Mount Desert Island, Penobscot Bay and Mount Desert Island again

It has been over two weeks since I posted, due to being busy with guests and having Internet connection via the hotspot on my phone rarely because of no or minimal cell signal strength. So, this will be a synopsis. 

I last posted on August 16, the day our friends Maryann and Floyd from Gold River arrived after three flights, including a red-eye. They spent the afternoon getting settled in and napping. In the evening, we dinghied to Abel's Lobster Pound on Mount Desert Island. The wait was an hour, but we passed the time pleasantly with drinks on the lawn overlooking the water through the conifer trees. There are picnic tables outside as well as inside seating. As the chill of evening set in, we were pleased to have a table by the glass front of the restaurant where we could watch the light slowly fade into darkness. Floyd, Maryann and Peter all ordered soft-shell lobster and I had a delicious meal of grilled zucchini and yellow squash topped with watermelon chunks, feta cheese and herbs. Replete with food, under the star-splattered swath of the Milky Way stretching across the dark sky, we returned to Mantra on the dinghy for a good night of sleep on our gently rocking boat.

Floyd, Maryann, Sherri and Peter at Abel's

The next morning (Wednesday, Aug. 17), with poor visibility, heavy rain and 15 knots of north wind, we motored to Clifton Dock at Northeast Harbor on Mount Desert Island to pump out the holding tank and get water in the tanks and then anchored in the cove north of Mill Dam above Southwest Harbor. The rain continued throughout the day, so we remained on board, relaxing and introducing Floyd and Maryann to card games new to them.

Sherri at the helm in full foul weather gear

Maryann, Floyd and Peter sheltering in the pilot house

On Thursday, August 18, the damp and chill lingered under overcast skies and low fog, but the rain had stopped. Pulling up anchor around 11 a.m., we traveled mostly by sail to an island cluster in Penobscot Bay. 

Fairly typical summer weather on the coast of Maine

The slight chop of the water became 1-2 foot waves as we left the protected waters closer to the mainland, but subsided to choppy as we chose our anchoring spot at 2 p.m. northwest of Swans Island, nestled among Opochee Island to the west, Sheep Island (there are a few Sheep Islands in Maine) to the east and Black Island to the southeast. The mist was thick, and we stayed aboard again, waiting and hoping for better weather.

We woke up to blue skies and sunshine on Friday morning (August 19)! We launched the dinghy after breakfast and headed Sheep Island, where we spent an hour exploring along the shore. Pebble strewn beaches stretched between rocky ledges, some covered with damp and slippery kelp and some dry ones higher above the sea. A marshy meadow covers the interior of the little island. In addition to the views of the other islands and the water glistening in the light, there were wildflowers and insects to admire and various types of rock to discover. 

Maryann, Floyd and Peter on the dinghy ride to Sheep Island

Maryann, Peter and Floyd walking on the beach

Bee on bull thistle

Wild radish

Peter by a chunk of gneiss

Floyd and Maryann on the rocky shore

Meadow on the interior of Sheep Island

Mantra from Sheep Island

When we returned to Mantra, we persuaded Floyd to jump in the water and bath on the swim platform at the stern of the boat and I cut Peter's hair, which had not seen scissors since April. 

Floyd taking the plunge

Sherri cutting Peter's hair

After lunch, we hauled up anchor and set off through Eggemoggin Reach. With calm water, 10 knots of wind and excellent visibility, we were sailing close-hauled in west-northwest direction, having a great time. Floyd took the wheel for the first time, and shortly thereafter, we realized we had snagged a lobster pot line because our speed dropped from 5 knots to 1-2 quickly. Then we heard the tell-tale soft bang-bang-bang on the hull. We could see a lobster buoy jerking up and down in our wake and then espied the line trailing out from our stern toward it. Thinking quickly, Peter dropped the anchor in 15 meters of water. As we drifted back, the line (or lines) freed themselves and about half a dozen lobster pot buoys, all tangled together, popped up at the stern. Either we hooked one line unknowingly and it continued to grab others as we traveled on or the buoys had already been ensnarled. We later learned that this unintended grouping of colorful buoys is calling by yachtsmen a buoy bouquet.

Peter and Floyd at the helm

The mess we left behind

At the western end of Eggemoggin Reach, we passed under the Deer Island Bridge, which Peter noticed looked quite similar to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge (at the time, the world's third longest suspension bridge) which had collapsed on November 7, 1940, four months after it opened. Galloping Gertie, as it was nicknamed, oscillated and moved up and down in wind after the deck was laid, and it succumbed to 40 mile per hour gusts when it fell. Peter recognized the similar design and the added stays connecting the cables to the towers and the tower to the deck. (He had studied the bridge collapse at school.)

Deer Island Bridge

At 5:30 p.m., we picked up a mooring ball in Orcutt Harbor near the western end of Eggemoggin Reach in stunning, shimmering green-blue water like rippled glass, reflecting the cloudless sky. The mooring ball had obviously not been used for a while as the line was covered in crustaceans including shrimp and mollusks. Since there were only a few houses in sight and no town nearby, we spent another pleasant evening of dinner and games on the boat and a night of millions of stars.

