Harrington, ME

As of Thursday morning, August 8 we were still concerned about two things - one being whether or not Jonny’s cousin Rob would be well enough to go from his home in W. Paris to his cottage in Harrington. He had been very ill from a tick bite. Secondly, we needed a plan to keep Zendo in a protected anchorage near Harrington since the remnants of Hurricane Debbie were expected to cause a lot of rain and wind in the area at the time we would be there.  After talking with Rob and doing lots of research on safe anchorages we decided to head to what looked like a safe spot on the Harrington River near Rob and Linda’s cottage. With that settled we were able to start our day with confidence!

We took Archie in for a final walk through Winter Harbor this time exploring an area with beautiful homes close to the coastline. We walked down wooded paths and through some areas with large homes in the woods and facing the water. These are clearly second homes as this area is quite affluent. We met a couple of young women along the rocky shore. One of them was descended from one of the original families and their home had been handed down through the generations. They kindly took a photo of us. 

By 10:55 we were back on Zendo and ready to leave for the two and a half hour cruise to Harrington.  Along the way we passed the Petit Manon Light standing tall on a flat island with only two small structures on it.

Jonny wanted to see if we could see any puffins which are supposed to be nesting on Petit Manon Island which is now a nature preserve.  We took a detour to cruise around the island and saw lots of seagulls and seals but no puffins.

We arrived in Harrington at the commercial fishing dock recommended by Rob.  Jonny dinghied in and asked a local lobsterman if there was a vacant mooring for us to tie up to. The lobsterman led him to it while I kept Zendo hovering in the harbor.  Jonny spent quite a bit of time untangling the lines on the mooring and we tied up to it safely and securely. We took Archie for a walk exploring this working harbor and that night we stayed onboard Zendo.

The next afternoon  it was pouring rain when Rob came to pick us up. We loaded the dinghy in full rain gear and he drove us the quick mile to their cottage. We spent the next three days and nights with Linda and Rob (who fortunately had fully recovered). We had visited them here a few years ago by car but this was the first time by boat. Their cottage is on the water in an absolutely beautiful setting with a rocky waterfront and dramatic tides.  Rob built the cottage himself and it is filled with creative touches showcasing his artistic woodworking skills, from creative shingling to custom cabinetry and gorgeous handmade furniture. He is constantly improving and he’s currently building a first floor bedroom to add to their two bedroom home.

On Saturday,  Jonny and Rob went clamming in the waters off of their property and brought in a big haul. 

In the meantime, Linda, Archie and I went on a lovely hike in the woods.

Each night they made us delicious dinners full of fresh vegetables from their large gardens. Over the course of those three days we ate a dozen ears of the most delicious corn on the cob (my personal favorite)!

On Sunday the four of us took a long hike through the woods and along the coast a couple of miles from their home.

In the afternoon we took them out on Zendo and cruised around the peninsula where they live.  But first Rob helpfully swabbed the deck from the gifts left by visiting gulls!

They enjoyed seeing nearby homes from the water - always an entirely different perspective. We dropped the hook in a pretty cove and had a bite of lunch.

That evening a couple of friends of Rob and Linda’s came by and we had a drink while watching the beautiful sunset in their back yard. Afterwards, over an open fire, Rob steamed the clams he and Jonny had dug and we had them for dinner along with freshly caught mackerel. For dessert, I made a blueberry pie with Maine’s delicious wild blueberries.  It was a perfect ending to three wonderful days!

Winter Harbor, ME

We watched a little Morning Joe on Wednesday, August 7 to see more about the hoopla surrounding Tim Walz as Kamala’s VP pick.  While I had my rescheduled Spanish lesson with Merly, Jonny took Archie in for a walk.  Afterwards we headed over to the town dock to get water and a pump-out.  This was quite important  because there are no pump-out facilities until we get to Canada.

While Jonny took care of that I took Archie for one last walk through town.

We left Bar Harbor at 11:15 on calm seas. We passed the majestic Egg Light in the distance. It looks a lot like a castle from afar (unfortunately I couldn’t get a good shot of it). It was a beautiful day as we cruised between scenic islands surrounded by lobster pots!

By 12:20 we arrived at a gorgeous spot in Sand Cove which is part of the larger Winter Harbor. It is called Winter Harbor because the waters here have historically not frozen in the winter. There we contacted the Winter Harbor Yacht Club to secure a mooring. This was a beautiful harbor filled with little bulls eyes sailboats in an array of colors.

Jim, our launch driver, came by to give us the lay of the land.  Shortly after we called him to take us in and we had a delicious lunch at the very attractive yacht club. 

You can see how high the tides are in this part of Maine in next photo.

After lunch we took a long walk into the little town of Winter Harbor that had a small well-stocked grocery store, a few scattered shops and a couple of restaurants, most of which were not open.

We also visited one of the other places to stay in Winter Harbor - this one filled with fishing and lobster boats.  The harbor was much smaller and we determined that we had chosen the best one for us. 

After our long walk into town we returned to Zendo but missed the little sailboat race that was supposed to take place that afternoon,  we chatted with a few of the yacht club members as we waited for the launch. And we met a fellow doodle whose name was also Archie!

That evening I made a delicious stuffed eggplant dish for dinner and we had a calm night on board with thousands of stars in the clear night sky.  Being far from any city lights really makes a big difference!

Bar Harbor, ME

I had a Spanish lesson on Tuesday, August 6 so Jonny took Archie for one last walk in Frenchboro. This time he walked into the little village and saw the church, the tiny schoolhouse, many lobster traps, as well as more of the damage that occurred during the storm in January.

