Squirrel Point Light, Kennebec River, with Phippsburg in the background. Photo by Tim plouff
Spring 2023
By Tim Plouff
The dark, cold weeks of January past found me searching VRBO online vacation rentals for a warm-month visit to another coastal Maine destination. I was looking for a camp, cottage or house that would afford access to the water as well as something to look forward to in the months ahead.
My wife Kathy and I have frequented many boat ramps, from Jonesport to Yarmouth, while exploring Maine’s islands during our short summer seasons, with fall trips adding a new dimension to these pursuits. Previous stops include New Harbor, at the base of Muscongus Bay, with a rental called “Waterlot,” on an old fishing pier in a renovated set of buildings.
This defined the whole “being on the ocean” experience as the tide rolled in and out under the modern structures. The local fishing fleet, at piers on both sides, announced daybreak each morning, an hour before sunrise, with their lumbering diesel engines. A floating dock with power and fresh water was right in the middle of the action. “Waterlot” set the bar very high for any maritime getaways.
Another year, in late September, saw us at Round Pond, just up the shore from New Harbor. We had a rental in the harbor, but our powerboat was on the trailer near the dock. Two days on the water let us explore coves and islands that a fast-paced day trip from home might not have allowed.
This past year, with traveling companions Diane and Nat Smith, our destination was Georgetown, just south of Bath and Woolwich. Nestled in Harmon Harbor, next to the Five Islands village on this sprawling coastal island, we had water all around us: ponds, rivers and the Gulf of Maine. And we had a dock.
But we also had Category 4 Hurricane Fiona spinning up the Atlantic Coast during the first days of fall. The trip down U.S. Route 1 on Thursday from Otis was in a steady downpour, the boat and trailer getting an unaccustomed three-hour power wash as we plodded along with sodden tourist traffic.
Friday dawned brighter but cooler, with building winds as the hurricane marched toward Nova Scotia, leaving us on the western edge of the storm. The forecast for Saturday included 20- to 30-mph winds but sunnier skies, so we revamped our boating plans, hoping that Sunday would give us an opportunity to launch.
Probing the area’s preserves and public parks proved prudent both days; the temperatures were perfect for hiking, few people were out and about, and this was mostly all new ground for us to discover.
On the west side of the Kennebec River, below Bath, lies the peninsula of Phippsburg. Numerous trails and preserves beckoned, and we penciled in several, including Center Pond, with its artist-created petroglyphs, as well as Cox Head, with its majestic views of Fort Popham and Seguin Island and its prominent lighthouse about three- and-a-half-miles off the shore.
Of course, no visit to Phippsburg is complete without walking the beaches at Popham Beach State Park, and we also hiked the trails at nearby Morse Mountain, a couple of miles to the west. At the top of the low peak, we met a local couple celebrating their 27th wedding anniversary; they were looking for the view of Mount Washington – as we were. At the base of this hill lies Seawall Beach, a shadow copy of Popham Beach next door, and perfect for low-tide walking despite the gale-force westerly winds pushing us around. While the crashing surf was constant on these soft sand beaches, the seas remained relatively calm despite the havoc farther out in the Gulf.
Saturday took us to three preserves in Georgetown and sister-town Arrowsic, starting with the easy, scenic trails at Flying Point Preserve. Here, we got to make a nice four-and-a-half-mile loop around a peninsula, poking north between the Back and Sasanoa rivers. We also got to meet the only private property owners within the former Shea family farm preserve – a real gem nestled along the banks of the Sasanoa – along with the discovery of the Shea family cemetery.
We made stops at Doubling Point Lighthouse, up the Kennebec, and a hike to Squirrel Point Light across the marsh proved entertaining. The day finished with another sandy excursion to Georgetown’s Reid State Park, a totally different beach romp from that at Popham. Reid has three distinct beaches, each with their own character. On this windy day, we declined to dip a toe into the blue waters.
Finally, early Sunday morning, the winds died down, and the sunrise through our rental cottage’s windows indicated that we were finally going to get to use the Sea Ray. We headed back to Bath to launch at the South End Ramp below the massive General Dynamics Bath Iron Works shipyard. Approaching high tide, the current was subdued as we got into the conga line of other boaters seeking a late-season reprieve from fall.
