After the sparkling afternoon and peaceful overnight under Blue Hill, Brio needed to move ever closer to Rockland where she would be hauled once more. This time, she would have the mechanic change her oil and filters in the new starboard pod to conclude her break-in period. We left Blue Hill Harbor in the sun Thursday morning, headed south to Eggemoggin Reach, up Eggemoggin to Bucks Harbor. That's where we saw the ghostly marina.
First, we go under the Deer Isle Bridge which spans Eggemoggin Reach.
Then we turn the corner into a circular cove. Isn't that a heart of an island in the middle?
On the left there is a small cluster of buildings and docks, which is the Bucks Harbor Marina.
Again, from the air:
And from the dinghy docks:
Knowing of our stop here two years ago when Alice was on board and having such fond memories of that visit, we first called the Marina on the phone. No answer! So, we hailed the Marina on Channels 9 and 10. Silence. We came around that heart-shaped island and to our surprise the Marina looked empty and abandoned!!
How sad!
No boats were at the docks and few moorings were occupied. We grabbed one of the few moorings with a pick-up buoy and had lunch. We marveled at the desolate picture, remembering the fabulous outdoor showers, the walk uphill looking for a store that might sell blueberry pies (no luck) and the very friendly staff. In fact, the owner, Jonathan Buck, was the most recent member of his family that had owned the Marina for over 100 years.
This is a sad story told in this article: https://www.ellsworthamerican.com/news/waterfront/after-long-running-dispute-with-town-buck-s-harbor-marina-closed-for-sale/article_1e2487b2-0633-11ee-912d-27d473611238.html
It seems to be a tragedy as both sides played out their parts. Brio, of course, sides with the Buck family. Are there two sides to the story? Of course. But something very special has been destroyed.
After lunch and reflection, we checked the forecast again. There was a strong possibility of storms moving into the area. This was disappointing because we had hoped to anchor in the Barred Island cove. You can see it in the middle of the picture, lying between Great Spruce Head Island to the west and Butter Island to the east.
It is a sliver of a cove, nestled between slivers of land. The little slivers of land have names such as Escargot and Bartender to the north and Little and Big Barred to the south.
You can see, with your now-practiced eye, that there are gaps between the little slivers of island. If you imagine yourself peacefully lying at anchor between these slivers and a storm coming up, you would quickly find yourself with little of no protection. That's because the storm's wind and waves would blow and wash over the shoals and reefs and leave you very unprotected.
In fact, the cruising guide is quite plain. In a storm, pull your anchor and get out!
So, we poked our bow into Barred and saw that it would be a lovely place to spend a quiet night. In a stormy night, such as what we expected, though, we wanted better protection. So we headed north towards Castine, the home of Maine Maritime and a town that has had four different national flags fly over its defenses. Fascinating history!
Now your practiced eye can see that inside Holbrook Island lie many well-protected coves. Where we went was the cove with the depth of "20" marked in it. It was beautiful, protected and serene!!
And, to our port (or east):
Here we could sleep soundly, which is what we did.
Cheers, Brio
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