The two of us are planning a trip to isle au Haut from Stonington On Sept 6th. We are planning to take a mail boat with our boats. i would prefer to paddle, weather permitting. We are going to stay overnight and paddle and hike around the island and islands around there. Would anyone like to join us or have any suggestions. Thank you
I didn’t think that
The mail boat will carry kayaks? The paddle from stonington is not arduous and you can meander among the islands as you cross over. Circumnavigating IAH is always a nice paddle - depending on your skills and the conditions. Going over to the ledges between York Is and IAH - especially at low tide - is very pretty
6 miles to Isle au Haut . . .
. . . from Stonington. If you are intermediate paddlers or above with experience in paddling in fog and wind, if you have compass and chart and know how to use them, and if you have kayaks with bulkheads or float bags, the 6 mile paddle from Stonington to Isle au Haut is very do-able. As Beckt states above there are many islands in between and the paddle is an exceptionally beautiful one.
Once you are at Isle au Haut, the coastline on the western side of the island is especially rugged and beautiful, but it is also more exposed to wind and swells, so be sure not to get in over your head and watch for changes in conditions. The southern shore of the island is even more exposed to wind and swells – and shore access there can be difficult. I would not recommend attempting to go around the southern end of Isle au Haut except to fully equipped advanced paddlers.
The mail boat does NOT take kayaks
Enjoy the paddle over. But circumnavigation of the island is another ball game. Its all exposed to the prevailing southerlies. I have never been wanting to do it.
A trip around IAH in the MITA monitor boat with motor was enough.
There are lots of islands enroute for camping…both MITA and BPL.
Really good footwear is a good idea for hiking. The cliffs are rugged and the rocks (quartz) very sharp.
Once at the village if IAH you are just over halfway…the campground is another five miles down the coast and often much dicier conditions.
iah
The area between eastern ear and western ear can get really bumpy. Be careful.
The old quarry Campground has a boat that takes kayaks to iah.