It’s a lovely sunny day and your 48-foot Hinckley lobster yacht is in the shop for repairs. What’s a guy or gal with a hankering for island scenery to do? The ferry trip to Vinalhaven Island in Penobscot Bay, home to Lane’s Island Preserve, may take the sting out of being yacht-less.
The Vinalhaven ferry sails from Rockland. Don’t bring your car; maybe a bicycle. Secure seating on deck if it’s not too windy. The boat takes you through Rockland’s busy harbor, past the breakwater lighthouse and across the lower reaches of Penobscot Bay.
After cruising a few miles through open water, the boat weaves through several small islands, past part of North Haven and along the shore of Vinalhaven. A luxury tour boat wouldn’t give you a better view of what makes Penobscot Bay one of the East Coast’s top cruising waters.
Once you’ve landed, it’s a 15-minute stroll into the village past boat yards, ice cream shops and the active harbor. In town, be sure to stop at the Harbor Gawker for a fresh — so fresh the claw meat is still twitching — crab or lobster roll. Check out the carved, but broken remnants of the island’s granite quarrying glory days, lying about the village.
Continuing through the village, turn right onto Water Street and then follow Atlantic Avenue across a bridge to Lane’s Island Preserve, where a beautiful walk around a rocky headland awaits you.
Keep an eye on the time, though. You don’t want to miss the ferry home. If you do, the Tidewater Motel is the place to stay.
— Tom Groening, BDN