2026-07-27 Scattering of the ashes

I have been a volunteer for the PeaceHealth Hospice program for a little over 2 years. I visited one of our hospice patients a few times right before he passed away. Because of that connection I became aware that he had been cremated and that his last wish was to have his ashes scattered at one of his favorite spots, Port Stewart in Western Behm Canal. I did not know if the family members had access to a boat that was capable of taking a group of people out there for the ceremony, so I offered to assist them with that if they needed it.

As it happened, they did ask me if I would take them out there and it was scheduled for July 27th, 2026.

To protect their privacy, I will use no names, and I took no photos during this trip, but I did want to document it because it was a unique and very moving experience for me.

Here is a map snippet from my Garmin InReach that shows the track for this trip.

Bar Harbor is down at the bottom, and Port Stewart is up at the top. It's about 27nm one way to get out there.

Some of the family met me at my slip at Bar Harbor to help me run the boat out to Knudson Cove. We pulled in there and picked up a few more members of the family. It took a little over an hour to get from Bar Harbor to Knudson Cove.

After picking up the rest of the family we headed out across Western Behm Canal to Port Stewart.

The weather was sunny and warm and calm, which made the experience much better for everyone.

Here is a more detailed chart of the Port Stewart area. There are some rocks and hazards to avoid at the entrance. There is a small "nook" on the right, marked with an X, which is where I usually anchor when I come here.

We made our way in there and when we got to the nook I just drifted and maneuvered the boat to try to keep the bow headed into the wind.

The family was out on the back deck telling stories of times past when they came here in their own boat. The 2 sons, older now, had done a lot of hunting, fishing and crabbing in the area, so they were very familiar with it.

When the time came the wife/widow went out on the swim step and slowly released the ashes into the water. It seemed like they were all up beat and jovial and there was no crying or weeping that I was aware of. I did not know the deceased well, having met him only after he was very ill, but from all accounts he was known and loved by many, truly a great man.

I was willing to stay there as long as they needed, but after about 30 minutes I was given the OK to depart.

We made our way slowly out of the cove and headed back to Knudson Cove. It's about a 2-hour run from Port Stewart to Knudson Cove. At Knudson Cove we offloaded some of the family and a few of them stayed on board to help me get back into my slip at Bar Harbor.

We were very fortunate to have had absolutely beautiful weather for them to perform this ceremony for their loved one, and I feel honored and blessed to have been able to help them to have this opportunity.