{"id":10784,"date":"2015-07-23T11:01:11","date_gmt":"2015-07-23T15:01:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/?p=10784"},"modified":"2015-08-04T18:25:14","modified_gmt":"2015-08-04T22:25:14","slug":"destination-anywhere","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/destination-anywhere\/","title":{"rendered":"Destination Anywhere"},"content":{"rendered":"

July\/August 2015 | view this story as a .pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

Find a fresh perspective on the summer\u2013offshore.<\/h3>\n

By Michelle Twomey<\/p>\n

\"JA15-Cruises\"<\/a>Drink, dine, or snack\u2013it\u2019s all different on a boat. All your senses are awake, the ride and the view engage your imagination, and the air is outrageously fresh. Even a ride on a Casco Bay Lines ferry is a party if you have the right attitude. There are also organized harbor, lighthouse, educational, and party cruise boats running regular schedules all along the coast.<\/p>\n

Remember, it\u2019s all about the voyage\u2013you don\u2019t need a destination.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Casablanca Music Cruises<\/strong>
\n18 Custom House Wharf, Portland, 831-1324, casablancamaine.com<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Casablanca<\/em> is usually a privately chartered boat,\u201d says Beth Poitras. \u201cWe do have a variety of concert cruises available to the public. Most Sundays 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. with a 1:30 p.m. boarding time on the 85-foot vesel, which has a capacity for 149 passengers. We have some concert cruises on Thursday nights as well as some Saturday days. \u201cConcert cruise tickets are usually between $15 and $20, and get you on the boat with live music. We have two fully stocked bars on board accepting cash or credit.<\/p>\n

\u201cCasco Bay is beautiful always. We\u2019re very lucky. I especially love sunsets, seals, and rainbows, the various islands and lighthouses. Portland Head Light is always a great attraction. Folks love seeing the seals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maine Sailing Adventures<\/strong>
\nThe Frances Project
\nMaine State Pier, Portland, 749-9169, mainesailingadventures.net<\/p>\n

\u201cFrances<\/em> differs from other cruises,\u201d says owner\/captain Megan Jones. \u201cI grew up sailing, and I built Frances<\/em> with an old friend. Now I like to share it with others. We\u2019re a small business. I captain Frances<\/em> myself and keep a small crew, so we all know the boat very well.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe offer day sails and sunset sails that leave our dock in Portland for a two-hour sail around Casco Bay. We host an Acoustic Sunset Series, with local musicians performing on evening sails once a week. Portland is home to many talented people; it\u2019s wonderful to have some of them join us on the water.<\/p>\n

The wine cruises are fantastic. These are two hours long every Saturday and Sunday evening through the summer. Erica Archer, our sommelier, is informative and fun, and the events are themed and paired with seasonal fare. The oyster wine sail is a must-do. Some couples join us three or four times a season for different wine sails, like the wines of Napa Valley or the Piedmont region of Italy, or sparkling wines.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have four-hour Yoga Sails, with one hour of yoga at anchor incorporated into an afternoon sailing on the bay.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach cruise is unique, so it depends where your interests lie. The Acoustic Sunset Series is truly special. Tickets start at $38 per person. We have\u00a0 beer and wine at a cash bar on board. It\u2019s a bring-your-own-picnic kind of an affair. For private charter, we can arrange catering through the West End\u2019s Aurora Provisions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe historic forts are great to see, and some date back to 1812. They\u2019re fantastic, beautiful in all sorts of different light. The photographer in me has a wonderful time out here. Fort Gorges is hands-down my favorite sight in Portland.\u201d<\/p>\n

Casco Bay Lines<\/strong>
\nMaine State Pier, 56 Commercial St., Portland, 774-7871 cascobaylines.com<\/p>\n

These are Portland\u2019s beautiful workhorse island ferries, a great and economical way to see the sights\u2013the islands, the summer cottages, lighthouses, and forts of Casco Bay.<\/p>\n

The Mailboat Run to Little Diamond, Great Diamond, Long, Cliff, and Chebeague islands takes three hours for just $16, delivering a big slice of classic Maine.<\/p>\n

