Tide & Current
The Sheepscot and Kennebec Rivers
Al Trescot
Foreward by Gordon and Wendy Reed
Tide & Current
The Sheepscot and Kennebec Rivers Ram Island, East Boothbay to Augusta
Al Trescot
Foreward by Gordon and Wendy Reed
Tide & Current
The Sheepscot and Kennebec Rivers Ram Island, East Boothbay to Augusta Created & Photographed by Al Trescot Foreword by Gordon & Wendy Reed Photography Copyright © 2014 Al Trescot Book Creation Copyright © 2014 Al Trescot Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 2010905433 ISBN 978-0-9882730-5-4 All rights reserved under international and Pan-American copyright conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission of the author. Limited edition prints of the photographs are available from Rocky Hill Publishing. A production of
13 Lilac Garden Road Damariscotta, Maine 04543 USA 207 380 6074 • RockyHillDesign.com Printing facilitated by PlanetInk, Oakland, California Printed by Paccom, Seoul, South Korea
Andy’s brand new schooner being outfitted. 2
Introduction
I call this book Tide and Current because the Sheepscot and Kennebec Rivers are all about just that — tide and current. There are a few places I have been along my part of the Maine coast, Fort Island and Glidden Ledge in the Damariscotta and Hockomock Passage in Muscongus Bay, that can maybe match one of the Hell Gates but almost everywhere here on these rivers there’s current under the boat. Then there are the tides: Gravitational forces account for a simple “Land Tide,” buckling up the earth’s exterior shell about 12 inches twice a day. Add the shape of the sea bottom, ocean currents, the Coriolis force due to the earth’s spin, and the constrictions of shores and rivers to this mess and any tide chart becomes a miracle of empirical observation, estimation and luck over the years. A rough estimate of local time and the empirically adjusted timetables is all you need for tides.
Jan Adkins, “Maine Boats, Homes and Harbors,” July 2013.
Leaving Robinhood Marine Center on Blondie, my Eastern 22 named after a long line of golden retrievers, and going out Goose Rocks Passage is a good example of these great tides. One day you can leave on an outgoing tide and the current won’t be too bad. Leave at the same tide time -50 minutes later- the next day and there will be two-foot standing waves at the same place. You just never know. So you learn to deal with it and expect it everywhere. Robinhood Marine Center has been Blondie’s home port for the past three years and as I get ready to move on to Casco Bay to work on a new book, it saddens me to leave this wonderful place. I have known the staff there for the 13 years that I have been their graphic designer. This is a community of friendly boat owners and a helpful dock staff who made it possible with my back and balance issues, to go boating alone and still get tied up safely every day. When I go out making pictures, I usually go alone. It’s not that I’m unsociable, quite the opposite. But it’s annoying to other people to be quietly cruising along when I jam the boat into reverse and back up to grab a photo I didn’t see till I was by it. Or put into a cove and wait a couple of hours for something to happen. “Aren’t we going to do something,” they ask. “But I am doing something,” I answer. “Just waiting for a picture to happen.” But I see their point. One of the people I will go out with any day is Capt. Phil Quinn. Phil is one of the first people I met when I moved to Maine 47 years ago. He introduced me to these rivers and their connecting tributaries, the Sasanoa and the Lower Back Rivers. I’ll let him pilot Blondie anywhere without me paying attention, which takes a lot of trust on my part. Some of the first places Phil showed me were the Back Door and Little Hell Gate. These two passages encircle the Lower Hell Gate, which is a notorious channel between Westport and Beal Islands. You have to pass between a nun buoy and the shore just a few feet away. Which is OK except when the buoy is under water. How close does one get to the shore to avoid the buoy? On the other side of the buoy are two whirlpools called ‘The Boilers.’ You need to stay out of there.
