Hot Showers: A Sampling of Maine Waterfront Bed and Breakfasts

By Lee Bumsted

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	Part 1: Hot Showers! Maine Coast Lodgings for Kayakers and Sailors Part 3: Hot Showers! A Sampling of Maine Waterfront Campgrounds

There are many great places for boaters to stay along the coast of Maine. Below are three that are particularly well suited for kayakers. The first, the Dark Harbor Bed & Breakfast, is hosted by two kayakers. It is situated on Islesboro Island in Penobscot Bay and can by reached via the car ferry from Lincolnville. The next, First Light Bed & Breakfast, in East Blue Hill, offers a room in a tower that looks like a lighthouse. The third B&B, Harbor House on Sawyer Cove, is adjacent to a public launch ramp and provides a great starting point for explorations of the islands off Jonesport, in downeast Maine.

Dark Harbor Bed & Breakfast, Islesboro Island

	Art by Jane O'Conor

Location: On a water-access-only island in western Penobscot Bay. The bed and breakfast is near Dark Harbor, on the southwest end of the island. Islesboro is three miles east of Lincolnville on the mainland, which in turn is seven miles north of Camden. Camden is a two-hour drive from Portland. NOAA charts #13305 and #13309.

Onshore attractions: Islesboro is a lovely 15-mile-long island. Biking on the level terrain is pleasant, with new vistas opening up to both the eastern and western parts of Penobscot Bay as you ride along. You can admire the grand "summer cottages" (actually, mansions) as you travel on land or sea. At the south end of the island is a town beach with a picnic area. There is frequent car ferry service supporting Islesboro's 600 year-round residents and numerous summer visitors.

Offshore attractions: Islesboro is in the midst of many smaller islands, so interesting boating opportunities abound. Just to the south of the Islesboro ferry landing at Grindel Point is Warren Island. The entire island is a state park; there are designated campsites, picnic tables, a hand pump for drinking water, and privies. Hiking trails run along the shore and through the interior of this 129-acre wooded island. Signs of 19th-century habitation include old building foundations and a tombstone.

Photo by Lee Bumsted

Dark Harbor Bed and Breakfast

The B&B: Amy and Bob McMullen spent a year renovating this 1890's farmhouse, and their hard work has paid off. Pretty guest rooms have quilts on the beds and paintings by Amy's father, a contemporary Maine artist, on the walls. Guests can use a little "maid's kitchen" to prepare meals, and there's a washer and dryer available. They can relax on the screened porch, go for a walk in the small village of Dark Harbor, or borrow a couple of bicycles or tennis rackets.

Amy is no stranger to island life, having spent 15 years running a guest house on Monhegan. Both Amy and Bob go sea kayaking when they get the chance.

Meals: A full breakfast is included and is made to your order; you can choose from pancakes, waffles, granola, an omelet, and so forth. There's also fresh pastry each morning. For dinner, you can head two doors down the road to the dining room or pub of "Latitude 44, Longitude 69."

Rates, etc.: Four rooms with private baths. $125 double occupancy for a one-night stay, $115 per night for two or more nights, from Memorial Day to mid-September; less off-season. Visa and MasterCard accepted. Children over 12 welcome. A Boston terrier in residence. Two-night minimum stay on holiday weekends.

Kayak access: There are two small public landings within a half mile of the house, with water at all tides, but they would be difficult to spot from the water. It would be easier to transport your kayaks on top of your car on the ferry from Lincolnville and launch at the ramp near the Islesboro ferry landing, where there's water at all tides. Taking the ferry allows you to avoid an exposed crossing that intersects a shipping channel. If you do paddle to Islesboro, the McMullens can pick up your kayaks with their truck.

Ferry service: There is frequent car ferry service between Lincolnville and Islesboro. Call the Maine State Ferry Service at (800) 491-4883 for general schedule information, or call the Lincolnville office at (207) 789-5611. Kayaks must be transported on top of vehicles; they will not be taken as freight.

Address: 119 Derby Rd., Islesboro, ME 04848
E-mail: darkharbor@islesboromaine.com
Web site: www.islesboromaine.com
Phone: (207) 734-9772

First Light Bed & Breakfast, East Blue Hill

Location: On McHeard Cove, on the east side of the Blue Hill peninsula. The peninsula lies west of Mount Desert Island and north of Deer Isle. For those driving from the south, it's a three-hour trip from Portland. NOAA chart #13316.

Photo by Lee Bumsted

First Light Bed and Breakfast, Blue Hill

Onshore attractions: East Blue Hill is a quiet village three miles from Blue Hill. Many artists and craftspeople display their work in galleries in and around Blue Hill. There's an abundance of fine restaurants and some markets, including the Blue Hill Food Co-op on the eastern side of town. Hikers will enjoy the trail to the fire tower on the town's namesake, located two miles to the north.

Fifteen miles south of Blue Hill is Brooklin, home to the WoodenBoat School (Naskeag Road, 207-359-4651, www.woodenboat.com). It's fun to walk by workshops and see students engaged in traditional and modern boatbuilding classes. Reference books in the extensive library are available to the public during business hours.

Offshore attractions: Launching from the B&B, you can explore McHeard Cove and then head over to Blue Hill Harbor. Paddle up to the public ramp (on the top half of the tide only!) and stop off to pick up some gourmet goodies or ice cream. If you'd like to explore Eggemoggin Reach, drive down to Brooklin and launch at Naskeag Point. There are two small Bureau of Parks and Lands islands nearby. Little Hog, just east of Hog Island, and Sellars Island are open to visitors.

