Thursday, February 26, 2009

Lunch on Enchanted


This was during our pool session last Saturday in Bar Harbor. Mark sure drives us hard.



Yesterday started out calm and very clear. With five hours of paddling time before sunset, I headed east to Sheep Island (above) and continued in an arc around the inner archipelago: Eastern Mark, Saddleback, McGlathery, George's Head...


Eastern Mark Island

It was so calm, I started imagining an even longer paddle, but the wind hit just as I passed Shingle Island. It slowed me down a little, and made me a bit more cautious, since I didn't know how rough it might get.


Phoebe from Enchanted Island

What a treat though, to stop on a beautiful island and eat my lunch, have a cup of tea, walk on untrodden snow that you hate to mar with your footprints. At every juncture, I was tempted to go for more... maybe head out around Merchants (maybe not) or how about Farrell and Scraggy? These islands have a way of drawing you onward.

Lunch on Enchanted Island

I had enough daylight left, but as I headed for Farrell, I went through a few bigger waves and had the inevitable reality check: I'm alone, it's winter, I'm getting tired and cold. I turned toward John Island, shortening my route. I stopped briefly: numb toes and fingers, time to switch the gloves for mitts, which I can barely get over my fingers. The bathtub at home sounded pretty nice. Good thing it was only a couple of miles away.



Thursday, February 19, 2009

Partly Cloudy


It's not hard to know when a storm is coming; for days beforehand, there's a lot of talk and speculation about how bad it will be. Yesterday though, was beautiful, so I thought I'd better get out while the getting was good. The wind was forecasted to pick up in the late afternoon, but with over three hours of paddling time, I wanted to make the most of it.


My route took me east to Spruce Island, then I planned on arching around the edge of the inner archipelago, never more than an hour from home just in case the weather abruptly changed. At first I focused on paddling quickly, but I soon became distracted by mid-tide features, nosing into pockets among boulders and ledges, letting the burdens of everyday life slip away. I had a cup of tea on a sandy ledge and headed south, enjoying a bumpier ride along the Spruce - McGlathery section. The western horizon, as it had the previous day, became dominated by the coming weather, this time a dark band of an approaching front.


I passed George's Head and crossed over to John Island. By then, the first clouds began skimming overhead. I went around Crotch Island and paddled into the Thorofare among returning lobster boats.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Partly Sunny


Sunset today, just after five p.m., seen from between Round and Wreck Islands.




Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Calm


In the middle of a crossing between islands, we stopped paddling. Water dripped from our paddles. From the distance came the constant muffled rush of waves breaking on granite shores. A bell buoy gonged in rhythm with the swell.



I'd met Brighid in Webb Cove, and we mutually asked "where to?" The water looked amazingly calm, and the air temperature was rising into the high thirties. We decided to head to an island neither of us had been to. Awhile later we stood on Shabby Island, a small treeless mound about a mile from its nearest neighbor islands.



Arriving near high tide, we pulled our boats up onto the ledge and found the perfect rocks to sit on and eat our lunch. We'd each packed enough for two, so we ate well.



We headed over toward the Lazygut Islands, but this is where the calm caught up with us. The bell buoy gonged, the water lapped. The sky and water were almost the same color. We drifted, savoring the dreaminess of it.



Eventually we started paddling again, not wanting to leave such a moment behind, but knowing we'd be getting back after dark. Still, we couldn't resist going around each of the Lazyguts in a large-scale island slalom. The light began draining toward the western horizon, and we followed it, pointing back to Stonington.