The Back Door is an idyllic little channel with classic old Maine cottages alongside, while the Little Hell Gate is a tight squeeze on the west side of Beals Island. Fortunately, the chart plotter is accurate and at high tide, you can miss the three rocks without any problem if you pay attention. Next is my favorite trip. The lower Back River runs from Hockomock Bay to the Kennebec River at Bald Head. It’s a two-hour trip, port-to-port. It may as well be wilderness back there. You go for miles with no houses in sight, just a few little shacks. At Bald Head one gets the feel of a big river with high bluffs and rapid current, even at slack tide. The Kennebec has 168 miles of river sending fresh water south, so it never stops moving. Interestingly, there are three Back Rivers on the chart, all within a mile of each other. I suppose the Back River from Hockomock Bay to Wiscasset should just be part of the Lower Back River, but the river behind Barters Island is also called the Back River. I wonder if folks had a book of river names that only had a few entries to pick from. There are just too many places to go around here to continue this travelogue. You can plan your trip based on the weather and if it’s rough you can stay inside, but if it’s nice you can go out to the islands. Damariscove, Fisherman and Ram, the White Islands, the Hippocrites, Outer Heron, and Pumpkin, each has a personality all its own. If you get there early enough, you can get a mooring and take a walk on Damariscove, an island where settlers dried cod to be sent back to England each fall. The last little cruise I want to mention is the one from Robinhood to Augusta, just 38 miles each way. Although for much of the ride you can see the road from the river, it’s amazing how much the scenery differs. For instance, for many years I lived near and worked in Augusta but I don’t remember ever noticing the Kennebec Arsenal. This amazing group of buildings built between 1828 and 1838 was part of Augusta Mental Health Institute. They are wonderful structures falling into disrepair that need to be rescued by someone with a few of million dollars to spare. Altogether, two remarkable rivers. I hope that you will come to appreciate them as I have. My good friend Steve Zwerling wrote these words for me. Appropriate, they are. I keep returning. Why and what for I have been pondering. Initially to the Damariscotta River, next Muscongus Bay, and now the Sheepscot and Kennebec Rivers. It may be for the constancy or the seemingly ceaseless change — the obdurate rock islands or the shifting tides and currents. I am still seeking answers.
Al Trescot, Spring 2015
3
Foreword Maine’s mid-coast region is an extraordinarily diverse part of the amazing coast of Maine. Where it begins and ends is subject to debate but for those of us who live here we like to think of it as the head waters and deltas of Maine’s three greatest rivers, the Kennebec, the Sheepscot and the Damariscotta. All three encompass what some might call the bread basket of Maine. From the timber lands of the Kennebec at Moosehead Lake through the fertile farm lands of the Sheepscot River valley to the vast fishing grounds that run from Muscongus Bay in the East to Casco Bay in the West, this region has a lot to offer culturally, physically and historically. My ties to the region are Kennebec based. My mother’s father was born on Kennebec Point near the eastern side of the mouth of the river, where my grandson has become the 6th generation in the same house. My wife grew up on the Damariscotta in Edgecomb, but our lives would come together in the middle, on the western shore of the Sheepscot at Robinhood. Personally and historically this region is special to all of us who call it home. The topography of the area ranges from prominent rocky headlands like those at Hockomock Point and Cross River, to the serene beaches at Reid State Park and Popham, two of the largest expanses of sand in the state. Two and a half miles out from the mouth of the Kennebec, Seguin Island light station looms high at 181 feet. Commissioned by George Washington In 1789, it is the highest lighthouse in the state, the second oldest, and a landmark for mariners headed down east. American shipbuilding began here, when in 1607 the first ship built in the new world was constructed on the shores of the Kennebec at Popham Beach. Today, a mere 12 miles upriver and over four hundred years