Island Hopping

Burnt Island

Yesterday’s sunny morning gave a rather appealing appearance to the cold water where we were staying. By the time I was back, Frank had a scrumptious ham and cheese omelette ready. Terns were fishing at the shallow place between the two islands. Peter caught two more fish, but we asked him to let them go since no more fish were taking the lures.

The island has a few trails maintained by MITA and the owners. We were also led to believe that there are raspberries, so we came equipped with a bowl to try to collect some. As we walked through the middle of the island we saw mostly ferns, pine trees and moss, but no raspberry bushes. On the eastern side of the island we hung out on the rocks taking pictures and relaxing, enjoying a wonderful view of the ocean and the nearby islands.

I mentioned that on the south side of the island the path is going right along the ocean on the rocks. Just as much as Peter wanted to walk on the rocks, Frank did not. We split into 2 groups. We took pictures of the ocean and the spray that the waves were creating, while Frank, Pasha and Sasha did find raspberry bushes, albeit without berries. Peter and I saw 3 eagle-like birds. Peter believes they were bald eagles, but I am not convinced. In any case, the majestic birds with a wingspan of close to a meter and powerful flaps of wings were awe inspiring.

Back aboard it was swimming time again and we also inflated the “jumping pillow” for Peter, cause he wasn’t particularly keen on going in the water. Instead, he climbed upon the pillow with a can of soda and was lazing around. When he got bored of just lying around he got on his knees and shook the inflatable to create waves. I challenged him to do that standing up, which he did, and even agreed to be pulled back towards the boat while standing. With a little jerk Peter’s lower half went flying into the water. “You’ll pay for this!” He yelled.

And sure I did. First he pushed me into the water, which was expected. By the time I was practically dry, Peter and Pasha were fishing off the bow. Peter cast the line and got it caught on the mooring line just below the water. In I go again to get the hook out of the line. Luckily it wasn’t stuck deep at all.

Eastern Egg Rock

Somehow 5 years ago I discovered that there was a colony of puffins at this little rock, a speck of an island rather removed from the mainland. Since Burnt island is only 5 miles away, we had to pay a visit to watch the birds.

Peter was steering the entire time. Not only that, he was talking the entire time. Yes, he was watching his course, and we were helping, but all the talking was sometimes distracting him from the most important task at hand. But we didn’t run aground, nor hit any of the lobster pots. The kid just had so much energy and yet he could focus it into something productive.

I did take the helm from him once we were approaching the island. Now under motor. As the island name suggests, it is a rock that is sticking out of the water and the ledges are quite steep, so the only safe way of navigating was to constantly watch the depth meter and not let it go below 15 feet or so. And the lobster pots were surrounding the island too.

We saw researchers on the island doing whatever they were doing. Other than that, there were no humans to be seen, but lots of different birds zooming by. Gulls, puffins, terns and others that we think we identified using the Birds of Maine book that we now have aboard thanks to Sasha. It’s quite hard to take decent pictures of them. First, they move fast. Second, the boat keeps rolling. Third, we have limited patience. We did a lap and a half around the island and proceeded south to Monhegan.

Monhegan

Peter took over the helm with the same energy that he had before. Both physical and talkative. I frequently wonder why someone needs to say so many words, but when Peter is on a roll, it’s better let it all spill out. Ultimately, when we were on a mooring, we asked him to stay quiet for a while. He then continued to hum with closed lips pointing at things. Nonstop. Ok, please speak, but only the necessary words!

When we got into the harbor, there were only two available moorings. I kind of preferred the one deeper in the harbor. The guys on one of the moored boats assured us that the outside one is definitely a guest mooring. And the harbormaster won’t be back till the morning. We cautiously took the one I preferred. A while later a local boat pulled in and I asked if we were ok to stay here, to which they showed thumbs up, so we stayed put.

Frank had enough of a walk earlier, so he opted to stay on the boat. The rest of us decided to go ashore. Excitement: there are goats on the little Manana island! Let’s try to land there. When we came to the landing which I know I used 5 years ago, there was absolutely no safe way to get out of the water. Slippery rocks covered with seaweed and nothing to hold on to. The other landing is private and has a sign asking people to come ashore elsewhere.

