Castine, Holbrook Island Sanctuary, and the court martial of Paul Revere

On the water again! We loved our visit in Denver, but it was nice to get "home". Picked up the ever-grateful Wickie from the vet and got a relatively good report on him. The renal failure is getting a little worse, but he is still clean from diabeties, kidney infections, and thryoid problems. Gotta be thankful for what you can!

We left Bucks Harbor Tuesday (5th) and headed for Castine.

This is typical of the seaside towns here, a few shops and general markets, along with a marina.

Castine is a really old city that was held by the British, Dutch, and French. Over 16 fortifications were build in this tiny town. It was the site of the Penobscot Expedition, the largest American naval expedition of the Revolutionary war. Also the worst defeat that the Americans suffered during that war.

Although the Americans had the Brits way out-numbered (1000 men vs 600 PLUS 43 warships vs 0), the unfortunate decision was made to retreat instead of attack. Good ol' Paul Revere was in charge of the artillery and was court martialed for his actions. He was acquitted, but his reputation was permanently damaged. So much for our elementary school hero and his midnight ride!

Castine is also home to the Maine Marine Academy. They teach all sorts of marine related occupations. There is a training ship, T.S. State of Maine, that also goes out 2 months of the year. We took an hour tour of her and she's big, 550 ft long! Interestingly, it was originally built as a Navy spy ship, decomissioned and given to the State of Maine.

We ended up in Holbrook Harbor, across the Bagaduce River from Castine, in the same anchorage as friends we met a week or so ago and had dinner with them. I love it when someone else cooks! :-)

Thursday morning we dinghed to the 2 separate islands that are the Holbrook Island Sanctuary. Both were damaged badly by a micro-burst last spring and most trails aren't open yet because of trees blown down. But it was still a beautiful place to take a good hike. We are always glad for a nice place to get off the boat and walk a bit.

The rains came Thursday afternoon and have stayed since then. It's chilly in addition to the rain --- upper 50's at night, lower 60's during the day. Thank goodness for our little propane space heater! We plan to leave Saturday morning and head to the Mount Desert bay, which includes Bar Harbor.

Holbrook Harbor has been peaceful and lightly populated. It does seem to be a favorite place for the passenger carying schooners to overnight. We've seen three in here, each more scenic than the last.