| Muscongus Bay Medomak and Friendship, Maine | |||||
| DATE | July 6-8, 2004 | TIME | 1400 to 0745 | TRIP LENGTH | 25 nmiles |
| WEATHER | 7/6/04: Mostly sunny; light and variable winds;
high temp 75F, overnight low 55F. 7/7/04: Sunny; light and variable winds becoming S at 12 knots; high temp 75F, overnight low 55F. 7/8/04: Fog with visibility less than 1/4 mile burning off to visibility 1 mile; winds calm. |
TIDES | 7/6/04 14:59 H 21:04 L 7/7/04 09:41 L 15:54 H 7/8/04 10:35 L |
||
| LAUNCH SITE | Broad Cove Marine Services, Medomak. ME32 to Medomak Road, follow to the end. Parking fee $7/day; overnight parking gladly provided. |
LANDING SITES | -Havener Ledge tiny state-owned MITA island, beautiful granite outcropping. -Thief Island state-owned MITA island, 5-tent campsite on north end. -Friendship Town Landing beach on the waterfront; an acceptable lunch stop. -Strawberry Island small state-owned MITA island with a large tent platform. |
||
| ROUTE | Head north from Broad Cove Marine Services (opposite Oar Island) to Havener Ledge, then return and continue south, passing west of Hog Island and crossing over to Thief for the night. On day two, cut east around Friendship Long Island to Friendship Harbor for lunch, then head north along the east side of Hungry Island and around the north tip of Bremen Long Island down to Strawberry (opposite Oar Island). On day three, return straight to the launch site. | ||||
| A KAYAKER'S JOURNAL |
Muscongus Bay has a singular commercial purpose: lobster fishing. Not only is the water wall-to-wall full of lobster buoys, but every spare dock, landing, and pier, not to mention the shores of several islands, is piled high with traps waiting to be set. This was my first trip to Muscongus Bay, and the singularity of the economy was unbelievable. Fortunately, because the area is away from the bustle of Portland and has no deep-draft channel, the bay is quite undisturbed and undeveloped, full of beautiful islands of pine trees, and rich with animal life. I set out on my first ever two-night solo camping trip and came back with a newfound love for Muscongus Bay. The upper bay, from Bremen Long Island northward, is dominated by tidal currents flowing swiftly through narrow channels. I launched in the channel to the west of Bremen Long Island, from the ramp at Broad Cove Marine, and rode the flood current northward to Havener Ledge, a small MITA island at the Narrows. In the hour it took to reach the island I saw several osprey, including some nests, and was otherwise quite alone on the water. A few lobstermen fished here and there, but the July 4 crowds were long gone on this Tuesday afternoon. I reached Havener at high tide and hiked up to the highest point, where I sat atop the huge granite outcrop and observed the Medomak River to the north and Muscongus Bay to the south. In the oak on the east side of the island there was a huge osprey nest, but the birds were not defending it and it seemed that no offspring were present. Because osprey are able to produce several broods in a year, hopefully the birds will be able to try again later in the season. Turning back toward the south with the now-ebbing current, I stayed along the western shore of Bremen Long Island, then cutting across to the mainland side of Oar Island. This protected area is Bremen Harbor, the unofficial headquarters of the western Muscongus lobster fleet. Lobster traps were piled all along the shore of the island, on the floating docks moored in the harbor, and on the backs of boats heading out to set traps. Along shore, two giant areas of ocean are enclosed by what appears to be a picket fence covered with chicken wire -- each must be between a quarter to a half a football field in area. Querying a lobsterman as to their purpose, it turned out that I had guessed correctly -- these enclosures are used to store lobsters caught in the summer for sale in the winter. Here is the kicker: each of the two pounds holds about 60,000 lobsters! At this point I was really wishing I had brought a shell-cracker so I could buy a dinner lobster off a boat, but alas, it was not to be. I continued down the coast, now hugging the western shore of Hog Island, owned by the Maine Audubon Society. Hog is completely undeveloped and harbors a forest of gorgeous evergreen trees. Reaching the southern tip, I crossed to the east and followed Louds Island to Killick Stone Island, then crossed the current to Thief Island. An outfitter's group was already camped on Thief, but they graciously welcomed me to the island and offered me a prime campsite. I set up my tent, ate my dinner privately, and then sat around the campfire with the group, sharing stories and information about the Maine coast. The sunset was spectacular, with deep pinks and yellows reflecting off the water to the west, and eventually the stars came into view as they have for thousands of ocean voyageurs over the millennia. In the distance, loons called to one another and seals barked across the open water. With that, it was time to retire for the night. The next morning, I awoke, ate a liesurely breakfast, and packed the boat for the day's journey. I first headed east past Jones Rock, where 20 or more seals were hauled out on an exposed shore. Unfortunately, as I passed about 100 yards from their position, they flushed into the water, a reminder that seals are extremely frightened of kayaks and paddlers should give them as much distance as possible. Next I stopped on a private island on the Maine Island Trail, where a group from the University of Southern Maine was conducting a survey of geological features on this island and comparing it to features found on nearby islands. I passed through some small channels between islands and finally reached the eastern shore of Friendship Long Island. Here, two rafts of eiders scurried away from my boat, one with two females and 18 offspring and the other with about 5 females and more than 50 offspring! I reached the town of Friendship, landed on the beach next to the town landing, and hiked up the street to see if I could find a seafood restaurant. I quickly learned that Friendship is not a tourist town -- it is a working harbor that caters to lobstermen and lobstermen only. Kayakers are not welcome, as is clear from the price list on the one launch ramp I saw: $5 for powerboats under 21 feet, but $15 for kayaks. There are no seafood restaurants on the Friendship waterfront, so I was relegated to eating lunch on the floats of the landing. I quickly moved on, turning east and then north toward the east side of Hungry Island. Hungry is a gorgeous, wilderness island owned by the Island Institute and preserved for posterity in its current state. The coves and small harbors of the island are a delight to explore. I reached the north tip of Hungry at high-water slack, then returned to the west side of Bremen Long Island to make my way south to Strawberry, a small state-owned island on the Trail where I planned to spend the night. Strawberry, surrounded by rocks and some sandy beaches, has a central tent platform (restored by MITA) that is surrounded by a lovely aspen grove. I set up my tent and enjoyed a hot meal of chili mixed with beef-flavored noodles, then sat on the southern tip of the island as the sun set, watching the osprey on a nearby island fishing for their young. I find it amazing that the osprey, when carrying a fish, always orients its prey head-first between its talons. Again, loons and seals were all around, and made for a quite relaxing end to the day. I needed to rise early the next morning, so I turned in around 9 and quickly fell asleep. The evening forecast had called for fog in the morning, but this was REAL fog. The boat launch, only a mile away to the northwest (345 degrees to be exact; I had checked the compass bearing the night before in preparation for a foggy crossing), was completely obscured. Even Bremen Long Island, located less than 1/4 mile to the east, was nowhere to be found. I knew I could make it back without a problem, but I still hoped the fog would burn off a bit before I set out. After a quick breakfast of oatmeal and a hasty breaking of camp, I loaded the boat and shoved off. By this time, I could see the launch without a problem, and all I had to do was judge my drift in the ebb current and I'd be back to shore in 15 minutes. Everything worked out as planned, and I made it back to Boston in plenty of time for work. What a wonderful way to spend two days of vacation! Daniel Smith July 14, 2004 |
||||
You are visitor number
© 2004 Daniel E. Smith. Last updated 7/14/04