09/02/2009, McGlathertys Island Harbor, Maine
G&T on the rocks, McGlatherty's Island
Danny behaved much like Bill, lots of rain and a bit of wind, but nothing too threatening. Faced with another rainy weekend in Somesville, we dropped in to the boatyard and picked up our car to give us transportation. So Friday we did some touring and shopping.
We also contacted Anne Fredericks, a cruising friend working at the Bar Harbor hospital for the summer. We arranged to meet for lunch on Saturday and had a great reunion. Anne's partner, Jim Ewing, is on working their boat in Antigua and they'll be back cruising this winter. Outside the restaurant we all waved like fools in the cold driving rain at Bar Harbor's internet camera which Jim watched. Then a quick tour of the park and we managed to squander the day.
Lunch at Gaylenes. Ann is on the far left.
Sunday we started by cleaning a mess the cormorants had made of our decks during the storm (there must have been a dozen of them roosted on the spreaders for the night... what a stinky mess!!!) Then we dropped the mooring and ran down Somes Sound and out Great Harbor into the big swells left by Danny. By the time we crossed Bass Harbor Bar into Blue Hill, we were again in the sheltered waters of Blue Hill Bay. In light southerlies we drifted up the bay, running through the scenic Pretty Marsh Harbor and Bartlett Narrows. Then reaching across the southern tip of Newbury Neck and the north end of Long Island we drifted in to Blue Hill Harbor where we picked up a mooring from the Kollegewidgwok Yacht Club (just called KYC by most).
Blue Hill Harbor is another beautiful small Maine coastal town. In the morning we dinghied in to the town dock and bought a few things, including a footstool for home, and some more food and wine and a great lunch from the local cafe and bakery. Then back to the boat as the dinghy dock dries out at half tide. We took the bikes for a ride and realized that Blue Hill is much more hilly than we recalled. We biked around for the afternoon and were reminded of muscled that had not been heard from for some time! Tuesday we woke to another beautiful morning and had breakfast in the cockpit before dropping the mooring and heading down Blue Hill Bay. In the flat calm of the morning we motored until we reached the bottom of the bay where it enters into Jericho Bay. Here the sea breeze filled in and we tacked down the bay between lobster fishermen, who always have a wave for you, and the many rocky ledges in the bay. At the bottom we tacked in to Merchants Row Thoroughfare, a passage between the many islands making up Merchants Row. Dropping our sails off McGlathertys Island, we motored in to a favorite anchorage which we were surprised to find empty! Seabird followed us in and soon we were both snug with the anchors well set. Ashore we followed a path across the island and found 9 boats anchored on the other, much more open anchorage. But our cozy anchorage remained uncrowded.
The hike across the island is through the scrub spruce woods and across the barren granite outcroppings that the island is covered with. Wandering through the woods we found a lonely gravestone, the final resting place of Catherine and Peter H Eaton. They died in the 1860's and were probably the island's last permanent residents. 
All that remains is the tombstone and the granite bases of what was once a fence surrounding the tiny grave site. It must have been a difficult and lonely life here. Many of the small islands were at one time occupied, but today only a few have year round residents as succeeding generations left for the mainlad where life was not so hard and isolated.
Returning to the beach, we decided to have drinks and a snack on shore, so sat watching the sun slowly set as we sat on the warm granite rocks ringing the tiny sandy beach... a beautiful ending to the day!
Today we woke to another beautiful day, breakfast in the cockpit finishing off reading The Sunday Times. Then we're off to Isle Au Haut, one of the islands still with year round residents.
Anchored at McGlathertys Island
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08/28/2009, Somesville Hbr, Mt Desert Island, Maine
Estelle entering Mistake Harbor
Well, we're back on MDI, having scampered back from the downeast when Danny started to show his colors.
We woke on Wednesday morning in Misake Harbor to a thick fog, so spent the morning reading and doing a few chores. By late morning it had cleared ff into a beautiful day, so we raised the anchor and set off across Eastern Bay to The Mud Hole, another highly rated anchorage. The instructions for entry are lengthy and a bit intimidating, so we were cautious about entry. In the middle of the entry is a 2' spot, meaning that we need about 4' of tide to make it in. To be safe we waited for six feet and edged our way in. The entrance is really about 30' wide in total, but 25' of it is blocked by a ledge that covers at high, so we had to edge by the ledge. Doing it at half tide means you can still see the ledge. That makes it a bit easier. So in the flat calm waters we slowly drifted by the ledge close to our starboard side with the rocky shore close by the port side. Once inside it opened up into a pool about 100' across where we dropped anchor. Alhough it would be possible to leave at high tide, the ledge being invisible would make me uncomfortable. And once the tide falls below 4' there is not enough water, so once in, you're there until the next tide. Seabird came in too and just behind us a small motor boat came in just about filling the anchorage. It is a remote spot with no houses or other signs of life. We had lunch in the cockpit and listened to the weather only to hear about Hurricane Danny, forecast to land about 30 miles west of us! Oh well, we'll think about it.
