>One of my favorite places to visit in Maine is the island of McGlathery, located just under three miles south east of Stonington Maine.  Brenda and I have been visiting the island for nearly 20 years as we have explored many spots along the Maine coast.

Stonington and McGlathery are both located in Merchant Row, a collection of islands that were once a hotbed of granite quarries that were teeming with commerce prior to the introduction of concrete as a preferred building material.

While there are a number of sheltered anchorages in the area, McGlathery is one of my favorite because there is a cove on the northeast side of the island and a gently sloping beach that’s easy to land on.   This satellite photo of the island clearly shows the cove on the north east side and it’s well protected from the prevailing winds as well due to the tall pine trees covering the island.   The island is owned and managed by the Island Heritage Trust, a group that’s dedicated to preserving islands like McGlathery for all to enjoy.  The island is also a popular spot to visit with sea kayakers and is highly recommended by www.paddletrips.net.  Here’s a link to the specific part of their site about the island and features a good map of the area.  

Even though this photo was taken nearly 100 years ago, Stonington doesn’t look a lot different now than it did then.  However, there are a lot more boats in the harbor and they are nearly all lobster boats.   This link gives an interesting history of the area. 

 Nearby is also Crotch Island, named because of a slot in the middle of the island that makes it look like a pair of short pants. It is the only currently active quarry in the area and has supplied granite to many notable sites in the US.  In particular, it’s stone has been used in the George Washington Bridge, Kennedy memorial in Arlington as well as a recent installation in the New Yankee Stadium.  This is an interesting article about Yankee Stadium and Crotch Island’s involvement.   As I look at this photo of Stonington above I believe that it was taken from Crotch Island itself.

>In response to my last few posts, my friend Tom from Marblehead MA wrote me to suggest that I write about one of his favorite places to visit in Maine, Frenchboro.  It is indeed a great spot and one that I really like to visit as well.  Frenchboro is a great stopping place if you are headed east from the Boothbay area on your way to Bar Harbor.  It’s located just south of Swan island and is one of the outlying islands that is inhabited year round.

Frenchboro is the name of the town itself (the only one actually) and is located on the island of Long Island.  It’s quite remote and there’s no place to buy groceries or get fuel.  However, there is a great dockside restaurant where you can get a wonderful lobster dinner overlooking the harbor.  You can  even top off your meal with a great piece of wild Maine blueberry pie made there.  The town has a nice website that’s worth checking out.

Getting to Frenchboro is easy by boat but if you don’t have a boat you can still get there by ferry which runs a few times a week.  During the summer there is also a tour boat that goes out of Bass Harbor and includes a hike on the island.  To that point, while the island is small, there are a number of very nice walking paths that you can take to get a good feel for the island.

A considerable amount of work goes into keeping year round island life vital in Maine and Frenchboro is at the forefront of that effort.  The town has had an active homesteading effort to bring young families to the island over the years.  I expect that it’s not an easy place to live at any time, most specifically in the winter when access to the mainland is so limited.  According to Wickipedia, there are only 11 families living on the island.  I guess that’s the year round population as there are more than that many homes.  Living near New York, it’s hard for me to imagine what it would be like in the winter out there with only two ferry runs per week and about 10 families to hang out with . I’ll bet that the dynamics can get pretty interesting at times.  Need milk?  Actually, need beer?  The ferry from the mainland only runs twice a week year round and has an extra trip in the “warm” season. There’s a convenient link on their home page to the Maine State Ferry schedule. 

There is a great library on the island (given the sized of the population) and it’s worth making a stop to take a look around.  There are some local crafts for sale and it’s a nice place to hang out for a rest.  The also have a computer where you can check for your e-mail too.   If you want to learn more about this fascinating island and it’s rich history you should get a copy of the book Hauling by Hand, a history of the island and families that have lived there for ever.  This book was written by a member of the Lunt family from whom many of the inhabitants are a member or descend.   It’s well written and exhaustively researched.   If you love Maine, you will want to read this boo.  It is available from Amazon or you can visit the Frenchboro library and purchase a copy there. 

To say that this is a scenic place doesn’t begin to describe how beautiful the island and it’s homes are.  Unlike so much of the Maine coastal areas, most of the homes on the island are modest and many are occupied year round by fisherman.

Even the clutter on the island is scenic.  This is a particularly colorful pile of lobster buoys and such a contrast to the white painted homes.

The harbor is very well protected and has a real feel of old rural Maine in the architecture. 

You can rent a mooring for $25 in the outer harbor which is quite calm and very close to the town dock.   On top of that you will be treated to a fabulously peaceful view first thing in the morning.  It doesn’t get any better than this.

