Back at the Haley House on the other side of the island, the sky seems unwilling to release the sun. It's a good half hour walk across the rocks to see the sun rise from the sea. Today, that part of the ritual is smothered in clouds. The 18th century cottage, recently restored is one of only two buildings remaining on the island and constantly protected by a team of volunteer stewards who maintain the island and enforce regulations. The house is unheated and has no electricity or drainage.

From the breakwater on the harbor side of the island the sun is about to appear. The stone cairn is now at the center of this shot and Maren's Rock is another 20 minutes trek toward the ocean.

From the tip of the island the gulls are frantic now, partly due to the sunrise, and partly to the presence of a lone photographer clutching a small camera in mild terror as hundreds of birds swoop overhead. The noise is like a hoard of subway cars all screeching to a halt at once. Between the waves on the rocks and the birds, two people six feet apart can barely hear one another on what may appear from the mainland to be a silent sunrise.

At long last, and hour after we started, the sun is free of the clouds and visible to us, to the Isles and to the coasts of NH, Mass and Maine - all of which can be seen from the island at once. This is the cove, many suspect, where Louis Wagner left his purloined dory before the murders in March 1873.

Turning to our right we see the first sun of the morning hit the Oceanic Hotel on Star just a mile across Gosport Harbor. More than 200 conferees are sleeping as the early crew prepares breakfast. The thought of our own breakfast, at last, forces us to put down the camera and head for the cottage. Stay tuned for more Smuttynose photos.

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Disposable photos by J. Dennis Robinson
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See much more on Smuttynose Island
See sunrise on nearby Star Island