Estelle entering The Mud Hole
Great Wass Island is owned by the Maine Nature Trust, and they have cut trails that we walked for most of the afternoon. Walking back towards the anchorage we saw the three boats we left in Mistake Island Harbor heading for our anchorage. So when we got back to the anchorage we found it quite crowded. But with the forecast for a calm night, it wasn't a problem.
In the evening we discussed the weather and our options with Seabird and reluctantly concluded that we should travel westward to put some space between us and Danny's forecast landfall. It was disappointing as we really enjoyed the area and had lots more to see.
At 6:30 am we were off. We left early for two reasons. First, we wanted to get back to MDI and get settled as there can be some competition for the best spots, and second because the tide was falling and if we left it much later, we'd be stuck in due to low water.
Back out on the ocean, we fled down the shore, aided by the strong tidal current from the Bay of Fundy. We were back at MDI in early afternoon and a call to the Northeast Harbor Harbormaster told us al their moorings were full. We weren't surprised as we coud hear the constant traffic on the VHF from people heading in looking for space. So we headed back up Somes Sound for a second rainy windy weekend. We were settled in mid afternoon.
Estelle anchored in Somesville, hiding from Tropical Storm Danny
This morning, we took the dinghy down to the boatyard, about two miles down the Sound and picked up our car. With it we were able to spend the day (bright sunny, light southerly winds!) doing laundry, grocery shopping and wandering around. Tomorrow we will probably be facing a wet windy day, but not the hurricane originally predicted. Danny is now expected to be downgraded to a Tropical Storm before he brushes by about 100 miles to the south.
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08/26/2009, Mistake Island Harbor, Maine
Bruce cooking lobsters in Mistake Harbor
On Monday we dropped the mooring in Somesville in a bright dry day. In a light north wind we ghosted down Somes Sound into Mt Desert Island's Great Harbor (which isn't really a harbor at all) and out Eastern Way to head down east. Its referred to down east even though the course is north-east, as the prevailing south-west winds mean you are sailing downwind. The expression comes from the days of sail and has remained in use since then. Passing Schoodic peninsula marks the boundary to Downeast Maine, and denotes a marked contrast in the coast. Here the fabulous summer homes end, and far fewer cruisers sail the area as there are no facilities for pleasure boaters. And the climate changes... the area has on average 250 hours of fog per month in July and August, or about 1/3 of the time. But we had a bright day and enjoyed the cool but clear sailing. By late afternoon we were passing Petite Manan Island and its 250' high lighthouse and headed in Naragausses Bay to roundup behind Trafton Island. Sailing up we were still in 5'-7' swells left over from Hurricane Bill, but deep in the bay the swell was broken by the many granite ledges and islands, so that in our anchorage we were in flat calm waters, except for the wakes of the passing fishing boats. And there are lots of them. Tuesday morning dawned clear and warm, so breakfast in the cockpit was a leisurely affair, so that we were not underway until mid-morning. We motored a short way to Eastern Harbor, a small working harbor filled with fishermen and lobster pots. We found space to anchor, dropped the hook and went ashore to explore. A short walk brought us to South Addison, really just a collection of homes, some year-round and some summer homes. But the store our guide book spoke about had closed a few years ago. Back at the lobster pound, the only landing place in the harbor, we bought four 1.5 lb. lobsters for just under $20 and headed back to the boat. Just after lunch the wind sprang up from the south-west, giving us a beautiful sail further "down east". We have learned that to make any significant progress, you have to sail with the tidal currents that run up and down the shore at 2 knots. So with a tide high in late afternoon, we quickly sailed up past the pink granite of Great Wass Island and by mid afternoon, we were turning in to our destination, Mistake Island Harbor. Weaving our way between the lobster pots, we dropped anchor in 18' of water. As it was at high tide (12') that left 6' at low. So with our draft of 5', we should have 1' beneath us at low. Mistake Harbor is created by Mistake Island, Knight Island (each about 1/2 mile long and 200 yards wide) and a bunch of rocks and ledges that protect it from the ocean swell. We were a bit leery about the protection when we first saw it, but after anchoring, began to feel more comfortable. Ashore on Mistake Island (I have no idea where the name comes from) we walked the trail to the lighthouse, picked blueberries and watched a yellow-tailed hawk hunting over the moss and lichen covered granite. Back aboard, we steamed our lobsters and had cole slaw and potato salad for an unbeatable dinner. Tomorrow, we'll explore some more nearby anchorages, Mud Hole, The Cow Yard and Roque Island.
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