Page 6. MAINE COASTAL NEWS January 2018 70s Memories: Kennebec Fall By Lee S. Wilbur Diffi cult summer. With several proj-
ects on the list, we’d returned home to Maine early. Most had to be somehow ac- complished this year. Weather as we know had minor notion of cooperation. Cloudy, rain, and snow in early May. Managed, in spite of a two week battle with what must have been major fl u bug, to get most nailed by September’s end. AJ suggested we take a break. Head down the coast. Visit a few dear friends. Perhaps give my bone on bone hip a rest. I’ve come to realize in the last few
years with living Downeast, we’ve a ten- dency to know our part of the coast fairly well and forget there’s a mighty long coast (up or down) waiting to be explored. Al- though this year’s was not planned for its new territory excursioning we did manage
to get lost on a detour between Damariscot- ta and Rockland, turning out to be a fun di- version. We’ve known friends for some time
who summer on a private island populat- ed by inherited families and shingled/clap- boarded houses built turn of century 1900. Always a treat. Quiet, Scenery to keep a camera or sketchpad at work on any given moment. This year was latest we’d ever been
invited or able to visit. Ferry to the island suspended service day after we’d leave when permanent, island crew, would begin biannual work of shutting off vital services. Few people left. Tennis court, sport of which AJ and I have never mastered, and I, with beaten limbs could never accomplish, became center of communication. We’d watch a bit, wander off to beach-
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comb for shells or rocks, wander back in time for discussion of “What should we do now”...”Well, we could go for lunch at...”sounds good”...”meet at the dock, half hour...” Two runabouts were fi lled and fi red,
eight of us found seats, and in a scant 15 minutes of fl at out running this child was completely lost. Now, “Downeast” we’ve got a few “tangley” places, but by and large islands and river inlets make sense. Here we seemed to twist through multiple thoro- fares, fi re by more islands, headlands, and tide rips than I ever imagined were located south of Rockland. I’m just hanging on, hammer’s down
as we bounce off curlers. Realized we must be near or on a river with the waves now chop-kicking “square” waves of white wa- tery spray. Knew where we were headed, no clue how we were navigating there. Finally, we barrel around this par-
ticular island and directly ahead there’s a “Zumwalt” Class Destroyer and the cranes of Bath Ironworks. I’d never seen the iron- works from the water. Impressive might be an apt description. Boats were soon tied to Kennebec
Tavern, marina/restaurant. Place was un- derstandably busy, what with the beauti- ful day and seemingly one of season’s last days to party and have fun, enjoy the warm weather. By lunch’s end, it was easy to un- derstand why we’d withstood the thrashing. Food was good and generous. Returning cruise with tide running out
and river going south made for a much the more pleasant ride back as we snuck in by and rounded north to our weekend island. Next day, early rise to catch the sun
again, we did a circum-nav of the island. Always on our list. I picked up a couple of fl otsams for sculpture and we gathered again by the tennis court for the excruciat- ing lunch decisions.
Next door neighbor’s son, big-plane
jet pilot, Scott, had located and then had shipped from California, a deep-vee racing boat he’d named “ELUSIVE” which had been re-fi tted as a demonstrator by Cum- mins Diesel. Yard responsible for the re- fi t is to be commended. Gorgeous. Not to mention the performance displaced by the turbo charged Cummins four cylinder die- sel. I digress. Scott had off ered to take the lunch group to East Boothbay in Elusive to which all agreed would be great fun and certainly was. Scott kept the throttle about three/
quarter as we scaled smoothly along, eye- balling the scenery and beautiful homes heading for East Boothbay. and lunch at East Boothbay General Store. I guess there was a question in my mind why we’d go to a general store for lunch, but there was a unanimous resident vote so who were we to question the semi-native population. Only dockage was a closed restau-
rant to which Scott tied at their dock and we managed to slip around “closed” sign and up the hill to the General Store. List of sandwiches was more than interesting and I remember no one ordering the same. They were delicious, and the store is worth a stop on any N/S run. Great way to spend a few days in relax
mode with warm, early Maine fall cooper- ating all the way. (side note: Do you ever remember as warm a fall as this past?) Heading back, no great hurry, Scott
took us on a slow, scenery to be ogled, cruise in and around East Boothbay, out to Southport and some gorgeous landscape peopled by even more gorgeous and unique homes. And I thought I’d seen it all on Somes Sound. AJ and I decided then we’d be chartering for a week or two of anchor- ing out from and around the Boothbays. High on our list.
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Schooner BOWDOIN leaving Boothbay Harbor 25 June 1938.
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