Monhegan Island no washout for CVOA
By John McCatherin
We've braved blizzards on the ski trails, monsoons in the mountains and
now the aftermath of a hurricane on an isolated island far out to sea
in the mid-coast Maine Atlantic.
With Hurricane Hanna churning up the eastern seaboard, 23 members of
CVOA boarded the intrepid Monhegan mail boat Laura B. out of Port Clyde
and sailed off to the fog-shrouded rock of an island 12 miles out to
sea.
As we stepped off the boat, we were met with a downpour from a passing shower that sent some of the group back to the mainland on an early return. Those who stayed for the last boat were rewarded with improving weather that provided more than adequate conditions for the fabled hike around the island.
Not that the skies cleared and the fog departed, but the conditions that remained provided a unique view of the cliffs – some of them soaring 150 feet above the crashing waves below – almost eerie without the ocean horizon you'd see on a clear day.
It was all part of a unique CVOA weekend headquartered out of a former children's summer camp, the Blueberry Cove Camp, in Tenants Harbor, complete with a dining hall, a commercial kitchen, showers, toilets and even rustic cabins for those who didn't trust their tents in the post-hurricane deluge.
The activities coordinated by John McCatherin and Barbara Kovach kicked off Friday night with a cookout. The coffee went on at 4:30 Saturday morning and breakfast started an hour later so the island-bound crew could be at the boat landing at 6:30 a.m.
After the Monhegan hike, and various other activities enjoyed back on the mainland by the early-returners, we convened for one of CVOA's great pot luck dinners. That night the forecast downpour arrived right on schedule with most of the group abandoning their tents for bunks in the cabins (except, of course, the hearty Westons, CVOA President Pete & Judy).
Sunday morning featured pancakes, bacon and real maple syrup at a much later breakfast hour, and inside the cozy dining room.
Hurricane or no hurricane, it turned out to be a delightful weekend with an interesting hike, exploration of the mid-coast region and lots of great food and camaraderie. So much so that the group voted unanimously to return to Blueberry Cove again next year.