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We got out slip assignment but only to be told as they took our lines that this slip would be temporary as a larger boat was coming in tomorrow and we would have to move to another slip. Well, that didn’t make us very happy as once you go through the hassle of getting settled you just don’t want to move again but so be it.
Little did we know that we would have to move three more times during our stay and so did other boats. We weren’t singled out, everybody was in the same boat so to say. It just became an ongoing adventure and irritant but you got used to it.
We sat here for two nights and two days in the fog, and this morning is the first morning that we finally could see our surroundings. There were lovely cottages on the hill surrounded by forest. Again here as elsewhere cruising in Maine is the common sight of beautiful classic boats. Now though, the hull colors, besides the traditional dark navy and stark white cabins, we surprisingly see bright lipstick red hulls, whether it be a sailboat or a fast picnic or the lobster style cruising boat. The colors are striking in this overcast grey environment and punch out the serene monochromatic tones of the overcast days.
We saw the huge new 72 foot Nordhavn called “Mighty Mouse” at SW Harbor and now we see “Donald Duck”, a small classic runabout in NE Harbor.
The harbor is quiet except for the coming and going of the Cranberry Island work boats. We watch one that looks like a souped up lobster boat (the Double B) that pushes a small flat barge. Today he’s delivering a couple cars to shore then picking up a work truck. We’re amazed wondering how this boat can maneuver the barge with their heavy cargo and no protective rails. The barge is just a flat low block of floating metal as far as I can see. The cars and trucks drive right onto it from the launching ramp and then you hear the sound of the very loud but powerful motor as the captain tows the barge off the loading ramp, backs her up, makes the turn and heads out through the midst of the anchored yachts like it was easy as pie. The Cranberry Island mail boat comes and goes transporting people that live on Cranberry Island back forth for work and probably so they can provision. Sometimes there are a couple sight seerers. The weather has been chilly, wet and foggy, so maybe on good weather days the mail boat may be filled with more sight seerers than we’ve seen wanting to explore the walking trails of the outer islands. No matter what the weather is, whether foggy or not, these boats come and go like clock work.
COMORANTS WORK THE WATERS
A couple of cormorants work the harbor. I watch them each day. Today the water is still like glass and they do a perfect silent dive. Their beaks dip into the dark water followed by their long oily necks and thin bodies. They make the full penetration without a splash. It’s totally silent and traceless. They are not the best looking bird around but they have the elegance of a swan they do their daily dives that rates consistently perfect 10s, no splash, and no noise. Usually and sadly they come up many minutes later empty handed or should I say, empty throated. Its slim pickens from what I can see but they are persistent and hard workers but no luck this with this mornings dives. Occasionally I’d see one come up with a sizable catch, maybe the tail of a fish sticking out of their parted beaks and their throats grossly enlarged as you can see the silhouette of an entire fish in their throat. They go through double jointed maneuvers to juggle the fish down a process that I would think would be a gagging. Finally though the fish moves downward and out of sight and is finally digested in their stomachs. I wonder why they can’t just find a little herring or something that would go down easier as it looks so uncomfortable, but nope it’s always got to be some gigantic gagger. It’s peaceful and quiet here, just the sound of seagulls, and a dinghy here and there, coming or going from the moored boats. There’s several regulars that we see come and go like clock work taking their mutts to shore whether rain, fog or cold. Not too much coming and going around here other than that. NE Harbor is a destination. Once you get here you stay for awhile. There are not too many places around here to dock your boat or find a totally protected harbor next to town. It’s a good location to leave your boat and go explore the sights of the area.
L.L. BEAN RUNS THE SHUTTLE It’s pretty easy to get around as they have several shuttle buses. I can see one now, the familiar white shuttle bus is making its regular stop by the dock office. It has a blue and green stripe on it with “LL Bean” in large letters across the side of it. LL Bean is big up here and is always promoting them selves with some ad that supports nature or the outdoors or something of the like. It picks up and drops off people and shuttles them all over the park for a very reasonable fee. There are several of them and they are pretty much the mode of travel around here for all who visit the park.
There’s a large green missionary boat at the foot of the dock. It’s the biggest boat by far, all though some of the yachts here almost give it a run for its money. It services the remote outer islands.
