Going Gunkholing!

On the hook...

Being alone, together, on the boat connects more with nature and the diurnal cycle of sunrise and sunset.

We’ve had some calm weather to be able to get away from our seasonal slip at Journey’s End Marina for a few short overnight trips. It is so nice to be out and away from the dock, living on our little floating waterfront condo in interesting and wild places.

One such place is just off the Fox Island Thorofare between North Haven and Vinalhaven Islands. These islands support communities of mostly seasonal visitors and a few tough, hard-working year ‘round residents. Each of the communities is served by regular ferry service out of Rockland that transports passengers and vehicles to the island. We’ve taken the ferry over in the past to drive around the Vinalhaven Island and ogle at the amazing, large residences that folks have built for summer homes. It is an idyllic lifestyle and setting, if well above our pay grade. It’s hard to imagine the cost of building and maintaining these mansions. And, that’s just the ones you can see from the road or water, not the ones hidden on large estates.

Perry Cove is a mile long cove that is bordered by conservation lands on both sides. Trails weave through the Maine forest. Maine does well with reserving natural lands through easements and donations to a number of organizations. Many have ended up in the National Wildlife Refuge System. The cove is deep enough for our boat to transit the entire length, but we chose to go by dinghy up to the head. This is a beautiful spot to enjoy a couple nights unplugged from the grid.

It was great to have Frazier and Cessie from Atlanta stop by for a lunch trip over to North Haven. The town is a quaint village with a few shops and restaurants serving the traditional fish and chips, lobster, and crab rolls.

From Rockland to the North Haven dock is a 20-mile round trip. On the way we saw loons, seals, harbor porpoise and guillemot’s. We picked up a mooring, launched the dinghy and had a pleasant lunch at Landings, a take-out restaurant with picnic tables and a few indoor seats.

On the way out of Rockland Harbor on a trip to Matinicus we came across an unusual sight. A person was sitting in the cage of red marker number 2. As we passed, we checked, through binoculars, to see if they were alright, and the lounging person waved back. There was no boat, dinghy, or kayak nearby. How did he get there?

We resumed our trek out and decided to call the Coast Guard in Rockland where the station is only a half mile from the marker, plus they had two 47-foot boats cruising around in the harbor. Coast Guard Rockland asked us to return to the marker to check again. This time, we passed really close and it turned out to be a young lady who said she was playing hide and seek with friends. Someone had dropped her off. We reported this to USCG. They were OK with the report until the ferry boat captain made a fuss with the Coast Guard over the radio demanding they get her off the buoy. We listened on the VHF radio to the circus between the Coast Guard and ferry captain until we were out of range. We are curious about the disposition of this prank.

Matinicus Island is an island community located 23 miles off the coast. Although the island is served by the Maine State ferry system, it runs only twice a month in season and once a month in the off season. But our new friend George operates a water taxi service, several times a week, to Matinicus and the nearby island of Criehaven, out of the slip next to us at Journey’s End. A retired veterinarian, he and his wife set out on a new life after their kids finished college. They already had a house on Matinicus, so they moved to the island full-time from their farm in New Hampshire. George became the main man in charge, wearing many hats: tax collector, town manager, electric generator operator and treasurer. Now he’s turned all that over to others and just focuses on the shuttle service from May to October aboard his wonderful lobster boat style boat, the Robin R.

When we arrived at Matinicus, we were in the midst of the largest gathering in the harbor that the local folks had ever seen. The lobster buyer on the island was scurrying through the harbor moving boats from private commercial lobster boat moorings that he knew would be vacant for the night and directing traffic. The harbor has a few guest moorings, but they were all taken.

We were 1 of 3 that arrived at about the same time. Marvin did a spectacular job of maneuvering between mooring lines with skiffs, cruising sailboats that were already hooked to a mooring line, lobster pots, and the 2 sailboats that were also cruising around looking for a mooring. And more kept coming in. They all seemed to arrive at the same time. At least four were a cruising club from Massachusetts and Boothbay, Maine. They overnighted at Matinicus and were off in the morning for a 178-nautical mile offshore trip to Nova Scotia. In the end, eleven sailboats and three power boats were accommodated on moorings. The twelfth sailboat that arrived late in the day had to anchor outside of the harbor. The next day, the crowded harbor was the talk of the town.

Matinicus is a wonderful community, dating back to the mid-1800s (European settlers – don’t know about the native history). It’s officially a “Plantation” rather than a town.

George took us on a personal island tour to two nice beaches on either end of the 1-mile by 2-mile island. His 3-year old Kubuta 4 RTV has over 3,000 miles on it. The island is only 2 square miles, so it seems he's travelled every road and path multiple times.

We stopped at the community recycling gathering where a dozen folks were sorting and packing up recycled materials to take to the mainland.

We went into the library and delightful children’s library, in a separate building, and we stopped at a bakery that was operated on the honor system with a cash box and self-serve baked goods. We bought fresh baked bread and cookies. Thank you George for a lovely afternoon!

The two beaches he took us to allowed us to add to our sand collection, now over 300 samples, including from exotic places, due to the thoughtfulness of friends.

South Sandy Beach where a large "fort" was built from driftwood, lobster line, and other flotsam washed ashore during the winter storms.

Nice, modest homes dot the landscape, many owned and occupied by year-round lobstermen and their families. A couple of cottages are available for rent, which we think would be a great summer option.

Now, after the few nights out, we will be back to Rockland to wait on the weather. We hope to make it up to my favorite Maine places at Roque Island and Cross Island on the rugged, wild, Downeast coast. With the passing of Hurricane Ernesto far out in the Atlantic, NOAA is forecasting high seas (6 to 7 feet), so we will wait for the waters to settle down before heading off. Maybe next week.

What a friendly bunch at Matinicus - lobster delivered fresh off HARitage. It took a bit of ingenuity to cook dinner with just a little gas grill and small convection cooktop, but we prevailed.

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Marvin and Lee

PS - Captain George read both Across Florida Straits and Adrift in the Gulf Stream and told us he enjoyed them..."Didn't want them to end!" Gratifying review from a Maine mariner!