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Penobscot Bay - one of the best cruising bays in the world

The coast of Maine offers one of the ten best cruising venues for pleasure boaters in the world and "the jewel of the Maine coast" is Penobscot Bay, which is considered to be the best and most scenic cruising grounds in Maine. Penobscot Bay originates from the mouth of Maine's Penobscot River and is the deepest body of water in the Gulf of Maine. Forty miles long by just twenty miles wide, Penobscot Bay is populated with a few larger islands, Vinalhaven, North Haven and Islesboro, and hundreds of smaller uninhabited islands with secluded anchorages, quaint fishing villages, working harbors and summer resort destinations. Penobscot Bay shelters midcoast Maine, and its renowned waters are home to an extensive lobster and fishing industry, cruising ports of call for the Maine Windjammer fleet, and incredible panoramic vistas from every vantage point. You will find some of Maine's more picturesque coastal scenery on this part of the coast - secluded offshore islands and majestic hills rising above the scenic bay.

Penobscot Bay - a working bay on the Maine Coast

Penobscot Bay served as the primary transportation channel for the one time "lumber capital of the world," which was the city of Bangor, Maine, back in the middle to late 19th century. Named after the major river that feeds it, the Penobscot Bay region forms part of the traditional homeland of the Wabanaki Indians, in particular the Penobscot tribe (also named after this river). For thousands of years, they hunted, fished, and gathered clams and other food in this bay area. Ancient remains of their campsites have been found on the bay's shores and islands. During the 19th and early 20th century, many of the bay’s islands were important sources for granite, and the islands' quarries provided materials for monuments and important buildings throughout the country. Abandoned artifacts of these activities remain on many of the bay’s islands, and the rise and fall of the granite industry changed the region significantly: island communities that once attracted skilled labor from Europe and all over the United States disappeared virtually overnight.

Today, the largest working industries on Penobscot Bay are lobstering and the commercial fishing indusries. Rockland is known as the "Lobster Capital of the world" as the majority of Maine lobsters are caught in this part of the Maine coast. There are many towns like Rockport, Rockland, Owls Head, and others where you can see lobstermen bringing in their daily catch at the docks and where you can actually buy lobster fresh off the boat.

Cruising Penobscot Bay and the surrounding islands

You do not have to own a boat to enjoy cruising Maine’s Penobscot Bay. Camden and Rockland offer a number of cruises both power boat day trips and sailing day trips that allow visitors to get out on the bay and experience the beauty of this part of the Maine coast. On any given day on the bay, one is likely to meet a fascinating variety of vessels, from private pleasure craft and sleek schooners to diligently maintained windjammers and working island ferries as well as lobster fishermen and power mega yachts of the rich and famous, all cruising the waters of Penobscot Bay.

Cruising along the shore between Camden, Rockport and Rockland will also give you a close-up view of how new and old money is spent in America. There are stunning estates of weathered clapboard and wooded enclaves, as well as newer retreats with freshly planted landscaping. During the summer, the sun rises nearly every morning to find the bay "flat as a mirror". You can hear every bird, every seal, every fish jump for miles. Ducks and gulls float effortlessly by heading up the bay. The sounds of life on land are hauntingly absent. Suffice it to say that taking a cruise on Penobscot Bay is one of the the top activities in terms of local area attractions. It is easily the most pleasant and memorable experience for many people during their vacation stay in the Midcoast Maine area.