later, an authentic replica is under construction at Bath. This wooden sailing ship is being built on the shore of the river, literally in the shadow of Maine’s largest employer, the Bath Iron Works, the country’s premier military surface combatant shipbuilder. A few miles to the east on the Damariscotta at East Boothbay, Hodgdon Yachts builds some of the finest composite motor and sailing yachts in the world. Boating, whether for commerce or for pleasure, has always been a key part of the regions appeal. At its center lies Boothbay Harbor, once hailed as “the boating capital of New England”. Each summer, visiting yachts from all over the world weave their way to the inner harbor, also home of one of the largest lobster fishing fleets in the region. Over a dozen marinas and boatyards service the area, offering new construction and repairs, a secure home for the night, or storage for the long cold winter months. Whether you live here, work here or come here for a visit, Maine’s mid coast region is a wonderful place to experience what Maine is all about. Hiking, boating, shopping or just relaxing, it’s all here to enjoy, our own little year round piece of paradise
Gordon & Wendy Reed 4
Photographs Sunrise at Ram Island
6
Classic Cape Elizabeth Formation ledge
37
Four Little Clouds
Ram Island looking east
7
Sea Hound
38
Canoeing in the Back River
68
A kayaker, sunrise Ram Island
8
Hockomock Point
39
Bonsai Island
69
Peapod on the ways, Ram Island
9
Little Hell Gate
40
Lower Back River
70
66-67
Sunset at Ram Island
10
Back Door Reflection
41
Bald Head
71
Greystones
11
The Back Door
42
Downtown Augusta
72
Schooner on starboard tack off Damariscove
12
Back Door Cottages
43
Kennebec Arsenal
73
Junk type yawl, Damariscove in background
13
The Knubble & Little Knubble
44
Merrymeeting Bay
74
The Cuckolds
14
45
Dresden Farm
75
Iwalani in Sheepscot Bay
The Stewart Knockabout Hapgood
15
The “Hood” at first light
46
Dresden Bridge
76
16-17
Bright finished sailboat
47
Ledge Storage
77
Cape Harbor House Cape Harbor entrance
18
Renaissance
48
Bald Eagle
78
Cape Harbor harbormaster & Cozy Harbor
19
Robinhood Cove Foliage
49
Doubling Point Light
79
Five Islands cliff with bench
20
The Grocery Sharpie underway
50
Fiddlers Reach Range
80-81
Yellow house at Five islands
21
The Grocery Sharpie at Robinhood
51
Schooner Bowdoin
82
Hendrix Head
22
2 Sailing dories
52
Bath Iron Works
83
Five Island house on the rock
23
Acacia
53
Squirrel Point Boathouse
84
Townsend Gut in Fall
54
Squirrel Point
85
26
55
Tree growing out of Ledge
86
Ragtime
Miss Carla
27
Rowing under the Southport Bridge
56
Pond Island
87
Ovens Mouth
28
Capitol Island
57
Looking out the Kennebec
88
Bridge at Ovens Mouth Preserve
29
Burnt Island Boathouse
58
Phippsburg Church & Pettis Point daymark
89
Blueberry field on Isle of Springs
30
59
Bay Point
90
Miss MJ going Tuna fishing
Schooner Eastwind, Boothbay Harbor
31
Mill Cove, Boothbay Harbor
60
91
Sarah Mead “Wing and Wing”
32
Louis R. French & Bay Lady
The Pinnace Virginia
61
Seguin from outside
92
Fort Edgecomb
33
Negro Island Ledge
62
Seguin Lighthouse
93
Doggett Castle
34
Big Rock in Linekin Bay
63
Pond Island & Seguin
Repelling at Doggett Castle
35
The Bounty
64
Acknowledgements
Castle Tucker
36
MacMahan Harbor
Liberty
24-25
Heritage
94-95 96
65
5
Ram Island looking east.
This is a popular name for islands in Maine, which has at least 21 different Ram Islands. This one, close to Boothbay Harbor, was once used to quarantine rams to control sheep breeding. Built in 1883, the light marks Fisherman Island Passage and includes a keeper’s house.
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Sunrise at Ram Island off of Ocean Point, East Boothbay.
7
Peapod on the ways at Ram Island.
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A few minutes after sunrise I spied this kayaker. It’s 6:00 in the morning and we’re a mile offshore. 9
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Ram Island Light Sunset. Ram and Fisherman Islands are separated by a narrow passage. This group of photos was taken one hot Saturday night in August and early the next morning while moored on the East side of Ram Island
Greystones on Fisherman Island. Built by Reverend Henry Wilson was modeled on the Iona Island Abbey which dated from 563 a.d. There is also a stone chapel at Ocean point named for Reverend Wilson. 11
Schooner just west of Damariscove Island. Seguin Island to right.