Sunrise and Sunset runs depart daily at 5:05 a.m., and 5:45 p.m., respectively; there\u2019s also Moonlight run through Sept. 7 at 9:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

The Bailey Island Cruise is a captain-narrated history ride past lighthouses and forts; the six-hour, $26 day cruise includes a two-hour stop at Cook\u2019s Lobster House for lunch.<\/p>\n

Live music cruises are scheduled July 10 and 17 and August 28, 7:30 to 10 p.m.; these are over-21, with cash bar.<\/p>\n

Portsmouth Harbor Cruises<\/strong>
\n64 Ceres St., Portsmouth, 603-436-8084, portsmouthharbor.com<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the best sights out on the water is Whaleback Lighthouse,\u201d says Mindy Puckett. \u201cAlso, there is a story the captain tells about the jail on the Naval Base, but you\u2019ll have to come on a trip to find out what it is!<\/p>\n

Monday, we offer harbor cruises at 10 a.m., noon, and 3 p.m.; a 5:45 p.m. evening cruise, and a 7 p.m. sunset cruise. \u201cTuesday through Friday, we have 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. harbor cruises, a noon Isles of\u00a0 Shoals cruise, the 5:45 evening cruise, and the 7 p.m. sunset cruise. Weekends, there are harbor cruises at\u00a0 10 a.m. and noon; 1:30, 3, and 4:30 p.m.; the 5:45 p.m. evening cruise; and the 7 p.m. sunset cruise. Friday and Saturday nights also have an 8:30 p.m. Harbor Lights tour. All cruises have a cash bar available, along with snacks, chowder, and Moe\u2019s sandwiches.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring the summer, we do tend to sell out the majority of our trips; we suggest reservations in advance. The 3 p.m. harbor tour is the first to sell out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Downeast Windjammer<\/strong>
\n19 Cottage St., Bar Harbor, 546-2927,
\n288-4585, downeastwindjammer.com<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Windjammer cruises are at 2 p.m. Sunset cruises sail at 6:30 p.m. until August 16, when we begin backing up departure by 30 minutes,\u201d says Colleen Foss. \u201cThe sunset cruises are the most popular. The Lobster Sloop cruises are at 1, 3, and 6:15 p.m.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Windjammer cruises all come with an invitation to help hoist the sails and hear a narration about wildlife and geographic points of interest. Our 2 p.m. trip features an Acadia National Park ranger. Sunset trips include a musician aboard. Lobster Sloop cruises offer an intimate sailing experience, with narration offered by the captain.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe view of Acadia National Park from the bay and the eagles\u2019 nests are always great sights to point out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Camden Harbor Cruises<\/strong>
\nCamden Public Landing, 236-6672 camdenharborcruises.com<\/p>\n

These one-hour cruises run from late morning to the 6:45 p.m. cruise through September 15 and include a lobstering, lighthouse, and harbor tour; wildlife and eco-tour cruises; and a three-hour Sunday lighthouse tour. Adult tickets are $28.<\/p>\n

Hardy Boat Cruises<\/strong>
\n132 State Rte. 32, New Harbor, 677-2026, hardyboat.com<\/p>\n

The Puffin Watch cruise to Eastern Egg Rock lasts an hour and a half and shimmers with three lighthouses, Monhegan Island, and a chance to look at over 140 pairs of nesting puffins on the Rock. Departure is at 5:30 p.m.; adult tickets are $28. Other cruises include a fall (September 9 to October 12) evening cruise full of island magic, hot cider, and stunning autumn light.<\/p>\n

Balmy Days Cruises<\/strong>
\n42 Commercial St., Boothbay Harbor, 633-2284, balmydayscruises.com<\/p>\n

Cruise to Monhegan Island on the Balmy Days II<\/em>, sail the Friendship Sloop Bay Lady<\/em>, take a short tour of Boothbay Harbor, or cruise to Burnt Island Lighthouse and tour it, inside and out.<\/p>\n

Please click here to comment on this story<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

July\/August 2015
\nFind a fresh perspective on the summer\u2013offshore.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10788,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[94],"class_list":["post-10784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","tag-julyaugust-2015"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10784"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10784\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10856,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10784\/revisions\/10856"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}