Yet another wonderful view.  What a contrast of red and green.   I am fairly certain that this photo was taken at Frenchboro.  So many wonderful photos.  The rest?  Yes, I am certain where they were taken.  Scout’s honor.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the Frenchboro lobster festival which is held each August.  Brenda and I have not attended as there always seems to be a conflict with some other event that we want to attend.  However, I am told that it’s a great time and the one weekend of the year that the island really hops.  We hope to make it this year.   As I write this I wasn’t able to find any reference to a date for 2011. 

I can’t wait until spring and Pandora goes back in the water although that seems a very long way off right now as it’s only 34 degrees out right now.   At least I can write about the great places that we will visit.   Here’s to an early spring.

>Of all the harbors that I have visited in Maine, one of my favorite is Damarascove Island.  Just 5 miles south from Booth Bay Harbor.  The island is largely uninhabited and owned by the Boothbay Region Land Trust.   The only private residence on the island is the old coastguard life station located just inside of the mouth of the harbor.   There’s also a small cottage manned by a caretaker in the inner harbor that keeps watch on the island and visitors.  There’s also several floats moored in the inner harbor where local fishermen keep their extra lobster traps.

The coastguard station, located on the western point of the harbor mouth is really a wonderful structure and has been restored by it’s private owners.

The harbor is extremely narrow and opens to the south.  This would suggest that the harbor would be rough but that’s not the case as the very narrow entrance, which looks more narrow when you approach compared to this photo, is protected by rock ledges on both sides.   This shot of the island from the air shows the harbor on the lower left with the Coast Guard station to port as you enter from the south. 

As the harbor narrows toward the center of the island, there are a few moorings that you can pick up.  It’s really narrow and Pandora at 46′ overall nearly touches the shore when she swings.  For this reason, I pick up a second mooring to keep her in the center of the channel.  The moorings are located at the very narrowest part just before it opens up toward the most inner portion of the harbor.  This shot is of my last boat Elektra was taken a few years ago on a mooring in the inner harbor.  You can really see just how small the harbor is.

To the right of the photo is a public landing that’s used by visitors as a place to put your dinghy while going ashore.   There’s also a wonderful little one room museum overlooking the harbor that has interesting artifacts from the island’s history.

 There are well groomed trails that run all the way from the harbor to the most northern point of the island but some areas are closed off during nesting season so as to provide for more privacy for visiting common Eider ducks.

This is yet another shot of Elektra that I took a while back in the inner harbor and it gives you a great feel for just how isolated the harbor and island really are.  The light this day was particularly dramatic due to a passing thunder storm. 

Notice that there are only a few other boats anchored in the outer harbor, still protected from the waves in normal settled summer weather.   If you go there on a weekend expect to see a good number of day trippers.  However, on the weekends you can have the place to yourself.  Besides, if you arrive and it’s too crowded, it’s only a short distance to Booth Bay Harbor.

While Damarascove Island looks a bit intimidating on the chart, if you are looking for a bit of a challenge and are comfortable maneuvering your boat in tight quarters, I encourage you to visit this little gem, located just 5 miles off of the coast from Booth Bay Harbor Maine.  For more information about this and other great places to visit in Maine, the best book around for such information is the Taft Cruising Guide to the Maine Coast, available at many locations including Landfall Navigation.

Have you visited a harbor in Maine that you particularly like?  I’d be interested in knowing what you think.  Some have told me that they have had difficulty in posting a comment on my blog.  Please try it and let me know if you have difficulty.  I can also be reached at robertosbornjr@gmail.com

>With some of my friends headed south for the winter and the prospect of the coming months off of Pandora, I have been struggling with what to write about here.  I could certainly report on every move I make on planned upgrades to Pandora but that doesn’t make for very compelling reading.  The question of what to write about each week (yes, I know that I should post more often than that) is one that has been bugging me ever since I put Pandora up for the winter.  Actually, yesterday I did put the finishing touches on her with the cover in place and all systems winterized, which will allow me to focus on home and getting the yard cleaned up, etc, etc.

So the question now is what to write about.  Between scintillating posts about new freezer systems and other projects on Pandora what will be compelling to others.  Perhaps nothing but I have to do something.

Here’s an idea.   How about writing about some of my favorite harbors and what you might do while you are there if an when you visit?   Yea, that’s the ticket!.  Ticket or not, that’s what I am going to write about and  today will be the first post with that in mind.  As we go along over the next few months, I encourage you to provide your own suggestions and comments on places to visit or on what you think of the places that I highlight.

Perhaps a good place to start is to focus on where Pandora will be after she goes in the water in early May.  As she is now in Norwalk CT,  when she goes back in the water I will run her immediately back up to Mystic where she will spend a few weeks on my friend Kieth’s mooring.   There are a number of really fun harbors within a reasonable distance of Mystic.