The B&B: If you head upstairs when you arrive at First Light, it might be hours before you unpack your bags! This unique property, built as a private home thirty years ago, includes a tower that looks remarkably like a lighthouse. Pull up a chair in the tower, and you can gaze in any direction through the five-foot-tall windows. You'll most likely be riveted by the view down postcard-pretty McHeard Cove, looking out over Blue Hill Bay to the hills of Mount Desert Island.

Two of the bright, attractive guest rooms are close enough to the water's edge that you can hear waves on the rocks below when the tide is in. The Lighthouse Suite is in the lower part of the tower, and so features round interior walls. Both the Lighthouse Suite and the Seaside Garden Room have ocean views. The Seaside Garden Room can be combined with the Maine Room to make a suite for families or friends travelling together.

Meals: The full breakfast that innkeeper Beverly Bartlett prepares might include a Finnish oven pancake or stuffed blueberry French toast. For dinner, drive over to Blue Hill.

Rates, etc.: One suite and one room expandable to a suite, both with private baths. $85-150 double occupancy, less off-season. No credit cards accepted. Inquire about bringing children. Two dachshunds in residence. Two-night minimum stay.

Kayak access: Easy 25-foot carry from driveway to water; best on top 2/3 of the tide.

Address: 176 Curtis Cove Rd., East Blue Hill, ME 04629
E-mail: firstlight@acadia.net
Web site: www.acadia.net/firstlight
Phone: (207) 374-5879

Harbor House on Sawyer Cove, Jonesport

Location: In the town of Jonesport in down east Maine, midway between Mount Desert Island and the Canadian border. Driving time from Portland is about four hours. NOAA chart #13326.

Photo by Lee Bumsted

Harbor House on Sawyer Cove

Onshore attractions: Jonesport stretches along Moosabec Reach and has a busy fishing fleet. For this rural part of Maine, Jonesport is a good-sized town, with restaurants, groceries, and other supplies available. Captain John Norton (207-497-5933) departs from Jonesport for Machias Seal Island, where his passengers have the opportunity to view puffins and razorbill auks. Great Wass Island, connected by bridges to Jonesport, is home to a wonderful Nature Conservancy preserve with hiking trails along the shoreline.

Offshore attractions: If the fog doesn't keep you ashore, paddling in the Great Wass archipelago just off Jonesport can be a real delight. There are all sorts of coves and passages to explore. Keep in mind that the tides average 12 feet in this section of the down east coast, so you are dealing with particularly strong tidal forces.

Kayakers wishing to go ashore on Great Wass Island can come in by the Mud Hole, where there is a Nature Conservancy trail running along the cove. East of Great Wass Island is spectacular Eastern Bay. The Nature Conservancy welcomes day visitors to its beautiful Mistake Island preserve, where there is a boardwalk leading to the Moose Peak lighthouse. Keep to the boardwalk or shoreline to avoid disturbing the subarctic vegetation found there. Adjacent Knight Island, also a Nature Conservancy preserve, provides a good view of the lighthouse. No camping or pets are permitted and fires are discouraged on Nature Conservancy islands. (If you feel a fire is necessary, it must be built below the high tide line.) A mostly ledge Bureau of Parks and Lands island, Little Water, is less than a half mile northwest of Mistake Island.

Other Nature Conservancy island preserves in the Great Wass archipelago open to day visitors are Black and the Mans. The treeless Man Islands are east of Steele Harbor Island, and Black is north of it, near The Cows Yard.

Three miles west of Great Wass Island is a Bureau of Parks and Lands island, Stevens, that is open to visitors.

The B&B: Harbor House is just one building east of the Jonesport Marina and public ramp, so it commands a fine view of Jonesport's waterfront activity. You'll find binoculars next to the bay window in the Lupine Room and the picture windows in the Beach Rose Room. Each of the newly decorated rooms has a couch and television.

The owners, Maureen and Gene Hart, run an antiques shop on the first floor of this 150-year-old former telegraph office. They stock the guest rooms with sherry and snacks.

Meals: A full breakfast is included; it might feature French toast or blueberry waffles, and can be served on the porch. The B&B is within walking distance of restaurants.

Rates, etc.: Two rooms with private baths. $110 double occupancy from Memorial Day to Labor Day; less off-season. Visa and MasterCard accepted. Older children welcome.

Kayak access: Easy 75-foot carry to the stone beach in front of the B&B, or carry over to the public ramp 200 feet away; water at all tides.

Address: Sawyer Square, P.O. Box 468, Jonesport, ME 04649
E-mail: harborhs@nemaine.com
Web site: www.harborhs.com
Phone: (207) 497-5417

LEE BUMSTED is the author of Hot Showers! Maine Coast Lodgings for Kayakers and Sailors, a guide to 152 coastal B&Bs, inns, and similar lodgings, and 30 campgrounds. Her book is available from Audenreed Press at www.biddle-audenreed.com/Kayak.html. You may mail a check for $18.95 plus $2.00 shipping (and $.95 sales tax for Maine residents) to P.O. Box 1305, Brunswick, Maine 04011. You may also purchase it from booksellers and kayak shops. This article originally appeared in Atlantic Coastal Kayaker magazine, and is used with permission of Atlantic Coastal Kayaker and the author.

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