Leaving the Sheepscot River and headed east, we took the “shortcut” through Townsend Gut and the Southport swing bridge, across Boothbay Harbor and over to Linekin Bay, where we picked up a mooring ball at Linekin Bay Resort for a couple days. We’ve stopped at Boothbay several times, and have learned that we prefer the more quiet Linekin Bay side to the far more popular (and busy) Boothbay Harbor side. It’s easy to dinghy over to the park and walk to town from Linekin Bay Resort, or take the shuttle from the resort of it’s running. We’ve also dinghied all the way around to Boothbay when the weather is nice, just for a nice dinghy ride. There are some very nice walks we take that start at Linekin Bay Resort, and this time one of those walks was up to the Hannaford Supermarket to do a little provisioning.
The walk to Hannaford’s is an absolute delight. We followed the main road from the resort for maybe a half mile or a mile, then turned right off the road onto an obscure path for a mile or two. It’s a lovely hike through the woods, and the bugs really weren’t that bad. We emerged on a somewhat busy road, but quickly found some side roads that weren’t as busy. We got too many groceries to walk home with, and weren’t able to find an uber or taxi due to Covid. The shuttle wasn’t running, so we called the Linekin folks for advice, and Dwight (the GM) drove out and picked us up and brought us back.
I really can’t way enough good about the folks at Linekin Bay Resort. The mooring balls are only slightly more than they are over in Boothbay, but you get access to the resort and some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet from amazingly diverse backgrounds. Most of the staff are young folks from other nations who are spending the summer in Maine on a work visa, and the gal who ran the dock, rentals, and launch was a delightful music professor named Mary Montgomery who was spending the summer working at the resort.
Before leaving the Boothbay area, we wanted to spend a couple nights across Linekin Bay at Paul E Luke boatyard. Of all the places we’ve been in the Boothbay area, Luke might just be my favorite. It’s a very small, quiet, and unassuming place currently transitioning from second generation ownership to third generation ownership. As is always the case in family transitions like this, the future of the place will be decided by this upcoming generation. In our short visit at the Luke boatyard, we met and spent time only with the outgoing second generation—Frank Luke and his wife Nora—with whom we loved spending a couple hours learning the history of the yard and getting to know them a bit.
At the Paul Luke boatyard is an old shed with stacks and bits and pieces and memorabilia from the first generation. Nora came out and talked us through some of it. It really brought to mind how a real legend in the regional boatbuilding business is likely to meld into obscurity as time passes. I enjoyed reading about the history and touching the bits and pieces of memorabilia. Looking back toward the office and the third generation who seemed less than enthusiastic about keeping the traditions going, I felt great sadness to taste tradition and history slipping away. Will these treasures mean anything to anyone when Frank and Nora are gone?
Next summer in Maine we’ll stop here at the Paul Luke Boatyard to see how things are going, and will probably continue to do so as long as Frank and Nora are there.