Mistake Island Harbor, ME

We left St. Andrews early on Thursday, August 15 to begin our return trip for the 2024 year - always a bittersweet moment.  We left our mooring by 7 a.m. to take advantage of the current as we cruised through the Old Sow and  Lubec Narrows, once again passing the Mullholland Point Light on Campobello. 

The Old Sow is a place with very strong whirlpools. We got kicked around a little bit but not bad at all due to Jonny’s careful timing.  It was a beautiful clear day but chilly so we were bundled up in layers.  Archie and I cuddled under a blanket. 

As we left Canada we used the boaters customs app to get back into the U.S. in Lubec. It is striking to see the difference in the number of lobster pots between the two countries. The Canadians end their lobster season earlier than we do so it was smooth sailing there but we are on hyper-alert now that we are back in the good old USA!

We sailed past the Libby Island Light on Machias Bay.

We had three recommendations for wonderful anchorages to choose from that day and we chose Mistake Island because it had an appealing walk to the nearby lighthouse.  By 1:25 we found a gorgeous anchorage with only one other boat. This was definitely one of the very best spots we have anchored in this trip. After lunch we dinghied onto shore, most of which is owned by the Nature Conservancy. We tied up at a small dock next to a very rocky shoreline. There was a small locked shed there and a set of rough steps to climb. We were welcomed by this rustic sign. 

Beyond the sign was a wooden walkway that led us through a wooded area that suddenly opened up to a stunning view of the Moose Peak Lighthouse on the opposite side of the island.  Our assessment of this being our most beautiful anchorage on this trip was quickly confirmed. 

The lighthouse was first erected in 1826 and this tower was built in 1851.  Mistake Island is one of the foggiest locations on the Maine coast but we were blessed with a crystal clear day.  We spent lots of time climbing over the rocks and looking for raspberries on the many bushes there though they had clearly been picked over.  We know this to be true because there was a guest book in a plastic box and previous visitors had noted the healthy berry crop this year, 

The lighthouse itself is abandoned though the fog horn is operated by solar power. The lighthouse was sold to a Connecticut couple who apparently have plans to restore it.

We had a call earlier in the day from MTOA friends Dan and Cathy Pearce who are port captains in Camden. Dan has been very helpful in giving us advice about cruising the Maine coast because he and Cathy know these waters so well. They just happened to anchor nearby and invited us over for drinks at 5.  We had a nice visit with them before heading back to Zendo for dinner. 

Jonny made lamb chops on the grill which we had with green beans and a tomato salad. That evening we talked to Andy by phone (which we do almost every night) and later we talked to our friend Michael Goldfield who confirmed that he and Melina would be around when we get to Northeast Harbor on the weekend.

Welshpool and St. Andrews, NB

We left Lubec at 7:45 on Wednesday, August 14 in order to arrive at Campobello Island in New Brunswick early. By the way we are back in the Bay of Fundy. The last time we were here was on our first six month cruise when we did the Down East Loop. But because we never made it to Campobello that time, I wanted to be sure to make it this time. Our plan was to first go there to see the Roosevelt Summer Home and then go on to St. Andrews and stay overnight there before starting our return trip south. There is a one hour time difference between Lubec and Canada here so leaving at 7:45 was really 8:45.  

We needed to go through customs in Welshpool on Campobello Island and we arrived there in a quick 30 minutes. We were greeted by the friendly wharfinger (see below for the definition).  He was very helpful and let us tie up at the dock for the day, which turned out to be just a couple of hours.  Jonny checked in with Customs and then the wharfinger kindly offered to give us a ride to the Roosevelt Summer Home. 

While we waited for him to pick us up we strolled through the tiny hamlet of Welshpool.  Campobello has a few other little hamlets but the total population of the island is only 950. There is one school on the island that covers kindergarten through 12th grade!







Interestingly, the Roosevelt Campobello International Park is the only park that is jointly owned and run by both countries. Upon our arrival we watched a movie telling the history of the park and the Roosevelt home and we went through the little museum with lots of information about the Roosevelts and also about the unique and friendly relationship between the U.S. and Canada.

We spent the next couple of hours touring the 1897 ”cottage” originally purchased by FDR’s mother for $5000!  It consists of 34 rooms, 18 of which are bedrooms (many surprisingly small) and 6 bathrooms.  It was a real family home where FDR spent most of his childhood summers. He and Eleanor used it as a summer home for their growing family as well.   The house, though quite large, was modestly decorated and much of the original furniture was still there.  It was here that FDR was stricken with polio when he was only 39 years old.

