Jewell Island and Snow Island, Maine

On Wednesday evening (June 18), near sunset, while anchored in Cocktail Cove, Jewell Island, the fog finally thinned out, allowing for a pastel sunset.

Sunset in Cocktail Cove

The fog was back in the morning. After breakfast, the dinghy was launched without an engine, but the shore was very close. Peter and I explored Jewell Island in July 2022, and of course Peter had work to do, including putting a new impeller on the Yamaha outboard, so Shalako and I paddled the short distance to land. With the dinghy anchor dug into the course sand and secured with a rock, we started our walk, noticing the fine layers of metamorhosed sandstone as well as slate and other rocks. The tide was low, so intertidal organisms that can tolerate the fluctuating conditions of being submerged and exposed by the tides, including algae, plants and small animals such as snails and barnacles, were exposed. At the glacial moraine that forms Cocktail Cove, we crossed to the other side of U-shaped Jewell Island and began walking through the woods. Although mosquitoes in Maine had been mentioned earlier in the day, we had neglected to apply insect repellent. We had on long pants, so that helped, as did fanning my cap constantly in front of my face. Mostly, they were just a nuisance. Shalako got a few bites and I wasn't bit at all.

Rocks and roses

Sea plantain growing among the tilted and glaciated rocks

Shoreline at low tide in Cocktail Cove

Caretaker's cabin

Song sparrow

Snails clinging to an empty clam shell

Colorful wildflowers are in bloom, and the trills and melodies of birds such as song sparrows and warblers fill the otherwise quiet environment. A meadow of ferns spread out before us at a trail junction. The uninhabited (except for a caretaker), 221 acre Jewell Island, like many of the coastal islands in Maine, was actively used by the military during WWII for surveillance and defense. We saw a couple of the batteries, now in ruins, and climbed to the top of the larger of the two observation towers, ignoring the danger sign. After seven flights of stairs, we were above the treetops and could glimpse some of Casco Bay; the wind-blown fog obscured much of what, on a clear day, is a panoramic view.

Shalako looking at the ruins

Rugosa roses

Wildfowers among the ruins

Hay-scented ferns

Fox and cubs flowers

Observation tower

Foggy view from the top of the observation tower

On our return to Mantra, Peter was delighted to tell us that he had taken apart the outboard engine and discovered that there was nothing wrong with the impeller. When he put it back together and started it, the engine was expelling water again, so the engine is not at risk of overheating. 

Mantra alone in Cocktail Cove

Knowing that ticks might have jumped on us, Shalako and I inspected ourselves for the disgusting little creatures but found none. I changed out of my jeans, which had become wet while wading to the dinghy, planning to rinse the lower legs with fresh water. Peter carried them up to the pilot house and happened to notice a dreaded tick crawling across the cloth. Then I felt something on the back of my neck and flicked it off--another tick! Another one was found on my jeans, but a thorough search did not uncover any more. Still, my skin felt like it was crawling with bugs!

Nasty tick

By 5 p.m., sunlight was pouring down on us. Shalako took a nap in the warmth of the pilot house. After doing some cleaning down below, I donned shorts and t-shirts--summer clothes!--and sat on the stern of the boat and read a novel. 

Clear skies at Jewell Island

Shalako happily napping

This morning, sunshine and blue skies greeted us when we awoke. What bliss! We debated whether to leave our protected anchorage and sail NNE to Snow Island. The marine forecast predicted winds of 15-20 knots with gusts up to 35. It seemed a bit much, but we got ready to go, hauling up the dinghy and getting the staysail out of the forepeak and set up for the higher than normal winds. By the time we were ready, the winds had already been hovering a little above 20 knots for a while, but the captain of a SeaTow boat that happened to come by assured us that we would have no problems. After navigating out of Cocktail Cove at near low tide, we set the staysail on a starboard tack, running on a deep broad reach. Within 20 minutes, we had cut the engine and were sailing with just the staysail at 5 knots. Before departure, we had considered using the mainsail with three reefs, but on that point of sail, the risk of jibing deterred us from that plan, and we were happy to be sailing so well. 

Happy sailors

About an hour into our sail, we put out the genoa to sail wing-in-wing, but with a course change that set us on a beam reach, we hauled it back in. The wind increased to 30-35 knots, with the highest gust at 38, and our speed went from 6 knots to 9 knots, even hitting 10 briefly. We didn't need to use the engine until we got close to our anchorage spot. It was--finally!--a great day of sailing. 

We tidied up the lines and I put lunch on the table. The marina where we will be going in a couple of nights had emailed Peter about music on the deck. When we were done eating, I asked him about the time of the concert; he looked and noticed that it was scheduled for 4:30-6:30--only 45 minutes later! Quickly, I did the dishes while Peter and Shalako flaked and bagged the staysail. I coiled the sheets and we all participated in getting the dinghy and outboard ready to go. 

At Safe Harbor Marina Harpswell, we met the dockmaster and dockhands and the manager. We were delightfully entertained by the five person Arcadia Band, playing a mixture of folk, rock, bluegrass and country; they were quite talented. A buffet of food including a variety of cheese, meat, vegetables, dips, crackers, and fruit provided us with enough food that we are skipping dinner tonight. 

Shalako and Peter heading to the buffet

Arcadia Band

On the way back to Mantra, we saw dozens of great blue herons perched on docks, mooring balls and boats,; comorants with their bright yellow beaks diving for food; terns and gulls looping around over the bay; a bald eagle soaring overhead; osprey gliding near the treetops, and gray seals cruising through the water with their nostrils barely in the air.

Great blue heron on a mooring ball