Sunday, July 1, 2012

A Near Perfect Day..On The Bay

My nephew Kevin got in touch with me this past week, wondering if it would be possible to take him out on the bay in the Rebel Sport for some photo ops. Never being one to need much of an excuse to go boating, we got near perfect conditions for such a cruise yesterday. 

We, Pat and I and our two pups Big Ray & Zed, got to the boat ramp about 7 and soon thereafter Kev met us.


Flat water, blue skies and warm air..wicked good..


We had just barely trimmed down the motor when the first picture op presented itself on the top of the tallest mast in the picture above..


This was going to set the theme of our cruise..

Being an experienced deckhand, Big Ray settled in until the time he would be needed to bark at seals or shags...


Heading toward Castine, in what is called The Middle Grounds, lobstermen were doing their thing. Why? I don't know. With the boat price of lobsters at just over $2.00 a pound, that equates to a lot of lobsters just to pay for diesel and bait.


Soon we rounded Turtle Head on Islesboro...
 the rock formations reminding me of the bow of a ship at the ready to slice through any weather thrown at her.

One of the great pleasures to me boating on the saltwater are the mysteries that can  materialize slowly from the mists. (How's that for alliteration?) 
We spotted this rather large piece of driftwood from some distance away. And from afar the root and the hump sticking up out of the water looked much like a sea serpent . Of course we had to investigate...

Having satisfied our curiosity we plotted a course for our next destination, Castine.

The lighthouse on Dice Head at the entrance to Castine makes a wonderful bearing point..

And soon we were moving into the harbor. As with most coastal Maine towns there is a lot of interesting architecture to enjoy. But one of the unique aspects of Castine is that the townfolk took great care in defending their elm trees against the Dutch Elm disease that has decimated the wonderful elm population throughout New England. It is really nice to see healthy old elms still standing..

The inner harbor of Castine is well protected and the home of  Maine Maritime  Academy and its training vessel , The State of Maine, which was out on a training cruise. And one of the alluring aspect of the waterfront is Eaton's Boat Yard, an old time, long time Castine business. 
A wood shake covered building with a hand painted sign, gotta' love it. 

Our tour of Castine finished we found our way back to the Eastern Gut of Penobscot Bay and headed up river to Bucksport. 

At the mouth of the Penobscot River there is Fort Point lighthouse, established in 1836 with an 1857 Frenel lens that remains in use to this day.


Going up river and passing the old railroad wharf remains at Sandy Point we spotted what at first looked like a nesting bald eagle but on further review of the photos we are not so sure..

But we are sure of these nah-sty smelling birds with their nests atop every possible space left on the deteriorating pilings...

About this time Ray and Zed were seemed to be needing a pee break 
 so we soon found a spot to beach out so they could do their thing.

Our journey continuing , we get a good view of the new and the old bridges at Penobscot Narrows.




 The old bridge, soon to be demolished, is a perfect platform for yet another nesting bird. 
 I think this osprey is quite used to boat traffic going back and forth under her nest as she didn't seem very concerned at all.

With the tide dropping and Kevin needing to get back to meet up with his sister, in order to make the first pitch at the Portland Sea Dogs game we started back to our home port, Belfast.

With flat water and a smooth running motor, Belfast harbor soon came into view..

And as we were just about to make our turn into the boat landing we had one last shot to wrap up our trip..

My many thanks to my wife Pat who provided all the photos of our perfect day on the bay.

6 comments:

  1. What a perfect day for a boat ride, and what wonderful photos as well! Thanks for sharing! :)

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    1. Thanks Ashley and thanks a lot for checking maine-matters out!

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  2. This visual and descriptive trip around Penobscot Bay makes me want a sea-worthy boat now! We may need to trade in our kayaks, so that Steve and I can follow you and Pat around.... Wouldn't that be FUN! Debbie

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    1. Thanks Debbie..yes that would be a blast to have you and Steve out there with us..but you don't have to wait to buy a boat..you are welcome to go for a ride when you are down from The County!

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  3. I'd say that was a perfect day.
    Did you enjoy some seafood?

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  4. Hi Brk Trt..That would have definitely made it more perfect but unfortunately we did not.

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