12
Cute little “junk� type yawl, just west of Damariscove. Interesting that these two boats are almost in the same place a year apart.
13
The Cuckolds Light is a lighthouse off Southport Island, Maine close to Cape Harbor. It was first established as a daymark. In 1892 a fog signal was added and the current structure was built in 1907. The Cuckolds Light was added to the National Register of Historic Places as on December 2, 2002. The Cuckolds is now a wonderful, unique Bed and Breakfast.
14
Iwalani, a George Beuhler/Phillip Shelton designed Gaff cutter, was built by a couple from
Georgetown, Maine and launched at Robinhood on April 29, 2000. After a few months of fitting out and sea trials she left on October, 2000 on a three-year trip around the world It was documented it in their book “World Voyagers�. 15
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Looking out the entrance of Cape Harbor, a little harbor at the southern end of Southport Island. At high tide it looks plenty wide. At low tide it looks tight but there is room if you pay attention. Every time I come in here the water and sky are always this amazing blue. To the right is the harbormaster of Cape Harbor. Everyone stands up in their skiff ! 18
Cozy Harbor in Winter
19
Lone bench, early morning at Five Islands. 20
Yellow house at Five Islands on Georgetown Island.
21
Just the top of Hendricks Head light. Hendricks Head Light is on Southport Island, on the Sheepscot River. First established in 1829, the present structure was built in 1875. It was deactivated in 1933, but relit in 1951. The light is on continuously, showing white to the west and red to the east. The two - storey keeper’s house is now a private summer residence. Hendricks Head Light was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 20, 1987. It is not open to the public. 22
House and daymarker at the northern entrance to Five Islands.
23
MacMahan Harbor early 24
25
Liberty Liberty Launched: 1996
Length: 80 feet, Beam: 15 feet Designer: Bruce King Interior design: Allan Walton 26
Built by Hodgdon Yachts in East Boothbay this modern classic from the drawing board of Bruce King reinvents the Wall Street commuters of the early 1900’s.
Ragtime Ragtime was a private commuter yacht that took her owners from Long Island to Manhattan until conscripted
for 3 years’ service in WWII. After the war she was returned to the family of her original owner and has served as a private yacht for seven owners up to the present owner. Having been purchased by her present owners in 1989, Ragtime underwent a major restoration at Booth Bay Region Boatyard from 1998 to 2000.
27
28
Footbridge at the Ovens Mouth preserve.
•
The Ovens Mouth, a tight, active little channel from the Cross River to the Cross River 29
Blueberry field on Isle of Springs, Sheepscot River. I saw this from 3 miles away and it looked just as bright. 30
Miss MJ hustling out for a days Tuna fishing. It was about 6:00
one Sunday morning; on Monday they’re back to lobstering.
31
Friendship Sloop Sarah Mead running “wing and wing” in the Sheepscot River. Not an easy point of sail.
A precipitous cliff on the western bank of the Sheepscot river is known as Doggett Castle. Here Captain Samuel Doggett (1685-1745) used to moor his ship “Dolphin” and trade with the Indians. Through the years Westport Island has kept it’s quiet feeling, and simple, peaceful life..
34
I came upon these guys climbing Doggett Castle one Saturday afternoon in June. That’s Dan belaying, Beau on the rock, and Jackson, providing boat support.
•
35
Fort Edgecomb near where the Back and Sheepscot Rivers join. People think when going over the Donald Davey Bridge (Wiscasset to Davis Island) that they’re looking down the Sheepscot River but it’s really the Back River. The passage under and just past the Westport Island Bridge is called the Cowseagan Narrows. On the chart is a warning that reads -
“Currents are very strong and erratic in the vicinity of the Cowsegan Narrows bridge. Passage should only be attempted with local knowledge and then only at slack tide”
36
Classic Cape Elizabeth Formation Ledge
37
Sea Hound in the Sheepscot at the end of the season. 38
Hockomock Point, Sasanoa River or Hockomock Bay. When folks ask me to photograph their boat, I bring them here or to Doggett Castle. There is no better background. This is Cape Elizabeth Formation Ledge.
