SCENIC SUNDAY- Vacationland, Maine

View to south from Totman Cove, Phippsburg, Maine

Last Call - Final Boat Day

Our last boating day of the season was Saturday, with our dear friends on their boat. I decided quite a few years ago that much as I love boating, it's best done on other people's boats. Most people who own boats here are either waiting for a good day to go boating or complaining because that day hasn't arrived in Maine. If the weather doesn't get them, the repairs do. Something is always broken on a boat and going to cost a 'boat-load' of money. The talk is often of what the monstrous costs were or anguishing that a particular thing is going to fail momentarily and what that will cost. Just hope you aren't on board when whatever breaks down, because it is guaranteed to be an astronomically expensive nightmare. Next to medical equipment, if the word 'marine' is attached to anything, it will break the bank. The only other thing close to those two things is photography equipment. There is also a lot of hype around getting ready to go out on a boat. There is rushing around to meet tides and anxiety about slipping and falling and need to wear correct footwear. Most of us take enough food and clothing to outfit twenty people for a single afternoon of boating in Maine. Prepare for all contingencies is our motto. Remember what was said about the Minnow, Gilligan's barque of the three hour tour! How many years did that show run? Our friends get more use out of their boat than anyone else I've ever known, though. They even take their dog, a Scottish terrier. He is a good boat dog meaning that he doesn't complain and doesn't expect much for a head. That means toilet in boat talk. Don't ask me why. He also willingly wears a life jacket with a handle, so he can be hoisted on and off the boat like a six pack of beer. We love to go boating with our pals. We are always sad when the season is over. These are some of the photographs I took on our last outing.

Double Crested Cormorants                                                                                                              

This sail boat might be good for anybody's blood pressure. Photo taken in 'The Basin' on the New Meadows River

Sequin Island Light

From Videos

From Videos

Last summer, I went to Seguin Island with friends. Afterward, I made this is video about the island and it's history. Sequin is a landmark familiar to most of us on Casco Bay. We see it off in the distance and hear the fog horn lowing in the night. But, not all of us get to 'know' her by going on the island. There is no anchorage and only five moorings maintained by the Coast Guard. Tying up is on a first come, first serve basis. To get to the island from the moorings requires a dingy or a good cold swim. I did go swimming while out there. The second I dove in I thought I had lost my mind and would surely have a heart attack. The water was so cold it sucked the breathe right out of me! Going onto an island by boat brings out the little kid in everyone. You can't help but think about pirates, ship wrecks, or being stranded. It stirs up feelings of adventure and as with any good adventure, feelings of vulnerability. What if you got stuck out there, or lost at sea along the way? Would you have what it takes to live out there?In the past, light house keepers have lived there year round. The island would have been a mean block of ice with no way off. Now, The Friends of Sequin (seguinisland.org - a non profit organization that maintains the light and keeper's facility) has 'keepers' just for the summer. The positions are already filled through 2010. In the summer, it's magic. The 360 degree vistas of the ocean are breathaking. You feel closer to heaven on top of that rock and more so up in the lighthouse tower. There's nothing quite like salt air and the Atlantic Ocean to make you feel really alive.