July 24 -- 26 -- Carrying Place Cove to (and in) Blue Hill Harbor

This morning was sunshiny so we were able to get a picture of Perry Long’s Lobster Shack, in Carrying Place Cove from our mooring. Thanks again Perry!

And here is the view from there of the western coast of Union River Bay, lined with homes, one of which is Barbara’s. The houses are not at the top of the tree line, but at the water's edge.

We were underway for about 3.5 hours to cover the six miles from here to the Kollegewidgwok Yacht Club, just inside the twisting entrance to Blue Hill Harbor. The Harbor is located in the northwest corner of Blue Hill Bay.  The course was again “U” shaped. Any guess as to why the six miles took 3.5 hours?  Well the first half, heading south in Union River Bay was a beat against an incoming tide. When we beat, we can sail at 45 degrees from the wind, meaning that each tack puts us on a course that is 90 degrees from the last. But with the boat sliding back a bit in normal conditions and with the incoming tide pushing us back a lot more, the pleats of the accordion, as shown by our track on the chart plotter, were much more acute than 90 degree angles. In the picture below, the thin horizontal blue line that runs all the way to the left is Union River Bay, two miles wide at the wide spot in the left half of the picture and we beat to the end of Newbery Neck, the point of land pointing right at the right side, before turning right, coming off the wind and heading toward the right side into Blue Hill Bay. This photo is from the top of Blue Hill and in its left side is Cadillac Mountain. They call the tops of these mountains "summits" rather than "peaks", because they have rather flat tops.

Any guess as to how to pronounce this Club’s name? On the radio they just say “Yacht Club”; it’s easier that way.  Actually, it’s: college, like the post secondary school, widg as in widget and wok like the Asian frying pan, with none of the four syllables accented more than the others. Some say this is Native American for “Where the mountain meets the water”. We were here in 2008. 

The club charges $30 for a mooring and has no restaurant, showers or TV. It does have internet, provides launch service until 6 pm, and accepts cash or checks only. They have a very active youth sailing instruction program and sell gas and diesel. I want to fill up on diesel just before we leave for Eastport. The people here are very friendly.  Each Thursday Night they have a pot luck dinner for up to 100 people from their 250 members, some of whom do not have boats. They have no winter storage facilities. They have five launch operator/dock staff and an equal number of sailing instructors for the youth program. A busy place for the duration of their brief six week season. Today we dried our stuff and cleaned and rested. Home cooked food tonight by Chef Roger.

To get to town it is a 1.5 mile walk, a hitch hike or a dinghy ride -- no taxis here. The problem with the dinghy ride is that one must arrive and leave the town dock within three hours either side of high tide because at low tide the dink sits at the dock but on the mud; so if you miss your return, you have to wait another six hours.

On the day after our arrival we went ashore on the incoming high, shortly after 10:30 am with the knowledge that we had to get back before 4:30, to be sure of sufficient water. On other days when the tides have different times, one can stay ashore as long as 18 hours by coming in on one high and leaving on the next, but this day the daytime high was at 1:30 pm.

We had thought to hook up with Donna and Bill, of  Moonraker, who we met at Valley Cove for grocery shopping; they have the use of a friend’s car here. But we found a market right near the dinghy dock which had all we needed and which agreed to hold our purchases for us. We called Donna and thanked them for their offer, which was not needed. Then we hiked to the top of Blue Hill, 938 feet above where we started – sea level. This hill is almost three times as high as Flying Mountain, but only 60 percent as high as Cadillac. Why do we climb these hills? One could answer: “Because they are there”. But part of the answer is also because there is very little else there. We had climbed this hill in 2008 and then, less familiar with the geography of this region, I had not realized its central location. From here, it being a clear day,  we saw the Penobscot Bay region and Camden Hill to the east in the background, and the hill on Isle au Haut, to the south, but too faint to be recorded on film.

 ILENE is one of the dots in the Club's mooring field, near the entrance from the larger Blue Hill Bay:

The other end of the harbor is cradled by the town.

The hike begins in town and is about 1.5 miles uphill on roads to reach the base for the one mile climb. There are stone steps and the hike is rugged but not a rock scramble. We saw this wildlife on the way down.

Back down at the base I suggested to Lene, whose hip was getting stiff, that we hitch hike back to town. A nice young couple from Bangor gave us a ride.

We had lunch at a wonderful breakfast and lunch place in town called The Mill Stream Deli, Bakery and Barbecue.  The sign continues, "Local love -- be a part of it." They bake their own breads rolls and cookies and smoke their own meats. You place your order with Pop at the counter and Mom brings it to you. I love finding these delicious gems. There we met a musician, from Texas, via Yale, and his mom and his cousin, a marine biologist at Brown who specializes in jelly fish. He works summers at the Stonington Opera House.

While dinking back to the boat we cut the outboard engine when a school of three seals frolicked in the water in front of us. After resting up, we dinked back to the Club with our dinner and got a ride back to town with the launch operator, “Wish”, who was coming off duty.  After dining on a park bench shown below, we enjoyed theater. The New Surrey Theater Group presented “The Music Man” in the hall above the Town Hall.

The cast was large and enthusiastic, with six musicians as the band. One of the four barbershop quartet had become ill, so they were a barbershop trio. The audience had many family members of the cast and crew. This small town had fun putting on this musical. It sort of reminded me of High School musicals when my daughters were that age. There were a few good voices but the people of Blue Hill, Maine, like those of River City, Iowa of 101 years ago, are not professional actors, just sincere citizens. Thus their amateurishness added to the authenticity of the experience. The grandparents of two of the participants, Bud and Arlene, who live in Florida in the winters, gave us a ride back to the YC.

Our last day here it rained all day, as predicted. Not having to get anywhere, we just hung out, except for a trip to the Clubhouse to use their wifi to post this blog. Breakfast, however, was a treat. Bill and Donna

came over from Moonraker and gave me another opportunity to make (and eat) blueberry pancakes.

A quiet day, reading  and home cooked dinner.