Islesford is a small hamlet located on Little Cranberry Island in Hancock County, Maine, United States. It is one of the five islands of the town of Cranberry Isles, Maine. It lies in the Atlantic Ocean southeast of Mount Desert Island, which is home to Acadia National Park.
Travelers can reach the island village via the Beal and Bunker mail boat & ferry service that runs from the village of Northeast Harbor in the town of Mount Desert, Maine; the Cranberry Cove Boating ferry service from Southwest Harbor and Manset; and during the summer on "Delight," a water-taxi vessel that leaves from various harbors.
The island also hosts several seasonal cultural venues including the Islesford Artists Fine Art Gallery, the Islesford Dock Restaurant and the Islesford Historical Museum, which is part of Acadia National Park. In 1980, the museum was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
The inhabitants of the islands maintain a rich folklore. Some say the infamous "Captain Kelp", also known as "Old Kelpy" haunts the local islands and fishing grounds. Usually more active on or around the full moon, Old Kelpy hauls the lobster traps of the local fisherman to feed on the contents, leaving the trap full of the shells of devoured lobsters. Sometimes he has been known to cut and retie the top warp (buoy line) leaving long knot tails to taunt the owner. Old Kelpy has reportedly been sighted lurking around the Islesford transfer station during the colder months. presumably because of the seasonal decline in lobster activity.
"Ya gotta keep an eye out for The Kelpster. Ya'll can smell him on account of all that kelp. He don't mean no harm, just needs to eat like the rest of us and aint never known no different way to feed himself." - Local resident.
In spite of the general acceptance of the myth by the local population, some mainlanders insist that Captain Kelp is just an imaginary character invented by the bored island folk to entertain themselves.