It’s a funny harbor, mixed with some very expensive motor yachts, and expensive Hinckley sailboats, and several beautiful classic wooden boats. There are also your typical sailboats, and of course the lobster work boats. The hull colors are a beautiful mix of red, white, blue and green, all polished, lines tied in perfect nautical knots and stowed in perfect piles. The boats out in the mooring field are all sitting neatly, pointing in one direction as the current comes in and then turning in formation as the current goes out and the only irregularity is if we get some wind, which is minimal in here, and then there turn first according to weight and height but most of the time it’s a tidy formation.
CHARMING VILLAGE Just up the hill from the docks is the charming little village of North East Harbor. It has the most wonderful little old fashioned grocery store and guess what? Ziggy can shop there too! In fact all dogs are welcome. I think I like this Maine. So, all the dog owners take them up on it, just because we can even though it’s much easier to grocery shop without holding a leash. The grocery store is small and old timey, but what’s funny is it has everything you need. Where did America ever get the idea that we needed those big supermarkets that tire me out just thinking about all the choices and needless wandering down lengthy isles searching for stuff? It’s not the big mega super store with a gazillion choices of stuff that you really don’t want anyway. It’s got the best of the best and that’s all you need any way. They will deliver your groceries down to the boat if it’s more than you can carry which is a thrill after the chore of lugging this entire trip.
ROW ROW ROW YOUR BOAT
The fog comes and goes. One
minute I can see the top of the hills and then the next time I look out its
shrouded again with a thick veil of white, weaving in and out through the
valleys of fur trees.
MUSICAL SLIPS
Docking at NE Harbor is (how do I describe it?) like playing musical chairs; you just keep moving around but the only difference is you don’t get kicked out of the game. We had to move three times during our stay and they had other boats moving too. The first night a huge go fast power boat came in next to us looking like a sleek space craft. We looked out the window and it was like the mother lode landed. They had all sorts of atmospheric lights and weird shaped windows. There were big racetrack windows mid ship at dock level and we had a clear view of the galley. It was like a big television screen and you couldn’t help but watch as the crew cooked and made dinner preparation in the galley for the couple that chartered this thing.
The next day, the Patriot came in, which is probably the most beautiful Hinckley we’ve seen yet. So they let the Patriot take our space and they moved us and “mother lode” to different docks. It wasn’t so bad because at the new location we now had a great view of the mooring field until Unity, a huge mega ship came in and completely blocked any view that we had of anything. It also ran its generator 24 hours a day. All day they ran the generator on our side and at night they ran the one on the opposite side. It didn’t matter though as the fumes were still there no matter what side they ran them. Then after our friends arrived we had to move again. This time we moved to a 26 foot dock. I didn’t think it was possible but somehow Larry got her secure with our bow and stern hanging precariously out. It kind of made you feel like you were unimportant around here as they shuffled you around and final straw putting us on a dock that was meant for a boat half our size. It all worked out somehow.
The final resting spot before we left was docked next to another beautiful Hinckley picnic boat and Nirvana, which is probably a 70 foot beautiful classic sailing vessel. She was assigned a worse spot than us and that was to be rafted up to Sunbeam, the huge old Missionary ship. We all watched as they rafted up to her and wondered how in the heck the crew was going to be able to get off their boat and get to the dock. The Missionary boat was so tall that we couldn’t figure out how they were going to get up and over the Sunbeam to the dock. We never did see them do it. It was comical the way they shuffled us all around. I can only compare it to when we were docked in Ketchikan, Alaska. They were moving boats constantly as the transients were given fishermen’s slip and when the fishermen came back you had to get the heck out of the slip for them and find another. Here though you just finally get sick of it and just want to leave so you can go to a place where you can just rest from all the stressful moving.
Things start early around here. Every morning about 6:30 AM or earlier, as the Cranberry Mail Boat, gets ready to make it’s many runs back and forth to the island, the produce trucks back down on the dock. Then Double B, the boat that pushes the flat barge roars in, and I mean roars in and picks up whatever he will be moving that day to the outer islands. So, there’s no sleepin’ in around this place. And of course in come Alista VII. We had to give up our good spot for them for their 90+ feet of metal and hulk. They stuck out so far from the dock and into the channel that we wondered if we were going to be able to get around her when we left. It’s a never changing environment around here for sure.
