Jewel Island

Jewel Island, Maine N 43 41.332 W 70 05.383

Jewel Island is part of a Maine State Park near Portland. We sailed here today from Bath. It was an interesting day. Coming out of the Kenebec River we encountered the classic hazard. The tide was running out full and the wind was blowing the other way. In those conditions, where the river meets the sea one gets very wild and very steep waves. We sure did. For a moment I though I would be seasick.

Sailing across Casco Bay one can nearly always see submerged rocks with spectacular waves breaking on them. Even today when the ocean swells were only 2-3 feet, the breaking waves were quite a sight. Imagine what it must look like when it's really right. Believe me, breaking waves is one thing that really gets a sailor's attention. You can bet that I kept an eagle eye on the charts and on the GPS the whole way. No nap for me today.

We came here because the cruising guide says that Jewel Island is a real Jewel. The guide was right. This is a very pretty place. We rowed ashore and hiked to the the windward side of the island to watch the breaking waves. We saw three deer feeding down near the beach. We met the caretaker of the island, a young man named Vinnie. Vinnie gave us a brochure where I learned that Jewel Island is named after Mr. Jewel who bought it from the Indians in 1636 for a bottle of rum. He planned to make the island a base for fishing. Unfortunately Mr. Jewel died a few days later when he fell into Boston Harbor and drowned after a night of debauchery. I like that word debauchery. Too bad they don't use it any more. "Hey Libby, how about a little debauchery tonight?"

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