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Testimonials
To the wonderful qualities of Old Quarry Ocean Adventures and the surrounding area.
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I took your lighthouse tour that includes Matinicus. It was an
absolutely splendid trip. The weather was gorgeous. The captain and
his lovely first mate were most friendly and helpful. In addition to
giving us plenty of time to photograph all the lighthouses, they
paused whenever there was a photo op for wildlife. They also
explained many interesting points about the sights we were viewing.
Highly recommended!
- Very much so!
- You bet!
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Dear Sir,
That lighthouse cruise this past Sunday was superb. The young captain
and his "first mate" were professional, friendly, and
helpful; and they seemed to go out of their way to think of ways to
help each one of us to get the most out of our six hours. I cannot
think of a thing that they could have done to make that cruise any
more enjoyable and productive. Please thank them for both Esther and
me.
Sincerely, Chick Rauch |
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My 15 year old grandson and I (63) took a morning kayak tour with
Mike as our guide around the islands...Millet, Rum, Devil's Half
Acre. I had no prior Kayak experience but it was one of the best
parts of our Maine vacation.
We got good instruction to start and used a tandem. I'm not a
strong swimmer but any concerns took a back seat to the pleasure of
rowing out onto the bay. We wore life jacket, of course. We had
excellent weather, full sun, and very few lobster boats in the
thoroughfare.
Even with that, the kayak rode the current changes and boat wakes with
no problem...
It's an experience I thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend to
others. A guide takes you places you might not get to...and you get
info on the islands you visit and row near. Well worth the price.
- Yes.Our guide, Mike, was a must...
- Yes.
- Yes.
- Yes.
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Old Quarry Ocean Adventures, Stonington, Maine: Best vacation ever,
can’t wait to go back – August, 2011
Three friends and I signed up for multi day paddling and instruction
with Old Quarry Ocean Adventures in Stonington, Maine. My friends had
paddled before, but they had not done wet exits and did not have much
paddling experience on the ocean. I have had a lot of instruction and
done more ocean paddling.
The kayak instruction at Old Quarry was really outstanding. We felt
confident that we could safely test our limits and advance at our own
pace. The individualized lessons were perfect for our group. We were
taught effective techniques, many of which were new to me and
significantly increased my learning curve. Beginners to expert
paddlers would benefit from this excellent instruction.
We had many wonderful hours paddling the archipelago. The site is
part of the Isle au Haut Archipelago, a stunningly beautiful group of
60 or so islands in about 30 square miles of ocean just south of Mount
Desert Island. This is a working lobster fishery and I was told it
produces more lobster than anywhere else in Maine. We learned
techniques for safely paddling with boat traffic. The granite is
naturally sculpted into amazing soft looking folds. We paddled with
seals and black guillemots and with ospreys, laughing gulls and eagles
overhead. We saw graceful schooners and watched lobstermen and women
at work. We learned to paddle safely in fog which has its own beauty.
We were there for the predicted hurricane so spent one windy day
working indoors on navigation, currents, tides and trip planning. We
spend a windy morning on the pond learning rescues and braces.
Breakfasts and lunches were provided and we had the use of a
conference room for meals and instruction. The food was healthy and
delicious.
Stonington is on Deer Island which comprises several connected
islands. We had a chance to walk the Island Heritage Trail preserves
around Deer Island. The Trust owns or co owns and manages eight and a
half islands and seven preserves on Deer Island and there are
pamphlets and maps for each preserve. The trails we found were
magical with forest floors of soft mosses with multicolored mushrooms
peeking through.
I can’t wait to return!!!!! Sherry V. Smith
Resources:
• Old Quarry Ocean Adventures – we stayed in the bunkhouse.
• “Meandering in Maine, paddling the Stonington – Isle au Haut
Archipelago” an article by Michael Daugherty in Sea Kayaker magazine,
December 2009.
• Michael’s blog: Stonington Sea Kayak Blog
• The Island Heritage Trust of Dear Isle – Stonington, Maine is also a
great resource and has a link to Michael Daugherty’s kayaking blog.
• Deer Isle-Stonington Chamber of Commerce
- Very well run facility. Staff was great.
- Can't wait to come back, I would definitely refer my friends.
- Yes - very clean and organized
- Grounds are well maintained and lovely.
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We got away for 5 days and had such a great time. Even though it
rained three of the days, we didn't even care. We took the Puffin
boat trip to Seal Island, had a sailing lesson, and kayaked with a
guide to a remote island and took a dip in the freshwater quarry pond.
We can't wait to come back and take some of the other trips they
offer.
- Yes
- Yes, absolutely
- Yes, clean and well-stocked at all times. I especially appreciated the warm shower!
- Yes
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took the eco-tour as an alternate to beginners kayaking last Thur.
thanks to your suggestion. The capt. & his first mate wife
couldn't have been more charming and the day was great! Loved
the lobster fishing and quarry swimming, we'll pass along this
experience to many!
- Yes, absolutely!
- Yes absolutely
- Seems like you're one stop shopping, wouldn't change a thing except the temp of the wate
- never checked it out.
- The grounds were immaculate, welcoming and would definitely like to come back to camp there.
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Incredible kayak stroke clinic on Friday! We feel so much more
confident after spending 2 hours honing our skills. Everyone who
kayaks odd of Stonington should take this clinic. Nate was awesome!
- Perfect
- Absolutely
- Clinics earlier in the week
- Yes
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I have seakayed around Old Quarry and to the islands. Spent many
nights camping there and once ran and education teachers workshop for
five days from the OQ campground. There is so much to experience and
share in this area and OQ is the perfect place to stay for exploring
the islands on day trips. Capt Bill is a great host, whether on the
grounds, the islands, out to Isle au Haute, or a sunset cruise. I
will be back and this time with grandchildren. Thanks for finding and
creating this wonderful campground.
- Great, friendly, supportive, knowledgeable.
- absolutely.
- always
- always
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Hi Captain Bill,
Just wanted to tell you how much fun we had staying at your place.
The best time we had on our trip last summer was at the old quarry.
The kids are still talking about it to people (anyone who'll
listen)!
We definitely hope to get back up there one day soon. I have a nice
picture of our last evening sunset before our lobster fest with Amelia
and Gottfried.
Have a beautiful holiday in your gorgeous corner of the world! |
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WOW! What a fabulous Sunday of biking and hiking we had on Isle au
Haut!! Thank you to all of you who participated and made it
possible!
We started off with a great boat ride from Old Quarry with Captain
Bill - beautiful islands and warm air...and Macyn, my 3 year old
grandson, to entertain us. 4 of us chose to hike a couple of trails on
the Island - Macyn leading the way for most of the hike until he fell
asleep on his Gram's shoulder. We hiked one trial, not on the
map, which lead to basically nowhere but it was still great.
The Bikers headed out on their bikes from the Ranger Station and
enjoyed a hike up to the highest peak on Isle au Haut where you have a
360 degree view! They looked no worse for wear in the picture! They
endured many rough roads and hills and came back smiling. Our boat
ride back was quiet...ahhhh...except for Macy, who was wearing a life
jacket with a whistle. Sorry for all of you in close proximity who had
to endure the piercing shrill of the whistle...
We ended the evening with a dinner at the Fisherman's Friend in
Stonington - great food and fun. Macy sat at the bar with one of the
fishermen! We even picked up a groupie convert named Mike, on the
island, who is interested in joining our future adventures. A great
day had by all!! |
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