Calm Before the Storm at Sears Island

   How still was the air on Saturday?  Still enough that it was easy to capture a seagull's reflection as it took flight.
 How warm was it on Saturday?  Warm enough that I didn't bother with waterproof boots, and waded through the water gladly. 
Warm enough that folks in costume for the Zombie Walk and trick-or-treating wore only their costumes.  When you live in Maine you get used to answering your door to find a princess skirt peaking out from beneath a warm winter coat and snow boots taking the place of glass slippers. 

   A very peaceful day to be on the water; at least here in Maine.  We launched from Stockton Springs.  The Harbor was busy- a lobsterboat bringing in traps and tossing them over the side.

A crew pulling the docks from the water. 

 The pending storm may have caused the work to be done on Saturday, but the season caused the dock to be pulled.

As we crossed to Sears Island remnants of morning fog were still visible.

But as a whole, what stands out was how quiet and still the ocean was, flat all the way to Isleboro.

Folks were out enjoying Sears Island, mostly walkers and their dogs.  At times it seems like Sears Island is Maine's largest dog park.  There were also hunters, dressed in bright orange.  Saturday was the first day of hunting season and a great day to be out. 

But on Sears Island, it seems like unwary dog walkers and hunters could be a bad mix.  I've never heard of accidental shootings there, but next time I drive by I might add a sign that it's hunting season and tie an orange vest or two to the fence.

Sears Island is joined to the mainland by a causeway, so our adventure included a portage; two boats at a time up a trail, one boat at a time down the stairs.

Sears Island is also a great place to scout out sea birds.  We saw scoters, laughing gulls, loons,herring gulls, mergansers, ring-bill gulls and cormorants. 

Back in Stockton Springs the lobster boat had delivered a second load of traps.  A dropping tide had left  the first set of  lobster traps above water, ready to be loaded on a trailer and moved off for winter storage.

 A calm quiet day, which seems especially calm in view of the  bigger, more exciting seas which are due.  Hopefully all affected by Frankenstorm will take care and stay safe....

Summary:  Launch Stockton Springs, lots of parking.  Sadly the flush toilet is closed for the season, but a portapottie remains.  8 miles around Sears island, a portage required across uneven ground.  High: 9:30AM.  Launch 10:50 AM, finish 1:45PM; one stop, one portage.

A Window of Opportunity – Sears Island Maine

Yes, it really was this gray and dark midday.  Far in the distance the slot between Isleboro and mainland appears

Basics: Launch 1PM finish 2:30PM Low 12:30. 5.5 miles. Launch from the causeway. Lots of parking, portapottie. No ramp. Steep climb or long twisting portage required.

Launch, either down beside the fence, or through the barriers to the distant info sign (by road) and along trail.

Monday, Bangor set a new high, 57 degrees. The couple inches of rain that fell kept most people from enjoying the warmth though. But on Tuesday, though it was cooler, it was still about 40 degrees, and we planned to take advantage of it. The snowmelt and rain meant that the path to the Penobscot was a slippery clay mess, and the river was a fast moving amalgamation of muddy water and deadwood.

However, the marine forecast was not ideal; winds 10-15 knots with gusts to 20 from the south west and seas of 5 to 6 feet. Under more benign temperatures, we’ve paddled under those conditions, but we had no intent of taking on that challenge in December. So we made our plans accordingly. Our thought: Sears Island. Sears Island is one of the largest unoccupied island on the main coast. (Though since it is connected by a causeway, whether it is technically still an island is subject to debate.) Maine has looked to use Sears Island as a marine terminal for decades. For just as long, others have protested against it. Currently plans call for a marine terminal to be put in, and part of the island preserved as open space. But for now, it’s like a great undeveloped lot, 940 acres beloved by bird watchers and dog walkers.

Most people walk along the one road which leads to a stone pier. If you time the tides correctly, you can walk all the way around Sears Island. The south side is rough cobble beach and near high, you may need either to wade, or to bushwhack a bit.

These ledges on the east side are one spot where you'd get wet at high tide

Since Sears Island has beach all the way around it, there are frequent bail points. We used to think of it as an ideal location for (strong) beginning sea kayakers. We were corrected on that impression by a pair of friends who noted that they’d seen horrible wild water and breaking waves on the south west side. A look at the chart shows how that could happen.

East Arrow marks sand dollar beach (search at low tide in the summer) West arrow is jetty (hopefully)

To the south west shallow water (blue) extends out a half mile or more. Along that same side, there is a stretch which is not protected by Isleboro (that slot is pictured in the first photo.) So, especially in the summer, when winds tend to come from the south, paddlers could easily be surprised by wild chop in that area. And, sure enough, a few trips later we found ourselves in confused water along that shore, whose many rocks certainly adds stress to the experience.

