Boat U.S. - September 2008 - (Page 66)

B&B By Boat Sea kayakers have been doing it for years –– instead of tenting on remote black fly-prone islands, they have traded up and are bunking in some of Maine’s top Bed and Breakfast Inns. Now power and sail boaters have started taking up the trend, albeit not to escape the flies, but for the hot baths and comfy beds. Maine’s rugged coastline is a boating haven: 3,500 meandering miles of headlands, harbors, islands and bays, many of which are heavily dotted with B & B possibilities for day boaters looking to extend their cruising range by overnighting ashore. The inns are also attracting larger yacht cruisers wanting to give their sea legs a rest. One of the most popular areas to B & B by boat along Maine’s coast is the Penobscot Bay, Deer Isle and Mount Desert Island BoatU.S. Magazine September 2008 areas on the state’s midcoast. The area is one of the East Coast’s most scenic bodies of water with plenty of services for boaters. The area is teeming with wildlife such as watchful eagles, communities of swimming eiders and sun basking seals, and offers stunning water vistas of contrasting colors and textures: sparkling blue ocean, smooth granite surfaces and creamy sand occasionally capped with the dark hues of boreal forests. The seascape can change hourly with the moist Atlantic air and at every turn of the wheel another cove, cut or inlet appears. While much of the mainland coastline is privately owned, boaters have unique access to the dozens of public and private islands. The Maine Island Trail Association publishes an excellent guide for boaters which provides details on accessing public and private islands, anchorage advice, hiking trails, and points of interest for about 80 island destinations in the area. The association has built and maintains the 325mile long boating and sea kayaking water trail which extends from Portland to Machias, ME, in the north. The guide is available by joining the association, www. Mita.org. Center stage in all of this natural beauty are fully laden lobster boats carving a well worn path from their sprawling fields of lobster pot buoys to their home ports. These small Down East villages bustle with charm in the summer months only to turn quiet through the unforgiving northeast winter. You can imagine how the merchant mariners might have felt making landfall in one of these towns: Saltwashed and exhausted from http://www.Mita.org http://www.Mita.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Boat U.S. - September 2008

Boat U.S. - September 2008 Contents Behind The Buoy BoatU.S. Reports Member Forum List Locker Aluminum Can Do Cruising in Crossovers Second Guessing Seasonal Forecasts A Cradle for Your Baby Badlands Boating The Inns and Outs of Penobscot Bay All in the Family: The Butler Did It Stealing Back Peace of Mind DIY Boat Owner Files Good Foundations Boat Smart 2nd Time Around Hot Tips Tangled Line Seaworthy Ask Chuck At Your Service BoatU.S. Exchange Behind the Boat Where Our Flags Fly

Boat U.S. - September 2008

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