Up here in Maine the summer lasts about 8 weeks in a good year, so within this short window of time one has  limited hours to enjoy the outdoors.  What do I do? I sail, both for pleasure and for competition.   Specifically in Phippsburg, Maine, a wonderful peninsula to spend summers on as well as winters for the rugged.  A rural town, with a population of approximately 2000 year round that balloons to 5000-6000 in the summer. Waterfront property can still be found as low as 500K and with Popham Beach State Park offering a 2-mile sandy beach to enjoy as long as you can withstand the refreshing mid 60's water temps on a good day :) the peninsula remains relatively undiscovered and within an hour's commute to Portland.  

 For the sailor out there, the sailboats pictured are Small Point One Designs, a 19-foot sloop that was designed in the 30's by Sterling Burgess, designer of America's Cup sailboats including the Ranger in 1937. A wood-framed, sloop-rigged vessel with a heavy lead/iron keel, the Small Point fleet races every Wednesday and Saturday in July and August, and on a good day we get about 15 plus boats on the starting line. Racing off of Cape Small, the competition can be fierce, but is always fun.