WEATHER CLEARS FOR FRIENDS ARRIVAL
Amazingly, the weather clears and warms up for our friends’ arrival. Fran and Joe flew in from Santa Barbara and several days of cloudy foggy damp weather immediately vanished. Before they had a chance to un pack we whisked them off to see the local Farmer’s Market.
FARMER’S MARKET Well, it wasn’t big but it was
good local quality and we made some good purchases which included some fresh
tasty green lettuces, some thick juicy corn, some heirloom red and yellow
tomatoes, some big long carrots and delicious spicy homemade smoked sausage.
And of course we couldn’t pass up some home smoked peppered salmon. Yum. But
we had to keep moving as we had made reservations at The Abby Aldrich
Rockefeller Garden.
ROCKEFELLER GARDENS
We had just enough time to hop into the rental car and head up the hill about 2 miles to find the unmarked gated driveway to The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden. It’s not advertised and you probably won’t find it in any guide book. It’s also difficult to get in as you have to know about it, know where to get the unlisted number and then call and hope they have an opening on the few days and hours that they open up to a limited amount of people. We had heard about the gardens from friends in Manchester by the Sea, Mass. but once we got here we couldn’t find any details about it until I talked with Bruce Kessler. Fortunately they had been there and his wife had kept the “secret phone number”.
The gardens are still owned by the family and they open it up for limited times so a small amount of people can come and enjoy the gardens. So we felt like privileged people today and were glad that J&F made it here just in time to join us. As you know the Rockefellers were very instrumental in establishing the carriage roads in Acadia National Park and restricting automobile travel protecting the park from cars, traffic and pollution.
NE VILLAGE Of course we wanted to show F&J the little village of NE Harbor and all the places we loved there. That included the market where Ziggy could shop. We were hankering for some fresh wild Maine blueberries but when we went in they said “there weren’t any blueberries because it has been rainin’ and couldn’t get out to pick em”. Well, where on earth can you go to the local market and get an answer like that? These have got to be the freshest berries you are ever going to buy. We’ll check back again when the weather is better. . We bought some fresh hard rolls from Top Notch Bakery and had some of their really good afternoon coffee. We wandered up and down the one street in the village and poked our noses in all the little quaint shops, taking in all the local culture, visiting some of the little galleries filled with Maine art. They had just about everything here that you’d ever need, nice clothing stores, house wares and they all covered the gamut from the bare essentials and necessities to high end over the top and the house wares covered any kind of function that you could imagine down to “high falootin” dinner and garden parties.
$3 PAPER MODEL IN THE MUSEUM We spent some time in their great little Nautical Museum which is a gem and I was surprised to find a wonderful old paper model of a Queen Mary Cruise Ship that our friends the Kandler’s in Santa Barbara had sold at a garage sale for $3.00. Darn I wanted that thing. We walked past the villages’ one quaint center of the village Inn and walked through its gardens filled with flowers and secluded areas sitting areas that had a couple andirondike chairs long hours of reading books and contemplating life or how lucky you were to be here in this great place.
F&J’s FIRST LOBSTAH ROLL, JUST THE BEGINNING The most fun moment for us though was when we stopped to get lunch in the local diner and J&F had their first Lobstah Roll. That’s got to be an event to celebrate! I couldn’t believe that they had never had a lobster roll before nor did they know what it was. You kind of realize what a goofy thing a lobster roll is when you are describing it to your friends. It’s just lobster with some mayonnaise in a hot dog bun but somehow no matter how plain it sounds those little lobster rolls are always delicious and this simple little sandwich was just the beginning of many more lobsters that they were going to put under their belt.
TIME TO TACKLE ANOTHER PORT, NEXT STOP…FRENCHBORO Well, the weather was great, and we made the most of it but now it was time to tackle another port and show F&J some of this rugged coastline and a quiet anchorage. So, tomorrow we were headed for Long Island & Frenchboro cove.
