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Jul 20, 2022: Malaga Island

Four of us met at Bethel Point Landing in Cundy’s Harbor to begin a trip to historic Malaga Island.  Conditions at Bethel Point have improved since my last visit.  Parking near the ramp is now allowed without a permit and a toilet has been installed.  Additional parking is still available nearby for a small fee.  We experienced easy paddling during our traverse through Ridley Cove and past West and East Cundy Points to Malaga.  After landing on the northern end of the island, we carried our boats up onto an ancient shell midden to protect them from the rising tide.  The island owner, Maine Coastal Heritage Trust, has erected a kiosk that provides a history of the island that relates the forced removal of poverty stricken inhabitants by the State of Maine at the beginning of the 20th Century.  They have also constructed a well-designed trail system that circumnavigates the island.  We hiked the entire trail including a spur that led to a scenic location on the rocks on the southwest end where we enjoyed a leisurely lunch.  Our return paddle was equally delightful.

Participants:  Bob Rowe, Andrea Reising, Bruce Weik, and TC Ron Chase

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Jun 21, 2002: Sea Kayak to Eastern Egg Rock

Six Chowderheads met at Bradford Point in Friendship for a two-day sea kayak expedition to Eastern Egg Rock to visit the recently arrived puffins.  Paddling to a campsite on Black Island was the immediate goal.  The weather forecast for day two had deteriorated overnight with fog and strong onshore winds predicted.  The four mile paddle to Black Island with sunny skies and light winds was a delight.  Two remaining trip participants, outliers if you will, were met at the large Maine Coastal Heritage campsite on the north end of the island.  After a group discussion regarding concerns about the worsening second day weather forecast, a change of plans was made:  We would attempt to complete the nine mile roundtrip to Eastern Egg Rock during the afternoon.  Excellent conditions were encountered traversing south through the narrow channel between Harbor and Hall Islands and passing Franklin Island Light, the last island before a couple of miles of open water to Eastern Egg.  Light winds and gentle seas continued to Eastern Egg where we were greeted with scores of colorful puffins.  We also had the opportunity to exchange greetings with club member Olivia Ridley who was working on the island as a member of the Audubon staff.  After completing a circumnavigation of the rock in rolling swells, we returned to Black Island with a tailwind and an ingoing tide.  A sunny end of the day with a cool sea breeze made for a very pleasant evening camping on Black Island.  The following morning, we awoke to patchy fog and a strong onshore wind.  Three in the group decided to return to Friendship while the remaining Chowderheads outwaited the fog and paddled to a beach on Harbor Island to hike Cliff Trail.  The trek across the island led to spectacular cliffs with a panoramic view of Muscongus Bay on the west side.  Afterwards, the hiking contingent returned to the mainland assisted by a strong tailwind and a cooperative ingoing tide.  Jean Miller and Ken Gordon took some exceptional pictures of the wonderful little puffins.  Special thanks to Troad for organizing overnight parking even though she was unable to participate.

Participants:  Helen Hess, Rick Farnsworth, Adam Chase, Brent Elwell, Deb Harris, Jean Miller, Ken Gordon, and TC

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Oct 10, 2021: Porcupine Islands

Unpredictable winds and logistical issues made my first choice, a traverse from Seal Harbor to Bar Harbor, problematic.  So we opted for a circumnavigation of the Porcupine Islands.  It was good decision.  We launched at Bridge Street boat landing in Bar Harbor shortly after low tide and began our voyage on the north side of the islands with modest winds from the north.  The views were phenomenal in all directions.  An absence of cruise ships was not a disappointment.  After lunch on Burnt Porcupine, we navigated through the narrow channel between East Porcupine and The Hop before starting our return on the outer side of the island chain.  For the remainder of the excursion, we enjoyed continuous views of the mountains of Acadia National Park.  A changing wind from the southeast caused a little turbulence between Long and Sheep Porcupines; otherwise it was a calm yet exceptionally stimulating day of paddling.  I made it back to our very rustic motel room in time to watch the Red Sox win a playoff game.  In short, it was a great day.

Participants:  Ken Gordon, Eggman DeCoster and TC

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Aug 10, 2021: Damariscove Island

Damariscove Island is one of the most unique kayak destinations on the Maine coast.  Visiting the historic island requires about 10 miles of paddling with little opportunity to land and negotiating a sometimes treacherous cluster of ledges called The Motions.  So I waited for a good forecast to announce the trip.  Due to early morning fog, we started late but the forecast held with light winds and partly sunny skies throughout.  The Motions were unusually friendly and we had a remarkably successful outing.  For the rest of the story, follow this link to a Bangor Daily News article about the trip:  https://bangordailynews.com/2021/09/12/act-out/damariscove-island-is-a-remarkable-kayak-destination/

Participants:  Ellen Nelson, Mark Nelson, Dave Boyle, Brent Elwell, and TC

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Jun 24, 2021: Eastern Egg Rock

The need for a quality forecast makes planning a sea kayak trip to distant Eastern Egg Rock a challenge.  That was especially true this year as strong winds and high seas (due at least in part to Tropical Storm Bill) resulted in four postponements.  We finally got a good wind and weather forecast but 2 to 4 foot seas were predicted.  It seemed like every aspect of the trip was formidable.  Round Pond Landing was crowded and chaotic.  I estimate the seas were in the 4 to 5 foot range approaching Western Egg Rock where we initially thought we’d had a close shark encounter.  Turns out it was probably a sunfish.  It was unsafe to land on Western Egg, a first for me.  That meant remaining in our boats for an extended time.  We decided on a short visit with the puffins with a stop at western on our return.  The seas were still big leaving Western but mellowed as we neared Eastern Egg Rock.  Usually, most of the puffins are located on the west side of the rock but only a few were present this year.   Since a tour boat was circumnavigating the island, we reluctantly decided to extend our trip and do the same.  Our efforts were rewarded as scores of the delightful seabirds were swimming and feeding in large swells on the south side.  Numerous more sightings were made as we continued around the rock.  Hurrying back to Western Egg, it was still unsafe to land.  After about 5 hours in our boats, we found relief at Noyes Preserve on the southern end of Loud’s Island.  Whitecaps were building when we finally returned to Round Pond Harbor.  Despite a multitude of obstacles, we had another successful puffin endeavor.

Participants:  Ellen Nelson, Mark Nelson, Jean Miller, Randy Berube, Laurie Wunder, Tom Meredith, and TC