Long Cove

This time of the year, we start having more time for paddling, which means that we compulsively monitor the weather and the tides, watching for windows of opportunity that don't always come. There's a few places I've wanted to get to before they get iced-in for the winter. The other morning, when air temps suddenly soared into the fifties but a stiff breeze blew from the southwest, it looked like a good day to paddle in Long Cove.

Located roughly in the middle of Deer Isle, the cove is the end of a long, twisting inlet reaching up from the southeast. The Indians followed it to "The Haulover," where they carried to where Deer Isle village is now. (That's a route I'd like to try some day, although it is on private property). The cove feels a bit more like a big pond with tides. It's only about a mile and a half long, but if you stick to the shoreline at high tide, you can wring about five or six miles of good paddling out of it. Rebecca and I launched a little after high tide from Mariner's Park on the north side and began following the shoreline.

The road to Mariner's Park is closed to vehicles for much of the winter and spring- yet another limitation, although you could probably also launch from the carryover into Greenlaw Cove on the east end. Rebecca considered a swim- after all, the water is still just a few degrees colder than it was in warmer months, when she swam regularly. Whatever the temperature, it felt icy- the sort of plunge that will take your breath away.

Except for Mariner's Park, the shores of the cove are privately-owned and mostly forested with an occasional house tucked into the woods. Pastoral, gravelly shoreline on the north side angles gradually into areas that flat-out almost completely at low tide. The south side is lined with stretches of boulders, and the mudflats reach toward a couple of small islands.

We were just happy to be on the water. Every now and then, a gust of wind blew in the treetops- just a hint of the winds elsewhere. Every day we can spend paddling our kayaks on the ocean feels like a privilege, but there's also satisfaction in having a mental catalog of all the places to paddle on days that might feel a bit nasty elsewhere. When we returned to Stonington, the harbor was fogged-in - and windy.



As it is every autumn, I'm not sure how committed I am to paddling as it gets colder; I just take it a day at a time. Odds are, over the next few months we'll investigate some of the more sheltered areas, as I have previous winters. But every time we get out there, I always have a sense that I need to make the most of it and enjoy it, because you never know- the weather could turn rough and cold for months at a time. We just try to have our gear ready and recognize those good days when they come along.

Around Mountainville and Stinson Neck

Circumnavigations get my attention, just as, oddly- routes that involve portages. I've tried this one a couple of times before and failed- always thwarted by something: ice, tidal currents, mudlfats, cold, motivation... There's no perfect way to do it without encountering one of these obstacles.  Stinson Neck is an island connected to Mountainville by a causeway, while Mountainville is almost another island, connected to the east side of Deer Isle by a narrow strip of land called The Carryover. The Indians were big on carrying their canoes where possible and, as much as I prefer paddling my kayak rather than carrying it, staring at these old routes inspires me to want to follow in the Indians’ footsteps. At least for a few steps. Then I really want to be paddling my kayak again.

Aside from ice, which is gone now, there are two potential obstacles to plan for on this route. First, you need to cross the Carryover at high enough tide, since the head of Greenlaw Cove flats-out for a half-mile. Second, avoid paddling against the current, especially in Brays Narrows, where Long Cove drains-out to Southeast Harbor. Beyond that, unless you plan on spending the day waiting somewhere for favorable currents (and there are some nice spots to do that) you’ll paddle against it some, and need to carry through mud somewhere. I compromised by leaving Grays Cove at high tide, crossing the Carryover about an hour later, and riding out through Brays Narrows with a little current behind me. On my way there, I saw some gulls and dogs.

It had been windy from the north/northwest, and I chose this route partially to avoid the wind. The first stretch was pretty bumpy and wet, but once I carried over into Long Cove I paddled on fairly sheltered water. I cleaned the salt spray from my sunglasses and continued.

Island Heritage Trust is responsible for several public access areas along the way. Aside from Gray's Cove, there's also Campbell Island and Shore Acres Preserve, both in Greenlaw Cove. Polypod Island, where Southeast Harbor, Brays Narrows and Inner Harbor all come together is a good spot for a break. This time though, I hugged the shore, checking-out the coves on the Mountainville side, including the southernmost cove, which is enclosed in IHT's Tennis Preserve, occupying most of the point jutting out into Southeast Harbor. I paddled a little further and took a break at a small beach tucked out of the wind in a tiny, south-facing cove. The sand here is a brown- almost orange hue, like the granite bluffs nearby.

It really felt like a beach day, but I had to keep moving. Not only did I have an end of day commitment, but the longer I took, the more mud I would slog through back at Grays Cove. I went across to the southern end of Stinson Neck, passing the Haystack School and the Lazygut Islands, and took a detour up into Conary Cove. The current was against me, especially where the channel narrowed beyond the lobster pound. It took several tries, but I finally pushed myself upstream.

I couldn't go far- the upper reaches of the cove were quickly draining, and I rode the current back out before I could be trapped. 

The current was generally against me along the east side, but I stayed close to shore and avoided most of it. As I paddled I started thinking that this route might work well by launching in Stonington or Old Quarry. That way you could hit the Carryover at high tide and never need to paddle against the current. These mental breakthroughs tend to hit me when I've been paddling against the current and wind for awhile... and again while I'm slogging through the mud back at the launch. Only a five-minute mudwalk with my boat on my shoulder, but enough to build character, I'm sure.

Heading "In"

Yesterday wasn't a promising day for a paddle: fog, rain, potential for thunderstorms and more fog. But I had the day off, and finally decided I'd head somewhere. So at high tide, I followed Hatch Cove into the calm, protected waters of the Inner Harbor. I've attempted this circumnavigation of Oceanville a couple of times before, but have been thwarted by lack of time, lack of water, and ice.


This time I had all day. Sure, I'd go around Oceanville, but why not also head up into Holt Mill Pond? The pond separates Stonington from Deer Isle, and getting into it requires a high enough tide as you paddle beneath the Route 15 bridge. I've often driven over the bridge and wondered what it would be like to check it out. I passed a few houses discretely built up in the woods, but farther in, the shoreline was purchased by the town and is managed by Island Heritage Trust. I followed it to the end, where several creeks meander across salt marshes to the edge of the forest. Following them requires some tight turns, and some backwards paddling to get out. A couple of deer watched me try to find my way.



I exited the pond and headed past Warren Point, into Southeast Harbor. I didn't have any big plans, but curiosity got the better of me, pulling me onward toward all these areas I'd never paddled. I aimed north, toward an area called "Deep Hole", a popular "hurricane hole" for sailboats. I paddled against a mild current through the thorofare, checking-out all the houses, many of them large and fairly close together. Despite feeling a bit hemmed-in by civilization, I didn't see one person here- not at any of the houses or the boats kept moored in the channel. I found myself thinking "this will be different in the summer," only to remember that it is more or less summer.


Same with Deep Hole and Long Cove, although I did see some cars on the road. I'd always admired this area from the road; about time I saw it from the watery perspective. I ate my sandwich on a small island, and rode the increasing current back out, along the shoreline of the Tennis Preserve (another IHT-managed preserve which I'd previously seen from the trail).


I was getting a bit tired by then, and headed home, focusing on a good, clean stroke to make those last miles go past. They added-up- 17 miles, by my calculations. Not bad for a lot of puttering around on the "inside".