Rockaway Pandemic Guidelines - Updated 5/27/20 - we will be updating for the 2021 season as soon as the guidelines for the summer are available.

The situation on Vinalhaven, like the situation everywhere in Maine and elsewhere changes by the week. For us and most of our renters, Governor Janet Mills has hinted that she will revise the 14-day self-quarantine edict for out-of-state visitors to Maine. Our hunch is that the recently announced agreement between the State of Maine and Idexx, Maine's largest pharmaceutical lab, to provide a large number of Covid-19 tests may provide a way that visitors from out of state could still come to Maine if the state can develop a workable testing protocol. Who knows — we' just have to see — this question remains the biggest outstanding question for our out of state visitors to Maine and Rockaway.  

A bit of positive news is that Rockaway has a new dock gives visitors another transportation option which can minimizing contact with nervous islanders.

We think it likely that Vinalhaven will "open up" to visitors/tourists later than most other towns in Maine. The guidance we are working on for our renters of Rockaway at this point is as follows:

1. Minimize the use of the ferry for transportation coming and going from the island — using Rockaway's new dock provides an alternative that can reduce islanders' fears of infection from visitors.

2. Bring as much food with you as practicable to reduce the need to rely on food from Carver's Market.

3. We will have an additional provisioning service available to Rockaway visitors this summer. Details are available here.

4. Order food and spirits to be delivered to Rockaway rather than shopping in town. There is a taxi service that can bring take out orders to you at Rockaway.

5. Wear masks and social-distance whenever in public — even when driving through town, which will reduce anxiety among islanders.

6. For recreation, plan primarily on enjoying Rockaway's 8 acres, on its scenic trails and overlooks, sandy beach, fishing from the dock and/or dinghy and hiking the adjacent 45 acres of Lane's Island.

7. Bill Chilles is happy to deliver lobsters to the house. Cooked lobsters are available from a stand at the corner of Atlantic Ave.

8. Restaurants (Nightingale, Skoll etc.) are open for takeout-curbside. Turner Farm on North Haven will have meals available for pick up at its North Haven waterfront dock.

9. Vinalhaven's freshwater swimming quarries are likely also to be closed.

10. It will be a different summer for us all — no matter where we are from or where we might be going.