As we were preparing to round Coombs Island , a gorgeous gaff-rigged schooner appeared from behind the rocks.  The camera’s came out and the next 10 minutes were spent admiring this tradional-styled vessel.  We would run into this and other schooners throughout the week.

At the west side of McGlathery Island (also referred to as “McGillicuddy” and “That Irish Island” by our absentminded crew), we stopped for a break in a small cove.  Here, we stretched our legs and did a little exploring before returning to the water and the South side of the island where we played in the swells and low surf.  

On Round Island , we took another brief rest on a crushed-shell spit… just long enough for Steven to take a quick dip.  Then, we continued to Wreck Island where we explored the island and had lunch.

[Nelson]  “The hike on Wreck Island was a nice change of pace and we had a beach of soft pulverized shells to land on which was always welcome. We hiked to the top a high point and climbed up on a huge boulder for an unbelievable panoramic view of the surrounding islands. Doug thought there might be another hill or ridge somewhere on the island so he set off to find it and we all followed.

The pathways through the wooded areas were dark and eerie in many places. Fallen trees were everywhere with their roots exposed looking a lot like huge spiders. Speaking of spiders, they were just about everywhere we went. On Wreck Island , Doug got bit by one that took him by surprise but he never gave it another thought and forged on.

The best part of this island was lunch. Actually food was almost always a highlight of the day especially for John who often reminded me of the dog under the table looking for a handout from the kids, and he always managing to finish off what no one else had room for... and then some). For lunch Doug made a corn, black bean, diced tomatoes and onion wrap. It was absolutely delicious but extremely messy and I ended up wearing the juice it produced from the very first bite. Needless to say everyone else ate theirs at the waters edge and stayed clean. The area where we had lunch was a small area of smooth , noticeably clean rocks at the water's edge with a place for everyone to sit. Chip picked out a spot that he called the couch... (now, if only he had a plasma TV to watch the Patriots game on).  This was a great spot and a great lunch.”

Consistent with our pre-determined plan (somewhat influenced by our diminishing beer supply) our next port-of-call was the village of Stonington .  With a stiff wind out of the Southwest, we experienced significant following seas on the crossings between St. Helena Island and Stonington Harbor .  However, we were rewarded for our efforts with seal sightings and ice cream... That is, Doug and John were rewarded with ice cream.  Apparently, the rest of us missed the offer as we were clinging to a granite quay and their boats while they went for supplies.  

[Steven]  “It’s doubtful Doug would have intentionally neglected the rest of the group from a frozen treat.  I suspect that it just slipped his mind… the first symptom of having to drink sub-par coffee all week”

[Nelson]  “I was looking forward to going to Stonington . If you use your imagination, paddling to a populated place you've never been before sort of feels like you're on a voyage to another country. We had a downwind ride into Stonington Harbor then had trouble finding a place to land. No beaches and nothing that looked much like a public landing. We followed Doug as he paddled under one of the town piers and around to the right before becoming dead ended at a quay wall that rose 10 feet above us. By the time I reached the wall Doug was already out of his boat and climbing the latticework ladder that was affixed to the wall. A number of on looking tourists were very impressed with this feat. Chip was charged with keeping Doug's boat from being tossed around and I rafted up with him while we waited for Doug to find out if there were any official landing spots.

The next thing I know John paddles up to the wall and is climbing the ladder as well. Doug found out that there was one semi-public landing spot but since the two of them were already up there they might as well just take care of the beer run and we'd paddle back to camp. So much for great voyages to other countries but at least we had a case of beer to drown our pathetic sorrows in.”

[John]  “I saw that ice cream stand, and there was no way I was going to stay in my boat, and wait for Doug to run to the store for beer. He kept trying to convince me to wait in my kayak, and not climb up the rickety old ladder; but then I think he saw the look of determination in my eyes, and he new better than to wrangle with me when I had food on my mind. Or so I'd like to think. My favorite part of this whole experience is climbing to nearly the top of the ladder, and finding a smallish tourist with his hand extended, his intention to be kind and give me a hand. I had to refuse, knowing if I had grabed hold and pulled, the poor guy probably would have ended up in Nelson's lap down below. Not a great memory to have of your trip to Maine , to end up in Nelson's lap.

I seriously would have gotten ice cream for the ingrats, but they refused. I had to enjoy the ice cream by myself. In retaliation, they made me ask the score of the pats game, and I had to explain to some old Mainer, we had been roughing it, out in the wilderness, brave souls that we were. "Didn't you bring a radio with you?" Didn't think of that sir…”

Back at camp, another Schooner screamed past our island on a close haul and found anchorage for the night on the leeward side of Camp Island .  The idea of paddling over to see what was on the menu for dinner came up more than once.  As we watched, a small sprit-rigged craft was lowered and some of the crew attempted to sail around the bay.  However, they appeared to be having trouble in the heavy winds.

Nelson requested the opportunity to make dinner this particular evening, so Doug wisely assigned him the task of making pasta (the rest of us would have revolted if anyone but Doug were to attempt making pizza).  Nelson did a fine job, and we were soon reclining under the circus fly, feeling content with full bellies.

[Chip]  “This was one of the better days for me. I slept very well the night before. Great breakfast. Got my PEARLZ taken care of before we launched for the day. Seeing the ships tool around the islands was an awesome sight. The hike on Wreck Island was a nice break before lunch. The Island looked like a fun place for a kid to play. Lot 's of nooks and crannies to hide in. Remnants of previous storms were seen as fallen and uprooted trees on the island.

We headed over to Stonington to get some supplies. We couldn't land so Doug and John climbed up onto a pier while we took care of their boats. We had many onlookers checking us out as we floated there waiting for Doug and John to get back. We finally found out that the Pats had lost on Sunday night. Good game to miss.”

[Steven]  “Shortly after returning to camp, I found a comfortable spot on the South side of the island (where I was protected from the wind) and laid down on the crushed-shell beach to pick-up my reading.  I was eventually joined by the others and pre-dinner librations soon were on-hand.  As I laid there, listening to the conversation with a few swigs of Cognac running through my system, I found myself enthralled with the crushed shells I was running through my fingers.  I thought, “I need to bring some of this home… this is therapeutic.

That night, I chose to bring my pad and sleeping bag out to the rocks and sleep under the stars.  I read for a little while, but was too distracted by the show Mom Nature was putting on, and soon put down my book to just stare up at the sky.  I lost total track of time and was shocked when I discovered an hour and a half had passed in what felt like 15 minutes.  I was reluctant to close my eyes, but sleep must have snuck up on me since I woke at some point in the night to a mosquito buzzing in my ear and my sleeping pad nowhere in my vicinity.  I retired to my tent and now stared at the ceiling listening to the sounds of the night (i.e. some serious snoring from my companions)

WEDNESDAY ->