A sign on Matinius Island urges passersby to enjoy a sit on a rustic bench – just don’t light up there. Photo by Albert Presgraves
August 2023
By Albert Presgraves
When I found a few days to go on a singlehanded cruise at the end of last summer, I was not sure that I would be able to make it to Matinicus. Depending on the wind and weather, it would be possible to get there and back from Freeport Harbor in the time allotted, but it would require a lot of traveling time.
Maybe, I thought, I would just save the 20 miles each way by stopping at Monhegan Island, with its many trails and artistic reputation. But I was in cruising mode, so I would decide later.
I did a quick provisioning on Sunday morning, Aug. 28, and delivered and stowed everything, in one dinghy trip, on our Banjer 37 motorsailer, Magus, while she lay at her Freeport mooring. Shortly after noon, I left Casco Bay’s Harraseeket River with a southerly wind, reaching east to Seguin Island, a distance of about 20 miles. I was able to sail without the engine for half the trip. I took a mooring, walked up to the lighthouse, then tried to read before falling asleep in the rolly harbor.
The next day, I left early in a light southerly wind, continuing the reach to the east. With the light conditions, I motor-sailed most of the day, except for a short time at lunch to enjoy the quiet without the engine while sailing at about three knots. It was during this interlude that a ferry crossed my path. Later, I received a text and photo of Magus, sailing by Monhegan, from a friend, Scott Gleeson, the captain of the vessel. This was unexpected, and an example of the surprisingly small community that is Maine.
The weather was forecast to remain settled for another couple of days. So I continued on to Matinicus, arriving in the harbor at about 4 p.m. and picking up a mooring. The harbor bottom here is essentially bare rock, with no holding for anchoring, and it is reportedly fouled with old cars and boats. The moorings for visiting boats are attached to cables that cross the harbor, with soda bottles attached for leaving the mooring fee payment. The day’s distance covered was about 40 miles, average speed about five knots – a full day for cruising mode.
I took the dinghy into the beach, near the state ferry dock, before dinner, and walked south to a house where a woman runs a bakery during the summer. The bakery displayed their goods under a shade tent in the yard, which also had a freezer with popsicles: self-serve and pay by the honor system. I should have picked up more of the offerings, but only bought a chocolate popsicle for the walk back to the harbor. I imagined I would buy some fresh items the next morning, but discovered that it did not open until 10 a.m., which was too late for my evolving schedule.
I learned from the postmaster that the population of Matinicus is 60 people in the summer and 30 in the winter. She was a temporary in the position, and a search was ongoing for a full-time person starting in the fall. I passed a nice-looking school on the way to the post office, but the postmaster said that the school was not opening for the upcoming school year because of the lack of students. I bought a book of stamps to do my small part to help keep the post office open. She said they sell a lot of stamps by mail.
I learned later that Matinicus has been slowly losing its year-round population for years. In 1991, the winter population was reported to be about 50, with 150 in the summer. The island has a rich history, with visits by both indigenous people and Europeans for fishing and hunting before 1700. And at least one pirate episode was chronicled there in 1717, before the island was permanently settled in 1763. It has remained as a strong fishing community; from 1840 to 1880, the year-round population was over 200. Many islanders today reportedly can trace their ancestry to the earliest settlers.
The island does not have much in the way of public services; all the roads are gravel, of course. There is a private “airport,” with a runway and heliport, both covered with gravel or grass. This airport must be helpful for some people and for emergency medical transport, since the public ferry only makes one trip per week. It stops long enough to unload, board the return passengers and freight, then head back to the mainland for the 2-1/4-hour trip. Ferry schedule times vary, since the times need to avoid low tide at the dock. The transfer bridge structure was small and looked old, compared with similar structures on other Maine islands.
It was also notable that there were almost no floats at the many piers. The tide range is about 10 feet, the same as in most of Maine, where floats with ramps are common, even for many private waterfront properties. The general practice on Matinicus was to bring dinghies and skiffs to a dock next to a ladder, and climb up or down with the painter for tying up to, or casting off from, the pier.
It may well be that the surge and swells in the winter would cause damage to a float, and access is needed year-round. But, for whatever reason, I saw in the entire harbor only one private float and ramp, and I imagine it comes out for the winter. There were plenty of fishing/lobster boats on moorings, some with floats, but very few boats were tied to piers.
Solid-waste-management practices on Matinicus have no doubt improved over the years, but it is still not easy to get the deed done. The town government is promoting a recycling system, with a drop-off area open for a few hours, three days a week, staffed by volunteers. No garbage/food waste is allowed, reminding people they can just feed that type of waste to the seagulls.
