8/14/22 -- Portland to MacMahan Island

                                             8/14/22 -- Portland to MacMahan Island

            Today was a big day. We've been renting the same cottage on MacMahan Island since 2010, and for the first three years we took dad's old boat up from Beverly, MA. After that we would rent a small center console run-about. (You really need to have a boat on MacMahan if you want to go anywhere, and there is lots of well-protected water to explore.) Now we got to bring Craunological II up to these glorious waters. We've been flying the MacMahan Yacht Club burgee on the bow ever since we left Naples and now -- 49 days and roughly 2,360 miles later (counting only boating time) -- we're here! 

            We pulled out of DiMillo's marina at nine for another gorgeous day on the water. Sunny, temp in the low 70s, light breeze out of the NE with a barely discernable chop on top of gentle swells. Here are pictures of the Portland waterfront as left. The first one shows DiMillo's marina and restaurant to the left.

            Running to MacMahan from Portland requires rounding Cape Small, which is just west of the mouth of the Kennebec River. We have rounded Cape Small many times over the years, and it is often sloppy, but today was calm. There is a little cove on the west shore of Cape Small with an offshore rock ledge marked with a metal pole -- a common local navigation aide along the Maine coast. I've always had a fond spot for this one because it's the first one I ever saw -- plus the pole is bent, which makes one wonder how that happened.

            Once past Cape Small one passes the mouth of the Kennebec with Seguin Island a few miles offshore.  The mouth of the Kennebec is infamous for its currents (the effects of flow from a big river on top of tidal currents and currents rounding Cape Small). Fort Popham -- another Civil War vintage masonry fort made obsolete by advancing weapons technology -- can be seen in the center background. Pond Island Lighthouse is on the left. 

            Seguin Island is a major landmark along this stretch of the Maine coast because of its height. The lighthouse on top was built in 1857 and is the highest lighthouse in Maine (180'). We have often made day trips out to Seguin and had a picnic lunch on top, where the views are spectacular.

            After passing the Kennebec you gradually bear left (north) and run up the Sheepscot River a few miles to MacMahan Island. The first photo shows us approaching the south end of MacMahan (note how the burgee is showing). The second shows the narrow cut between MacMahan and the mainland (actually Georgetown Island, but it counts as the mainland because it has cars and roads). The cut usually has a strong tidal current, as can be seen here. The third shows our cottage, which looks south, but can't be seen in the first photo because it is tucked away inside a small cove.

These pictures show the island dock and the cottage from the road (which is just a couple hundred yards up the road from the dock):

And finally, here is Craunological II on her mooring in the harbor along the west side of MacMahan (aka the Little Sheepscot River), and a view from our mooring looking south to the cut where we entered the harbor. (One can go in and out of the harbor to the north as well.) There is a dock for dinghies and small boats visible in the far left of the second picture. That is where we will tie up our dinghy after we leave Craunological II on her mooring. The main island dock (shown above) is only used for the island ferry and for temporary docking to pick up or drop off passengers (which is how we will use it). 

            

And finally, here is a photo of the back deck all loaded up with luggage and provisions for the week for five adults, two teenagers and a six-year-old. And all that food will be gone by next Sunday. We take turns preparing meals so no one person has the burden of kitchen duty every night. Of course, Ashley and Janet organize that spreadsheet!

P.S. I checked a driving distances website, and they gave Georgetown, Maine (across the gut from MacMahan) to Naples as 1,652 miles -- so our route was 43% longer than driving. The distance as the crow flies is 1,394 miles -- so we covered 69% more miles than a crow would.