June

Zone Forecast: Intra Coastal Waters from Schoodic Point ME to Stonington ME. This Afternoon...W winds 5 to 10 kt. Seas 1 to 2 ft. Scattered showers with isolated tstms.

From my desk in the gallery, I can watch the clouds scooting across the sky and glimpse a sliver of deep blue sea. This slice of ocean view just happens to contain Little George Head Island... that little hump of rock and spruce barred to George Head proper- the island silhouetted by the sunset if you’re camping on Steves Island. In the gallery bathroom, the charts of Penobscot Bay provide me with an occasional flight of fantasy, imagining trips that I can’t do any time soon. Still, I stare at the chart. I focus on a spot and remember what it’s like, imagine it right this very minute. You can’t be two places at once, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try.

As the evenings grew longer, I squeezed in a few after-work paddles. One evening I headed west, arcing along the edge of Penobscot Bay: Scraggy and Sparrow Islands over to Ram and Hardwood. Another I headed east, out around Spruce and Millet, but often enough I just point straight-out with hardly a thought to destinations. Inevitably I end-up passing among favorite haunts- Steves, McGlathery, maybe swing past Hells Half Acre to check-out the schooners anchored there. 

One rare afternoon, Rebecca and I took a leisurely paddle and hung-out on the beach at Enchanted. That probably won’t happen again for awhile. We’re getting busy, the calendar getting filled. When I’m not here in the gallery, odds are I’m teaching or guiding, which has been good. But I also have a strong urge to be selfish with my time on the water- actually, my time in general. I really don’t want to make evening plans- what if it’s a perfect paddling evening, and I’m stuck volunteering or chit-chatting with someone. The days are already getting shorter. Once they’re gone, you don’t get them back.

Which is why, in idle moments at work, I impulsively check my sea kayaking blog, as if maybe there’s another version of myself out there. Or I can check-in with some of the other sea kayaking blogs. Car-topped kayaks pass by on Main Street, and occasionally I chat with a visiting sea kayaker. There’s no news. It’s all been done before, but I think we like to savor the experience any way we can.