We left Camden early on Tuesday, July 27th, eager to meet Magnolia again in a little cove on the west side of Blue Hill Bay. Trivia fact: E.B. White wrote the classic Charlotte’s Web in a boathouse on the western shore.
An hour into the ride, Al spotted a lobster buoy that wasn’t behaving like most buoys and appeared to be floating with a drifting bunch of weeds. We circled back to pick up it up as a souvenir.
Stonington is a working fishing town. Many people stop here, but we were just passing through.
We picked up anchor and headed over to Swan’s Island, just 10 nautical miles away, on Wednesday.
James Swan, a participant in the Boston Tea Party and Bunker Hill, purchased the island from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1786. In 1830, he died in debtor’s prison in France never realizing his dream of an “island empire.” Why does that matter? The name of the island became just Swans Island until the bicentennial in 1986 when the islanders petitioned to restore the original and grammatically name with the apostrophe – Swan’s Island.
We anchored in Mackerel Cove, a large bay on the north side because of predicted strong southerly winds, which never materialized. It was very quiet and serene, even with the ferry that arrived and departed every day.
After settling in, we dinghied over to the dinghy dock next to the ferry. Taking a walk on the only road there was, we came upon the Lobster and Marine Museum in a tiny little house dedicated to preserving the island’s lobster and fishing history. We paid a visit and had a nice chat with the woman there who has maintained the museum since her husband, its founder, passed away.
After our walk and lunch, we took a dinghy tour around the cove. It was a beautiful cove, quiet and serene, the edges filled with nooks and crannies of rocks. Those nooks catch loose lobster buoys.
I awoke early on Thursday and peaked out the pilot house window. Just one of those lucky moments because the sun was also waking. The glow began at 4:50 am until the sun was visible before 5:38 am.
Ems
Okay, I laughed out loud at Two Bush Island.
watsons
😉