The recycling area has a big pile of old lobster warp, which will be recycled. I also noticed many burn barrels in yards on my walk. Using these is discouraged, but apparently not illegal. I don’t know what happens with demolition debris, but I bet that not much of it leaves the island. Old cars and trucks have been a problem, but now any vehicles coming to the island are charged a disposal deposit by the town, so there is an incentive to remove them at the end of their useful life.
Next to the recycling area, on South Road, I walked by the library with a couple of small buildings. It is open 24 hours a day, honor system, and free WiFi is within a short distance from the buildings. There is no store or restaurant on the island, but I saw some signs for a gift shop that seemed to be someone’s porch.
With those initial experiences, I enjoyed my remaining explorations of the island. The few cars that passed were not going too fast, and the drivers waved. Everything was very dry, since this part of Maine was in a serious drought, but several home gardens persisted. Lots of apple trees, full of fruit, were in evidence. I didn’t see many people, and those I did spot seemed to be visitors like myself. Matinicus is definitely an unusual and remote location.
I was disappointed that I could spend only one night, but I needed a little slack in my schedule to be sure I could comfortably get back to Freeport in the next two or three days. The wind was forecast to come around to the northwest, essentially on the nose. I left early for Round Pond, in Muscongus Sound, so that I would be nearer to the coast going west.
Once I was out in the open ocean, in a good swell with some chop, while trying to sail to windward, the roller-furling jib came unattached at the head of the sail and slowly dropped onto the deck and dragged in the water. More of it would have gone overboard except that I noticed it promptly and got to work. It took a while to get it all safely on the deck and secured. I imagined that my knot at the halyard had released, but it was actually the thimble fitting on the wire halyard of the furler that had failed and opened, releasing the sail.
I hanked a smaller jib onto the inner forestay for the rest of the day. But, with the course being so close on the wind, had to motor-sail most of the time. Since I was motoring, I followed a course through the rocks of Muscongus Bay. I would not have done this in a strong breeze in the days before GPS and chartplotters, but, with this equipment, it was easy and scenic. Throughout this trip I also made generous use of the autopilot, a great invention. The day’s distance was about 30 miles.
I arrived in Round Pond and picked up a mooring owned by Padebco Marine at about 4 p.m., after they’d closed. The fee was the highest of this trip at $40. Still not that bad but no facilities, like a shower, were included. I had a lobster and clams at the Round Pond Lobster Co-op dock for a good price. They had a limited menu, with no salads or even coleslaw, so back aboard I made my own with vegetables in my provisions from our garden. It rained overnight and the next morning, but it stopped before noon. I tried to get the furler halyard fixed in Round Pond with no luck.
I had planned to spend another night there, but realized the distance to Freeport was going to make for a long trip the following day. Since the weather had turned nice, I left for a scenic motor-sail around Pemaquid Point, past Boothbay Harbor and Southport Island, around the ledges to the east side of the Sheepscot River, and into Cape Harbor, on Cape Newagen.
By 3:30, I was on a mooring at Newagen Seaside Inn; the day’s distance made was about 16 miles. Newagen is a great place, and I really enjoyed their heated pool. I was not planning to bother my friend who lives next to the resort; I had not given him any notice, and needed to leave early the next morning, but he saw me in the harbor and called me on my phone. Jay and his wife Cindy invited me over for drinks and appetizers while we watched the sunset from their deck. The last time I was here in 2020, Covid was in full swing, and we were not able to have nearly as nice a social visit.
The next day, Thursday, was forecast to have fairly strong winds from the west, so I got an early start, knowing it would be a bumpy ride. I took a chance of taking the shortest route, even though I would cross the mouth of the Kennebec River, north of Seguin Island. It was close to high tide, but there was still a current running out of the river. Combined with the west wind that had picked up to 15 knots, the seas were confused, and a nasty chop knocked Magus around quite a bit. Everything on the chart table ended up on the floor, and the deck was being drenched in spray. That shorter route may have been a bad decision.
After a half-hour of particularly bad conditions, I continued to bash into the wind and waves for another several hours, even though we were somewhat protected by the lee of the coast. It was still bumpy in Casco Bay, until I approached Eagle Island and Broad Sound, where the conditions smoothed out considerably. I made a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato for lunch.
I was back on our mooring in Freeport at about 3 p.m., happy to be home and thankful that the day’s sail had not been as long as it would have been if I had stayed in Round Pond the day before. The next week, the weather changed, and it began to feel like fall. I was glad I took the cruise to Matinicus before the end of our short Maine summer.
Albert and his wife, Jenny, continue to have fun living and gardening in Newport, Maine, on Bliss Woods Farm, where Jenny trains dogs at her Whole Dog Camp. See more about their adventures and plans at alpeaks.blogspot.com.
