MITA question

[Jay H]

Knowing that MITA is open to powerboats as well as Motorsails and Kayak/Canoe folks, does anybody know the percentage of MITA members whose primary hobby is motorboars vrs sailboats vrs canoe/kayak. Just interested, since I spent some time reading the logbook on the islands we visited that had them. Seems a big mix of Kayaks and Motorboats, with the occasional sailboat tossed in.

I will talk to MITA of course, just thought I'd throw this out there to discuss.

Jay

 

[Carmel]

i'm not sure. But, the only other people we saw on our island that we stayed on, were on a motor boat, but they weren't camping there, they were just using the camping site as a place to hang out and cook lobsters for the day...so i'm sure they get a lot of day use by motor boats...

 

[Jay H]

Probably a lot of the day-users don't even sign in. I emailed MITA, got a response but not from somebody who knew the answer.. might ask again..

Jay

 

[Stan]

The MITA Guide reads to me like it's designed for the paddler but maybe that's the lowest common denominator for safe navigation. The Guide is worth the price of membership if you spend any time paddling coastal Maine. There are changes each year, seemingly a net gain, and some islands drop off the route so MITA advises using the current guide only.

BTW, there are over 100 islands on the trail, many with campsites, for those looking for another list.

 

[Jay H]

The guide is good. I got two of them this year. When I called and signed up, I was about to head to Maine and needed the card ASAP so the guy sent me the card first class mail and then said he'd media mail the guidebook later since I didn't need it as Warren had one. Well, I came back and found the guidebook (and more stickers) in my mailbox. Lo and behold, two days ago, ANOTHER guidebook, and more stickers arrived... so now I have two. and a ton of MITA stickers. and three cards.

Jay

 

[Jay H]

Hi, I just got a reply from a person at MITA:

Kayak - 57%
Sailboat - 25%
Powerboat - 21%
Canoe - 16%
Rowboat - 9%
Motor Sail - 1%

The numbers total more than 100% because some folks have more than 1 craft. So, it does seem primarily kayak based but there are many others out there and I'm sure many folks who have powered boats also have kayak/canoes...

Jay

 

[Six-pack Dan]

A Related Question On MITA

I was interested in becoming a MITA member this year, but since it's late in the season (for me anyway), should I wait until next year when the new guide book comes out? I realize that MITA is a great organization, but I'm not sure I want to spend $50 for a membership if the 2006 guide is almost obsolete.

 

[Jay H]

If you have no intention of camping on MITA private islands for the remainder of this calander year, then you might as well wait for next year. However, the guidebooks don't seem to be published and shipped til June or so, so if you plan on early season cold water paddling then, you might be out of the guidebook. I actually have 2 MITA guidebooks for this year as they sent 2 to me for some reason.

Jay

 

[KayakDan]

Jay,as a sailor,and kayaker,I can probably tell you why the log book has mostly powerboaters and kayakers. Most sailboats will anchor in beside an island and frequently overnite. Unless they have kids or dogs on board,they have no reason to go ashore,as they are self contained. Powerboaters,however,are usually day tripping,and frequently want to picnic on the islands and strech their legs. Also,because most sailboats are deep draft vessels,it requires a dinghy to get onto the island,but powerboats usually have shallow draft,and can pull close to the land in some spots.
I have noticed the same thing in the logbooks.
Good things happeneing at MITA..lots more islands added this year,and the trail may be linked with new trails developing south and north.

 

[Jay H]

Yup, when Warren and I were on East Barred, we talked to a sailor and his family(?) (He might of been a guide...) who stopped by in a dingy and he went and checked out the island while we were eating lunch. Even when we stopped, I signed in the canister there, but I wonder how many people stop by and not sign in. Us kayakers tend to be a slower pace group, not interested in making speed, just getting there safely and having fun.

Cape Porpoise was added to the Maine Island Trail this year, but there is a large gap between there and Casco Bay from what the guidebook says.. at least for MITA sites...

Jay

 

[kaibar]

Hi All,

Hi All,

I have been mostly a lurker of the VFTT and just today discovered the Kayaking forum. I've been a member of MITA since 1990 and have guidebooks going back to 1994. I can't recall if they even had them before that? Perhaps they did though and I can't seem to find them.

It's an interesting question about power, sail & paddle. I know, I have boats in all categories so, I'm one of the guys that skews the 100% number. I've been boating, in one form or another, along the Maine coast since I was a kid and moved here specifically for the sailing/boating after I got out of college.

My observations on power vs. sail vs. paddle is that the small power boats are mostly locals and a few summer folk. The locals use the islands for picnics or keg/camping parties kind of like the car campers from Revere beach in the Whites except they actually live here. Most perhaps 80% are not MITA members but have perceived "local privledge" meaning their families, for generations, have been using the islands so they are going to as well. Sailors generally anchor off the islands and hike or lobster bake but very rarely camp. We hike and "circumnavigate" islands freequently and use our inflatable dinghy to get to shore. They are made up of probably 60% Maine residents and 30% summer folk and 10% long distance cruisers froma s far away as Europe. For those that live in Maine most don't see any reason to join MITA for access to a few extra "private islands". There are tons of BPL, State/public islands that you don't really need to be a MITA member to access. Many of these state owned islands are not even mentioned in the MITA book but the locals know which ones they are. The majority of MITA island users I see are indeed kayakers and yes the book is written to the lowest common denominator, which in the case of the Maine coast, is kayakers and this is a huge problem because it seems the book was not written "low enough"....

I was a sailor commercial lobsterman & power boater long before I bought a sea kayak in 1992 so I already knew how to respect the ocean, plot a course and use DR skills as well as navigate in the fog and carry a radar reflector. Todays kayakers are scary! Most don't even know what the term thorofare means and choose to paddle down the middle of one in pea soup fog with no air horn, bell or whistle let alone a radar reflector! I personally have almost run down ten to fifteen kayakers in the last five years, while sailing, monitoring my radar and listening for the distinct sound of a bell, air horn or whistle. I have even towed three arrogant lost kayakers, with no compasses, charts or gps back to Stonington when an Easterly blew in a fog bank on a beautiful day. How did it get so foggy it was beautiful 10 minutes ago? Were you paying attention to the wind direction or NOAA? Did you notice the wind shift from the South West to the South East then to the East throughout the day? NOAA predicted this yesterday and then again on the 3:00 a.m. report that plays on all WB radios, on a constant loop, all day. What's a weather band radio? The unsafe kayakers are another thread entirely so I'll stop my venting on that now..

I am offering my "local knowledge" of the Maine coast to anyone who asks on this forum. I actually kayaked the entire MIT back in 1995 and although many of those islands are no longer on the trail and many have been added I can offer info from a kayak perspective not just a sail or powerboat perspective. I can even adivse which islands see little use and which Islands are always busy.

If any of you would like a Maine Coast photographic experience from a boaters perspective I have a huge gallery of Maine Coast cruising photos at the link below.

-Kaibar

Maine Coast Cruising Phot Galleries
http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising