Yesterday there were only two boats left in all of Great Cove, both owned by neighbors who live on the Cove. Above you see one of the two: EO, a 12 ½-foot sailboat (Herreshoff or Haven). Below, you’ll see the other boat: RIVERBIRD, a recrafted Chris-Craft runabout/sport boat:
Living on Great Cove is like having year-long box seats at the Circus Maximus. There’s everything from the pageantry of windjammer sail-ins, to the competition of regattas, to the tragedy of duckling flotillas being attacked by bald eagles.
In the summer, the Cove is full of fascinating boats: sailing classrooms owned by the WoodenBoat School; recreational sailboats owned by neighbors and visitors; tall-masted coastal cruisers with tourists eager to explore the School campus; exotic motor yachts; fast motorized runabouts; fishing vessels (lobster/scallop) taking a shortcut; working boats full of marine equipment; skiffs; pulling boats; kayaks; paddle boards, and other watercraft.
Moored boats start to disappear in September, and all usually have moved out before November. Waterfowl then move in. At first, it’s often flocks of Canada geese migrating south. In addition to our resident sea gulls and common loons, at least 18 species of waterfowl winter in the state. In the Cove, it’s mostly common eiders, scoters, mallards, black ducks, mergansers, and bufflehead ducks each year. There also are the occasional seals and porpoises chasing fish. Thumbs Up!
(Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on October 14, 2025.)