Rockland, Maine

Rockland harbor, protected by a mile-long jetty, is the home port for many splendid Maine windjammers, tall sailing ships that will take you along the spectacular Maine coast on multi-day (and multi-night) nautical expeditions.

Rockland harbor is also the location of a huge carageenan factory.

Irish moss (Chondrus crispus), the sort of seaweed from which carageenan can be extracted, is plentiful in the sea near Rockland. Carageenan, a a long-chain polysacharide with a backbone of the sugar galactose, is used as a thickener in puddings, toothpaste, and as a laboratory culture medium for bacteria. It looks yucky, but is surprisingly valuable. The factory works night and day.

From Rockland Ferry Terminal (tel 207-596-2202), you can take a car-ferry to Vinalhaven Island, in Penobscot Bay, for a taste of island vacation life.

The Governor Curtis (State Ferry Service) makes the 1-1/2-hour run to Vinalhaven three times a day, and the return trip two times a day.

On Sunday there are two sailings in each direction. You can also take a car-ferry to North Haven Island from here. The North Haven makes the 1-1/4-hour trip three times a day and the return trip two times a day.

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