No big cruising plans this summer since Peter and Panacea had a romp to Bermuda in June, using up the last week of May through the second week of July. Peter participated in his 7th Bermuda One-Two Race, coming in first in class on the singlehanded leg. With encouragement such as this, he will probably continue for the next ten years.....at least.
A few overnights were spent here and there throughout July and August until we finally got away for a ten-day escape, making stopovers at Pickering Island, off Little Deer Isle, and down the Eggemoggin Reach to Mackerel Cove on Swans Island. Upon learning from fellow cruisers of a delightful stay in Bunkers Cove on the eastern side of the Schoodic Peninsula, we try the anchorage with the same positive results.
We find the mooring above the fleet of local lobster boats that is maintained by the owner of "Bunker's Wharf", the restaurant on the southwestern side of the cove. It is but a short walk south to the state-owned scenic Acadia Park once out on the road. After a short hike, we returned to the restaurant for an elegant meal. It was a toss up as to which was most pleasant.....the restaurant or the mooring. The setting was about as old-Maine harbor as it comes and we departed the next morning with a promise to return.
My sketch book from this point reflects busy images of Northeast Harbor and tranquil settings of the Merchant Row Islands found rimming the southern shores of Deer Island. Repeated images of familiar lighthouses and tree-studded islets appear frequently, some being exact angles of previous sketches, while others vary a bit.
Our last two evenings were spent in Pulpit Harbor, where we enjoyed a hike into the closed-up village of North Haven. Although the ferry continues its runs, the summer people are gone and businesses closed. Island life settles back to seasonal norms.
Thirty pages of new images are added to my journal and will provide fodder for cold winter days to come. I may have to invest in a new journal next year...the captain continues to mumble Newfoundland in his dreams.......