Summerguide 2013 | view this story as a .pdf

Islands are a portal to our private selves. Here’s a galaxy of complete islands for sale this summer, one for as little as $39,999.

By Adam D. Purple

We all have our moments. We want to dunk our cell phones in the drink, jump in a waiting skiff, and speed out to our own private island, where it’s so perfectly quiet we can finally hear ourselves think.

Like we’re Sir Richard freaking Branson.

This year, there are no fewer than 30 islands we can buy and make so profoundly our own, we can actually rename them and throw the entire staff at DeLorme map publishing into a nervous frenzy.

Haven’t you ever craved a sense of privacy that’s off the charts?

The island dreamers among us know who we are. For one thing, we like to use a super-addressee for our complaints: Can you believe how hot it is? This traffic is crazy! There must be a parking space somewhere in the Old Port!

Your boat awaits. As you’re a reader, no lifejacket is required. We’re just going to push gently off from the shore.

CHANDLER ISLAND
Wohoa Bay, $39,999

According to the deed, it’s “an acre more or less,” depending on the tides. But the small size didn’t faze owner Carla Majuntke. “Owning my own island had been my dream ever since I read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, but it always seemed out of my reach. It had never occurred to me that people like us could own their own island. When I saw the island, I had to have it!”

Nestled in the shelter of Wohoa Bay, but with a direct line of sight to the open ocean, this unspoiled island is a perfect base for camping, kayaking, and watching the world go by. “To sit there and watch the moon rise over the bay is simply magic. You can believe all those stories of sirens and mermaids. Our daughter especially loves to be there on Fourth of July. You get to watch two fireworks shows at the same time, and they get reflected in the water. It’s amazing to watch. For someone in love with the outdoors, this could be their dream.”

Taxes $15; circa 1 acre.

JOE’S ISLAND
Friendship, $659,000

Nestled between the much larger Cranberry and Otter islands in Muscongus Bay, Joe’s Island, at 2.4 acres, is unnamed on the charts. “It’s sometimes called Joe’s Little Island,” says owner Cam Marshall. It may be small, but its colorful history is not. It’s been said that back around 1900, locals would harvest the berries and burn the island for a better yield next year. “We still have blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries growing wild.” In the 1940s, the local Wotton family purchased the island. “At the time, meat was being rationed because of World War II. But one of the Wottons was a butcher who had access to meat. The legend is that he purchased the island in a trade for a bunch of beef.”

A cruising yachtsman, Marshall has been coming to Maine since childhood. “We were here so often my wife said we should buy a piece of property. When I saw the island, I gave it to her as a birthday present.” That was in 1990, when the island had just one small building and was covered with shrubs and bushes. Since then, Marshall has built and maintained a summer house, guest house, deep-water dock, and several outbuildings, complete with solar power and rainwater collection. A protected mooring provides shelter for boats as large as 70 feet, and the sandy beach makes good digging for clams and mussels. And despite the proximity to the large islands, you can count on privacy. Though there are views to Monhegan Island and three lighthouses–Monhegan, Pemaquid Point, and Franklin–“you can’t easily see another house.”

Taxes $2,195; 2.4 acres.

BIRCH ISLAND
Moosehead Lake, Greenville, $550,000

With six wooded acres on Moosehead Lake, “this bit of heaven has been enjoyed by my family for four generations,” says owner George Drexler. “My dad bought it in 1958. He was a custom home builder, and our family built the cabins using the island’s own pines. I later became a builder myself.”

The main cabin, guest cabin, and deck with dock adjoining the cove enjoy a warm southern exposure at water’s edge in this sportsman’s paradise. “The evening is never as delightful as when it closes an active day with spectacular sunsets enjoyed from the picnic area, while at night the gorgeous Milky Way–sometimes accompanied by the Northern Lights–are in full view.” Yet the comforts of home are at hand, with electricity and heat, stone fireplace, full bath, and telephone and internet service.

When they built this family getaway, “I was just eighteen, the perfect age to be cutting and skinning pines. Now the time has come for others to enjoy its beauty and make their own memories.”

Taxes $1,662; circa 6 acres.

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