On any given sunny summer’s day the view from our deck overlooking Linekin Bay provides a wide variety of picture-postcard scenes.

Colorful kayaks circle the cove, some coming from nearby cottages and others swinging into the bay while on a longer trip along coastal Maine.

Canada geese, now year-round residents of East Boothbay, make daily tours, occasionally with their young.  Likewise, several species of wild ducks come and go from the cove and proudly show off the newest additions to their family. It’s sad sometimes to watch their numbers dwindle as the black-backed gulls take their toll of the babies when they’re too small to defend themselves.

Since we’re fairly close to a launching ramp, we get to see boats of nearly every size and description come and go. A nearby resort which offers small sailboats to its clientele means we get to watch some of the novices try their hand at sailing at the head of the cove, where winds are lighter and other boats are moving at slower, safer speeds.

While we haven’t been in swimming at our house for MANY years, it’s a favorite spot for both young and old alike. Some cottage owners swim off their own floats while others prefer the small beach at the town dock. Boaters from throughout the region often anchor in the cove and swim off their boat.

Almost every day, fishing enthusiasts are in search of mackerel, stripers, and for the first time in many years, bluefish, once a very popular sport fish here. Pogies, too, have hit Linekin Bay and many other spots along the Maine coast this summer after a long absence and are providing bait close to home for area lobstermen.

We’re really privileged to have nesting osprey within viewing range, and it’s exciting to see that eagles are also nesting nearby, soaring overhead in search of their next meal.

As we sat on the deck the other day, we couldn’t help but think about the tremendous draw the ocean has on people. For some folks from away, sometimes their first experience is a road trip along the shoreline to see the waves smashing against the rocks, the seagulls circling overhead, commercial fishermen hard at work just offshore, or a majestic windjammer off in the distance. Others come to Maine and take advantage of the many boat trips which take them out of the harbor to view lighthouses, seals, sea ducks, occasional whales, porpoises, and the colorful puffins which nest on our offshore islands. Some visitors are satisfied just sitting on the rocks and watching the sunsets at Ocean Point.

Many returning vacationers choose to rent a cottage and explore the coastal rocks and ledges in earnest, and take to the water in smaller boats in order to get to know our coastline a little better.

It’s amazing how the ocean brings visitors back time and again. In many ways, to us it’s understandable because we can’t imagine life without it in our back yard.  You’ll find that most young people raised here who then move away always come back as often as they can, and the same for youngsters who vacation here. They’ll return again and again, as will their children and their children’s children.

Those of us who love the sea will always love it, and pass along this love to the next generation. The Maine coast is special - VERY special, indeed.