Maine Island Trail

(con't)

I eventually came upon an anchored windjammer (American Eagle) whose captain showed me my correct position and pointed me toward George Head. I beached on Wreck when I saw the MITA sign, opened my dry bags to find my (nice, clean) reading glasses and then saw that I was just one island east of my destination. I made the beach at George Head about 15 minutes after sunset. Never been happier to be ashore...

FYI, I just love that picture with the little furry guy peaking out of the box! LOL..

I'll be looking forward to hearing everyone's stories around a campfire. Bryan, I'm just SW of Miami and close to the upper keys. Hopefully, after Hurricane Irma, we have some keys left. It doesn't look good. Miami may get whacked too!

Keith

It was beyond fun and Yvonne and I enjoyed meeting everyone and experiencing Maine. Like Bob mentioned, the BEST part of having a TI is meeting, sailing, and hanging out with like minded people.

Looking forward to sitting around a campfire in the everglades and hearing more about your camping experiences in Maine Bob. Especially how you kept your boat from floating away in those 20' tides.

Bryan, we're in Clearwater so if you're in this part of the state on your trip this winter, get in touch and I'll show you some of the best sailing areas in Florida for a TI

Jim

Our first trips onto Penobscot Bay were the perfect introduction: sunny days, light winds, and great hosts. DougDNer (shown above) met us in Belfast Harbor and showed us around the sights. The ramp in Belfast is very TI friendly, Kathy the Harbormaster is great, and there was ample free parking. Belfast features a very large, (relatively) newly constructed boatworks and the tour around it from the water was delightful. (I also learned later that Belfast has a candy / ice cream shop that makes awesome malts. IREALLY love Belfast!!) The harbor also features The Monument at its entrance.

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Rumor has it that there's going to be an Island regatta next year that will go out around The Monument and back in toward the ramp..you can see two skippers practicing already. Wonder if they'll let me use my motor...

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Jim and Yvonne on their Red TI and Doug on the Yellow. These guys will be tough comp even with my Honda!

In "Field of Dreams", one of the players asks "Is this Heaven" and is told, "No, this is Iowa". That all makes much more sense to me now..

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'cause THIS is paradise..at least to sailors and kayakers. This map of the central Maine coast shows Penobscot Bay on the left and Mt. Desert Island on the right. We were staying in a great spot that Jim found (right hand brown circle) just above MDI and our first outing had taken us 60 miles west to Belfast (left hand, black oval). Our next outing took us to Naskeag Harbor (orange circle in the center) to meet and explore the area with the BEdmonds. Another perfect day.

The launching area at Naskeag is very TI friendly, but not necessarily car friendly unless you have AWD - it's mostly pebble and can get slippery unless you're in someone else's track. Tides were running about 12 feet or so and launching near low tide meant 75 - 100 feet of driving down to the water / up to the road on the pebble surface. CaptChaos kindly launched my boat for me after we moved my trailer to his 4x4 truck. I took to looking at every ramp that I could find after that around the Bay - from Hancock to Rockland. Those at Rockland, Rockport, Belfast, Sedgwick, and the Seaplane ramp at Bar Harbor Airport seemed best for those without AWD. Naskeag is AWESOME if you have some grip because it's close to the Merchant Row area.

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On the beach at Naskeag..

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During our lunch stop at Sheep/Stinson's neck..

I skied for 50 years and loved it; partly is was the challenge but mostly it was being able to get outdoors and enjoy it. The blue sky/green trees/ and white snow create a scene that I find captivating. I found that same color combination and incredible beauty on our sailing adventures in Maine. The water is clear, too, and it gives off those incredible aquamarine rays when combined with a sandy area. Simply fantastic!