Three Kids and a Boat: Matinicus, ME

Matinicus (Mah-TIN-i-kus) Island, Maine is the outermost inhabited island on the Maine coast. We made a scheduled stop here after a 24 hour sail from Boston (130 miles). Our original plan was to go straight from Boston to Mt. Desert Island (170+miles). However, we were having so much fun in Boston from morning 'til night, we weren't ready to leave early Sunday morning. And we wanted to get going on Sunday because we knew the winds would be favorable as a cold front was heading our way. So, we got the boat ship shape, lashed down the sailing dinghy on the bow, cooked up some food that was ready to eat, pumped out and filled up our water tanks. We threw the dock lines off around noon and headed north. We sailed right out of Boston Harbor!

We knew the kids were getting used to things, when they settled into playing games down below after helping get the sails up. This passage thing was no big deal, been there, done that! The wind was perfect off our beam and we were sailing at 7 knots right from the get go. As the evening sky turned dark, and we rotated watch at 9pm, the winds picked up and so did the seas. At 18 knots, we put in our first reef. By midnight we had a second reef (22 knots) and the seas were 4 - 5 feet. The stars were out by the millions and there was not another soul on the horizon except 2 passing ships in the distance (one at a time of course). One ship was so far off on the horizon that I thought it was a star until I realized it was moving.

The water went from a cool 72 degrees in Rhode Island to a freezing 65 degrees by the time we got to Maine. The air temperature was quite cold as well. We wore hats and jackets.

Looking happy as we leave Boston

Sunset at sea

Our watch schedule consisted of switching every 3 hours. This worked well when Dan was on board, but proved to be more challenging just the 2 of us. We may have to try another schedule until we get one that works better. As the night wore on and the seas got worse, the fog rolled in and the wind began to die. Eventually, we lowered the sails and started the motors. As daylight approached, and the sun rose higher in the sky, the fog started to break up. Craig was convinced that our mast was sticking out above the fog. Craig and I were soooo tired. The girls did a great job of taking care of themselves and making coffee and breakfast for Craig (as I was sleeping down below).

Matinicus Island lighthouse emerging from the fog

Once we found the very small harbor and attempted to hail the harbormaster 2 or 3 times with no luck. We just sat there and waited patiently. Finally someone got on and said "so and so, you have a sailboat trying to call you". That would be us. He directed us to the mooring buoy's. They were not the big round balls that we were accustom to seeing. They were in fact, lobster buoy's. HA!

Matinicus Island has roughly 100 people that live there year round with a larger population in the summer. It is a bustling fishing town and they mean business. We were the only 'visiting' boat in the harbor. Everyone was very friendly and helpful. A gal rowing in pointed us to the town dock where we could tie up our dinghy.

This is the town dock with a ladder that goes straight up!

Lobster pots stacked on the dock

Looking at the harbor and town dock. Immediately we were all reminded of Colorado. The landscape, the sun low in the sky, the types of trees and rocks etc. made this island special.