A Cruising Guide to the Maine Coast describes Camden as “…one of the jewels of Penobscot Bay,” and gives it five stars, and I can see why. In one direction, you have beautiful sunrise views over the Penobscot, and in the other, the sun sets just behind the picturesque Camden hills. Windjammers sail in and out of the harbor along with recreational sailboats and power boats of every size and description. Boatbuilder Lyman Morse is based here, and while the town is touristy, it retains its New England charm.
We reserved a mooring in the outer harbor through Camden Yacht Club. Everyone we met at the club was friendly and welcoming. And, we were excited to learn that they have three of our sister ships as members! Since there were only 35 J/46s built, we’re geekily excited when we find one (we wish we’d gotten a chance to meet the owners!). The harbor is exposed to the south and southeast, making it rolly at times (I wouldn’t want to be here in a strong blow from those directions), but the views more than made up for any rolling.
Our first plan of attack when we got ashore was to find lunch, and we ended up at Salt Wharf where we both devoured lobster rolls, followed by ice cream at River Duck (blueberry, of course). To burn all that off, we decided to hike part of the Mount Battie trail. The view from the top looks amazing, but we didn’t make it that far. There’s a sign at the bottom of the trail that warns hikers that some scrambling is required, and they didn’t lie. We probably made it about half way, but since we weren’t planning to hike, we were both wearing flip flops and I’m kind of amazed I didn’t break anything. It was a nice hike anyway, and we did manage to get some decent views of the harbor through the trees.
Curtis Island Lighthouse guards the entrance to Camden, warning sailors of the island and the rocky outcroppings that sit amid the the entrance channels. Before work on Monday, we grabbed our coffee and hopped in Williwaw to go visit. The shoreline all around the island is rocky (and the tidal range is 10+ feet), so they set up a cool pulley system to tie up to – you tie the dinghy to a rope, pull yourself in to shore, then send the dinghy back out offshore so it floats clear of the rocks and doesn’t end up high and dry at low tide. We had the entire island and its beautiful views to ourselves, and as we looked out over the Penobscot Bay, one of the local windjammers sailed past… just in case the scenery wasn’t already perfect enough. The lighthouse isn’t open to the public but even just getting to walk the grounds is worth the visit. If past lives are real, I’m certain I was a light keeper in at least one of mine, as visiting a lighthouse always feels like coming home.
There’s a nice little market in town, French & Brawn, where we were able to provision. The prices vary – some things are really cheap and others are on the pricey side, but it all evens out and it saved us the walk to Hannafords – it’s only about a mile, but it’s amazing how long a mile feels when you’re laiden down with groceries. French & Brawn had a far better selection than I expected from a small market, and I was excited to find wild Maine blueberries that would become muffins and pancakes.
On our way back to Windara, we caught a gorgeous sunset over the hills and later sat out in the cockpit to watch some of the Persied meteor shower. Tuesday night, we had a nice dinner at 40 Paper. The menu incorporates locally sourced ingredients whenever possible, and everything we had was delicious. The space is really neat – it’s part of what was once the Knox Woolen Mill, in operation from the mid-1800s to the late 1980s.
This morning’s sunrise was muted by the smoke from the Canadian fires, but still pretty. We’re off early to make the run to Warren Island, just a few miles away, before we have to be online for work. I love how many great anchorages there are so close together up here – one season is barely enough time to scratch the surface.