One in particular worth noting, on the North Fork of Long Island and about 30 miles from Mystic, is Mattituck.  This harbor is the only one between Port Jefferson and Greenport on the north shore of Long Island.  On the chart the entrance and narrow channel looks daunting.  In fact, as you approach it from the north, it’s very hard to see and without a GPS coordinate to direct you, to the entrance, it’s very hard to even see the low gettys that mark the entrance.

This shot is taken near the mouth of the channel as you come in.  It’s very rural here.

Pandora draws just under 6′ and I have never had any trouble getting in, even at low water.  Once you enter the nearly two mile long channel, you feel like you have entered a time warp as the area is much more unspoiled than most harbors on Long Island.  The banks of the channel are largely undeveloped with only a few homes and marinas scattered along the banks that run several miles to the anchorage.

At the end of the channel there is an area to anchor (it looks a lot smaller on the chart than it is) with good holding an mercifully free of moorings, something that can’t be said for many other areas on Long Island Sound these days.

There is a public landing nearby where you can leave your dink and make the short walk into town.  One particular treat is that the landing boasts a small park, bathroom and even free showers. In all of my years of cruising I haven’t run into free showers elsewhere.

Brenda and I began visiting Mattituck back in the early 80s and hadn’t been back for many years.   It wasn’t until we purchased Pandora that we began visiting again.   Our most recent visit was on Memorial Day weekend in 2009 and we treated ourselves to a visit to a local winery.  

The North Fork of Long Island is loaded with vineyards and a few are within walking distance of the harbor.   On this visit we went to Shinn Vineyards, one of two vineyards located within the town of Mattituck.   Shinn is a wonderful place run by an enthusiastic couple Barbara Shinn and David Page.  Interestingly, Shinn is the only vineyard on Long Island that is biodynamic.  This means that they are even beyond organic but I will leave the explanation up to Wickipedia that features a good explanation of what it’s all about.  Needless to say, the prorpiators of Shinn are enthusiastic about this form of viniculture.   David also produces a really interesting weekly e-newsletter that you can sign up for.  I signed up when we visited and you can to at this link or at the “contact us” area on their home page.  However, David keeps a blog so you can read about what’s happening on the farm. Also, as a nice added feature, their wines are really good.

Shinn Vineyard is located in a really beautiful area of the North Fork of Long Island.  These shots don’t do the place justice.

And, across the street, the view is just as wonderful.  This is certainly a classic red barn shot.  Imagine waking up each morning to this view.

This is an interesting video that will give you a good feel for what Shinn is all about.  Barbara speaks at meetings around the country about her passion, biodynamic viniculture.   For more Shinn videos and lots of reviews of their wines check this out.

If you want to avoid a nearly two mile walk from the harbor to Shinn, you can also rent a car from Enterprise Car rental in Riverhead.  Enterprise will generally pick you up and drop you off when you return the car.  Just make sure that you plan your rental time around normal business hours.  When we were there Enterprise was not open on Sunday.  They can be reached at (631) 369-6300.

While Mattituck is a small rural community, there’s lots to do and it is really a great place to visit and one that Brenda and I will be putting
on our cruise itinerary early in the coming season.

We hope to see you there.  

>My good friend Roger headed out today from Hampton VA aboard his SAGA 43, Ilene.  Roger, along with some 75 boats and upwards of 350 sailors (on different boats of course), as there are five aboard Ilene, is participating in this year’s Caribbean 1500 cruising rally from Hampton VA to Tortola in the BVI.

After what will likely be a 10 day trip, Roger’s wife Ilene will join him in Tortola to begin a 5 month sailing trip through the warm tropical islands between the  BVI and Trinidad, just off the coast of Venezuela.

For those of you that want to watch the boats as they make their way South, you can follow them on this link as each boat (this link is to class 6) has a GPS transponder that “pings” a satellite about every 15 minutes to give a location speed and direction on this nifty chart.  To learn more about the rally, which they have been running for about 20 years, check this out.

I am so jealous of Roger and Ilene as they will be spending the winter in a great place aboard their boat and will have an opportunity to see places that most visit for a week or two.  To be able to spend 5 months.  DID I SAY 5 MONTHS SAILING IN PARADISE!, is just too much.

While most of us are putting antifreeze into our water tanks, they are headed to warmer climes.

After a week long delay due to a late season hurricane, it seems that the forecast was a go and they are on their way.  The forecast for the next few days is to provide strong NW winds which will speed them on their way south.

God’s speed to Ilene and the rest of the 2010 Caribbean 1500 participants.

You can follow Roger and Ilene’s travels aboard Ilene the Boat at www.ilenetheboat.blogspot.com.

I guess it’s time to go to work. Drat, no make that double drat.