Month: June 2023

When Virginia and Frank Sambuco visited Seguin recently, Virginia was armed with an awesome looking camera, a practiced eye, and a love for wildlife. There’s so much around here that an old iPhone camera just can’t quite communicate. Here are a few of Virginia’s photos. We hope she and Frank will be back when the whales are breaching, the seals chilling in the cove, and the eagle showing off it’s wingspan… One can see more of Virginia’s photos on Instagram @ virginiasambuco.

Seguin offers four main trails that are great for exploring the island. One of them, the North Trail, includes a planked walkway running through a wetland that hosts a lot of poison ivy. So far we’ve been able to keep that short portion of the trail clear of poison ivy by frequent trimming, and sometimes spraying it with a vinegar solution. Is there a better way?  

We haven’t had any practice with poison ivy at our home base near Seattle. We welcome your advice in the comments. Thanks!

Monday, June 19, 2023 – We woke up Saturday morning to torrential rains, high winds and an impending small craft advisory, which threw a wrench in our plans to welcome the first group of overnight guests to the island this summer. Looking at a worsening forecast, Captain Ethan accelerated the timeline for departure from Popham Beach and the party of six arrived aboard the Miss Lindsay three hours ahead of schedule—safe, sound, and ON Seguin!

Lucky for us, the intrepid group of travelers who’d braved pouring rain and bumpy seas was our own FAMILY—Lee’s sister and brother-in-law Nancy and Kevin, their daughters Reminy and Thea (with dog Flicker), and our own daughter, Daisy. Accompanied by FOSILS Executive Director (and my sister-in-law) Cyndy, the group’s arrival marked the beginning of a memorable family reunion / Father’s Day weekend.

Fortunately, the weather improved steadily, and we enjoyed many scenic strolls around the island, delicious family meals, crafting with sea glass, and moments of laughter and reflection.

On Sunday, we all managed to squeeze into the Whistle House for a Zoom call with family members who couldn’t be there in person.

To top it off, our guests were shuttled in style back to the Miss Lindsay Monday morning by ANOTHER family who’d just arrived to enjoy the splendors of Seguin. Shout-out to Brian, Joanne, Ben and Elizabeth for saving us a couple of strenuous dinghy trips that day!

We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful and memorable family weekend.

-Rick

Thursday morning, June 15

As I write this Seguin’s fog signal is again singing it’s song after a period of being broken down. Thanks to the Coast Guard crew – Bob, Dakota, Katie, Steve and Rose (alphabetical order) – who succeeded in the repair mission! It’s fun to be around their camaraderie and teamwork. Now once again in thick fog Mariners can activate the signal on channel 83 or 83A and it will sound for 45 minutes. Seguin’s characteristic sound is two consecutive horn blasts of about three seconds each, followed by about 10 seconds of silence, repeat… The signal’s batteries are charged by the solar panels pictured above.

– Lee

While Rick and I (Lee) go ashore and re-supply most Wednesdays, the volunteer backbone of this light station comes to the island and gives their day to projects they’ve prioritized. Thanks always to Captain Ethan for transportation on the Miss Lindsay!

Sunday, June 11, 2023 – With temperatures in the 80’s, calm seas, and views stretching for miles, we experienced our biggest influx of visitors today, logging 33 folks who came ashore to climb the tower, hike the trails, picnic, and explore the museum. Guests ran the gamut from 10 1/2 month old Annie, making her first trip to Seguin, to Tom, who’s been visiting for 50+ years! And in the “It’s a Small World” category, we discovered visitors Debbie and Cathy went to the same New Jersey high school as Rick (go Highlanders!) nearly half a century ago!

June 9, Friday afternoon

The Coast Guard rolled in yesterday morning with Steve, Bob, and Chris coming ashore to repair the fog signal. Despite excellent problem-solving and teamwork, they were unable to finish the repair. I look forward to seeing them again next week maybe. The fog is in today! 

What a treat yesterday to meet Deb and John sailing the Mahayana on their way to Virginia, and full of invigorating stories from their 10 years of sailing and adventures in 21 countries. Happy Anniversary today! From the catwalk on the tower we stood several minutes entranced by a couple of humpback whales – a calf and presumably it’s mama – sharing themselves off the island’s east side. Awesome.

