Whale & Seabird Cruise

Angelique is on a Whale & Seabird cruise, currently in Burnt Cove off of Swans Island. We’re sailing around Long Island today, and we hope the weather will be good tomorrow for sailing out 20 miles off-shore to to see if we can find some whales!

We’re hoping to see Minke, Humpback and Finback whales. They are such amazing mammals! The smallest of the three, and most abundant whale, is the Minke. Minke whales have a characteristic white band on each flipper, contrasting with its very dark gray top color. Minke whales are about 25 - 30 feet long and weigh about 6 - 8 tons.

Humpback whales are the next biggest of the three, about 52 feet long and weighing about 30 to 50 tons. That’s a lot of whale! They are the acrobats of the ocean, and they sing amazing songs. They breach high out of the ocean and sometimes twirl as they come back down. Male humpback whales are the most imaginative, noisiest of whales; they have long, varied, complex, eerie, and beautiful songs.

Finback whales are very large, about 78 feet long and weighing around 50 to 70 tons. To put it in perspective, they eat about 2 tons of food per day. But its great size doesn’t slow it down: the Finback whale is called “the greyhound of the sea”, capable of bursts of speed of up to 23 mph!

Besides the whales, we hope to see white-sided dolphins, huge grey seals - twice the size of harbor seals - and gannets, puffins and shearwaters. Cross your fingers! We’ll let you know what we found right here on the Angelique blog!

Windjammer Parade

The last four-day cruise was a keeper! It was the weekend they had the Windjammer Parade in Rockland, what a pretty sight! So great to see the many windjammers of Maine as they went by the Rockland Breakwater on Friday. They are all such pretty ships, especially Angelique!

We had a nice sail after the Windjammer Parade, back to Pulpit Harbor. There was an awesome sunset followed by a full moon rise. On Saturday evening we had a lobster bake on Wreck Island in Merchant's Row. Stephen set a new lobster consumption of 17!! Needless to say, he didn't have any pie for dessert.

We had some lively sailing on Sunday -- 9 knots to windward, not bad for the old girl! Monday's breeze was a surprise on our way home to Camden, 8 knots with only the lowers set; it was a warm northwest breeze. Lots of Happy Campers and smiles.

 It's a lot cooler on the water than on the mainland!




Making Time to Windward





Maggie Checkin' It Out





Some of the vessels milling around Rockland Breakwater during the Windjammer Parade

Lighthouse Cruise

Angelique had a wonderful lighthouse 4-day cruise last week! We had great weather for sailing and saw plenty of lighthouses! AND we ate all the lobster, which is saying a lot ... first time this season! Have to get more next trip! Here are some of the lighthouses we saw on the trip:







Curtis Island
At the entrance to Angelique's home, Camden harbor.





Rockland Harbor Light
Perched at the end of a half-mile breakwater made of big granite slabs, this light may look like it's floating on water!





Dice Head Light
We also stopped in Castine where folks walked to Dice Head Light get a closer look.





Mark Island Light
Built in 1858, it stands in Deer Island Thorofare, near Stonington.





Eagle Island Light
West of Deer Isle, this light was commissioned in 1838.





Pumpkin Island Light
In Eggemoggin Reach





Goose Rocks Light
"The Spark Plug" is located at the eastern entrance of the Fox Islands Thorofare.





Brown's Head Light
Located at the northwestern end of Vinalhaven Island, this light was established in 1832.





Owl's Head Light
At the entrance to Rockland Harbor, this station was established in 1825.





Indian Island Light
Built on Indian Island, just off the tip of Beauchamp Point in Rockport



The guests on this cruise were wonderful as usual! Everyone had a great time :)

Race Week!

Last week was race week. We woke Tuesday to blue sky and light winds. It was a beautiful sight in Smith Cove as the early morning sun shed light on the windjammer fleet.

The race was off to a slow start due to light winds ... was there any wind at all?? The southerly breeze finally filled in after lunch (having salad often helps bring up the wind). The race course had to be shortened a bit due to light air at the start.

We duked it out in the leeward class with the Heritage and the Nathanial Bowditch. We were fortunate to cross the starting line with little wind against the tide. Crossing the finish line we were first in our class. We will hang on to the trophy for a while, we will see what next year brings us. Every boat has it's day....





Crew With Race Trophy





Angelique dockside at Bucks Harbor Marine



Celebrating!