July/August 2015 | view this story as a .pdf
Rules are everywhere–no matter how far you go into the Atlantic.
By Colin W. Sargent
Ever dream of getting away from it all? “From the air, Fish Point looks like an Eric Hopkins painting,” says Story Litchfield of her unusual $1.595M listing, a 30-minute ferry ride southwest of Mt. Desert. What’s so unusual about it? It’s what you can and can’t do here as you enjoy the isolation of this .9-acre remote lot near the extreme sandy hook on the wild end of Great Cranberry Island.
Feel like swimming? Because shallow water warms the beach around this remarkable peninsula, it amazes in shades of indigo, green, and turquoise. Feel like looking up at the stars? The in-ground hot tub will make you and yours feel like the lords of the isle. Would you like to toast some s’mores in front of the popple-stone fireplace? But of course.
Now, brace yourself. Feel like cracking open a beer with the friendly lobstermen, shop owners, island librarians, yachtspeople, and Yankees-fan rusticators on the other side of “The Pool,” a sheltered cove that separates you from the nearby community where the local color congregates? It’s not going to happen. You’ll only be welcome if you get there by boat. Stranger than strange, this property is an island within an island.
Say there’s a community presentation of Almost, Maine at the historical society and you walk in. Would someone whisper guardedly as you took your seat, “Great to see you folks. Finestkind. By the way, where’d you tie up?”
Would eyebrows be raised at a Ladies Aid meeting, in Whale’s Rib Gifts & Gallery, or at Hitty’s or Sea Wich Cafe? We’re guessing yes.
True or no, this explains why the nimbly written rental description of this truly majestic Fish Point property (for $2,200 to $3,200 per week) reads, “Cranberry Island’s general store, gift shop, lunch cafe, and other attractions are just a boat ride away.” (Italics ours.)
Let’s be clear, though. You are forewarned. Story Litchfield, responsible and straightforward, makes this unusual situation understood up front. “The property surrounding the lot is in conservation with Maine Coast Heritage Trust [with a further private lot blocking the final approach across a natural causeway to town], so that’s what sort of makes this like an island, because you can’t really drive through there, so your access is going to be by boat. Just like it would be if you were on an island.” During the construction phase, “they [sellers Chris and Bonnie Nash] used the road, and they had to drive trucks over what’s basically a berm, but now they don’t have permission…”
During a telephone interview, neighbor Robert Murch, the industrial exec and venture capitalist who owns the land they’d have to cross to get to town, says permission was never given. “Nash came to us when he wanted to buy it and asked for permission to cross over…we said no. He asked Bangor Hydro to run power; we told them no. In our absence during the winter, Nash just kind of went through with heavy equipment and made it more of a roadway. So then we took it to court and both the county court in Ellsworth and the Supreme Court of the State of Maine ruled he did not have access to where the main road was to Greater Cranberry.”
But what if new buyers found themselves innocently touring the protected wilderness…and then made a break for it?
“They have permission to go over the whole Maine Coast Heritage Trust area,” Litchfield says. “But they do not have permission to go across that causeway-like lot. That’s what prevents them from going to town by golf cart or something.
“If a new owner makes friends with [Mr. Murch], who has the lot at the bottleneck, it would be a different situation.”
So just how strong are your persuasion skills? Because in spite of the obstacles, this house is worth the trouble–a rare prize. “The front on the water side is classic; there’s more of a sense of unusual angles and gables on the sides.
“The view keeps going round and round. That sandy point, Fish Point, it’s like a sea berm that’s all stone and sand. Over the years, it was created by wave action.”
The 2001 structure, with knotty-pine built-ins and casually opulent interiors, has Deer Isle granite counters in the kitchen, and a stainless Viking range.
“The dock is 150 feet long. We have to be a little bit careful because it’s very shallow there. It’s a three bedroom house, but there’s a sleeping porch and loft spaces. The seller said it’s four bedrooms, but I asked, ‘Is your septic system for four bedrooms,’ and he said ‘No,’ so it’s a three-bedroom house.” On an island, on an island.
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