Sunday, August 25, 2024

Winter Harbor on Vinalhaven, ME

By 9 a.m. on Thursday, August 22 we all went for a walk through the more residential part of Isle au Haut.  There was a lovely Congregational church up on a hill with a well-constructed ramp leading up to it. We followed the ramp up for a commanding view of the waterfront. 





From there we continued walking further up the hill to the other end of the Thoroughfare, the waterway where we were moored, all the way to Laundry Cove.  New England has had the most magnificent hydrangea bloom this season and most of them have been blue or white.  Here in this part of Maine they have been various shades of pink, apparently due to different soil.



As we walked down a gravel road we met a woman walking her two dogs. Stopping to chat for awhile we discovered that she and her husband were visiting his parents’ home which from what we could tell was one of the picturesque homes overlooking the water from that gorgeous point of land.  She was very enthusiastic about the upcoming election and the Democratic Convention that was still going on.



On the way back we passed the fire station with its vintage fire truck.



We stopped for a couple more items at the local market and I bought a postcard to send to Stephanie and Ryan. The tiniest post office I’ve ever seen was next door.  It was a one woman and one room operation and the postmistress assured me that she would be sure to stamp the postcard with an Isle au Haut postmark.



After heading back to Zendo, we left our anchorage by 11:05 for Winter Harbor and arrived there by 1:00 passing by the Isle au Haut Light. This lighthouse was converted to a bed and breakfast and later was available to rent. It  was then put up for sale again and its fate is uncertain at this time. It would definitely be a very cool place to stay for a while!



Finding a suitable place to drop the hook in Winter Harbor was challenging.  We came in at high tide to a very tricky anchorage with a lot of shallow spots that were submerged during high tide.  After a couple of tries at anchoring which Jonny was concerned were too close to the shallow areas we finally found a secure place to set the hook.  We were so glad we moved to that spot because at low tide we were able to see the many danger spots surrounding us. 



After lunch we dinghied into shore and this, too, was challenging. The shore line was extremely rocky and we had forgotten to wear our boat shoes.  Jonny tied up the dinghy as best he could and we went for a walk around the headland.  There were well marked trails throughout as well including a convenient staircase!





Upon our return the tide had gone out more than we expected and the dinghy was stuck on some rocks in the mud.  He had to work really hard to get it back in the water. In the meantime he wanted me to walk all the way through a slippery, seaweed strewn, rocky shore to a point where he would pick Archie and me up so as to avoid us having to wade through the cold water and rocky sea bed.  It all worked out but it was quite the little adventure!





That evening we used our gas oven for the first time this season to cook the meatloaf I had made along with baked potatoes and spinach.  We watched the last night of the Democratic Convention and were glad to see how well Kamala did and how enthusiastic the crowd’s reaction was.  Just a little over a couple of months until the election. Fingers crossed!

Next stop - charming Camden!  P.S. All the exposed land in the foreground of the next photo was submerged when we came in to anchor. That’s how shallow it was in the area all around us!





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