August, 2021; Onward's Fouled Prop - due to lobster pot encounters: 2 fouled lines on prop & shaft; broken Spurs cutter; dented prop leading edges.

• Vigilance for lobster pot floats and toggles is needed throughout Maine waters
• There are few areas where this hazard is not present. One is Eggemoggin Reach Between Brooklin / Wooden Boat School at the E and Head of the Cape at the W as you turn up the Penobscot River toward Castine
• Maine lobstermen practice no consistent method of coordinating the color / shape of toggles and floats: It is often a complete guess
• In narrow, crowded channels it is almost impossible to pick them out; the St George Rivers is one place.
• Beware that in strong currents the float and sometimes it toggle can be pulled under water.
• Toggle-Floats lie mostly with the current with the wind complicating things
• Usage of toggle + float varies by small local areas — so you can go from a float-only area to a toggle+float area.
• Sunlight can totally obscure pots when it is forward of the beam — then light them up when it is astern.
• In fog, SV Onward navigates with the Admiral, Peggy, forward with a remote control for the autopilot so she can dodge close-in pots as we move through the fog; my job is to drive the chart plotter through the fog to keep us safe.
• It is a good practice to always have one or more spotters to assist the helmsman: Never Assume the helmsman sees a pot — confirm
• If, lie Onward, you have a winged keel, it is possible to hook the toggle-float line on the keel and end up dragging several behind (Onward's record is about 5) a spin about with engine in neutral; sometimes in both directions can free the mess AND it will be obvious!