A True Fishing Village...Port Clyde, Maine

We woke up early on Monday morning in order to make a stop at Damariscove before our final destination of Port Clyde. Long before the settlements of Plymouth and Jamestown, Damariscove was a major trade center in the early 1600’s. According to the Mayflower’s log, 102 pilgrims sailed to Damariscove in 1620 in order “to take some coddes before sailing on to Maffachufeets Bay” (note the interesting spelling). Two years later, Edward Winslow of Plymouth Plantation returned to plead for rations of food for the starving pilgrims. Food was given generously, and no payment was received. I found it interesting that Damariscove has faded away in history. The island now consists of a few lobstermen’s shacks, one cottage, and an old Coast Guard station that was abandoned in 1959 (now restored as a private home). We stopped to eat lunch at the anchorage and headed to our next destination, Eastern Egg Rock.

Eastern Egg Rock is no more than seven acres of land in the middle of the entrance to Muscongus Bay. The reason why we wanted to sail by it was because it is known to be a puffin breading ground. Sadly, we did not see any puffins, but I did see a few harbor seals (which are the cutest animals in the whole world, next to Morgan and Ody). I am determined to see a puffin before we leave Maine! (Side note- after writing this blog, I zoomed in on pictures of Easter Egg Rock and saw about 20 puffins in my pictures haha).

When we arrived in Port Clyde, we called Todd (the owner of the lobster shack), and he directed us to his mooring by Raspberry Island. The town is a tiny, quant town solely dedicated to lobstering. Todd lives on the water and owns his own business as a lobster wholesaler. The lobster boats bring their catch right to his dock. These lobsters get shipped all over the country, but surprising, the majority of them are sent to processing facilities in Canada. Only a small percentage of the lobsters are sent to his restaurant in Boothbay. We also found out that it’s a law in Maine that only the owner of a boat can operate the boat while lobstering. This prevents one person from owning a fleet of boats and taking all the business away from local fishermen. Todd’s neighbor happens to be Linda Bean, one of the owners of the L.L. Bean Company. He isn’t too fond of the Beans family because he says that they are buying up all the lobster restaurants and grocery stores in the area.

We spent a quiet night on the mooring and watched the sunset from the hammock.