We were sitting on the deck at the Tidewater Motel, listening to the rush of the outgoing tide as it surged below us. The water hurried through a narrow channel, filling pretty, protected Carver’s Harbor, a V-shaped cove bobbing with boats and dinghies, and lined with shingle and clapboard houses, wooden wharves, and boat yards. We watched as lobster boats returned, listening to the chug-chug of their diesel engines, and clouds of screeching seagulls circled for food. Traps were unloaded; boats washed down; bait totes emptied and cleaned. This is a hard-working harbor, home to more than 100 fishermen and -women, and remains one of the top lobstering ports in Maine (second only to Stonington). We, on the other hand, had little more to do than sit and watch the tides roll away.
Vinalhaven, an island with a jagged coastline of jutting peninsulas and tucked-in coves, is located about 15 miles offshore. We took the ferry from Rockland, Maine, a 75-minute trip, on a bright, hot summer day. Sarah Crossman, the manager of the Tidewater where we were staying, and the granddaughter of Pat and Bud Crossman, who opened the motel nearly 50 years ago, met us at the ferry and showed us to our room. While we might have been perfectly happy sipping wine and reading books on the motel’s waterfront deck, we grabbed a map and headed out to explore this close-knit island, the largest in Penobscot Bay.
Our first stop was Lane’s Island Preserve, a 45-acre Nature Conservancy sanctuary, set on a bluff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, connected by a causeway. Easy-to-walk trails loop around the preserve, crossing wildflower fields and salt-tolerant shrublands, and climbing rocky headlands. We followed one trail to a tiny cemetery plot for Captain Timothy Lane and his family; Lane was one of the island’s most successful cod fishermen during the mid- to late 19th century. We walked other trails to overlooks with broad water views and considered dunking our toes at a small beach within the preserve. Instead, we decided to brave a local tradition: diving off the ledges into a cold, deep idle quarry.
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Vinalhaven was once one of Maine’s largest and finest granite quarry centers. During the mid-1800s into the early 20th century, hundreds of men hammered and chiseled out chunks of island rock, and tons of polished and carved pieces were sent on ships to ports across the country. Some Vinalhaven granite was used for the base of the Brooklyn Bridge, the Washington Monument, the Pennsylvania Railroad Station in Philadelphia, and hundreds of other buildings.
Today, you still see remnants of this past throughout the island — there is granite everywhere — and two open, water-filled pits, which are local swimming holes: Booth’s Quarry and Lawson’s Quarry. We visited both, which were pretty much the same, with cold, deep water and surrounding granite ledges. “How is it?” someone shouted to us, after our plunge. “Very, very refreshing,” we called back.
There are several set-aside conservation areas across the island. The Basin Preserve includes nearly 800 acres with 3 miles of trails. Perry Creek Conservation Area has some 600 acres, crisscrossed by 6 miles of trails. Huber Preserve has an easy trail leading to the shoreline overlooking Seal Bay. The Eleanor R. Campbell Preserve has one trail leading to Seal Cove on the west side of a promontory and Polly Cove on the east side, with a small pebble beach. There are more preserves encompassing ponds and wetlands, and small mountains and hills, plus six town parks. We enjoyed a few lovely hours at the Granite Island Preserve, where we walked the adorable Story Trail, where a kid book is told with story boards located along the trail. A nearby plaque reminded us that Vinalhaven was the summer home of Margaret Wise Brown, author of “Goodnight Moon,” “The Runaway Bunny,” and other children’s books. We later learned that she called her off-the-grid home “The Only House,” because at night she didn’t see any other lights.
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Main Street contains a handful of stores, a gourmet food and wine shop, and a few restaurants. Greets Eats, a food truck at the ferry parking lot, was serving lobster rolls and sandwiches. The Sand Bar had fried food and pizza. Surfside looked popular, a breakfast joint that opened at 4 a.m. to accommodate fishermen and -women. We grabbed picnic items from the grocery store, picked up homemade muffins and pastries at Sea’s Bakery, and had takeout pizza.
One evening, we ventured further to the north end of the island, where a shuttle boat (a small pram operated by a young local making a little extra money, $10 each roundtrip) picked us up to take us across Fox Islands Thorofare to the island of North Haven. We walked the short distance to Nebo Lodge, owned by US Representative Chellie Pingree, a native of North Haven, and under the helm of Eric Murdough, former chef at the Kennebunkport Inn, Earth, and Arrows. There we dined al fresco on a small terrace, enjoying roasted rainbow carrots with maple tofu sauce, peekytoe crab tostadas, and homemade agnolotti with beef check marmalade. It was the first fine meal we’d enjoyed in months that was not made in our homes or ordered for takeout.
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On our way back to the Tidewater, we detoured to the Brown’s Head Light Station, a historic lighthouse and keeper’s home. There we watched a lone lobster boat chug by, and the tides roll away.
If you go: The Tidewater, a short walk from the ferry, is perched above the water, hugging the harbor. Rooms are humble, clean and crisp with blue and white nautical hues, and simple, private baths, some with waterfront decks, 207-863-4618, www.thetidewatervh.com; $120-$350, depending on room and season. The Maine State Ferry Service operates several daily trips to and from Vinalhaven, www.maine.gov/mdot/ferry/vinalhaven; peak season roundtrip adult $17.50, ages 6-17 $11.25.
Diane Bair and Pamela Wright can be reached at bairwright@gmail.com