WILD & WONDERFUL MONHEGAN ISLAND
Just because you’re cruising close to home, that doesn’t mean you can’t have an
adventure—especially if you live in the Northeast, where small island escapes abound.
So, you say you can’t take the time to do the Great Loop this year, or that romantic
fantasy cruise to Bermuda. Let’s be honest. Not many can. But we would bet that no matter
what place you call home, there are unexplored jewels within hours that you’ve completely
overlooked. It reminds us of that old story of living in New York City and never visiting the
Statue of Liberty. You don’t have to fall into the same trap with cruising.
Combining a local cruising destination with a bit of outdoor hiking and exploring keeps
everyone on this crew happy, and so coastal Maine’s Monhegan Island jumped right off the
chart when we were planning a long weekend getaway last summer. Dauntless, Jim’s 43-foot
Albin, spends the summer at Lewis Wharf in Boston. She cruises along at 8–10 knots, so
when we say “long weekend” to the coast of Maine, we mean long.
So long, in fact, that we had to figure out how to make the trip work with our tight
schedules. Since we have limited time to spend aboard Dauntless, we’ve taken to sharing the
boat when possible. And so it was agreed that Jim’s brother, Dan, who holds a 50-ton
captain’s license, and his wonderful wife, Judy, would take some well-deserved vacation time
and cruise Dauntless up the coast to Boothbay Harbor, Maine, from their home in
Amesbury, Massachusetts, where we had left the boat a couple weeks earlier.
Many of you have what are now commonly referred to as “fast trawlers,” which would
make the cruise we’re about to describe considerably shorter. We won’t say we’re jealous.
We’ll just pick up the story from our arrival at Boothbay Harbor, where we met up with Dan
and Judy.
STARTING OUT
We recommend Brown’s Wharf Marina in Boothbay Harbor, a peaceful paradise
compared to another marina in town that’s located across the harbor in the shopping
district, which can be noisy at times. Brown’s offers great facilities, is reasonably priced and
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