Falmouth Foreside
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- Maggie Salter
- April 11, 2023
- 2:06 pm
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Photo: Dock at Portland Yacht Club by Ann Blanchard
Falmouth Foreside represents an attractive and reasonably priced alternative for cruisers visiting the Portland area — especially for those seeking a quieter anchorage with many of the city’s amenities. Falmouth is also home to the highly regarded Portland Yacht Club, which welcomes visiting members of recognized yacht clubs with a variety of mooring and other services. Handy Boat and the Falmouth Town Landing also offer many services for visitors
Over a thousand boats are moored in the Falmouth anchorage, equally divided between the three entities whose mooring areas blend together but are separated by three fairways. Falmouth is 15 minutes by car from downtown Portland and 20 minutes to the Portland airport.
Approach & Cautions
Photo: Ann Blanchard
There are several ways to enter the Falmouth anchorage — from the south, east, and north. All are well buoyed and clearly shown on the charts. PYC is in the middle, with Handy Boat to the south and the Town Landing a little north.
Docking, Anchorages, or Moorings
Anchoring is permitted outside the fairways, channels, mooring fields, or other restricted areas. If uncertain, contact the harbormaster Alan Twombley at (207) 781-7317. Portland Yacht Club accommodates visiting yachts up to 59 feet long with deep water access on their moorings, based on space availability. PYC has ten moorings for visiting yachts and more when members leave for extended cruises. Contact Heather Sheehan, Waterfront Manager (207) 781-9820 Ext. 20 in advance to make your reservation. PYC monitors VHF Ch. 68. Their fees range from $45 to $55 per night, depending on boat length. This fee includes access to many club services, including launch, dining room, showers, etc. Handy Boat has fifty transient mooring rentals for boats up to 65 feet, plus dock space and many services. Among the many respected people at Handy is Senior Marine Systems Technician Roger Hellyar-Brook. He is a former instructor at the nearby Landing School (a highly regarded Maine boat-building school). He is an expert in all areas of marine and diesel repair and a great raconteur — he has a million stories. The Dockside Grill on the grounds of Handy Boat is excellent. You can take the launch in for dinner or bring your own dinghy to the dock. Dockside Provisions is a convenience store at the top of the pier to purchase many essentials, including food and fuel. Hail them on VHF channel 9. Falmouth Town Landing hosts the largest recreational anchorage/mooring field north of Marblehead. There is a public beach and boat launch ramp. All moorings are privately owned and unlikely to be available to transients. PYC and Handy are better bets for a rental mooring. The Town Landing also offers a pump-out service. Contact Harbormaster Alan Twombley at (207) 781-7317.
VHF
Ch 9 for Handy Boat Ch 68 for Portland YC
FUEL
Handy Boat
WATER
PYC and Handy Boat
ELECTRICITY
Handy Boat
SHOWERS
Handy Boat and PYC
LAUNDRY
Handy Boat
WIFI
Handy Boat & PYC Falmouth Memorial Library, 5 Lunt Rd. off US Rt. 1
PUMP OUT
Handy Boat Town Landing
SERVICES
Handy Boat Service
TRASH
Handy Boat and PYC
MEDICAL
Call 911 for an emergency; otherwise use facilities in Portland. Maine Medical Center Urgent Care Plus – 207-383-3239 ConvenientMD Urgent Care – 207-517-3838 Maine Medical Center Emergency Room – 207-662-0111 Others listed online
MORE BOAT AMENITIES
Getting Ashore
Photo: PYC front lawn and decks by Ann Blanchard
All three facilities noted above offer access to the shore. PYC has a launch service and a dinghy dock for those using their mooring services. Handy Boat and the Town Landing have dinghy docks.
Photo: Courtesy Town Landing Market and Ana Piper
Provisioning
Town Landing Market, 269 Foreside Rd, (207) 781-2128 is a small grocery ¼-mile from PYC on Route One. Shaw’s at Falmouth Shopping Center, 251 US-1, (207) 781-6581, instacart available. Open 0700-2200 hours every day. It is two miles from PYC. One could walk there and take an Uber or taxi back. There is a bookstore, Ocean State Job Lot, and Bank of America in this strip mall. Starbucks is across the street.
Photo: Courtesy of Dockside Grill
Dine Out
These restaurants are on or near the waterfront. There are a lot more on Route 1 in and around the shopping plazas.
Photo: William Walker – MaineTrailFinder.com
Hikes
Falmouth Nature preserve is nearby at 178 Foreside Road, 1/2-mile down the main road. Maine Audubon is a little farther afield, 2.7 miles south along the coast toward Portland at 20 Gilsland Farm Rd, in Falmouth. Of course for bird lovers, this is a “must-see.”
Photo: Falmouth Memorial Library – Jamie Dacyczyn – Flickr
Other Things To Do
If you’re heading up to Route 1 for the Shaw’s Supermarket or other places in those plazas (Pine Tree Dental Care (you never know when you’ll break a tooth), Foreside House of Pizza, Hop Nails & Spa (need a pick-me-up? get a mani-pedi!), Ricetta’s Brick Oven Ristorante, Great Clips (need a pick-me-up? get a haircut!), you’re a short walk from the Falmouth Memorial Library, where you can access free WiFi and spend some time reading or browsing. It’s a short block off Rt. 1 on Lunt Rd. Their textile crafts group A Common Yarn meets Thursdays at 1300.
MARINE SERVICES NEARBY – Hamilton Marine is located at their new location at 197 Presumpscot Street, Portland. It is not in downtown Portland anymore. (207) 774-1772. With extensive inventory at excellent prices and knowledgeable sales staff, Hamilton services commercial fishers and recreational boaters. Open 0800-1700. (Closed Sunday October through March.) NEARBY MARINA & BOATYARD – A little east and up the Royal River is Yankee Marina, a full-service boatyard with diesel and outboard repair, fiberglass repair, rigging services, painting, and varnishing. They have docks and haul-out (if needed) for boats up to 60 feet. Adam White is an extremely knowledgeable marine electrician and electronics technician. (207) 846-4326. Also see the CCA Maine Guide listing for South Freeport.
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