Our plan was to use the island as a wind break, paddling along the east side to sand dollar beach and back. And we also made plans in case the “calm” side was too active, we brought jeans and hiking shoes, so we could substitute a hike for the paddle.

Fortunately, when we got there, it was very calm, as we’d hoped. The wind was below 10 knots. We donned drysuits and PFDs, outfitted our boats with rescue gear and toted them down the hill. It’s slightly easier to carry kayaks down the east side, there is a narrow trail, the cars park beyond the guard rail, and there’s a chain link fence to clutch as you climb down.

Being on the water was incredible, even if the sky, water and beach were a uniform gray. Once we made it to sand dollar beach, we felt comfortable going further, to the rocky strewn south shore.

Almost exactly half way 'round

Though the wind was from the southwest, the angle was such that the seas were small, 1 to 2 feet. All along the west shore patches of seaweed extend out, and as the light was improving and colors other than gray appearing, a few times I ducked into the seaweed to take advantage of how it damped out waves.

Jetty where the road leads.  Behind it hints of a meadow and hardwood forest

We saw a number of birds, a variety of gulls, eiders, pintails and mergansers. Across from the jetty is the active marine terminal of Mack Point.

I can't wait until boats this size are on Sear's Island! -)

Soon we were back at the causeway, ready for our final challenge, carting boats up and over the guardrail.

Mark approaches the causeway. 

One more boat to carry up, one more memory of a wonderful paddle!

Stockton Springs to Sears Island ME – Bunch o'birds

Basics: Launch Stockton Springs: Easily parking for twenty SUVs with trailers, another thirty cars. Portapottie, inside flush toilet with a nice view of the harbor, picnic tables, grills, playground. Launch about 8:45AM, finish about noon. 8 miles. High 12:08. More about the harbor.
The boat launch at Stockton Springs is charming and delightful. The town has put a lot of work into the facilities; upgrading the dock, adding moorings, putting in benches, tables and a playground, adding the wonderful bathroom. It’s usually a very quiet launch site. The launch leads to a protected area, the town to the north, Cape Jellison along the east and Sears Island to the west. It’s not ideal for all weather, but it is usually less challenging than other locations.
We often launch here to catch low tide, the bottom here is sandy offering a home to sand dollars and other creatures. If we land at the erratic on Sears Island which in line with the green can we can often find sand dollar husks, but only at the lowest tides.

Today low tide came too early, we launched mid tide. And with a wind from the north we knew we’d make quick time along Cape Jellison.
We cruised out by the pilings, custom made to display cormorants,

and along the wonderful beach down to the tiny island at the end, often a nesting site for osprey and or eagles. In addition to Gulls and Cormorants, birds we spotted on our way south were terns, loons and a few guillemots in the muted gray feathering of the young. Then it was across to Sears Island. Sears Island is the largest unpopulated island off the Maine coast. I love it as a paddling and hiking destination, but the state wants to preserve its right to put a dock facility in. Enjoy the freedom of Sears Island while you can.
You can hike around Sears Island when the tide is low, as it comes in there are a couple of spots, one here by the iron outcropping, another not far from the causeway to the west which fill up and become impassible.

We paddled north along Sears Island, taking time to check out the nests on the loading dock. Next it was over to the GAC facility, and the cormorants there.

In the background you can see the causeway to Sears Island, always a popular locations for birders, hikers, and dog walkers.
On the way across the cove we passed through a gathering of laughing gulls, mature and immature. Lively birds, their antics in flight would entertain us all along the north shore.


We heard eiders in the distance and could see a small raft of eiders heading to the center. Closer to shore a common merganser and her brood of over a dozen swam along. Then there was this bird; a yellow legs? A upland sandpiper? (We can't claim to be experts, or even good, at bird identification.)

In the northeast corner a couple lobster boats were drawn up on shore. They seemed to have been recently painted, but mostly were fading into landscape.
We went under the West Cape Rd Bridge into a back bay.

(taken from in the back bay, looking back to open water)
It’s always a little bit foolish to do things like that; the current which takes you under the bridge may prevent you from coming out, or the water may rise too high to allow safe exit.

But near high, we didn’t have much trouble and we found a pretty little area with lots of crows, but no shore birds.
Then it was back to the launch, in time to see groups arriving to enjoy the lunch facilities.

Route