Wicked wet and fog he-aah this summah!

 Wicked Wet and Fog He-aah This summah!

 

This is an unusual summer for the folks here in Maine. From Rockland, where we stored and launched, Downeast to Southwest Harbor on Mt. Desert Island, the weather has been unusually foggy and rainy. With only brief days of clear skies and sunshine, their tourist-based economy has slumped. Most Mainers are giving up on July and hoping for better prospects in August.

A schooner that broke away from its mooring in a storm, winding up on the rocks,
near Dysart's Great Harbor Marina.

For us, it's been pleasant, if only a little disappointing that we are mostly stuck in our slip at the marina. We are so happy to have landed at Dysart's Great Harbor Marina (https://www.dysartsmarina.com). At least it's cooler than at home in Florida.

We miss the friendly dock crew at Safe Harbor, but Miccah and Jane here at Dysart's are wonderful dock masters. And, a bonus is the interesting stories of boats and their owners who are regulars here. More on that in a future post.

 

Earlier this month, we launched at Journeys End Marina(https://www.journeysendmarina.com), where Ryan and crew performed winter maintenance and recommissioning of Aquavit. After a brief stay at Safe Harbor, shuttling our car to MDI 

(Mt. Desert Island) and catching up with friends Eric and Raleigh, the proprietors of their wonderful Lindsey Guest House (https://www.lindseyguesthouse.com), we had a pleasant 50 nm cruise up to SW Harbor.

 

Anna and David at Sand Beach in Acadia National Park

Then, what a wonderful time we had with Anna and David for four days. The visit started with a 3-nm boat trip out to the famed Islesford Dock Restaurant (https://www.islesforddock.com) on Little Cranberry Island for dinner. Fog enveloped us, then disappeared, then fell on us again as we traveled to the restaurant dock. The oysters were fresh from Great Cranberry - you can see it just over there when it isn't so foggy.

  Unfortunately the weather crashed our plans for an ambitious Downeast adventure of heading up to Cross Island NWR. Oh well. We turned over the itinerary to David and Anna who toured us around Acadia National Park for shoreside escapades including delicious lunches at the famed Jordan Pond House one day and the historic Asticou Inn (https://www.asticou.com) in Northeast Harbor the next day. 

 

We enjoyed walks in Asticou and Thuya Gardens and along a couple of trails in Acadia National Park. The landscaping in Asticou and the beautiful flowers in Thuya are calming, making for a pleasant afternoon. The hiking trails to Sand Beach, Thunder Hole and along the road to Bass Harbor Lighthouse meandered through the woods, opening to gorgeous vistas of Maine's coast.

We took advantage of facilities for lobster cook-outs at the head of the marina docks. Buying local lobsters for $7.00/lb we enjoyed lobster, potatoes and fresh corn two nights in a row! One night was accompanied by fog, the next was rainy. But, the lobster was delicious! Restaurants around here are charging the cost of 4 lobsters from the local boats for one lobster meal - somewhere between $42 and $55! Now we know how to have a delicious lobster dinner for a lot less!

 

For the time being, we wait for the fog to lift and rain to abate so we can venture out to gunkhole the Downeast coast. From here to the eastern end of the contiguous U.S. and Bay of Fundy is a rough and wild coastline with few ports and facilities. The "wilderness" is our happy place.

 

  We have lots to do while we wait. Lee is knitting  baby blankets and editing the next two novels,   while Marvin is working to promote his first on Amazon. 

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Across-Florida-Straits-Cuba-West/dp/B0C8QSW1Q2/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1689730582&sr=1-1

We're also checking in with Small Wonders Gallery (https://small-wonder-gallery.myshopify.com/collections/marvin-cook) in Camden where Heidi and Bren are displaying his paintings of Maine. So, even if we are stuck in port, we are thankful to be out of the heat and rain in Florida.

 

Soon we look forward to Bill and Lisa joining us for a weekend, hoping the weather improves enough for some more maritime experiences.

Thanks for reading! Email if you would like to be added or removed from our list. rmc@shellpointer.com

07.18.2023