January 2016 MAINE COASTAL NEWS Page 5. Cruising the Coast of Maine By Laurie Fullerton
Cruising to Maine has been a coveted pursuit of sailors and boaters since at least the 1940s or before. As someone from Mas- sachusetts, it is also enlightening to see how far back the connection is between those Mainers who run the marinas, fuel docks, provision shops and boat yards along the coast to their seasonal visitors. It is clearly the marinas and fuel docks and maritime merchants who maintain important and long-standing relationships and friendships with the boaters themselves.
“I went to Maine 40 years ago in an old wooden boat. My old boat was a classic lobster boat, and looks a lot like the ELIZ- ABETH M. I have never been boatless so I have been to Maine for many, many years,” said Michael Mentuck of Marblehead, MA whose boat ELIZABETH M. is a favorite in town. “I have always felt that Maine is a great place and you can’t go anywhere without making a friend.”
Mike is a tall, broad shouldered man with dark hair and an ever-present cigarette in his hand. He is the president of his in- ternational salvage and appraisal company, Mentuck and Associates, Inc. The compa- ny’s motto is “the impossible we do right away, the rest might take a couple of days.” He booming voice never wavers and his wicked sense of humor and generous nature appeals to those in the maritime and boat service companies, marinas and anchorages along the coast.
“There are only three things that I am really looking for in a marina,” Mentuck said. “Are the heads clean, are the showers clean and are the people friendly.” This past August, I had the opportunity to help deliver a boat to Maine on a Sabre 36 called CALYPSO owned by Peter Fein of Marblehead. The plan was to do a little exploring and then meet Mike Mentuck and the fl eet in Boothbay Harbor at the Carousel Marina.
Because the ‘fl eet’ was actually the
Boston Yacht Club summer cruise and many on the trip are power boaters, they chose to stay in marinas and slips along the way as often as they could. One of the veterans on the summer cruise was Peter Conway of Marblehead, who had been cruising the Maine coast since he was a child in the 1950s with his own father.
Just prior to meeting up with the ELIZ- ABETH M. in Boothbay, those of us on board CALYPSO had spent our fi rst night at the Dolphin Marina on the tip of Basin Point, South Harpswell, at Pott’s Harbor. It was great to tie up to the marina after a long day of power sailing from Marblehead and head straight for the Dolphin Marina Restaurant, which is renowned for its chowder. The
following morning, a woman came around in a boat laden with fresh muffi ns and hot coffee. I personally can count on one hand how many times someone has brought me fresh muffi ns and coffee, and I don’t think I will forget that gesture in a hurry. Perhaps it is the small gestures like these that start a lifetime of returning to these special places, and this is what seems to be the case for Mike Mentuck.
“For me, personally, my two favorite places are DiMillo’s in Portland and Carou- sel Marina in Boothbay. I started docking at Tony DiMillo’s marina way, way back. We always have a great time at DiMillo’s and Tony’s son, Chris DiMillo does a great job there today.”
And as far as the Carousel Marina goes, Mentuck and owner Jack Cogswell are friends from their youth in Marblehead. “Jack Cogswell and I are old friends. He is a Marblehead guy; a “wharf rat” and when he was president of Mariner Yachts, it was his company who built my boat the ELIZABETH M.
The Carousel Marina is very popular with all of the Marblehead sailors and many others. It is perhaps best known as the site where the fi lm “Carousel” was fi lmed back in the 1960s.
During this years’ Boston Yacht Club cruise, after a party on the dock and a rest day, the fl eet planned to leave the Carousel Marina and move up the coast to places like Belfast, Castine, and Southwest Harbor. This is where my delivery of Calypso was complete but Peter and his wife, Janet had a fantastic week in Maine.
Mentuck notes that “Belfast has a fe- male harbormaster and she runs a great wa- terfront. Belfast’s town facilities are just fi ne for any cruiser.” This year the fl eet split up after Belfast as the initial plan was to reach Castine next. “Kenny Eaton called and said it was going to blow so some of us headed to Camden…without reservations…and others decided to head to Castine.” Eaton is the owner of Eaton’s Boatyard in Castine and also its harbormaster. He is a great guy, according to Mentuck, and he was person- ally sorry not to get to Castine to see Kenny this time.
Although some of the on the B.Y.C. cruise, including Calypso, opted to shoot for Castine, Mentuck and those who went to Camden - without a reservation - had a slightly different experience.
“Camden has changed and there is not enough public dock space for boaters. We were banned from using the marinas’ showers although we were willing to pay,” Mentuck said. “I think they need to remem- ber that the economy of Camden is more impacted by the boats that go in there than
F. William Cuzner and Mike Mentuck on the ELIZABETH M. at Marblehead.
the people who day trip through there and go to the boutiques and shops. The harbor master has it fi gured out but I think the town has to get on board.” The cruise also spent a night in Rockland, as well, and Mentuck noted, “Rockland is really worth looking at. We stay at the Journeys’ End Marina which has always been great.”
Although this cruise did not head farther down east into Penobscot Bay, Mentuck noted “Many of us old Marbleheaders like to get to Swan’s Island to visit lobsterman Ben Doliber, and there are other great places to stay in Somes Sound, Southwest Harbor, Bar Harbor, etc.
In general, Casco Bay
tends to be a little snootier because there are a lot of New York City folks who own property there. Penobscot Bay people are more grounded in reality.”
Although there is no doubt that Mike
Mentuck knows his way around the seaports of Maine, he said that one of the best routes for a river cruise is one that connects the Kennebec River with the Sheepscot River “You leave Boothbay and cross the
Tamsen Gut, up the Sasanoa River and go to Bath and down the Sheepscot River. Spectacular,” he said.
For Mike Mentuck and most of us who remember a cruise to Maine, it is the encoun- ters with regular Maine folks whether on the water or on land that stays with us. “The best thing for me is that I have gotten to know people all along the way, and see them at the most unusual times. I was coming out of the fog one night and suddenly passed our friend Capt. Andrew McKee as the fog lifted (owner of the 81-foot charter vessel PYEWACKET.) I have a lot of stories like that over 40-years.”
Bring your boat to New England’s most capable yacht yard for the care she deserves. Repairs, refi ts, storage and dockage available for vessels up to 200 feet and 480 tons.
Belfast,Maine 207-930-3740
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