Faced with this problem, our only choice was to go to Monhegan, hoping to ask the locals if it is possible to come ashore. One of the shop owners said that the landing used to be maintained by the Coast Guard, but since the station became abandoned, nobody has been maintaining it, and the ramp got destroyed by a storm. She said that it is possible to come ashore, but it’s dangerous, and even though she’s done it, she would advise against it.

We walked around, found the local library, the school building, a number of art galleries and got up the hill to the lighthouse and the museum. Everything was already closed. In fact, almost all the shops operate 11 or 11:30 to 4 or 4:30, so with our leisurely schedule we had no chance of seeing any of them open.

Back on the boat we found Frank who was grinning like a little kid. While we were walking around, he had half a bucket worth of fish! “You shouldn’t have left me alone for so long!” Right! What are we going to do with all this fish?! “Don’t worry, I’ll clean them. They are great! And there were so many of them! I was pulling up 4 at a time!”

Feasting continued

Contrary to the saying, we had many cooks in the galley and we succeeded in making yet another delicious meal. I’ll have to go on a diet after I get home after this vacation!

First course: fresh sashimi. Special for Peter, some sashimi without skin.

Second course: risotto cooked in fish broth with grilled lamb chops.

Dessert: a perfectly ripe melon that has been shaking in the fruit net in the galley for the past few days.

Wine: Menage a Trois, a melange from California grapes.

The night was practically windless, so mosquitoes found us pretty quickly, especially Frank. Pasha and Sasha put on long pants and hung out in the cockpit a while longer, but the other 3 crew members were enjoying dessert in the cabin.

Monhegan hike

Using the map that we procured on our short walk, Peter planned out “a perfect walk”. After the meal the night before, adults were perfectly happy with just coffee. Kids had some cereal with milk and we were off to the island once again.

The walk starts on a dirt road that is sometimes traveled by cars and golf carts. We saw a few people with easels and paints. Some walking, some already standing and drawing. Then the path goes into the woods, gets narrower and rockier. At this point Frank started to slow down to make sure that he always had balance.

We got to a shipwreck of a tug boat and continued along the shore breathing the salty air with aromas of pine trees and other herbs. Spectacular views of rocks under a blue sky and the deep blue sea all the way to the horizon! Birds flying, seals trying to figure out when to come out onto a rock. Nature at its best!

Frank was a bit nervous on some of the crags, so we helped him here and there. After all, he is almost twice my age! Kids ran forward after declaring that walking at the “adult pace” was too boring. Therefore they were the first ones to see raspberries. Not enough to pick, but enough to enjoy the taste.

Once we headed into the woods, back towards the town, Frank could breathe more easily: the path was flatter and soon widened to a gravel road. No more climbing up and down the boulders, but just a comfortable walk down.

We stopped by a cafe to get some lemonade and brownies. While the rest of the crew were waiting for our drinks, I walked to the local brewery. Even though it was half hour before they were officially opening, they agreed to sell me beer since I pleaded that we had to cast off and sail away. We now have IPA, pale ale and wheat ale with tangerine. Not that we are totally running out of beer, but someone should support the local economy!

Direction: Portland

No, we are not yet headed into the city, but my crew needs to be on their way home tomorrow. In the meantime we want to tuck into an anchorage some 10 miles east of Portland.

Before taking off, Sasha and I decided that jumping into the water is a must. How cold can it be anyway? But it was cold! Somehow colder than yesterday. Indeed the onboard thermometer later showed water temperature of 16.7C. The tidal current must be mixing up water and bringing some of the cold water to the surface. Once we were out of the harbour, the temperature went up almost 2 degrees!

It’s sunny, it’s not very windy, which makes it easy to cook aboard and yet make progress towards our destination under sail. Not surprisingly, lunch consisted of fish dishes: fish soup with bok-choy followed by fried fish that Frank marinated yesterday. Chips with freshly made guacamole to accompany the latter. Sasha even turned on the music for a perfect ambiance! (video)

We saw a couple of  dolphins and a sunfish as well as a couple of sailboats on the opposite course. Simple life at sea. At least when the wind is as it is today.