View of the Damariscotta River
Damariscotta is an Indian name meaning river of little fish. These fish are alewives, a small, salty fish that comes into the river to spawn. As adults, these fish live in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean. Although named after a fish, the Damariscotta region is best known for its oysters. It produces 80% of the farmed oysters in Maine. You can see numerous oyster farms along the river.
Oyster beds (oyster farms) in the Damariscotta River
Two fellows hauling in several bags of oysters that have already been harvested
Native Americans have harvested oysters from this river for centuries. There have been several large, oyster shell mounds (called middens) found just north of town. These were dated to be some 1,000 to 2,000 years old. Many of the shells were processed for chicken feed in the late 1800's, however the site was made into a park and some small mounds still exist.
Our oysters from Damariscotta
Downtown Damariscotta as seen from our mooring ball
Damariscotta is the birth place of a family owned department store well known as a Maine staple. Reny's was started here in Damariscotta in 1949 by Robert Reny. Reny's first winter after opening his store was so slow that he drove around the surrounding countryside selling some of his merchandise out of his old Hudson. In the process he made many friends, and come spring the store blossomed and grew into multiple stores across Maine. Today there are 17 stores still family owned. There is also still a Reny's store in Damariscotta. We of course had to check it out.
Outside of Reny's Department Store Damariscotta, Maine
It was a pleasant two nights on our mooring ball on the Damariscotta River. However, onward we must go.
Saturday August 10th we came down the river to Christmas Cove. This is a small cove at the base of the river. There are multiple moorings in Christmas Cove, but they are more for smaller boats. Southern Style was the largest boat they could take and even so we were VERY, VERY close to our neighbors.
Saturday August 10th we came down the river to Christmas Cove. This is a small cove at the base of the river. There are multiple moorings in Christmas Cove, but they are more for smaller boats. Southern Style was the largest boat they could take and even so we were VERY, VERY close to our neighbors.
The boat right behind us in Christmas Cove as seen from our back cockpit
We were only here for one night so it worked out fine. However, if we didn't swing is the same direction as our neighbor, we could of had a problem. We ate dinner at the little restaurant in the cove (the only one there).
Coveside Restaurant
Southern Style as seen from out the window of the restaurant at dinner
Leaving Christmas Cove Sunday August 11th
From Christmas Cove we cruised back to Boothbay for another 2 days in town. We had stopped here earlier in the summer. This is a cute town and we are excited to be able to spend a little more time here before leaving Maine.
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