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Saturday, December 7, 2013

Maine, Part II


Tuesday, October 1 - Saturday, October 5, 2013

The latter half of our first week meandering ended just as wonderfully as the first half.  We had beautiful
winds and weather, the sailing was perfect, and we once again found ourselves at breathtaking anchorages.  Most days were light and leisurely, but the first day of October brought a strong, consistent breeze that was perfect for sailing down the Maine coast.  That day we sailed for 28 nautical miles, which is good work for Evelyn as Tahiti Ketches are known for being slow boats.  But we’ve found that even in light winds, though she may not move along at high speeds, she is very responsive and handles well. 

On Monday we stayed at Long Cove, nearby Tenants Harbor.  After setting anchor we hopped into the Peapod, each grabbed our oars, and rowed about a mile over to the Tenants Harbor town dock.  We were very pleased with how quick and easy the row in the Peapod was, and how much distance we were able to comfortably cover.  Then, we walked around the town of Tenants Harbor, before stopping at the General Store to help refill our supplies of fresh fruit and vegetables.  We also picked up a nice treat for ourselves: some Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar (a favorite!) to enjoy that night.  Because we don’t have refrigeration, cheese is a delicacy we don’t often enjoy.

Tuesday brought a beautiful breeze for sailing, so we sailed right off the anchor, through the islands in Muscongus Bay, through Boothbay, and up the Sheepscot River to Ebenecook Harbor, where we anchored in Love Cove.  Love Cove was tucked away, narrow, and ledge lined, so we were grateful to our cruising guide’s detailed description on how we should approach.  The gorgeous little cove was a wonderful place to spend the night, and the next morning when we awoke we jumped into the Peapod to explore the other coves in Ebenecook Harbor.  The middle of the three housed the Boothhbay Regional Shipyard so we jumped out there to wander, watched “Ragtime,” a classic old NY Commuter boat that had been restored by the yard get hauled and cleaned, and looked around at some of the other boats.

We left Love Cove under power and set sails at the mouth of the Sheepscot River, to enjoy another day of
perfect sailing with sunny skies and consistent winds.  We sailed out and around Seguin Island, which was far out and alone, with high bluffs that rose straight from the water, a windswept top, and a lonesome lighthouse.  Its landscape stood out from the surrounding area, and it looked as if a piece of Ireland had drifted across the Atlantic and grounded out in the Gulf of Maine.  We rounded dramatic Seguin and then moved into the Casco Bay, turning up into the New Meadows River in the late afternoon.  The river was lovely and the breeze right behind us, so we lazily coasted upriver towards what we had decided would be our destination for the night, a place called The Basin.

The entrance to The Basin was nearly invisible, a skinny little inlet that seemed to dead-end.  If the charts had not promised that it would instead make a sharp lef- turn before opening up beyond, we would have never turned inside its narrow channel.  But the waterway did turn, and though shallow and narrow we turned with it, and The Basin opened up before us.

It was huge--An open, calm expanse of water.  We had been told it would feel like a lake, and it did.  We found a spot to anchor, made sure it set, and then rowed around the perimeter of The Basin as the sun began to set, passing around its small island and wandering into other areas that looked like they too could lead in and out of The Basin, though none did.  The visual trick played by The Basin’s hidden entrance was impressive, and The Basin could easily be disorienting.  Had we not remembered where we had entered, it could take some investigating to get back out.

The Basin

The next morning we enjoyed another treat that The Basin has to offer—a section of Nature Conservancy land along its Southern and Eastern shores.  We rowed around until we spotted a boundary marker, pulled the Peapod ashore, found a trailhead and spent the next few hours hiking.  It felt great to be back in the woods, and to experience this special place by land and by sea.
And the day just kept getting better. 

Ashore for a hike around the Basin!
After leaving The Basin we spent the afternoon sailing around Casco Bay, and then decided to make Jewell Island our home for the night.  Every friend who lives along and sails the Casco Bay area had mentioned Jewell to us, and we decided we couldn’t miss this favorite anchorage.  Jewell did not disappoint.  The Island lived up to the hype, and surpassed it.  It was such a mesmerizing place we couldn’t leave—so we spent two nights there.

Jewell Island is a public island, criss-crossed with trails that lead to sights of natural beautify and sights of history.  It was used as a post during WWII to protect Portland Harbor, one of the closest harbors to Europe, and all around the Island are scattered remnants of that story.  Two towers peek above the trees to give unobstructed views of Casco Bay and beyond, and a system of underground tunnels, with many off-shooting rooms, lies to the South, with the entrances nearly reclaimed by Nature, but not yet too hidden that they can’t be found and explored.

Sunset at Jewell Island
To make Jewell even more amazing is how friendly the Island feels—it is far out in Casco Bay, but it has a perfect cove for the visiting boater, and a handful of idyllic campsites that can be used on a first come, first served basis.   The trails are there to wander, the remnants of its previous use invite you to experience the Island’s history, and low tide reveals plenty of shore to walk along.

We spent our first evening hiking around Jewell, climbing the taller of the two towers, and wandering the coastline to a dazzling sunset.  We spent the next morning hiking again, exploring the other tower and tunnels, wandering some more and relaxing on Evelyn, enjoying the natural beauty all around us.

In the afternoon, we rowed the mile or two over to neighboring Cliff Island, one of Maine’s fourteen un-bridged year-round community islands (between the two of us, we have now visited nine of them), landed on a Nature Conservancy beach there, and walked around the Island’s dirt roads, visiting its harbor and ferry pier, and walking past homes, the school, the post office and a summer shop or two, now closed for the season.  We watched the ferry dock at the pier, which is always a fun event for Lou because he spent time our first winter in Maine captaining the Beal & Bunker Mailboat, the passenger service that connects the Cranberry Islands (two more of those fourteen) to Northeast Harbor on  Mount Desert Island (which has a bridge, so doesn’t count).  After wandering until our legs were tired, we returned to the Peapod for our upper-body work out of the day—rowing the distance back to Jewell against wind, waves, and current.

Leaving Maine at Sunrise
We decided to leave Maine with those experiences as our last, on a high note—with memories of perfect winds, beautiful weather, idyllic islands—and let the approaching rain find us somewhere else.  We left Jewell at sunrise the next morning, a windless, overcast day with swell coming in from the ocean, and decided to put in a long day of motoring to move south towards a new sailing playground.  Seals, gannets, and minke whales (our first whale sightings of the trip) accompanied us across the state’s border, making sure the Maine portion of our journey was unforgettable to the end.  We were in New Hampshire for a brief moment—at that point we were about 18 miles offshore, and could only see the Isle of Shoals and the bridge marking the Maine/New Hampshire border as shadows in the distance, and then came Massachusetts.  And on to the next part of the adventure.

...And here are some more pics from the second half of our cruise in Maine:



Peapods at the Tenants Harbor Town Dock

Tenants Harbor General Store -- our first restock of the trip.



Lots of lighthouses along the Maine coast!








The Basin

Rowing around the Basin.


Hiking around the Basin.



The Peapod aground at Jewell Island.

Jewell Island

There were so many racoons on Jewell Island!

One of the towers on Jewell Island.



A remnant of the old days...



The tunnels on Jewell Island.

Cliff Island


Cliff Island Harbor

An unpaved road on Cliff Island.

Leaving Jewell Island at Sunrise



Still want more?  Additional pictures are posted on Facebook and Instagram.





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