LAYOUT: The only private home on the island, the house is a two story, Victorian Gothic style cottage, with 1440 square feet of undivided interior space, steep roofs, 8 gables, and 2 small second-story decks.  It  comes completely furnished. There are no separate bedrooms. Beds are in alcove spaces on the first and second floors.  There are a queen-size bed, a double bed, and a fouton couch that folds open to a double bed. There is also an attic which will accommodate a double bed mattress or two twin bed mattresses for sleeping.  Additional mattresses & cots  are also available. Blankets, pillows and sheets are provided, but not towels. There is a white wicker furniture set that includes a couch, love seat, chaise, rocker, armchair and two coffee tables.  Also, there is a dining table with chairs on each floor.  The ample kitchen area contains  a gas stove (with 4 burners and an oven), and a gas refrigerator (10 cubic feet, including a 2 1/2 cubic foot freezer).  Several large ice chests or coolers are also available. Pots, pans, plates, silverware, paper towels, paper plates, paper cups, napkins and a stock of staples for cooking are provided. HEAT: Heat is from two Jøtul woodstoves, one on each floor  The doors of each woodstove are made of glass, allowing the fire to be visible. WATER: Because of our remote situation, we do not yet have a supply of running water in the house.  Spring water for drinking and cooking can be bought at local stores.  For washing, we provide water carried by our caretaker onto the island in 6 gallon containers.  Hand and face washing can be done with a pitcher at a marble-topped sink, and sponge baths can be taken in a claw-foot bathtub. Showers can be taken indoors, using a container filled with warm water, pumped by hand to create pressure, then sprayed through a shower head.   Or they can be taken outdoors using a solar heated shower bag in a beautiful wooden shower in the meadow behind the house.  ELECTRICITY: A gasoline powered generator provides electricity for lighting after dark as well as for other electrical needs. The generator can be used to run a laptop computer, vacuum cleaner, ice-cream-maker, etc. PHONE: There is excellent cellular phone reception on the island, so we recommend that you bring your cellular phone if you have one.  If you don’t have one, you can use our cellular phone for communication with the mainland. (Renters are responsible for all telephone charges).  There is also a VHF Marine Band radio available for communicating with boats. TRANSPORTATION: Boat transportation to the island is arranged through the Mount Desert Water Taxi, leaving from Northeast Harbor. The cost is $135 per hour for both the time out to the island and back to Northeast Harbor. (i.e. with or without passengers) plus $20 per hour for a helper to assist with the landing,  show you the house and help you carry your baggage.  The trip to the island takes about an hour to an hour and a half, depending on the wind, weather and tides, as well as on loading and unloading times. On the way to Great Duck Island you can make a short side trip around Little Duck Island to see the large colony of Harbor and Great Grey seals living there. Often the cost of one or both trips can be shared with other renters who are leaving when you arrive, or who are arriving when you leave. MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION: Located on Great Duck Island, in the Gulf of Maine archipelago, we are 10 miles offshore, due  south of Northeast Harbor and Acadia National Park.  The island is 1 1/2miles long and 1/2 mile wide and contains 250 acres.  Our property consists of 5 acres on the northeast point. Our house is the only private home on the island. The rest of the island is a bird sanctuary owned by the Nature Conservancy, except for a small  piece at the southern end that has a light house, maintained by the Coast Guard, and an old lightkeeper’s house, sometimes used by College of the Atlantic bird researchers.  Although closed to the public,  renters have permission to explore the entire island. Great Duck Island is a blend of pointed fir forests, seaside meadows, wildflower and moss gardens, surrounded by popplestone beaches, granite cliffs and hedges of wild roses.  It is the nesting habitat for a large number of birds, including bald eagles, guillemots, eider ducks, petrels and seagulls.  There are also a large number of hares on the island which are often seen scurrying about. Our house sits on a point of land jutting into the ocean and is surrounded by water on three sides.  It is so close to the ocean that from inside the house one can see waves crashing and seals swimming along the shore. There are extraordinary views from every window--open ocean to the south and to the east, neighboring islands to the west, and to the north there are spectacular views of the only mountains on the Atlantic coast of North America. Both sunsets and sunrises can be seen from inside the house, sunrises while lying in bed. At night, one can see four lighthouses along the coast, moonrises over the ocean, and occasionally the Northern Lights.