Jewell Island Camping Trip

[brambor]

My report is only partial as we have joined the main group about halfway through the trip.

Dagen and I met with Barry at Falmouth landing around 7AM. The road goes literally right to the water so the put in was a piece of cake. We headed out towards Little Chebeague island past Clapboard island. The conditions were as calm as they could get. Very little wind or wave action. As we passed Little Chebeague headed for the northern point of Long Island. The conditions were very calm and we saw very little boat traffic. We decided to make a straight line to Cliff Island instead of going to Great Chebeague --> Hope island --> Cliff Island.

As we rounded the southern tip of Cliff island we received a radio transmission from the group already waiting for us on Jewell Island. They spotted us. We acknowledged our presence and continued towards Jewell Island.

We saw a nice looking Fox on the shores of Jewell.

When we touched the pebble beach of Cocktail cove we were warmly greeted by the rest of the group who helped us move our boats above the high tide mark and carry our camping items to the camp site.

The campsites at Jewell are really a pleasure. Nice grassy patches with large overhanging trees for shade. Coupled with beautiful views you can't ask for much more.

After we pitched our tent and settled in we went on an exploratory walk around the entire island. First we explored the former military installations on the sourthern tip as well as checked out the other camp spots on the way.

Then we headed for the eastern tip with a campsite in the Punchbowl. Great campsite. We placed a brand new geocache in the Punchbowl called Punchbowl Treasure - there are legends of pirate treasure burried in the vicinity.

Later the group decided to paddle out to Chunk of Pork while I and Dagen went back to the Southern Beach.

Pictures of Doug, Judy, Roger ready to leave for a day trip.

As the evening arrived we made a good dinner with a bonus of fresh mussels collected by Gary.

The fog must have rolled in during the night. I felt the moisture slowly weighing down on my sleeping bag. The day was interspersed with lifting and 'descending' fog.

We returned along the eastern tip of Cliff Island where I and Dagen caught a nice small wave. Perfect introduction to peak my kids curiosity about yak surfing.

The group split when we reached Sand Island. Dagen, Barry and I have returned via Hope-Chebeague route while the rest of the group went around North Eastern side of Great Chebeague.

We made a stopover at Basket Island where we wanted to refresh a geocache that I placed there last fall. As we neared the landing beach Barry noticed a lone seal pup. It was frightened about to jump in the water. Not exactly a suicide attempt but we did not want to intrude further to make it go into the water. So we retreated and rounded the corner to another landing. All looked well until we got out of the boats and approached a resting spot when about 20 ducks darted from the bushes - yep they were nesting there. Sometimes you just can't win in trying not to disturb the wildlife. We placed the new cache quickly, had a quick snack and headed out towards the mainland. The Basket Cache is now active again.

The fog fell heavy for the last leg of the trip and it made the return more magical.

Great trip! Thans the Gary to be a great initiator who took great responsibility for safety throughout the weekend. Thanks to Barry, Judy, Doug, Roger and Chris for a great company.

[gyork]

Great trip!

Even the peanut butter (non-staged photo) had a good time!

[bazzert]

Thanks Gary for "initiating" and to Rene & Deegan for the opportunity to join the group on saturday morning. If you were going to paddle Casco Bay solo the conditions on saturday were near perfect; but in general I avoid solo trips. It was a great experience and I learned a lot; particularly about the right type of gear suitable for kayak camping. Jewell is a great destination; we scouted the many beautiful camping spots.

Below is the track which includes the outbound trip from Falmouth, the saturday evening paddle around "Junk of Pork" and the return trip for a total of about 24nm.

Barry.