Sunday was our actual anniversary (August 16). We decided to skip Dolphin Cove since the forecast for Monday looked lousy and there is nothing to do in Dolphin Cove.
On the other hand, Freeport was a decent-sized city by Maine standards, and they got us in for two nights.
It was about 45 miles south of Boothbay and once again, the weather was nearly perfect.
Freeport, or actually South Freeport, is about ten miles inland from the Atlantic Ocean.
Despite several “ledges” appearing on the chart, it’s pretty wide open and the water is deep.
About five miles out, it begins to feel like a big lake rather than an ocean bay. Once you make the final turn, it definitely feels different.
To me, this is quintessential Maine. Unlike Kennebunkport or Boothbay – which are heavily developed, the shores of South Freeport are green.
There are a few modern boats in the marina, but a lot of traditional fishing boats everywhere.
There is a restaurant of sorts in the marina called Harraseeket Lunch and Lobster Company.
We went over to check it out. The food looked good, but it was pretty much a walk-up window and picnic tables.
I had planned my special hot dog lunch in Dolphin Cove, so we decided to eat on board.
After lunch, we just hung out on the Sky Deck and took in this beautiful little harbor.
Nothing is within walking distance of the marina, so I needed to take an Uber no matter where we went for dinner.
There are a lot of restaurants in Freeport, but I decided that the most interesting spot lay a few miles south in Yarmouth.
South Freeport felt rather remote, so I decided to schedule an Uber for a 5:55 pickup.
At 5:00 I got a message from Uber saying my driver was here. I messaged him and told him we would be ready as scheduled at 5:55.
He replied: “I didn’t notice this was a scheduled pickup. I’m not waiting. No worries, I’ll cancel the trip and you’ll get a full refund.”
No worries!
How about I’m worried about getting to dinner?
Next, I tried to call another Uber, but Uber wouldn’t let me since they had already assigned a driver to a scheduled pickup and it was within the one-hour grace period to cancel.
Finally, I used Mrs. Horne’s account and successfully booked a second ride that got us to dinner a few minutes late.
Royal River Grill House
This is a beautiful restaurant that sits inside the Yarmouth Boatyard (this might be another pure Maine marina to consider, but they do not take transients).
We had no problem swapping our reservation for bar stools (very comfortable bar stools, I might add.)
Despite being a Sunday night, the bar crew was very busy, but incredibly well coordinated and still friendly.
Since we’d had steak Saturday night in Boothbay, we opted to order elsewhere from the menu.
iceberg, blue cheese, bacon, tomatoes, cucumbers,
crispy leeks & ranch dressing
mignonette & bourbon cocktail sauce half dozen
maine mussels, local tomato, marsala wine,
garlic butter, lemon & grilled bread
maine lobster, smoked gouda cheese sauce, bacon-butter cracker crumb shell pasta
Everything was wonderful, although the Mac & Cheese was very bacon-forward and sparse in the lobster department. Still very tasty and big enough to be an entree.
We spoke to a couple of other locals who said they often eat there just for the appetizers and the sides.
It makes sense since their chops are rather expensive for Maine.
We had another Uber challenge getting home. The Uber app offers drivers and wait times before they have an actual driver. Then they keep you hanging on for ten minutes repeating the message “We’ll find you a driver momentarily.”
Mrs. Horne was recruiting someone to give us a ride when I finally got a driver.
Monday
Monday was cool, gray, and foggy outside the little harbor…
One of our engine room bilge pumps had failed and Brewers South Freeport had an impressive building, so I decided to see if they had a tech who could take a look.
They did!
Not only was Nate a tech, but he was also an electronics specialist. They didn’t have a new 24-volt pump in stock, but he was willing to give it a look-see.
Nate concluded the problem was with the smart sensor and offered to replace it with a tried-and-true float switch. I consulted Tom at Maritimo and he approved it, so we were back to two bilge pumps in the engine room!
I’ll spare you the details, but report that we had another Uber snafu getting a lift to Freeport. The Dockmaster overheard our ordeal and offered to drive us to town.
Kurt also gave us a tour of the town and its history.
Most notable, oddly, was the local McDonald’s!
Apparently, the town didn’t really want a McDonald’s, but after years of haggling, they finally approved it as long as they put in an old home.
