Tenants Harbor, Camden, and Mt. Battie
Our plans to visit harbors further north and east in Penobscot Bay were revised. We had a hard deadline of being in Portland by Tuesday August 12 to meet Monica’s friend coming in to spend some time with us. Given the weather situation, we decided to begin making our way back to Portland, planning short sailing days, 20 to 25 miles, as the foggy conditions make for stressful sailing.
We set sail for Tenants Harbor, a small fishing town just south and slightly west of Camden. The fog had subsided somewhat, but it was by no means clear. We arrived mid afternoon into the harbor poking our way slowly in an effort to miss the hundreds of lobster pots. This was the thickest we’d encountered them. Dodging pots in the fog is a skill we’ve honed, yet still is one we’d like to avoid. Once safely tucked onto our mooring, we vowed we would not return to Tenants Harbor given the number of lobster pots. From the harbor looking out to land, one sees thick pine trees and an occasional house built up on the ledge. The shore is solid rock, which adds to the beauty.
Harbor
It was a beautiful day, warm and sunny as we sailed up to Camden. What little wind we had was on our bow out of the NE so we could not sail. We arrived in Camden by noon as it was a short sail, less than 15 miles. Camden is a beautiful harbor home to a large fleet of picturesque windjammers and cruising boats of every kind. Curtis Island, with its lighthouse, guards the entrance. The steeples of the small town are white against the hills. A stream cascades down into the head of the harbor. Ship building was a major industry in Camden well before the Civil War.
On Sunday, Monica and I decided to take a hike and climb Mt. Battie, this is a high hill just at the foot of town. Although somewhat challenging to scale to the top, (and even more so coming back down), the trip was worth the effort as the views of the town and the surrounding Penobscot Bay are incomparable. We were fortunate to have the fog lift and only a slight drizzle as we made it to the top as this allowed us to take some terrific photos.
We spent the remainder of the week relaxing and enjoying the area. Frequent visits to the library kept us up to date on our emails. Monica especially enjoyed the videos she could check out and watch right there at the library. We took long walks and marketed daily, spent hours reading good books etc. We’re "living the life of Riley" no doubt, and if we must be stuck somewhere, Camden is a spot to be stuck.
