Stonington’s rough seas a challenge

A mixture of fatigue and reluctance to get off the water had me in a bit of a zone last Saturday evening in Stonington.

I had to head home after a day of exploring the islands with a gaggle of sea kayak guides-in-training who were going to spend the night on Steves Island, one of the several public islands in the area.

A stiff north wind had pounded us whenever possible throughout the day, pushing our kayaks over choppy seas, but my last leg was straight into a headwind as I paddled back to Old Quarry Ocean Adventures on Webb Cove.

I’d parted company with the gang at Little Camp Island and crossed over to Russ Island, taking advantage of the lee whenever possible, but there was no choice other than to head into the wind on the final leg across Webb Cove. As I got halfway across, I began thinking about a landing spot, and the closer I got, the more I wondered just how rocky the shore would be. (My old polyethylene boats were somewhat immune to rocks, but glass fiber and rocks don’t mix.)

My concentration, therefore, was on the immediate shore and not the tree line above me. I settled on a suitable landing spot, stepped out into shallow water and heaved my loaded kayak up to thigh level and struggled up the shore a few yards to a spot where I could gingerly put my boat on seaweed so it wouldn’t get dinged up. I must have been a sight as I grunted and wrestled with the load.

Anyway, I set the boat down and turned around to look back out to the islands one last time and down over my left shoulder swooped an eagle less than 50 feet away. We exchanged glances and I swear he was chuckling at me as he glided out over the cove for a sunset cruise. Bill Baker, owner of Old Quarry Ocean Adventures, brought me out of my trance when he yelled to me from his porch, “I was wondering when you were going to look up. He’s been watching you all the way across the cove!” Indeed, I must have been sleeping. I’d had no problem seeing the three other eagles we’d spotted earlier that day.

And what a day it had been. Karen Francoeur of Castine Kayak Adventures had invited me along for an on-water class for her latest batch of guide students. All last week I watched the weather forecasts hoping that the rains would disappear. As Saturday approached they did, but they were placed with wind. Gusts had to be close to 30 mph and there seemed to be a steady 15-plus mph wind all day- nothing like a little breeze to keep you on your toes.

It wasn’t the type of day I’d recommend for beginners. But it was a good day to take some want-to-be-guides out and give them some experience in wind and waves. And Stonington’s a great place to practice navigation. Even if you think you know your way around the islands, there are plenty of opportunities to get turned around. You think you’re looking at one island and it’s really another one.

And just to throw you off, there are a few islands with the same name. Sheep and Potato seem to be popular, and then, depending on the chart you’re looking at, there are a few islands that don’t have a name – Hell’s Half Acre and Steves come to mind. If you’re planning a trip, get the most detailed chart you can find.

What makes the area fun is the number of islands. There are at least six that are public and on the Maine Island Trail (Steves, Hell’s Half Acre, Little Sheep, Harbor, Wheat and Doliver) and another six that are on the trail and open to MITA members. Then there are at least two owned by Maine Coast Heritage Trust that are available for day use. Even if you don’t plan to go ashore or camp, the area is beautiful just to pass through.

While the wealth of islands can get you turned around, they also provide plenty of places to duck in behind to escape the wind. There are very few long crossings between islands. Our intrepid gang kept that in mind in planning the day’s course to Steves Island.

Their first task of the day, other than getting to Old Quarry Ocean Adventures by 9 a.m., was to decide, as a group, the destination and a route to get there given the day’s strong north winds and incoming tide. After due consideration and discussion a route was plotted: We’d cross Webb Cove southerly and duck into the lee of mainland Stonington; cross Deer Island Thorofare to Russ Island; paddle around the western end and cross to Green Island. There we’d consider stopping for lunch and a navigation lesson. It’s one of those day-use islands. Then we’d paddle to the western side of St. Helena Island and duck around the lee on the south side. From there it was a hop, skip and jump to Steves Island – piece of cake. It figured to be about four miles.

Next we filed a float plan with Baker, telling him our destination, the number and types of boats in our group, when we expected to return and other pertinent information that would give the Coast Guard a good idea of who we were in case we encountered trouble.

Eventually we got seven kayaks stuffed full of camping gear, food and water. Then we did a detailed pre-trip briefing (for instruction purposes) and, after some last minute scurrying around, got ourselves launched. Whew! It was almost lunchtime already! A quartet of paddlers from Maine Sport in Rockport showed up in time to see us off. Later we would see them on the water near Camp Island.

Mere minutes from shore one of our gang began experiencing handling problems. His kayak, he said, felt very unstable. The problem, I guessed, was the rather large pack he’d fastened over the rear hatch cover and the gallon of water atop the rear deck. It was too much weight and too much of a sail placed too far back on the boat and it was causing him fits.

We headed for the closest shore where we took the gallon of water off his deck and stowed it on the cockpit floor, then relocated the pack just behind the cockpit at a wider part of the boat. It helped immensely, and proved to be a good teaching opportunity – keep the decks as clear as possible and keep the weight as low and as centered as possible.

Wind-driven waves built as we got out of the lee of town and near Russ Island. Reflected waves collided with incoming waves (called clapoitis) making for a few challenging moments in confused seas. Then we ducked into a sheltered cove and took the opportunity to review the plotted course and practice some strokes in our loaded boats.

Another southward hop aided by tailwinds took us to the eastern side of Green Island. Around the southern side we found another sheltered cove and landed to have lunch and some more navigation lessons from Francoeur. From Green it was a quick hop over to St. Helena Island. Again we paused in the lee and then made the quick jump over to Steves Island. We circled the island to check out the best landing spot. It wasn’t until we poked our noses around the southeastern corner that we got a chance to paddle into the wind. By the response I was able to hear from those closest to me, it was really good that we were not going any farther.

It was time to pick a nesting spot for the night. There are several to consider on this small island. They’re all nice spots – heck any site on an island is fine. But the spot near the southeastern shore would be the one I’d have picked. It’s near a shell-sand beach and has both morning and afternoon sun. The gang decided it would be the group gathering place, especially after watching a seal thrash about in the waters off shore.

Everyone scattered to set up camp. Minutes later we heard from one of the group whose frustration was apparent. He’d purchased a used tent from an outfitter just before the trip and guess what? The outfitter forgot to include the poles! Another educational moment – check all your gear before you depart. We wound up suspending the tent from ropes we tied to near-by trees. It’s amazing what a length of rope and some bungees will do. It looked almost quaint or should I say spider web-like.

By this time it was time for me to consider heading back to Webb Cove, and for the rest of the gang to decide whether they wanted to go part of the way with me and see St. Helena, Sprout, Little Camp, Camp and Potato islands, or go eastward for a circumnavigation of Wreck, Round and McGlatherty islands. I got the sympathy vote. They’d accompany me part way back. Fortunately for all of us the wind, which was on our bows, had calmed to a more reasonable 10-15 mph.

We said our good byes just off Little Camp Island and I reluctantly headed back.

Jeff Strout can be reached at 990-8202 or by e-mail at jstrout@bangordailynews.net.