It certainly didn’t look like any Golden Arches I’ve ever seen!
The Freeport Oyster Bar
Freeport has plenty of restaurants, but the most interesting and highly rated spot was the Oyster Bar.
It’s very funky with the most open kitchen I’ve ever seen.
served with lemon and house mignonette
with local sour dough bread ($2)
house herb sauce, sourdough
It was clear why the Oyster Bar is ranked so highly, The eclectic menu offered incredible food at reasonable prices.
Downtown Freeport
A lot is going on in Freeport beyond the massive L.L. Bean campus.
By the way, the main L.L. Bean mega store is closed until September undergoing a major retrofit.
That said, the Home, Camp, Boat, Bike, & Ski, and Hunting & Fishing stores were still open.
The downtown stores feature a balance between unique Maine merchants and factory/outlet stores.
But overall, it still has that old New England town vibe.
The one store that caught my eye was A. Wilbur’s of Maine Chocolates!
After acquiring 8 ounces of $28.95/pound homemade chocolates, I wandered into the Lindt factory store to augment the strategic candy reserve onboard.
The cashier spotted my bag from Wilbur’s and said, “I used to work there. Their chocolates are sooo good!”
Around 3:00 I started the tedious process of getting an Uber. After a couple of ten-minute fails, we finally caught a ride. The driver was just passing through on the way to Portland and picked up the ride.
He said an Uber driver couldn’t make any money in Freeport, which is why he was heading to Portland.
I really like Freeport, but I was about to cross it off my list until an idea popped up in my brain.
Enterprise Rent-A-Car
There isn’t a rental car company in Freeport, but Enterprise in Brunswick will come to the marina, drive you back to Brunswick, and bring you back when your rental ends!
Yes, it’s about $100/day, but dockage for Brewers was $150/day less than Dimillo’s in Portland.
Monday Night
We had reservations at the Tuscan Bistro in Freeport for dinner, but it was raining and with the lack of reliable Uber service, we opted for a movie onboard and a cold sardine and cheese board…
It was the right call!
I had checked all the weather services before bed and picked up a couple of mentions of fog.
I started thinking about our trip and realized that although we’d logged over 100 hours in fog, Mrs. Horne and I had never run in fog without anyone else onboard.
Tuesday Run to Portsmouth
Tuesday morning was gray in Freeport, but we were ten miles from the open ocean.
I started checking the live webcams between Portland and Portsmouth to see what the coast looked like.
I saw a lot of fog. The NWS said it would pass at 9:00. NOAA said it might stick around until 11:00.
I was in no hurry, so I let Mrs. Horne sleep in. We finally shoved off at 9:30 and despite the local clearing, I could see the telltale signs of fog off the horizon.
About 30 minutes out, we hit a rather dense fog bank.
We never went to zero visibility, but did frequently dip to less than 1,000’.
I recruited Mrs. Horne to become my radar operator on the traditional screen on the 22” Garmin to port.
I set her screen to 1/2 mile because it’s the most accurate. It might pick up a lobster pot, but it misses nothing.
I was running at 25 MPH, which meant that we had about 75 seconds to take action in the event another vessel appeared on a collision course.
I’m proud to say it only took Mrs. Horne a few minutes to learn what I needed from my radar operator.
- Quickly spot threats as soon as they appear as blips.
- Tag them on MARPA, which essentially converts their moving blip to an AIS icon and quickly calculates their heading and potential collision course.
- Once the threat cleared, remove the MARPA tag to keep the screen clean and avoid unsettling alarms.
I was proud, impressed, and relieved by how quickly she became competent with the complex system.
About 11:00, the fog cleared and we had a smooth run into Wentworth-by-the-Sea.
Next Up: Portsmouth, New Hampshire
One Response
You found a gem with the Royal River Grill House. Dare I say, its one of the more underrated places on the coast of Maine because its not in one of those renowned locations like Kennebunk, Portland, Bar Harbor, etc. but holds its own against many of the restaurants you find there. Also, I make a daytrip from Billerica to Freeport every December for Christmas shopping and will remember your recommendation of the Freeport Oyster Bar when I go back later this year. Enjoy the rest of your trip and safe travels.