What’s with the rainy weekend weather pattern anyway? If it keeps up, I’m going to start taking the middle of the week off just to see if I can have a fair weather day to enjoy our waters.

Last weekend’s weather was the pits! Not only was it raining cats and dogs, but the wind was up as well. Saturday morning I got up early so as to walk the dog and finish getting myself ready for a day trip to Sorrento where I was to rendezvous with Chad Stiles, who was coming over from Mount Desert Island, and Karen Francoeur, who was guiding a couple on a camping trip at Donnell Pond.

We were to meet at the town landing at 10 a.m. and head out for a day of paddling around Prebble and Calf islands, maybe into Flanders Bay or over to Stave Island. The area is beautiful and the mountains of MDI across Frenchman Bay provide a dramatic backdrop.

I got there a little ahead of time, and I knew immediately I’d have been better off staying in bed. The wind was whistling in from the east, whipping the harbor’s waters to a white froth. Even the sea gulls were hanging low. A quick walk onto the dock and floats was confirmation enough, but I decided to drive over to Eastern Point and take another look.

There was more white than water on the windward side as waves pounded the shore – no paddling today, I said to myself, at least not here! I drove back to the town landing and met Stiles. We chatted a bit, talked to a couple of yachtsmen, and waited patiently for the remainder of our party to show up.

That never happened. We called on the cell phone and attempted to talk with our wayward party. It was a conversation made up of outtakes from a commercial: “Can you hear me now? How about now? No? Where? When are you … ? Say again? We’re in Sorrento… Where are you? Can you hear me now? I said we’re in Sorrento, by the dock! Where are you? … Say again? Campsite? … Haven’t left yet? … Can you hear me now? Say that again… Stand still, right there, try it again…”

It went on like that for several attempted phone calls. Time passed, mid-day approached. Stiles and I opted to have a bite to eat. A day on the ocean wasn’t going to happen, so we would drive back to Franklin and wait there.

After another round of Martian phone tag, we called it quits. Forget about a rendezvous. Maybe the waters of a local lake would be more accommodating. Stiles and I parted ways and I set course for Bangor.

Since I had no time constraints, it was a perfect opportunity to stop at L.L. Bean’s outlet store in Ellsworth. Wouldn’t you know it, I found a great bargain on a pair of high-topped kayaker’s boots, the kind that permit you to wade almost knee deep. They’re great if you have a boat you don’t want to run up on shore when you get out. Anyway I found a pair that fit, and they cost about a quarter of their retail price! The day wasn’t a total loss after all!

When I got to Bangor I still had enough daylight left to check out Pushaw Lake. The wind wasn’t as strong as it was at the coast, and the rain mostly had let up. Even if it had been pouring, I’d have headed out because I was in the mood to paddle. Aside from the mosquitoes near shore, it turned out to be a fun couple of hours. There was some wind and waves, some calm behind the islands, and best of all, there were no other boats on the water. I had the place to myself. And those new boots? They’re perfect! I can keep my feet dry while I launch my “glass” boat and keep it off shore while getting in, thus warding off some of the inevitable scratches and dings associated with boarding and exiting.

Sunday brought a mixed bag of weather, albeit somewhat drier than Saturday. I hooked up with Robert Causey at his lakeside estate in Glenburn for a late afternoon exploration of the northern extremities of Pushaw Lake, where the blue heron and redwing blackbirds hang out. Apparently there are hummingbirds up there as well, because I found a big apple-shaped feeder stuck in the muck. It looked as if it had been there for a while, but after a quick dunking and shaking in the water, I had it clean enough to stick on Causey’s bow where it stood out like a red beacon, kind of like Rudolph’s bulbous red nose.

The north wind picked up on our return leg, pushing us along like leaves on an autumn puddle. It was a quick final leg on our 6.5-mile paddle, and we were back in time to share some conversation and a beer before I had to head home to a wonderful Father’s Day steak dinner expertly grilled by my daughter, Elizabeth. What a great way to close out a weekend!

Recently I heard from my friend at Maptech, Martin Fox, who wanted to let me know of some new charts that his company is printing. I’ve used their software on my office computer to map out my travels on our waters, but most of my charts are the large NOAA variety. They’re a bit cumbersome because of their size, and they have to be treated to make them waterproof.

The latest offerings from Maptech are 24 inches by 36 inches overall and are folded accordion style. The waterproof synthetic paper is very durable yet it folds easily to 6-by-12. You can even fold it once more to 6-by-6 if you wish.

What’s really neat is that there are GPS waypoints noted for most of the nuns and cans on the water, as well as the distance in nautical miles between each and the compass azimuth (and back azimuth) between each. You could plot your course using these waypoints, enter them into your GPS and let it guide you to the next waypoint.

Or if you’re chasing fish, there are species designated on the chart in the locations you’d likely be apt to find them – Atlantic cod, halibut, haddock, Atlantic or chub mackerel, pollock, striped bass, smooth flounder, and winter flounder.

There are six new durable, waterproof charts available for the cruiser in the Northeast. They are Merrimack River and Plum Island Sound, Marblehead to Cape Ann, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, Fishers Island to Block Island, Throgs Neck to Stamford, and Greenwich to Norwalk and Oyster and Huntington Bays. And, Fox told me, later this summer Maptech plans to release two waterproof chart books for the Maine coast. Stay tuned.

For more information on Maptech and the multitude of maps and charts they have available, check out their Web site at www.maptech.com or call 888-839-5551.

A press release landed on my desk the other day, and I feel compelled to pass along this pat on the back to Julia Schloss of Bar Harbor, an avid hiker and volunteer for Acadia National Park. She was recently picked by the American Hiking Society of Washington, D.C., as their Volunteer of the Year in Maine. Way to go, Julia!

Schloss is a Friends of Acadia Volunteer Crew Leader who was nominated by Friends of Acadia because of her leadership and dedicated work on ANP’s trails. Her work included moving, spreading, and compacting gravel, cleaning drainage dips, water bars, culverts, and ditches, building cairns, cutting brush, and planting trees. She also introduces volunteers to project goals, tools, and safe work practices, according to the press release. “She chairs the ‘Volunteer Crew Leader’ program and is an effective and admired liaison between volunteers and staff from Acadia National Park and Friends of Acadia.”

Friends of Acadia was founded by volunteers in 1986 to preserve and protect Acadia National Park and surrounding communities. The American Hiking Society, a national recreation-based conservation organization, was established in 1976 and is dedicated to establishing, preserving, and maintaining footpaths in America.

To volunteer for ANP, contact Jonathan Gormley at 288-8716.

On behalf of everyone who hikes the trails at ANP, thank you, Julia, and all the other volunteers who help make that experience a great one.

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