Sea Kayaking in Maine

Nan, Rich Ruhlen and I took off on an epic road trip to try out the sea kayaking on the Maine coast and get a feel for Acadia National Park. Though we started out with big plans to take either the Forester or Rich's Element, by the time we saw the pile of stuff we had, the extra hundred bucks of calculated gas for the Tundra didn't sound too bad. Rich had brought his Klepper Aerius tandem collapsible which took up the lion's share or room and Nan and I had decided just to rent boats up there.
Following a grueling 22 hour drive through the absolute worst traffic I've ever seen (never even think of driving north of DC on I-95 without a EZPass) we made it to Stonington, Maine and Old Quarry Ocean Adventures, our campsite and outfitter for the week.

We enjoyed one full day and two-half days of paddling while we were there, making the rounds of a lot of the local islands including Green, Hell's Half-Acre, Sheep Island, Whitmore Neck and Crotch Island. The number of lobster pots in the area are simply innumerable. It's hard to imagine that that fishery is sustainable. Nancy and I were renting Necky Eskia kayaks an, except for a half-day tandem, Rich used his Klepper set us for solo. In the protected waters between the islands conditions ranged from glassy-smooth to 1-2' seas in 15kn winds. It was pretty easy to route to leeward of islands and make the windy passages of 1/2 to 3/4 miles (or less) between islands pretty easily and make some good distance in those conditions.

On Thursday, we took the ferry from Stonington over to Isle au Haut's Duck Harbor and spent about 4 hours hiking trails on that island; one of the southern edges of Acadia National Park.

The area has some really tremendous scenery and still appears pretty steeped in its seafaring history. There are numerous large wooden sailing vessels moored around the islands and passing through. There is also a lot of development of really spendy housing going on. Even the smaller islands offshore are pretty ell populated, though you can find some uninhabited ones as well that would provide some excellent camping opportunities. Several large quarries and landmarks in the area point to the historical significance of Deer Isle granite to the local economy. We tried to sample a number of the local restaurants while we were there to get a feel for the fare. My observation was that, while the are seems to have a local food (i.e. lobster), there does not seem to be much in the way of a local cuisine. I think someone could do well by the area by coming in and adding a little fusion and spice to the selection of seafood available. While I did try the de rigeur lobster roll during the trip (not impressed), I opted to wait and get my whole lobster at home in the grocery store for much less dinero.

All in all (now that I'm recuperated from the drive) it was a good week while we were there and now has piqued a small interest in continuing to do some sea kayaking (after, of course I am able to get in some more whitewater boating following all the rains we just had).

Lessons learned? Beautiful place that's really hard to get to. Go kayak camping next time. Drive at night if possible and take I-81 rather than I-95. Get an EZPass. Take your own boats when you go: the extra gas is nothing compared to the rental cost. It's a good time of year- few bugs, temperature's right, water temp's right on the edge of bearable, though still cold. If the weather is right, Isle au Haut would be well within paddling distance if you could get a campsite over there, but some of the other smaller islands might provide just as good camping.