•
Approaching Little Hell Gate on the West side of Beal Island. A strictly high tide passage due to shoals on this approach. Little Hellgate and the Back Door encircle Lower Hellgate.
40
There is a little passage just east of Lower Hell Gate called “The Back Door”. Here we are at the northern end. This, the next two and several others were taken this magical Friday morning, my last day out in 2012. I went from here down the lower Back River and had not a breath of wind till I got to Bald Head on the Kennebec. The next day, two friends and I came to Robinhood Marina to bring Blondie around to Damariscotta for her winter haul-out and we couldn’t see 25 feet because of the fog. We went anyway. Thank you modern electronics.
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42
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Back Door at Lower Hell Gate
• 43
The Knubble and Little Knubble, Little Sheepscot River very early one June morning.
44
The Stewart Knockabout Hapgood in Knubble Bay. 45
“The Hood” — Robinhood Marine Center, Blondie’s home, at first light.
46
Bright finished sloop built by Paul Luke of Linekin Bay, moored at Robinhood. 47
Robinhood Cove foliage
•
Renaissance, an Alden 42 yawl, on her mooring. 49
Beth Allison, a 34’ New Haven Sharpie, underway in Goose Rocks Passage,
headed to MacMahan or Cozy Harbor or one of it’s 8 stops every Wednesday
50
The Grocery Sharpie Beth Allison brings vegetables , cut flowers and other goodies every Wednesday morning all summer.
51
Two sailing dories, one lapstrake and one carvel, complete with kids, cruising Goose Rocks passage.
52
Vinnie and Shawn sailing Acacia, a Bud McIntosh 36 foot Quoddy Pilot Cutter, in Goose Rocks Passage. Built by Ralph Remmick in 1983 53
Point of land just north of Hodgdon Cove in Townsend Gut. The gut is a passage from the Sheepscot River to Southport Island and Boothbay Harbor. It’s fun to grab an empty mooring some weekend day, have lunch and watch the boat parade.
54
Built by Breaux Baycraft in Loreauville, Louisiana, the 42’ Miss Carla now lives in Townsend Gut. She does barge and general Marine Contracting work. She was originally built as a personnel transport for oil rigs in the Gulf. 55
New Years Day 2011. I was talking to the Southport bridge tender when this young man came rowing down Townsend Gut wearing just a t-shirt, with his hoodie laying on the seat beside him. 56
Capitol Island with its houses all lined up. Southport Island and Boothbay Harbor.
57
Interesting boathouse on Burnt Island. Almost the same as the Squirrel Island Light boathouse and one at Kennebec Point.
58
Schooner Eastwind with a group of sea scouts aboard
59
Mill Cove, Boothbay Harbor 60
Schooner Lewis R. French and the Friendship Sloop Bay Lady at Boothbay Harbor’s Windjammer Days. The French is being pushed along by her yawlboat. Launched in April 1871, the French is a National Historic Landmark and the oldest commercial sailing vessel in the U.S. Bay Lady is a 31-foot Maine built Newman/Lanning Friendship Sloop. She was launched in 1979. This is as traditional as it gets in coastal Maine. 61
Nice Bucksport Formation ledge at Negro Island, Linekin Bay.
62
A really big rock in Linekin Bay. 63
The Bounty in drydock, at Boothbay Harbor shipyard in early October, 2012. Two weeks later, she was gone. It saddens me every time I look at this. 64
The Schooner Heritage on Windjammer Days 2012. I remember being at her launching about 30 years ago in Rockland. 65
Wow, what a day! On the Lower Back River, south of Hockomock Bay. My last day out for 2012. This trip usually takes all of an hour. I spent more than three hours going back and forth shooting everything in sight. I call this one “Four Little Clouds.”
A Back River Canoe trip
68
My friend Mal says this one looks like Bonsai, only big.
