More Grand Manan

Another "don't miss" spot is Swallowtail Lighthouse, just east of the harbor.  You cross a footbridge across a scenic gorge.  See the heart shaped herring weir off the point?

The lighthouse is supported by shrouds that help to keep it from leaning in a big blow:

 

 

The old lighthouse bell

Great views from the top:

 Also enjoyed the Farmers Market in town:

 

 

All-in-all, Grand Manan is a great place to visit!  Final view:

 

 

Down East Maine and Canada

Cousin Hank drove up to Bar Harbor and met up with us. Then Susan said good bye and Pratique started up north for a cruise of the northern coast, into Canadian waters. 

Winter Harbor

After a nite in Winter Harbor, we shot northeast past the beautiful Roque Island and its crescent beach, and anchored in Bucks Harbor, the site of one of many great lobster dinners to come that week.  An eerie sight near Bucks is the 26 towers of the Navy's VLF submarine transmitter station near Cutler. 

Next stop was Machias Seal Island, which interestingly is claimed by both the US and Canada as their own!  Fortunately no battles for control while we visited!  We anchored off the east side of the island and watched the Atlantic Puffins fly all around us.

After Machias Seal Island we set north for Grand Manan Island, Canada. We passed the west side of the island and rounded the north tip, heading into the North Head Harbor by late afternoon.  Because of the huge tidal range in this area and into the Bay of Fundy, it is necessary to either pick up a mooring or tie up along side one of the commercial fishing boats, a practice which is not discouraged.  We were told of open, large moorings that are on first come-first served basis and picked one up for the night. 

Approaching Grand Manan



Beautiful North Head Harbor, Grand Manan
At right, Pratique and Peregrinus on moorings

Next day we met our neighbors on the adjacent mooring, Odette and Francisco on their beautiful Amel Super Maramu 2000.  Here's their blog:  www.peregrinusduo.com. 



 

We shared after dinner time on their boat, and the four of us went whale-watching during the day on Pratique.  No whale sightings but several ocean sunfish (Mola-Mola) and basking sharks, both of which are really interesting and bizarre creatures!

Basking Shark

Mola Mola

Awesome Double Rainbow

Back in the Harbor

Little Cranberry Island

 



During the week we also explored Southwest Harbor and Northeast Harbor.  Another highlight was Little Cranberry Island (Islesford), just to the south of Mt. Desert.  Once you get past the mosquitos, it is a great little island to explore:



Be forewarned

There's a cool museum on Little Cranberry, the Islesford Historical Museum, featuring the Ashley Bryan Center.  This exhibit pays tribute to African-American writer, children's book illustrator, and Dartmouth College emeritus professor Ashley Bryan, who is a 91 year old resident of the island.

Little Cranberry is a "Don't Miss" place!



Mt. Desert and Bar Harbor

The last day in Penobscot Bay included a lunch stop in North Haven.

Then on to Seal Bay on Vinalhaven Island.  We noticed a shallow spot in the northwest corner of the common entrance to Winter Harbor and Seal Bay, with the AIS signal of another boat persistently superimposed over it.  When we got near it we saw a nicely heeled sailboat on starboard tack sitting there, going nowhere.  I suppose in another six hours he'd be lifted safely off, but we didn't stop to watch or take pictures.  Instead we zipped it into Seal Bay, and saw--you guessed it--seals!

We were able to get into the inner section of Seal Bay but there were 9 or 10 other boats there, so making sure we had depth and swing room was a little challenging.

The next morning we headed for Mt. Desert area.  We decided to swing south of Isle Au Haut, leaving Stonington and the Deer Island Thorofare for another trip, winding up on the north side of Swan's Island in Mackerel Cove.  We landed our dinghy near the ferry dock, and realized we really had nowhere to walk from there.  Not to worry, in about 15 seconds we were greeted by a local resident who offered to give us a car tour of the entire island!  So on to see Burnt Coat Harbor and then visit the general store, where I took the opportunity to score two nice sized lobsters and some fish. Bags in hand, it wasn't long before another ride took us back to the ferry dock.  Medical tech Donna Wiegle, who pretty much single handedly runs health care on the island, told us about how it all works, including how telemedicine is used and how Obamacare has impacted positively on this island.  Great to hear! 

We decided that our first stop on Mt. Desert would be to sail up Somes Sound and stay at its head, near Somesville.  Somes Sound is described as the only fjord on the east coast of the US, but Wikipedia tells us "it lacks the extreme vertical relief and anoxic sediments associated with Norwegian fjords, and is now called a fjard by officials."  Maybe so, but it is still stunning!

Not steep enough to be called a fjord???

Somesville

  We had a nice boat neighbor at the next mooring over.  Asolare can be chartered for about $100,000.00/week if you are interested!

Ketch, anyone?

Since nobody invited us to be guests on Asolare, we decided to try the excellent, free-to-ride propane propelled buses that link nearly all of Mt. Desert.  We jumped on the westbound #7 bus , and went on our own to explore Bass Harbor and Southwest Harbor.  Suffice it to say that by the end of the week we knew not just the harbors around Mt. Desert, but also every stop of all 7 of the island's bus routes. 

The next day we decided to stay another night in Somes Sound and took the #7 again, this time east, to give us a preview of Bar Harbor.  Although packed with tourists, it was still a fun town to walk through, and it gave us the opportunity to figure out where we could anchor Pratique later in the week.  The next morning we sailed back down the Somes Sound and rounded the southeast side of the island.  Spectacular!



Tourists on the rocks near Thunder Hole

I'll take that one!

Or, maybe that one?

Or . . .

"To the Bat Cave, Alfred!"



Bah Habah












We spent several nights anchored just north of the bar that gives Bar Harbor its name. Susan took advantage of the early day light and fog and came up with a few great morning photos:

 





The bar runs from the main island (Mt. Desert) to Bar Island, and the first morning we woke to some eerie fog. The scene was even more eerie when all the little bodies crossing the bar emerged.  They have a limited time to get across and back, because at high tide the bar is completely covered!  In the last picture you can see another visitor has joined us again!

 



The Maasdam is following us!

Later that week we hiked Cadillac Mt. from the north.  We peeked over the ridge and saw Pratique all alone at anchor:







 

We brought snacks, but the blueberry bushes were plenty to keep us going!



 

Without any more dialogue, here are a few shots from the hike:

The Summit



Descending the South Ridge Trail



Down the Canon Brook Trail




Steep and Wet