Matinicus Day 1: Tenants Harbor to Burnt Island
Yankee magazine described Matinicus Island in its August 8, 2011 issue: "Matinicus Island lies 23 miles out to sea, the most remote inhabited island on the Atlantic seaboard. Its unique culture has been little understood by the outside world." Their description was spot on.
We had planned to launch on Friday the 22nd, but the winds were high and would be hitting us on the beam from the southwest. Given the 18nm crossing, this did not sound like an enjoyable time, so I decided to push off the crossing until the next day, opting instead to paddle down to Burnt Island. We launched from Tenants Harbor Boatyard at the start of the flood, hitting a strengthening headwind as we turned towards the southwest. After a brief stop on Mosquito Island, we continued through the Brothers, hitting some decent wind until we made for lunch at Burnt Island.
The return trip was much more enjoyable as we took advantage of the wind and tide moving us 5-7 knots at times as we surfed to the north. After another stop on Mosquito, we continued along the coast back to Tenants Harbor with around 16nm under our belt as we waited for winds to calm in order to make the trip out to Matinicus the next day.
Winds we would have experienced on the crossing to Matinicus
Route for the day