9/1/22 -- Sebasco Harbor to Portsmouth NH

                                     9/1/22 -- Sebasco Harbor to Portsmouth NH

            We got up early after a very restless night because of the surge coming out of the SW into Sebasco Harbor. We were told by the dock master that we'd be fine, but I should have known better having been there before -- even if only on day trips -- because the harbor opens to the SW. Everything was nice and calm when we went to bed, but the wind must have kicked up overnight because we were rocking pretty good when we woke up.

            We got underway at eight and headed into a pretty good chop coming out of the SW, but we soon escaped it by heading west to seek the cover of a series of small islands and ledges heading towards and then after rounding the southern tip of Baileys Island. We worked our way west to the east side of Chebeague Island, then ran down towards Cape Elizabeth. It got choppy again as we headed into open water but moderated a bit as we rounded Cape Elizabeth. The wind had now shifted to the west and strengthened and we had chop crossing the bays as we ran along the coast from Cape Elizabeth to the mouth of the Piscataqua River at the Maine/New Hampshire border. Kittery is the town on the Maine side and Portsmouth is on the New Hampshire side. They are across the river from each other a few miles from the mouth. The Piscataqua is infamous for its ferocious currents, which can reach 4 mph on the flood tide and 6 mph on the ebb. We pulled up to the Piscataqua Marina on Badger Island on the Kittery side around 12:45 at pretty much full flood, so docking was rather hairy and stressful for both of us, but the marina manager was very experienced and helped us land successfully. He had us pull into the dock running towards the current so we could keep better control. He was motivated, perhaps, by making sure we didn't hit the 70 or 75' yacht in front of us that ties up at the marina all summer. 

            Portsmouth is an old navy town. The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard can be seen in the background of the above photo on Seavey's Island on the Maine side (so why isn't it the Kittery Naval Shipyard?). And on the way into the harbor, you pass the old naval prison at the downstream end of Seavey's Island, which was in service from 1908 to 1974.

 

            After we checked in at the marina, we walked into town for a late lunch at the Press Room bar. Then back to the boat for a little nap after two short nights. We cleaned up using the marina facilities (which were very nice) and then walked back into town for dinner at a really classy Italian restaurant called Massimo's. Bedtime was soon after we got back.

            Before we went into town for dinner, we talked to the marina manager about our departure plans. With that big yacht tied close in front of us (that being downstream), an ebb tide in the morning, and our rather hair-raising experience in docking, we were concerned about making a safe departure. We decided that the best plan was to leave at 6:30am, soon after the tidal slack at 6am, when there would be very little current.

           One of the nice things about staying on Badger Island in Kittery and going into Portsmouth for meals is that you walk across the Memorial Bridge (an old lift bridge that was rebuilt in 2013) that gives great views of the river and the town. We got to see it open when we were walking back from lunch, which was fun. The downside is that the bridge is kind of noisy when your dock is close by. That wasn't a problem going to sleep after a long day, but it did wake us up in the morning before the alarms that we had set for 6am. But now I'm getting ahead of myself...