We also toured the Hubbard House on the grounds of the park. I was struck by the beautiful picture window in the living room.  It was such an unusual shape for a window and the view of the water makes it look like a painting. I’m surprised we don’t see more windows shaped like this one.

After our tour, the wharfinger’s wife gave us a ride back to Zendo where Archie was eagerly awaiting our return.

We then took off for St. Andrews, just a 2 hour cruise away.  Entering the harbor, we saw the sailboat fleet that the Cruising Club of America was sponsoring this month. We actually used their itinerary to help plan our own cruise. 

This is truly the land of extremely high tides as was evident looking at the water marks of the docks as we entered the harbor.

The ladder to climb up to the docks is extraordinary as is shoreline that is exposed at low tide.

St. Andrews is a lovely historic resort town.  It was settled by British loyalists who left Castine, Maine and moved their houses there by barge. Much of the original architecture is still in place and the town has wide streets, handsome houses and a lot of churches. Because it is a resort area, it also has many restaurants and pubs.

We walked about a mile up through the center of town to beautiful Kingsbrae Garden and strolled through it for quite a while. It is definitely the loveliest garden we’ve seen on this trip with a large number of special plots devoted to  hydrangeas, azaleas, vegetables, scented plants, herbs, wooded areas, sculpture gardens and more. It was very well done.

By the time we walked back to town it was time to stop at a pub for a beer and decide where we wanted to eat. We chose this waterfront pub for a drink.

Afterwards, we went to a casual place that had been recommended called Char and Chowder.  It was a good place to take Archie because it was all outdoor seating but unfortunately they they had run out of chowder! So instead we had their ribs and pizza, both of which hit the spot!

This turned out to be our one and only night in Canada but we were pleased that we met our travel goals for the year - the mutual one of cruising Maine for  the month of August, my goal to go to Campobello and Jonny’s desire to get as far as Saint Andrew’s.  Back on Zendo, we spent the evening planning our return trip which starts the next day. We can’t linger in Canada as we need to be in Portland by the end of the month because our friend Cathy is coming to visit us there.

Lubec, ME

Archie got one last run on Tuesday, August 13 while Jonny had a chance to chat with the property manager of Roque Island.

I spent the time updating the blog on our three day visit to Harrington. We left our beautiful anchorage on Roque by 11 for the approximately four hour run to Lubec. 

It was another sunny day with temperatures in the low seventies. We passed a number of lighthouses along the way.  They included the Little River Light in Cutler Harbor, the West Quoddy Head Light with red and white stripes (hard to make out in the photo) and  the Lubec Channel Light, a spark plug style that sits in the middle of the channel.

Cruising the islands around Machias Bay, we made our way to the Bold Coast (not at all like the Gold Coast we have in Florida)! This Down East part of Maine has almost no ports of refuge (i.e. places to safely tuck into overnight in case of a storm) past the little town of Cutler.

We rounded Quoddy Point, the easternmost tip of the U.S. and also the closest point to Africa. Believe it or not, it’s closer to Africa than Key West!  

From there we cruised through the Lubec Narrows, the very narrow and rough water passage that separates the U.S. from Campobello Island in Canada.  This required careful planning to avoid the raging currents that flow through there. All our guidebooks advised against taking this most direct route but Jonny consulted several people with local knowledge and he studied the tide charts ad nauseum and learned that we would be safe if we took it at slack tide. And guess what? We were perfectly fine! It wasn’t even as rough as going through Hell Gate in NYC!

Once we were in Lubec we were in the land of 20 foot tides.  This bridge connected Lubec, Maine to Campobello Island in Canada. We were amazed by how few cars we saw on it, maybe one every 15 minutes.

This charming lighthouse welcomed us to the harbor in Lubec.

We called the harbormaster who directed us to a massive mooring ball with no lead lines on it which meant that Jonny had to rig our lines and hang over the bow of Zendo to thread them onto the mooring. It was quite a challenge but of course he did it!

From there we walked into this very small town in search of the local pub (which was closed) so we settled for ice cream. Lubec has a unique ambiance,  giving off the vibe of being one of those towns at the end of the earth.  

We walked through some rather modest areas with homes in various stages of repair and then saw this interesting sign on one of the local churches.

That evening Jonny made a nice dinner of salmon, green beans and the homemade tabbouli that Rob had given us. Afterwards we spent the evening planning our entry to Canada and our visit to Campobello the next day.