– Lee

Thursday, June 8, 2023

Guest Blog post by Ross Ellingwood coming in on S/V Bluemoon hailing from Whittier, Ak.

Sailing in last night I got my first glimpse of Seguin Island and the state of Maine at that. It was a beautifully calm evening with high clouds and patchy blue sky. Passing in-between Ellingwood Rocks and the island, a humpback whale greeted me as he came to the surface for a breath. What a welcome to Seguin!

After taking a mooring ball and rowing to shore I quickly started noticing some very interesting rocks. Having a background in geology I immediately noticed large streaks of vertical white looking rock from the water. Under closer inspection these turned out to be intrusions of granitic rock. This is caused by hotter molten rock from deep down finding cracks and weaknesses that it’s able to push up through. The white and pink hued granitic rock against the dark bedrock makes for an easy spot. 

The dark bedrock that makes up the majority of Seguin Island seems to be a metamorphic rock of varying grades. Metamorphic rocks are sedimentary or igneous rocks that have been altered by high pressures and heat to change their composition over time. The more heat and pressure, the more alteration, the higher the grade of metamorphic rock. Along the North Trail the rocks seem to be a phyllite or schist, a medium to high grade metamorphic rock. Near the Cobblestone Beach Trail there looks to be Gneiss which is a higher grade. Gneiss can be spotted from its characteristic wavy bands. Also near Cobblestone Beach a large quartz vein can be seen cutting through the bedrock. 

This is a very special place not only because of the rocks but the very friendly Lightkeepers Lee and Rick. They were very gracious hosts showing me the lighthouse and explaining the history. I am very glad I decided to make this my first stop in Maine! 

Monday June 5

The sunny, hot weather that greeted us when we first arrived on Seguin has been replaced by temperatures in the 50’s, high winds, and lots and lots of rain.  Goodbye shorts and t-shirts, hello Gortex and fleece!   Coming from the Seattle area, we feel right at home in the layered-clothing department.  We’re also starting to feel at home with the daily routines of the Keeper’s house—checking the water level in the cistern, raising and lowering the American flag,  tending to the composting toilets, and, of course, brewing a fresh pot of coffee each morning!

A few nights ago we walked down to the Cove during a break in the weather and found the water there churning and crashing onto the beach more forcefully than we’d experienced before.  The dinghy “ways” (a kind of ramp for hauling the landing boat up and down the beach) were holding fast (thanks volunteers Tom, Chris and Rick M!) but were largely buried in piles of seaweed and driftwood that had washed ashore.  (Add to Keeper’s to-do list: “Clean ways”)  Somehow in the midst of all that turbulent wind and water a group of eider ducks—adults and ducklings—were hanging out as a family unit, merrily bobbing up and down together in the frothy surf, seemingly oblivious to the commotion all around them.    Newbee Keeper reaction: “Wow!”  Eider duck reaction: “No big deal.”

The rainy weather and lack of visitors—none in almost a week—has given us time to tend to inside matters—cleaning light fixtures in the house, organizing the gift shop, and trying to absorb as much Seguin lore and literature as possible. The museum is full of stories. Thanks to FOSILS, there are centuries-worth of books, logs, photos, artifacts and other memorabilia to try and integrate into our growing understanding of the island.  (Just started “A Short Bright Flash: Augustin Fresnel and the Birth of the Modern Lighthouse”  by Theresa Levitt—required reading for students enrolled in Lighthouses 101!)  

Looks like we’ll have plenty more time to read and clean this week—with continued rain in the forecast we’ll be skipping our day off-island this Wednesday and hunkering down for another 7 days.   Despite the weather, we’ve managed each day to bundle up and walk the handful of trails that offer stunning views around the island—the Lighthouse Trail, the Cove Trail, Cobblestone Beach Trail, the South Trail, the North Trail, Cove Overlook…  The simple fact that we’ve memorized the names of each trail is a sign of our growing familiarity with the place.  There’s so much more to learn.   

-Rick