The Owls Head Transportation Museum is a half-hour drive south of Belfast, near Rockland, Maine. We visited on the recommendation of our friend Matt Baker. It seemed unlikely to James that a world-class museum would be found out in Owls Head, but this one is exceptional. It has everything from bicycles to Michael Schumacher’s Formula One Ferrari.
Trip highlights from October 10th, 2016 in Owl’s Head and Rockland, Maine follow. Click any image for a larger view, or click the position to view the location on a map. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at http://mvdirona.com/maps
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GE T58 TurboShaft
Position: -69 6.09, 44 3.98
The museum had a number of engines on display, ranging from early steam engines to modern helicopter engines. This is a GE T58 TurboShaft, used in the first jet helicopter in the US and also in the Sikorsky Sea King helicopter used to recover the Apollo astronauts. The engine was introduced in 1955 and was remarkable for it’s time, weighing only 250 pounds and producing 1,050HP.
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Raven
Position: -69 6.09, 44 3.98
Arthur Bentas of Chelmsford, Massachusetts took nine years to build the beautiful custom Raven from a 1939 Dodge chassis powered by a 6-cylinder L-head. Bentas won 25 awards with the Raven on the custom show circuit, including the coveted Best Custom award at the 1959 NHRA National Championship Custom Car Show in Detroit, Michigan. Bentas put the car into storage for nearly five decades and a new owner purchased it in 2007 and restored it. On the 50th anniversary of its NHRA National Championship Custom Car Show win, the Raven again placed first, this time in the Radical Custom Convertible class.
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Progress
Position: -69 6.09, 44 3.98
The museum had several exhibits on flight, including a model of the Wright brother’s Wright Flyer that in 1903 made the first powered flight with a pilot aboard. On the right of of the picture is a Gemini space capsule. It’s amazing that mankind achieved powered flight and space travel in the same century. The Wright Flyer‘s engine produced 12HP, while the first stage of the Titan rocket that launched the Gemini into space produced 474,000 foot pounds of thrust.
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Quest for Speed
Position: -69 6.09, 44 3.98
We spent a long time in the The “Quest for Speed” exhibit, featuring dozens of racing vehicles, including an “ex-Michael Schumacher Ferrari F2002 Formula 1 car, a 1907 Renault Vanderbilt Racer, a 1906 Stanley Vanderbilt Racer, Scramble racing legend Charlie Vincent’s International Six Day Trials gold medal winning 1964 Triumph motorcycle, a 1930 Bentley Speed Six, a 1929 JAP motorcycle a Fabulous Hudson Hornet”.
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Pocock Shell
Position: -69 6.07, 44 3.96
Hung on the wall is a rowing shell built in 1963 by legendary boat builder George Pocock of Seattle. It was a Pockock hull the US Olympic team rowed to victory in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. James was excited to see this boat after having read The Boys in the Boat detailing the Univerity of Washington rowing team’s path to Olympic gold.
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Rock Bottom
Position: -69 6.56, 44 6.29
Jennifer rarely makes it past a good brew pub. We had a great meal with excellent craft beer at the Rock Bottom Brewery in Rockland.
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Windjammer Wharf
Position: -69 6.44, 44 6.34
Rockland is famous for its windjammer fleet. Most of the ships at the Windjammer Wharf were in the process of being winterized.
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Grace of Tides
Position: -69 6.22, 44 6.28
Nordhavn 68 Grace of Tides at anchor in Rockland Harbor. We’ve been following close behind, and occasionally overlapping, since Lunenburg in Nova Scotia.
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Docks
Position: -69 6.34, 44 6.18
We looked into staying at Rockland to drive to Bangor for Jennifer’s upcoming surgery, but many of the marinas were either closed or had lifted enough of out their docks out that there was no space remaining. These are the docks at The Landings Restaurant and Marina.
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Breakwater
Position: -69 4.91, 44 6.89
Walking the mile-long Rockland Breakwater to visit the lighthouse at the tip.
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Lighthouse
Position: -69 4.65, 44 6.25
The Rockland Breakwater was built between 1881 and 1890 by the US Army Corps of Engineers to protect the harbor from severe winter storms. A beacon was placed on the end of the breakwater and moved during construction as the breakwater grew. The lighthouse was completed in 1902 to replace the beacon. The city of Rockland now owns the still-active light, and the US Coast Guard maintains it.
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Click the travel log icon on the left to see these locations on a map, with the complete log of our cruise.
On the map page, clicking on a camera or text icon will display a picture and/or log entry for that location, and clicking on the smaller icons along the route will display latitude, longitude and other navigation data for that location. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at http://mvdirona.com/maps. |
It is unlikely that a world class museum is in Owl’s Head, but it really is an uncommon Gem… Now you are in my old hometown haunts in Maryland! I will send you some recommendations. Hope you make it to Ft. McHenry while you are in Bawlmer
We deffinitely do plan some more site seeing in Baltimore before leaving and F. McHenry is absolutley on the list. Thanks Matt.
Hi Jennifer, that is great news indeed! Thanks for letting us know the surgery went so well.
Looks like winter isn’t too far away. Hope you and Jennifer have a wonderful Thanksgiving and that her surgery goes well with a speedy recovery!
Happy Thanksgiving to you as well Stewart. My surgery went incredibly smoothly and we’re all happy to have that pin finally gone.