Crustaceans on mooring line

View from Mantra in Orcutt Harbor toward Eggemoggin Reach

The morning of Saturday, August 20, there was hardly any wind at all when we dropped the mooring line at 10:30. We were forced to motor for two hours until a south wind blowing 12-14 knots enabled us to sail on a beam reach to Camden Harbor, where we picked up another mooring ball, owned by Lyman-Morse, in Sherman Cove at 1:30 p.m. Peter had signed us up for a Ocean Cruising Club (OCC) luncheon the next day to be followed by a few days of sailing with other members to various destinations in Penobscot Bay. 

We took Lyman-Morse's launch to the marina and walked around the town. The four of us stopped in the wonderful library at the head of the harbor with the large, harbor-facing landscaped park in front, designed by the Olmsted brothers. More than a dozen windjammers are docked in the inner harbor, taking people out for day sails or for multi-day excursions. Main Street is lined with restaurants, cafes and shops filled with beautiful items for sale, much of it locally made by skilled craftspeople and artists. Some of the wooden bowls and household goods as well as the pottery were quite innovative and elegant. Main Street is also made attractive not just by the store windows' displays but by the small gardens and windowboxes by the sidewalks.

The library

A 19th century home

Garden area outside the library

Another historic home

And another

The harborfront park and the inner harbor in Camden

Inside the library

A shop with beautiful pottery and wooden items

Windjammers docked side by side

Taro, roses and coleus

Bee on zinnia

Tobacco plant

From the back balcony of one of the shops, there was a wonderful view of the harbor and the rocky ledge waterfall at the mouth of the Megunticook River. This coastal river is the only one in Maine unaffected by tides because of this small ledge and its lovely fall. 

Turning off Main Street onto Bay View Drive, we strolled past other shops and restaurants to reach the Camden Yacht Club, where the luncheon would be held the next day. We then had an early dinner at the Waterfront Restaurant, enjoying the sunshine and the views as well as the food and drinks.

Maryann, Peter, Sherri and Floyd

Twilight in Camden

The next morning, Peter and I took the launch into town early and Floyd and Maryann came to land mid-morning. Peter stopped for a shower at the marina's new and upscale facilities and then walked to the yacht club to meet other OCC members and attend a lecture on detecting problems in rigging at 10:30. 

Until noon, I wandered around town, walking in the historic districts around High Street and Elm Street and in the center of the town. Camden was first settled by Europeans in 1769 by James Richards and his family; he established a sawmill and a gristmill near the mouth of the river. By the beginning of the 19th century, Camden had become quite prosperous, with an economy mainly based on shipbuilding and ship provisioning. Merchants, carpenters, farmers, mill owners, sea captains, master mariners, shipbuilders, blacksmiths and other tradesmen built large homes. One of the many ports on the Maine coast building wooden schooners and other ships, Camden thrived. The first steamboats on Penobscot Bay began operating in 1823, bringing passengers from Boston and other cities. In the 1850s, the lime industry flourished from Camden to Rockland; the quarries in Rockland and Rockport were the deepest open-pit quarries in the world at that time. Limerock was burned in kilns near Camden Harbor; this was crushed to powder, loaded into barrels and shipped all over the world. After the Civil War in the first half of the 1860s, the railroads and the Industrial Revolution gradually brought an end to the shipping industry that had make Maine the most prosperous state in the Union. With goods being made in the U.S., there was no longer a strong demand for imported items. The economy turned up again in the 1880s with the arrival of summer tourists seeking refuge from the polluted cities; they were attracted to area based by the romantic vision of Maine that was produced by authors and by painters such as Frederick Church and Childe Hassam. Many wealthy families purchased the abandoned 19th century homes along the wide streets. These elegant homes are surrounded by sprawling lawns and lush gardens.

Chesnut Street Baptist Church

Artist painting on Main Street

Home on Chesnut Street

Waterfall of the Megunticook River

Mill pond on the Megunticook River

Home of Wood Street

Home on Wood Street

Home on Pleasant Street

St. Thomas Episcopal Church

Mansion on High Street

First Congregational Church

Garden by home on Chestnut Street

Fog on Camden Harbor in mid-morning

Home on High Street

At noon, I met Peter, Floyd and Maryann at the yacht club for the OCC luncheon. We met Ernie, who had advised us via email about places to pick up mooring balls and to anchor along the Maine Coast, as well a dozens of other boaters. We had thought that there would be yachties from other countries, but even Canada was not represented. However, we enjoyed the food and conversation. 

After returning to Mantra, I gathered up laundry, toiletries and grocery bags and returned to Lyman Morse. There were three brand new washing machines and I had three loads of laundry, so it was perfect. I took a shower and dried my hair while the clothes were washing. Then I put them all in the dryers and walked into the grocery store in town for some provisions, mainly fresh produce. Loading up the clean laundry and the four grocery bags in a dock cart, I returned to the dock and took the launch back to our boat. All in all, it was a busy and interesting day.

I had planned to write about the entire missing two weeks, but I am simply done for today. Part 2 will get posted tomorrow, assuming we are at a place with good cell service for the hot spot.