We left NE Harbor on a beautiful morning with the sun out and no traces of fog or clouds. It was warm and we gathered on the fly bridge as we cruised up the natural inlet created by glaciers millions of years ago. It was a magnificent piece of water, deep beyond belief and yet so close to shore. We were lucky as we had no winds to whip up the inlet and make for a choppy ride. We were struck with the question of how many classic boats can you possibly see in one area. It seemed like we passed them one right after another. That along with beautiful mansions and each having a beautiful classic picnic boat or two hitched to their private docks and of course a signature classic sloop at anchor nearby. It’s one beautiful repetitive image after another. It was the perfect day to take a cruise and head to the other islands.
We made a nice loop up to the end of the sound and headed back down to make our way to Long Island and Frenchboro Cove for a couple nights anchorage.
It’s a bit of a jaunt out to Frenchboro but we wanted a taste of the remote islands of Maine. The island is very remote and only has a small ferry that comes on an infrequent schedule. They boast a population of 50 at the max during the winter months and some residents have lived here their wholes lives and many have ancestors who have lived here going back as far as 8 generations. It’s a nice cruise as we lucked out on the weather. We leave Desert Island in our wake, pass the Cranberry Island and the Goat Islands and eventually after a couple hours have Long Island in sight.
We got the dinghy down and headed to the main dock to see what was there in this little village and that would include a nice hike around the island. We arrived around lunch time so it was only natural to investigate dining options and that is only one, the little lobster pound. So we headed up to the service window and ordered up some of those good lobster rolls which by now have become a favorite of F&J. We grabbed a spot at an available picnic table outside on the rustic wooden deck and waited for our lunch to be prepared. There’s not much selection on the menu, just lobster this and lobster that but that was OK because we love lobster!
LOBSTER MEN
While we waited we noticed a couple lobster men busy working on some of their gear. It was fascinating to see them preparing and marking those nasty lobster pot markers that we have struggled for months to avoid. They were securing the sticks in the Styrofoam bodies and then adding their personal colors. We took advantage to ask them a few questions like how they divide up their territories, etc. This is a great place to watch and learn about the life of the real lobster men. As we got our lobster rolls we watched as one lobster boat after another came in an unloaded their catch of the day. The stash was stored in plastic floating bins submerged under the water until another ship comes in to pick them up.
MMMMMmm, those lobster rolls were good. We also put our names in for dinner as you have to order up dinner ahead and make reservations. What else but 4 steamed lobsters and all the accoutrements including 4 reservations for desert. You had to tell them what size lobster you wanted also. No body ever said there was a law that you couldn’t eat lobster two meals in row was there?
HIKING THE VILLAGE
After lunch we headed out to explore the little village. It certainly is a remote little place. The homes are small and simple, no bigger than what was necessary or needed. It’s always amazing to me to think of people living here for generations, toiling the waters for a living and surviving these unbelievable severe winters. It’s a solitary kind of existence but a beautiful place to do it in if that’s what you choose.
DINNER AND MORE LOBSTER
Dinner was even better than lunch and this time people came from all over. The place was packed, the draw for all of these people were those delicious red steamy crustaceans, corn on the cob and delicious homemade desert. We found out we were very lucky as this was THE official end of the season and this was the last weekend the lobster pound was going to be open until spring. Now how did we luck out? Ziggy joined us for dinner and even found a huge lobster claw on the dock down by where the lobstermen work and he insisted on carrying it around in his mouth like a big trophy. Crazy dog.
That night we just enjoyed the quiet and peacefulness of this place and its remoteness. The sky was filled with stars as it was crystal clear out. Larry got out his night vision glasses to show Joe and we soon discovered that if you point them to the stars you will be amazed to see shooting stars across the sky. What a nice ending to a lovely evening and spectacular day. The simple life offers some of the best things.
IN SEARCH OF WHALES
Morning came so quickly and after a quick jaunt to shore to relieve Ziggy, we dropped the mooring connection and headed out. Today our final destination would be Bar Harbor on the NE side of Desert Harbor, far north from here, but first not without a cruise out to Mount Desert Rock Light to find some whales if we can. We heard they hang out in that area and if there are any today we’re going to find them.
HEADING TO THE EDGE OF THE EARTH This trip was about as close to
feeling like you were heading to the edge of the earth as any feeling I’ve ever
had cruising. I felt like if we went too far we were just going to fall off.
