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First the “marina”. Kittery Yacht Yard is a new Safe Harbor acquisition. Very nice people. Easy to work with through Dockwa. Jason, Dockmaster checked in with us on way in and on day of departure. Supplied us with local information. Very few docks and only a handful of mooring balls. The Kittery YY has two facilities and specialize in repairs, refits. Clean facilities. Only one bathroom and small shower, for now. Jason says there are plans for a guest lounge with a couple showers coming soon. We stayed on a mooring ball. The current rips through the channel. The dinghy docks are full of permanent dinks so it can be hard to nudge in. Would definitely return. A reference to loaner bikes on their web sight is pre-covid and incorrect. Hopefully they will bring them back.
Second, the area. Kittery/Portsmouth is a terrific stop. There are some stores and restaurants a long walk or short bike ride from the boat yard. We dinghied to Warren’s Lobster House in Kittery, has a dinghy dock. No other place I could find to dock in Kittery. In Portsmouth you need to see the Strawberry Bank exhibits. Well worth a half day or more. You can dock at the north set of docks operated by the Portsmouth Harbormaster (look for “Portsmouth Love Wall” on Google Maps). We were there off season and were not charged the $4/hour fee thankfully. Call ahead. Strong currents. Town has many restaurants. But the ones on the water don’t allow docking, even for dinghies.