The Kennebec is navigable from Fort Popham all the way to Augusta, the state capital, but Bath is situated optimally for enjoying this massive river with a boat, both north and south. The Kennebec starts at Moosehead Lake, in west-central Maine, with arteries and several other rivers joining it at Merrymeeting Bay. Our efforts this day were to head downriver to see the lighthouses from our previous day’s hikes as well as other beacons we couldn’t access from land.
Past Doubling Point Light, the river’s incoming tide creates swirling eddies and rip currents galore, pulling at the boat’s steering wheel as we glide along on plane. Many residences along the river have pulled their floats and ramps, a signal of the long, dark season ahead.
After Squirrel Point Light, we turned northeast up the Back River, a narrow, shallow river that divides the two islands: Arrowsic to the north and Georgetown to the south. The channel is only 16 to 24 feet deep near high tide, yet we pressed on up through the scenic marshes, past the Back River Boat Yard, and through the narrow rock opening at the bend in the river before the bridge that links the two islands. A previous trip found us seeking passage all the way through to the Sasanoa River, as my chart indicated, but that is apparently for paddling craft – as we soon saw three feet on the depth gauge. We turned around before a short ride turned into a long day in the marshes. Not this day, though.
Back in the Kennebec, we pulled up to the tiny public dock on Perkins Island to explore this lighthouse – one of five visual aids in the Kennebec. Sitting right on the shore, Perkins Island Light proved to be a worthwhile hike to see the challenges the conservation groups must navigate to maintain these stressed properties. Lots of history here.
Cruising farther downriver, we pass Fort Popham – the perfect spot to witness one of Bath’s destroyers steaming out to sea – and wind our way around the southern tip of Georgetown’s Bay Point. Twisting through the ledges off Kennebec Point – much to Kathy’s chagrin as she gripped the Maptech guide to verify the chart plotter – we got close to the personal pocket beaches that line the small coves. Pushing past Reid Park, with a different perspective from the sea, we approached Harmon Harbor and the wide mouth of the Sheepscot River.
A southerly wind had increased throughout the day, pushing the outgoing tide into one- to two-foot waves as we exited Five Islands Harbor and crossed the Sheepscot River to Southport Island. Pushing past Hendricks Head Light and into Townsend Gut, we got in line behind larger boats just as the Southport Bridge opened for maritime traffic. Everybody was friendly this day, savoring what would likely be one of the last boating trips of the season.
Exiting the Gut, we continued south to Burnt Island Light, where recent restoration efforts illustrated the magnitude of the work necessary to maintain these historically significant landmarks. Burnt Island Light afforded us views of the lighthouse at the Cuckolds, at the bottom of Southport, plus Ram Island Light to the east. We craved a dose of Maine lighthouses, and we saw plenty of them today.
We made a brief stop in Boothbay Harbor, where the thinning moorings were commensurate with the season, and a warm drink helped the crew regain the warmth that the dimming sun had eclipsed. We caught the Southport bridge open again as we transited Townsend Gut northbound. After the No Wake zone, we throttled up and headed back across the building seas of the Sheepscot, bound for the mouth of the Sasanoa River.
With the tide running against us, we transited the Sasanoa’s infamous Lower and Upper Hell’s Gates, a series of eddies and narrow passages that create standing waves and push ATONs below the surface. On the way up the river to Bath, we passed one lone sailboat while snaking around countless green cans at 30 knots as the skies suddenly looked threatening. We had never experienced such little boat traffic on the fun-to-drive Sasanoa.
Sprinkles started to fall as we glided past Bath Iron Works and Virginia, the replica of the first ship built in Maine in 1607. The tide was running hard as we approached the dock at the boat ramp upstream, using the momentum to help us land. With all fenders deployed, we still got a solid bump as we struck the dock, but all was good.
We’d beaten the rains, seen lots of wildlife, admired plenty of lighthouses, and enjoyed a special four-rivers day along the coast of Maine. It was not too early to plan this year’s fall trip.
Tim and his wife, Kathryn – the navigator – live lakeside in Otis, Maine, 30 minutes from Acadia, where they trailer-boat up and down the Maine coast with their 2000 Sea Ray 21-foot express cruiser Tegoak.