69
Back River foliage 70
One end of the Back River trip, Bald Head on the Kennebec River. This is my favorite trip when I have passengers who are with me for the first time. It’s almost like wilderness for the top two-thirds and it’s mud flats at the Hockomock Bay end, so you have to do it at high tide. It’s not marked but if you look at Google Earth, you can see the channel through the water. 71
Downtown Augusta. The 38 mile trip to Augusta from Robinhood took 3 hours. When you get to Richmond it seems like you’re almost there but, in fact, it’s just over half way. It’s a much more interesting trip by boat than by car. Mary wants me to make a puzzle out of this one.
72
The Kennebec Arsenal is one of the most intact early 19th-century munitions depots in the United States, one of a number built following the War of 1812. Its eight Greek and Gothic Revival granite buildings were constructed between 1828 and 1838 on the east bank of the Kennebec River as a result of a border dispute that lasted from 1820-1842 that almost led to a third war with Great Britain. The Arsenal was a garrison until 1905 when it was turned over to the State of Maine for use as a mental institution. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 and designated a Landmark in 2000.
73
Merrymeeting Bay
74
Farm in Dresden near where the Eastern River joins the Kennebec. 75
Looking under the Richmond - Dresden bridge at the old Clarostat factory in Richmond.
76
There are all kinds of ways to store boats and canoes. This is just one of the more novel ones.
77
Just before you get to Chop Point there is a nice ledge with a Bald Eagle perched on it.
Doubling Point lighthouse taken from Fiddlers Reach looking north at Bath Iron Works. Taken Memorial Day 2011, the yard is not working and the cranes are nicely arranged for me. Actually, the day was foggier than it appears. For the destroyers built here, this is the beginning of the long trip to the sea. 78
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One of two ranges at the beginning of Fiddlers Reach looking east. If you line the ranges up, you’re in the middle of the channel coming up from the south. 81
82
Two Arleigh Burke class destroyers at Bath Iron Works.
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Schooner Bowdoin at the Maine Maritime Museum in May 2011. The schooner Bowdoin was designed by William H. Hand, Jr., and built in 1921, in East Boothbay, Maine, at the Hodgdon Brothers Shipyard. She was designed for Arctic exploration, under the direction of Donald B. MacMillan, and has made 28 trips above the Arctic Circle in her life, two after she was acquired by the Maine Maritime Academy in 1988. She is currently owned by Maine Maritime Academy, located in Castine, Maine, and is used for their sail training curriculum. The Maine Maritime Museum offers exhibits about Maine’s maritime heritage, culture and the role Maine has played in regional and global maritime activities. The Maine Maritime Museum has an large and quirky collection, made up of more than 20,000 documents, artifacts and pieces of artwork and includes an extensive research library. The museum is set on a scenic active waterfront on the banks of the Kennebec River and includes a historic shipyard with five original 19th century buildings, a Victorian-era shipyard owner’s home and New England’s largest sculpture - a full size representation of the largest wooden sailing vessel ever built, the six-masted schooner Wyoming. 83
The boathouse at Squirrel Point. There are a few of these unusual buildings in the area. Built in 1901, the floor and roof are more or less parallel to the ground while the gable ends are plumb.
84
When it was constructed, Squirrel Point Light, would have been facing Phippsburg’s wharves, a customs house, two shipyards and Center Pond, which was dammed for ice harvesting. In 1979, the light was fully automated, at which time its Fresnel lens was given to the Museum at Portland Head Light. Squirrel Point Light’s alternating three seconds of light and darkness, still serve as an aid to navigation but are now supplied by a modern optic. Squirrel Point Light was established in 1898, fifteen years after the founding of the Bath Iron Works. It was part of a major upgrade of the river’s lights — Doubling Point Light and the separate Range Lights on the point, Perkins Island Light, and Squirrel Point Light were all built at the same time. The light on Perkins Island, a couple of miles further south, is similar to Squirrel Point.
