Blowin' Stink

Hurricane Irene might not have lived up to the hype that proceeded her arrival this past weekend, but she did bring some heavy seas to Downeast Maine. Up on Mount Desert Island, where winds gusted 60 mph, heavy bands of surging surf crashed into the jagged cliffs and massive rocks of Acadia National Park. Whipping winds whistled up through Somes Sound, where the surrounding shores turned the usually placid fjord into a virtual wind tunnel. Across the island in Southwest Harbor, boats rocked back and forth, as the stormy seas tossed and turned. Tourists and locals hurried down the town's tiny Main street, where many shops and marinas remained closed, in anticipation of Irene. The majority of boats on the Island sought shelter in Northeast Harbor, which has always been known for it's exceptional protection from the open ocean. Tucked in to the east side of Somes Sound, Northeast is a big enough harbor to hold a great number of vessels, but it's entrance is also small enough to avoid the large swells of neighboring Frenchman Bay. In Bar Harbor, two lonely fishing boats sat in the harbor, while a few tourists stood on the edge of the town dock, watching the seas rose and fall past the porcupine shaped islands that guard this venerable port. The drive off the island was interesting to say the least. The wind kicked up another notch as the afternoon turned to evening. Trees swayed back and forth, as branches and limbs fell to the ground, littering route one and the surrounding back roads of Ellsworth. The Bucksport bridge crossing was not one I would like to make again. The wind caused my car to jerk right and then left, and my heart to race. I could not across the at bridge fast enough! All in all, Irene did not hit the Maine coast with the force that she was projected to, but a coastal storm is still a coastal storm, and to watch the surging seas of the Gulf of Maine crash into the jagged Rocks of Mount Desert Island is always a thrill. Just don't get to close, you may never see it again!