It's a narrow, winding passage through the mass at times.  Look carefully at all of the little colored dots that surround the boat.  That is what we have to navigate through.

We must have seen more than a dozen lobster boats, all tending various numbers of pots.  One lobsterman threw out 8 undersized guys from just one pot.  It's incredible that there can be that many lobsters in such a concentrated area.  And that's over all of Maine! 

Smokey is fascinated with the pots.  She sits on the cockpit edge (not the boat edge) and carefully watches as each passes. 

We borrowed a mooring in the shallower waters between the Goslings.  That is a standard practice in Maine - if a privately owned mooring is unused, it is expected that a transient or recreational boater will pick up the mooring.  If the owner boats up and wants his mooring, you of course politely move to another unused mooring.  One of those four boats in the distance is Latitudes.  We are standing on one of the Goslings.

Most of the "sand" on these islands is actually either rock or shells.  This island has a sandy beach of  snail shells.

The interior of this small island is typical Maine green, full of moss, tall evergreens, and ferns.

 The view from the eastward side of the island is impressive.

and Seals!  We finally found basking seals, lots of them.  Babies as well as adults.  The fur colors were interesting - many different shades.  They were equally interested in us.

It was a nice rainy night - that means a clean boat and clear air this morning.  We left the Goslings and are en route to Five Islands, with a possible stop at Seguin Lighthouse on our way.