85
Trees growing near salt water do weird things. This maple tree is growing sideways out of what appears to be solid rock. Actually, it’s Cape Elizabeth Formation, sort of a hodgepodge of granite type rock. The tree has it’s nice spring colored leaves. 86
A sailboat cruising past Pond Island at the mouth of the Kennebec.
87
Looking out The Kennebec with Fort Popham to starboard, Seguin in the distance.
88
Phippsburg Congregational Church
The Pettis Rocks day marker with the Phippsburg Congregational Church in the background.
89
Cruising down the Kennebec with Georgetown Island to port, I was surprised when we came upon Bay Point. First you go from very few buildings to this rather large community in what seems like the middle of nowhere. It really isn’t. On this day, coming in the Kennebec, there were 8 foot rollers a couple of hundred feet apart. I was making turns for 11 knots and varied in speed from 8½ to 14 knots. Really fun if you keep the boat perfectly stern to, scary if you don’t. 90
The Pinnace Virginia Maine’s First Ship
Virginia, the first ship built in North America by English colonists, was built in 1607-1608 at Popham Colony’s Fort St George. This, the first English settlement north of Jamestown, was located at the mouth of the Kennebec River. As few as 70 of the original 120 colonists built the sturdy pinnace Virginia, beginning Maine’s long tradition of quality shipbuilding with 4000 ships built just on the Kennebec. During her lifetime, Virginia crossed the Atlantic at least twice, including the trip back to serve the Jamestown colony. This is the 51’ reconstruction of the original Virginia. Framed entirely of Oak and planked with Oak and Pine, she is constructed to meet the U.S. Coast Guard Standards for Small Passenger Vessels. For more information contact: Maine’s First Ship, 1 Front St., PO. Box 231 Bath, Maine 04530, Phone: 443-4242, email: mfs1@myfairpoint.net
91
Out whale watching with Dawson and Phil. No luck on the whales — saw just a couple of harbor seals. We were, nonetheless, way offshore. That’s Seguin Island in the distance.
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Seguin Island Light Station was commissioned by George Washington in 1795. A First Order Fresnel lens was installed in 1857. 92
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Pond Island and Seguin Island (center) with Popham Beach State Park at the far right. 94
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Acknowledgements
Tide & Current was photographed over a four year period from 2010 to 2014. As in previous books, I have had much help, advice and comments along the way. In particular, I have received enthusiastic help from the folks at Robinhood Marine Center, especially the dock staff. Because of my back and balance issues they have given me a huge assist along the way. I think the dock staff is worth the whole price of admission at Robinhood. Thanks to Cal, Dan, Nick, Joe and John, Laura, Megan and Ara as well as to those whose names I don’t remember. If I start naming people at Robinhood, invariably I will leave someone out, but I’m going to try anyway. Special thanks goes to Andy Vavolotis who has been my friend for fifteen years or so and gave me my first boat ride up the Sasanoa and through the Hell Gates a long time ago. Gordon and Wendy Reed remind me just how little I know about the area. On our first meeting about their foreward they kept me writing down stuff about boat types and who lived here and so on. Thanks also go out to Warren Harbison, Dave Perry, Herb Lima and the Staff at The Osprey Restaurant. Thanks also to Frank & Boo Nuccio and Kevin & Cindy Conley for all you do. Captain Phil Quinn is my oldest friend in Maine. We go back as friends to 1967. Because of his employment with Sea Tow, Phil knows the waters here in incredible detail. I think he has names for all the rocks. He showed me places that would have taken me years to figure out on my own. The Back Door, Little Hell Gate, Cowsegan Narrows, the list goes on. Steven Zwerling and Rona Middleburg have been a big help from the beginning and at the end they edited what little text I have written here. To my wife Mary, who lets me do this stuff. And to the folks that I have accidently omitted, many thanks. You know who you are.
Al Trescot
96
I keep returning. Why and what for I have been pondering. Initially to the Damariscotta River, next Muscongus Bay, and now the Sheepscot and Kennebec Rivers. It may be for the constancy or the seemingly ceaseless change — the obdurate rock islands or the shifting tides and currents. I am still seeking answers.