The neighborhood
Unlike Camden Harbor, where they motor out for the first twenty minutes, and back into the tight harbor, we set sail right away, sometimes sailing right off the dock.  With an interesting working harbor, with seals in it, less crowds, more parking, plenty of restaurants...Rockland is great.
Aerial photo of Rockland, Maine with some mapping overlaid. This shows downtown and the hub of our town, though not the vast breakwater protected harbor. I've shown Rte 1 in pink, with the traffic lights shown where Park St and Tilson Ave come down towards the boat.

Free public parking is plentiful and shown in pale blue.

This is a lovely picture of our town, with the Farmer's market at the public landing, the fishing boats in at the Municipal Fish Pier (at right,) the city is shown ready but quiet, most likely an early summer morning.

​I operate Bufflehead from Windjammer Wharf, which is accessed by Captain Spear Dr, which comes off Tillson Ave, as shown.
​

Rockland: a quick history and description
Rockland, the county seat and a city of 8,000, for 200 years, has become famous for its blend of gritty real working town, and more recently a mix of art, food, tourism and recreation opportunities, matched by our community and people. We have motorboat marinas alongside busy fishing piers, cargo and manufacturing facilities and lots of sailing yachts as well as a fleet of historic schooners making the area the largest fleet of working sail anywhere in the world..  

Main Street has restaurants, shops, art galleries, theaters, bakeries, museums and a Harbor Trail. Old limestone kilns burnt the limestone to make brick mortar to build the cities of southern New England. New England's only Cement plant still mines the rock which ships out by barge to Boston. We have inexpensive decent food and world famous restaurants,  a great farmer's market and a lot of local food production.  

​A mile long breakwater protects the one of the largest harbor on the East coast, with plentiful islands and wildness close at hand. Here are some links to interesting things, and some of my friends and favorites.
Local Webcams
These two webcams can see the water anytime. 
Maine's Tourism Website is great, with lots of links, listings, maps, and interesting content.

Want to bareboat charter?  Buck's Harbor Marine, across the bay has quite a boat livery, power and sail, and based in a very lovely place. Also, in Rockland, Johannson's Boat Livery and The Maine Boat Co.
Local Radio Stations
Local sounds to go with the local sites. 
We are lucky here to have WERU, community radio, 89.9 FM Blue Hill and 102.9 Bangor, playing a wide variety of music and informative programing. 

In the midcoast we have 93.3 Rockland & 99.3 FM Camden WRFR , one of the only low power stations around.  Both of these are non-commercial radio! Volunteer driven listener supported. 

Bufflehead Sailing Charters  is a proud supporting member of both of these local radio stations. ​

Right in Town

Rockland Rocks

Many coastal towns in Maine have scenic harbors but only Rockland has the Harbor Trail: a scenic byway that winds 5.5 miles through Snow Marine Park, Sandy Beach, Harbor Park, Buoy Park, and Gilbert Adams Park and gets you to the Rockland Breakwater from downtown! 

Wonderful Wanderings

Right from Windjammer Wharf, you can walk up to Main Street and stroll Rockland's array of interesting shops after your charter. 

Gobs of Galleries

Maine's beauty is an inspiration for many artists, but it's still surprising that Rockland has over 20 art galleries and 10 museums!

After all this shop wandering and gallery gawking, you're going to be hungry. Check our Restaurant page for some of our favorites.

Breakwater Blarney Stone

There is only one stone that spans the full width of the Breakwater.
First one to find it gets free ice cream from the others afterward because tradition. 
Rockland: Trip Advisor Recommendations

Right Nearby

See it from Land

You likely saw Owls Head light on your charter. The lighthouse area is also a scenic state park!

Stroll to the Sea

There's a main path that leads right a perfect lookout area with a wonderfully wide view of the bay all the way to the islands and the Camden Hills. 

Perfect Picnic Spot

Most people go there not knowing of the perfectly placed picnic tables - with grills! Explore the beach, have a feast and while away an afternoon searching for the perfect keepsake rock and watching boats chug and glide by. You might even see Bufflehead!
Owls Head State Park 
Owls Head: Trip Advisor Recommendations​

Right Next Door

Off the Beaten Path

If you only stick to RT 1 in your roamings, you'll miss out on the charming historic harbor of the next gem in the midcoast crown - Rockport.

Take the time to go wend through the downtown and you'll feel like you found a secret spot. 

Scenic Harbor Park

Not too many harbors where you can just put your chair down and have a front row seat like this.

The cozy, naturally protected harbor has another great, little known park right nearby - Walker Park. With a playground, picnic tables and stone steps to the beach, it's a great local spot with amazing harbor views. 

Historic Artist's Community

From Winslow Homer to Mark Twain, many famous artists have summered in Rockport for inspiration and relaxation. Rockport Art Association & Museum, founded in 1921, is one of the oldest and most active in the country. Spend an afternoon in Rockport and you'll get why it's such a draw. 
Rockport Harbor Marine Park
Rockport: Trip Advisor Recommendations​

Right After that

"Where the Mountains Meet the Sea"

Dotted with parks and woven through with interesting shops, great restaurants and beautiful architecture, Camden is a postcard perfect place to visit. 

Quaint Harbor

Like Rockland, historic windjammer schooners are a favorite and familiar sight.

This idyllic harbor park is adjacent to the shops and restaurants of Main Street, so you're never far from adding a shady nap to your vacation To Do list. 

Hiker's Delight

You can hike to this view from downtown Camden!  There are all sorts of trails winding along ridges, around slopes and among the area's rolling hills. You can spend an hour or all day on the local trails. Camden Hills State Park, minutes from downtown, offers great hiking, awesome views and well marked trails.  I love to go sailing and look at the hills, then go hiking and look at the Bay, or vice versa.

You can even book guided rock climbs through Atlantic Climbing School. 
Sunset from Maiden's Cliff
Camden: Trip Advisor Recommendations​
Bufflehead Sailing Charters
Windjammer Wharf
Rockland ME
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