We were just heading out to sea with nothing out there but this spec of land and
nothing beyond. And when I say a speck of land I mean granite as there is no
soil. Mount Desert Rock is one of the most isolated light houses along the
Maine coast. It’s a lonely place and struggles to survive the stormy waters
here. There’s only 25 vertical feet of granite land that is above the surface
and even in calm storms the land is battered.
“An 1842 report by Maine’s Superintendent of Lighthouses noted that a storm relocated a 57-ton granite boulder on the island; the report also mentioned that another storm moved a 75-ton boulder some 60 feet.”
It is now the property of the College of the Atlantic “for use as a whale watching station”. They have spotted more than 4000 humpback whales and 500 finbacks from the source I was reading. It certainly looks like a lonely place as we neared the unfriendly rocks that have a relentless job fending off the ocean and they being the only protection to the survival of the lighthouse building. Even on a calm clear day like today the waves are crashing and spewing sea foam high into the air. Unfortunately, we were not in luck and no matter how much I scoured the horizon like Captain Ahab, there was not a whale in sight but we did see several fat lazy seals sunning themselves on these remote rocky shores.
MOUNTAINOUS SHORELINE
CLOSING IN ON BAR HARBOR
As we came closer to Mount Desert Island, we followed the shoreline of Acadia National Park hoping to get a peek at the beauty of the area and the interesting rock formations along the shore. We would be exploring this area in the next few days by car and hiking trails so it was exciting to get a brief preview from shore. Soon we were aware that we were approaching the vicinity of Bar Harbor evidenced by the large mansions hanging precariously on the rugged shoreline. It was quite a beautiful cruise today. Soon we will be passing Bald Porcupine Island and making our approach finally into Bar Harbor for another adventure.
We came into Bar Harbor at high
tide. The view from sea is not what you expect or really that picturesque.
What you notice are the large motel/hotels. We hailed the dock master of the
Harbor Palace Marina and got our slip assignment. He told us to come in bow
first and do a portside tie up but Larry said he preferred to back it down and
tie up starboard for power. The dock guy said they had no power at this time.
Larry had him repeat it. Sounded like he said there was a power outage and we
wouldn’t have power while we were here. We couldn’t quite understand him.
Larry and I looked at each other and thought what’s that all about? Larry said
he’s just going in and we’ll deal with it when we get settled. All the slips
were empty except for one small boat on the end.
We backed in and got tied up but there was quite a serge at the dock and it was a little difficult to get the boat to settle in to the dock. We had to keep adjusting the lines and adding lines. We couldn’t figure out where the serge was coming from. Another dock guy arrived and I asked him why there was no power. He said it hasn’t been hooked up yet. He said the docks were “brand new, 2 years old” and the power will be hooked up by the “end of the season”. Did that make any sense? No…but you gotta go with the flow. He pointed out the pipes that will bring the power out to the docks but obviously it wasn’t hooked up. The New England Marinas book said they had power but later I checked the Waterway Guide and it showed they had none. Oh well. We felt like it was the best location for proximity to the town so we’ll just have to run the generator when we need too though we hate that when we are at the docks. We remember that the dock guy did say they had another marina with power just as we were backing her in to the dock. He pointed in the direction of where it was. I have to think how easily it would have been for us to change our mind at that moment and go in the direction he pointed and have gotten stuck on the great shoal that was covered by high tide now. We all commented on it while sitting on the boat later and noticing the shoal get larger and larger as the tide went out. Thank goodness we didn’t do a spur of the moment change of plan and head down the channel and get stuck onto the shoal. I’m sure Larry would have noticed it on the chart but it looked so clear and easy just to head out that way. Got to watch every inch up here because there are so many hidden shoals, never take anything for granted.
BAR HARBOR
Well, it’s a nice town but just a little too overcrowded with tourists and t-shirt shops for our taste. We walked the streets looking for a place to have dinner and finally decided on the Harbor Hotel. It was a beautifully warm afternoon and evening and the thought of sitting outside on the lawn under umbrellas overlooking the harbor was just too good to pass up. It was an extraordinarily warm evening and a clear unfogged view of the harbor was a pretty rare experience here. It was quiet and just the perfect spot. The town just seemed too crowded for us and this would be a good place. Joe couldn’t help himself and had another lobster. I’m chuckling and thinking to myself that this might be his third lobster in a row by now. I think he’s starting to grow a hard red shell as an outer layer but he doesn’t care as he’s lovin’ every bite. NOT LIKING THESE DOCKS We’re not liken’ this dock that we’re at. IN the morning when we woke up, the dock two down from us never came down with the tide and was hooked precariously on the support pole at a weird angle. So we became concerned. We wondered if there was a possibility that our dock would do the same. We checked everything out and decided it’d be OK. The more we stayed here the more we understood why no one else was here. The constant serge made for an uneasy stay. We were always wondering if the fenders were going to pop out and the constant strain on the ropes was unnerving but nothing can be like our stay at the New York City docks. I think after that we could manage anything.
