8/4/2018 – Machias Seal Island Day 1

 Puffin Island Day 1

We had booked 2 days for the Puffin Island (Machias Seal Island) tour because they fill up so quickly and they go weather permitting. Since we would only be in Machias for 2 days we wanted to be sure that we could go. We set off in a pretty dense fog on the first day and thought that there might be a chance that we couldn’t go. We were excited to get there but just had to stop to get a picture when we say this eagle fishing by the side of the road. 

Eagle Fishing by the side of the road on the way to Cutler

We pulled in by the dock and Captain Andy’s wife who runs Bold Coast tours met us at the parking area. He was out getting the dinghy to bring in to shore to load us into the boat. It was quite foggy in the harbor but we were excited to hear that we would still go out. 

Cutler Harbor

It took two trips to get all of the people on the boat from the dock. Once on the boat we met Captain Andy, and his first mate Corey who was a pretty young guy but very capable and funny. 

Due to the fog we didn’t see much on the 10 mile ride out to the island. It took about 45 minutes to get out to the island. Once there and anchored near the island we were allowed to come on shore, not always a guarantee. They only allow you on shore if they feel it’s safe to do the transfer. Very few people are allowed to go onto the island each day. The island’s ownership is disputed between Canada and the US, but is inhabited by the Canadian Coast Guard who staff a lighthouse there and also run the tours. 

Once on the island were were gathered by the coast guard to learn the rules. You can walk out to the blinds and back on the trails but must be accompanied and can not go anywhere else on the island. You can not interact with the birds but can take photos from inside the blinds. 

We were split into 2 groups and divided between the blinds on one side of the island or the other. Once in the blinds there are little windows that you can look out to see the puffins. The blinds are in among the rocks where the puffins nest and the adults were quite active flying in and out feeding their young. They were not the least bit bothered by our presence, even landing on the blinds.  

We took hundreds of photos in the couple of hours that we were on the island. It remained fairly foggy all day and we didn’t see a lot of puffins with fish in their mouths the first day but we decided that we would come back for the second day and do it all over again. As we were leaving the island we were able to get some foggy pics of the seals that inhabit the rocks on the edges of the island. 

After the trip we headed back to our hotel in Machias and had another really good dinner at the restaurant nearby – Helens Restaurant.