Why I love Maine

Ah, Maine! The rocky coast, numerous islands and bays, forested shores smelling of balsam fir trees, beautiful island trails, rich with food above and below the tide line... wonderful!

I love foraging, so find delight in the multitude of softshell clams ("steamers") on every suitable island, blue mussels on moorings and rocks, sea scallops in the deeper waters, and quahogs in the warmer bays... I haven't managed to get the sea scallops as the water is darned cold, but someday. The plentiful pollock and mackerel, although rather small, taste wonderful when fresh from the sea an hour before. Local fishermen are even beginning to grow oysters now that the waters are warming enough.

And the currents, gooseberries, raspberries, and blueberries: I've seen the bushes growing wild everywhere I go and, while I've never managed to get to Maine when they are ripe, plan to spend next July in Maine eating them in a multitude of ways... I wonder how current pancakes would taste? Hmm...note to self: buy extra maple syrup to stock boat.

Although I prefer warm water, like the Bahamas or Virgin Islands, the waters of Maine chill one rapidly. Even in September, when waters reach their warmest, I find a one-minute duck into and under the water to be sufficient.... and delightfully tingly and refreshing.

Rock shores here are safe to walk on: I can circle many an island without shoes; hopping on boulders, walking across glacier-sculpted shores, leaping occasional cracks formed by millenia of winter freezes.

Bahamian "rock" is limestone, typically eroded by rain into knifelike edges unfriendly even with shoes and the Virgins mostly have sharp steep stone.

Good anchorages abound and, while most are unmarked, I've developed the simple method of telling what is rocky and unsuitable from nice mud bottoms: look at the lobster pots! Lobsters love rocks, so fishermen place pots near rocks. No pots equals no rocks.... probably. So, a decent depth (enough that I won't be aground at low tide), a fairly flat bottom (just watch depth finder), and a couple hundred feet clearance from the nearest lobster pot and I'm probably in a good spot to drop anchor! Set an anchor or two, turn on an anchor alarm and watch it for a half hour while I prepare to go ashore and explore, and all is well!

Yes, there are issues: the multitudes of lobster pot buoys so packed together one can hardly avoid tangling with them, the strong currents and huge tides, the winds that frequently change direction from day to night, the thick and frequent fogs, frigid water, and frequent noisy lobster boats, but these are manageable. Maine is delightful.