Unfortunately, my connectivity was spotty so once again we had to reschedule my lesson. When Jonny returned we took off at 10 a.m. bound for Winter Harbor. But then we decided that we should get a pump-out since there is no good place to get one as we cruise further down east. Our macerator wasn’t working properly so even that wasn’t an option.  After a few phone calls to find a pump-out facility we discovered that the only feasible one was in Bar Harbor so that’s where we went. 

It was a chilly day but the seas were calm as we approached the beautiful coastline near Bar Harbor.

We got a mooring in Bar Harbor and planned to get the pump-out the following morning.  There were some impressive vessels as we entered the harbor.

I liked the name of this boat!

That afternoon we dinghied into town to explore. The last time we were here was when we visited our friends Michael and Melina who took us to a cool little movie theatre to see the Elvis movie. We had a yummy lunch at a local pub called The Thirsty Whale where we had cups of lobster bisque and clam chowder and a big plate of fried clams that we shared. 

Bar Harbor is a touristy town and quite busy. It has lots of cool shops and outdoor clothing stores as well as the typical tee shirt shops.

I’ve been a little concerned that Archie is sometimes shivering when we are underway in this cooler weather, plus he has that short haircut. So I decided I would buy him a sweater to see if that would help. We stopped at a pet shop and bought him a cute little burgundy sweatshirt that looks quite nice on him. We’ll have to see how it works. 

We walked back to the dinghy through a lovely waterfront park with lots of people enjoying the grassy lawn and harbor views.

Upon our return to Zendo we relaxed a bit and had a snack instead of dinner while watching the big news about Kamala’s selecting Tim Walz to be her running mate.  We also tuned into YouTube to see their speeches as well as Josh Shapiro’s rousing introduction. It’s exciting to see how energized the Dems are now that we have a strong ticket in Harris and Walz.

We got a call from Robbie to say that he arrived at their home in W. Paris, ME only to become very sick. It’s not Covid but it may be the result of a tick bite. He’s starting a prescription and we’re all hoping he recovers quickly and can return to Harrington where we are supposed to see him and Linda in just a couple of days. Fingers crossed!

Frenchboro, ME

Early Monday morning, August 5 we awoke to thick, pea soup fog.  

But fortunately for us, it cleared up rather quickly and we were able to dingy onto the shore of  nearby Vinalhaven Island.  We tied up to some rocks and went for an energizing two and a half mile hike through the Huber Preserve in Seal Bay. The well marked trail loops took us through forests and fields and along the rocky coastline. Archie got to be off leash the whole time.

The only other people we saw were a young couple with a three month old baby. They were on family leave for three months. This New York couple was lucky enough to be able to spend their time bonding with the baby in this beautiful part of Maine!

Returning to Zendo, we had lunch before taking off for our next stop at 12:45.

The Maine Cruising Guide gave Frenchboro four stars and raved about what a great stop it was with wonderful hiking, a small village and even a little restaurant to get the freshest lobster and clams around.  So it was an easy decision to choose Frenchboro!  We arrived three hours later and entered the long, rather narrow and well-protected harbor.  We grabbed what looked to be a good mooring and tied up only to discover that we were hovering very close to a lobster pot.  The  proximity was nerve wracking and we were afraid we would get tangled up in the lobsters pot’s lines so we moved a bit further out to another mooring.  

We were close to a very friendly cruising couple from Newport aboard the most beautiful red 51 foot Hinckley yawl. 

We took the dinghy (or skiff as they call it in Maine) into the rather dilapidated dock and were a bit chagrined to see that  nothing was open and the little restaurant looked like it had been closed for quite some time. There was a sign with a QR code instructing us how to pay for the mooring on Venmo which of course we did. It is clearly the honor system around here.  

We saw some other boaters on the dock and asked them if anything was open and they explained that much of the operation there had been destroyed during a fierce storm last January. It looked as if it would be a while before anything was functioning again.

We walked around the area and saw that even some of the nearby houses seemed to be empty. The head of the harbor was about a half mile away.  We could see a couple of buildings that made up the village there but we chose not to go and instead headed back to Zendo.

That evening we had leftovers for dinner along with a salad. We were a little disappointed that Frenchboro did not live up to the description in our cruising guide but this was clearly an exception to most of our experiences to date.

Seal Bay, ME

While I had a Spanish lesson at 8:15 Jonny took Archie into shore for a walk. We knew it was going to be a rainy day but we decided not to wait out the rain and to push on instead.  We left our anchorage by 11:15 on Sunday, August 4 bound for an anchorage in Winter Harbor next to Penobscot Island.  On our way we passed this picturesque lighthouse called Whitehead Light. It was originally built by order of President Thomas Jefferson in 1807!

As we crossed by Tenant’s Harbor on Penobscot Bay we saw a number of beautiful wooden sailboats that were returning from a weekend race.

We cruised through the Fox Thoroughfare by Vinylhaven.  

Eventually we changed destinations and decided to go to Seal Bay because it looked to have better access to trails where we could do some hiking.  There are so many beautiful places we can visit that it’s hard to decide!  We reached Seal Bay by 4:15 and had a variety of anchorages from which to choose.  Selecting a spot with no other boats, we set the anchor and were pleased with our choice.

Jonny took Archie for a dinghy ride to explore where we could land it while I started to prepare dinner.  I used the three ears of corn that we had bought at the market in Five Islands to make a hearty corn and potato chowder.  Evenings are definitely cooling off here on the coast of Maine so a cozy chowder was a welcome treat and quite tasty.  We think Archie might might also be a little chilly due to his short haircut!

We are taking our time cruising these waters in the days before we reach the area where Jonny’s cousin Robbie and his wife, Linda have a cottage in Harrington.