Weather delay
Unfortunately, the pending arrival of the low-pressure system pictured above caused us to have to cut our visit with John and Kate short. The forecast was very uncertain, so we high-tailed it back up Somes Sound to ride out the weather.
We did get 24 hours straight of rain, but the winds were light. Honestly, the biggest problem was avoiding the violation of Rule #1: Keep Debbie Warm!!
We ran our boat heater for most of one day!
On our second “off day”, we hopped on the free tourist bus that runs around Mt. Desert Island and rode into Bar Harbor for lunch and some shopping. I’m not a fan of Bar Harbor. Way too many people!!
Lobsters
We did buy some lobsters before departing Swan’s Island and Debbie did a great job of figuring out how to steam them with the equipment onboard!!
Brooklin Harbor
There is not a lot at Brooklin Harbor other than the world-famous Brooklin Boatbuilders, and a harbor full of beautiful classic (mostly wooden) boats. Everywhere you look around there are stunning boats that speak to a time of traditional yachts.
Everywhere that is except for one particular boat covered in plastic wrap with a leopard pattern?? What the heck??
Stonington Harbor
According to Wikipedia, “A picturesque working waterfront and tranquil tourist destination in eastern Penobscot Bay, Stonington has consistently ranked among the top lobster ports in the county and is the largest lobster port in Maine. In 2011, 14,854,989 pounds of lobster were landed by Stonington fishermen with a value of $46.3 million.[3]“
Stonington is first and foremost a WORKING lobster port, and rumor has it that the lobstermen are not particularly fond of private boats that visit. Supposedly, they take great pleasure in early morning high-speed passes that do not match well with visitors plans to sleep in!
We were very lucky that our visit naturally fell on a Saturday. Lobstering is not allowed on Sundays in Maine, so all of the boats stay at anchor while the crews enjoy a day off, and I enjoyed a nice lazy morning!!
Very happy we visited.
Stonington is a small, non-touristy town with everything you need and not a lot else.
We did find a very nice restaurant for dinner and can highly recommend “The Fin and the Fern“. It seems to be THE restaurant in town, and without reservations, it looked like we would be out of luck. That is until Debbie spotted a broken table (missing 1/3 of its top) and said “How about that one?”
Morpheus Sailing 