CONVENTION + VISITORS BUREAU /
25
Atlantic EXPLORATION
No trip to Maine is complete without getting out on the exhilarating ocean waters.
Add an island destination with an historic museum and you’ve got an afternoon
adventure with more variety than most.
Photo: Tim Greenway, Eagle Island
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LOCAL TIP
Atlantic Seal Cruises departs
daily from Memorial Day weekend
through the end of October.
Passage includes museum entrance fee
and access to the island’s trails.
For a great family excursion, motor
out to Eagle Island with Atlantic Seal
Cruises as Captain Tom Ring shares his
vast knowledge of the geography and
history of the islands accompanied by
the sun, the salt breezes, and the cries
of gulls circling overhead.
Eagle Island, a few nautical miles from
picturesque South Freeport harbor, was
the summer home of Admiral Robert E.
Peary, the first man to reach the North
Pole. In the Victorian Era, the idea of a
man reaching the North Pole was a big
deal, so big that some 756 men had died
trying to get there. Then along came
Robert E. Peary, a civil engineer with
a deep desire to secure a place in the
history of exploration by being the first
man to stand where there is no east or
west. Peary and his team took several
location readings upon reaching what
they believed to be the North Pole,
which they later submitted to the
National Geographic Society for
confirmation. But, as is true for most
new discoveries, there was some dispute,
and the best way to learn all the details
is to visit the museum for a guided tour.
The home itself is magnificent in its
authentic simplicity, surrounded on
all sides by the ocean and lovely flowers.
Peary family furnishings and artifacts
remain intact, including many birds
preserved by the Admiral’s own
taxidermy. Eagle Island is really two
museums in one with exhibits about
Peary’s arctic exploration complemented
by an audio tour of the house and
fascinating insight about how the
Peary family spent their time on this
island retreat.
But the education doesn’t stop there,
with Captain Tom at the helm of the
Atlantic Seal. On the return trip, the
Captain pulls lobster traps and shares
info about male and female lobsters,
soft-shell “shedders,” and how to lobster
responsibly to assure a sustainable way
of life. The boat slows down to observe
seals sunning themselves on the rocks
and cormorants splashing playfully
beside them. You motor back to
South Freeport with a fabulous ocean
adventure lapping at your memory.