Feeling pretty confident that the docks would be OK, off we went to the Blue Hill Country Fair. We wanted to get a little taste of the country. We drove through some beautiful countryside to get there, passing through little villages with nothing more than a church and steeple, country store and a cluster of white houses. We passed beautiful rocky shorelines, and inland ponds and lakes, and thick forested areas with wide grassy meadows sprinkled with Queen Anne’s Lace and other wild flowers. It was a common sight to see farms stands selling fresh wild blueberries and sweet corn, and lobster pounds with huge pots steaming from underneath their lids ready to boil up a fresh one at a moments notice.
Once we got to the fair ground parking lot, we found out Ziggy couldn’t go in as usual. It was just like the Maine Boat Show…..NO DOGS ALLOWED! Even though there was almost every kind of animal you could think inside the fair grounds Ziggy wasn’t going to be one of them. We understood completely actually as dogs could be a big distraction to the events and so on. We told F&J to go on in and see everything and Larry and I took turns waiting in the car with Ziggy. That’s another rule as you can’t leave a dog in the car either, even if the car is parked in the shade. I’m sure they must have had some bad experiences in the past. It wasn’t too bad as Larry and I really have learned to get the routine down when traveling with a pet. One person goes in for an hour or so and then you trade. It just would be nice to be able to experience things together for a change. Fortunately we didn’t spend the whole day there or I would have been tempted to sneak Zig in and see if we got caught.
BULL PULLS AND FOOD STANDS It was a great country fair with three days of fun activities. We chose to time it to see the bull pull and shepherding dog trials. We were tempted by all the colorful carnival games and rides and the people watching was darn good. We especially enjoyed the exhibit that had all the blueberry pies and other cooking entries. There were loads to see. We were curious to see the women’s skillet tossing contest and were amused when we talked to a local that said his wife had been practicing for weeks. We asked if we could enter if we wanted and he said “sure” but Fran and I decided to put our energies elsewhere like eating “funnel cake”, “onion blooms”, and some baked potatoes overflowing with every kind of combination of thing you could think of. Larry really wanted to stay and hear the Bubble Gum Band that evening but we all out voted him and decided to head on down the road.
WOODEN BOAT SCHOOL Joe was especially interested
in seeing the Wooden Boat School. Unfortunately, it was Labor Day Weekend and a
Sunday so it was closed but we decided to check it out anyway. We were lucky as
the workshops were open and we could see some of the projects the students had
been working on and just got a feel for what the place was like. They have a
wonderful book store also. Joe thought it would be fun to take a class here
some time and Fran was all for renting a house here while Joe took his class.
Something to think about for the future?
TIME TO HEAD TO OUR LAST PORT IN MAINE Well, as it always happens, it’s time to head on to another port. This time we were headed to our final destination and that is back to SE Harbor.
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We
left SW Harbor the next day without really exploring the area as we knew we
would be back to spend some time. It was a short jump across Somes Sound
passing Bear Island Light again and up into the protected cove where NE Harbor
lies. It’s foggy and wet out and we plod our way threw the thick mist. I’m
secretly hoping we don’t hit thick fog because we don’t know the area even
though it’s not far. Thank goodness we could see through the whiteness all the
way to the dock at NE Harbor.
FOG
& RAIN
WORK
BOATS
MISSIONARY
BOAT
A
REAL MIX HERE
SOMES
SOUND 
FRENCHBORO
LOBSTER
ROLLS 
The
lighthouse building has been replaced three times and those that have stayed
there in the past would have to bring their own top soil by boat if they had any
remote hopes of growing a garden but even that would be washed away by the first
storm.
BLUE
HILL COUNTY FAIR
