Tuesday, July 23, 2014 - Onward we went towards Damariscove Island. Dan mentioned that it wasn't too far away from where we were so I volunteered to skipper. The cloud cover had come back and we rode the small steady waves at about 5 knots, occasionally seeing blue fin tuna & dolphin fins break the surface of the water.
In 1897, the Damariscove Lifesaving Station was built on the island in response to the frequent shipwrecks on the ledges and shoals that surround the island. The station, which still stands today at the southern end of the harbor, was manned by the United States Life-Saving Service and later the U.S. Coast Guard until 1959.
Damariscove harbor is still actively used for moorings and storage docks by the local commercial fishing fleet. Boothbay Region Land Trust maintains two guest moorings, the stone pier, and several hiking trails that are open to the public during the summer. The northern half of the island is a protected nesting site each spring for the Common Eider.
After a couple hours we reached the white & red gong buoy called The Motions (marked on the chart as TM) & Dan took over.
We were to stay on the starboard side of the marker because of a hidden reef below the waves on the port side. Once past it we angled to port and came up on a little slip of a cove tucked cozily into the island.
What used to be a bustling European fishing port from as far back as the 1600s (pre-pilgrim days) now sits quietly with a few moorings & a fishing pier stacked high with lobster traps.
The skies cleared upon our arrival revealing a romantic & charming little spot. The island itself barely had any tree cover, mostly just rugosas, sumac & long grass.
Friends of Dan & Sarah's, Bob & Kathy, decided to join us for a portion of the trip & had arrived earlier in the day. We pulled up alongside their ketch, hopped aboard & were greeted warmly with drinks & appetizers.
We sat enjoying the company & the late afternoon sun. Dan & Bob reminisced about the day they built their first sailboat together when they were fresh out of high school & that they had actually sailed into this cove long ago.
After a nice dinner I was eager to explore the island so Dan & I climbed into the peapod & rode ashore. There were several hiking paths to choose from but with the sun going down I decided to take a short one which lead to a little museum.
(click on the short video below to see how beautiful it was here)
Once at the building, our view of the cove was unreal. The sun was still out but at its lowest so everything was cast in a pinkish-orange glow.
Quintessential Maine right here.
Since the sun was going down & we had dinner to eat still, we made our way back to the peapod.
By the time we climbed aboard the Black Mallard the sun had set.
After watching the orange full moon rise at about 8:30pm & we decided to call it an evening.
Wednesday, July 24, 2014
We awoke to a raining & foggy morning. Sarah made some delicious blueberry pancakes while I wrote for a bit.
Even though the weather was bad, I couldn't wait to explore the island some more...
Decked out in yellow rain-gear, Dan & I took the peapod ashore & ventured off onto the tower trail. The beginning of the hike takes you along the cove on a narrow well kept path. It then ascends & the brush/rugosas were so tall at times that we would have little tunnels to walk through. Most of the time the brush was at shoulder level though so if it weren't for the fog we would've been able to see just about the whole island.
The path was like a maze, twisting & turning & we just kept bumbling along. Occasionally we would come across some ripe raspberries that we'd stop to pick & eat. Little birds were twittering all around & almost seemed to be following us. At this point my imagination went into overdrive; as what usually happens to me when island exploring. Thoughts of what it would be like to live here all by myself with only mermaids & harbor seals to keep me company filled my mind.
The path led us to the far east side of the island as we got closer to the look out building. Tumultuous seas crashed to the left onto large granite boulders. Sprays of white water would shoot into the air & crash down turning the water an emerald green. (Unfortunately, my phone was dead & I couldn't take any pictures!)
The lookout building was much smaller than the ones we'd seen on Jewell Island. A two story tall wooden structure with wood shingles. The door was nailed shut & the lookout windows boarded up. We stopped to take in our surroundings as we had reached the island's highest elevation & were now on the south easterly side. From here, even with fog, we could see down into the cove where Black Mallard was moored.
Time to keep exploring though so off we went back down the path. When we got back to the head of the cove I had to stop & look for treasures! There was more sea pottery here than I have ever seen! I wonder if it's because of the shipwrecks that happened from the hidden reef near the The Motions buoy. Naturally, I filled my slicker pockets with what I could manage to carry & continued on.
Next we ventured down a path taking us to the westerly side of the island. Along the path were remains of cottages & granite foundations covered in orange lichen from about 100 years ago.
Not too much longer & we got to the end of the path where large flat granite rocks stretched out before us. This being the mainland shore side, the water was much more calm & had it not been raining, would have been a perfect spot for a picnic.
After having enough of getting rained on & feeling satisfied with the amount of island explored, Dan & I made our way back to the boat.
Unfortunately, Bob's radar & GPS wasn't working. Since the fog was so thick it wouldn't be safe for us to venture further than Boothbay Harbor. So off we went through the dense fog & onto our next destination...
To be continued...
P.S. Here's the link to the video of the great white shark siting that was taken here just a few days after we left!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dl56zQKHek