enlarge Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

Dan Pelrine, left, of Merrimack, N.H., and Devin Burns of Highland, Utah, enjoy the view from the bow of a Casco Bay ferry during a sunrise trip. They planned to get off at Cliff Island and spend a week camping in the bay and kayaking.

enlarge Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

The sun rises over Casco Bay, a stunning view from the deck of a bay ferry.

enlarge Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

This is the view looking back at the Portland waterfront as the Casco Bay Lines ferry gets underway on its early run.

CASCO BAY LINES CRUISES FERRIES LEAVE from the Casco Bay Lines ferry terminal at Commercial Street and Franklin Arterial. SUNRISE ON THE BAY cruises leave at 5:05 a.m. Monday through Friday. THE SAME ROUTE is run by the mail boat at 10 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. daily and at 7:45 a.m. Monday through Friday; and by the Sunset Run at 5:45 p.m. daily. THE SHORTER Diamond Pass route at 11 a.m., 1:15 p.m. and 3:15 p.m. and the Moonlight Run at 9:30 p.m. stop at Little and Great Diamond and Long islands, skipping Chebeague and Cliff islands. THE BAILEY ISLAND Cruise leaves Portland at 10 a.m. and takes 5 hours and 45 minutes. PRICES ARE $13 for the mail boat, sunrise and sunset cruises; $11 for the Diamond Pass and Moonlight runs and $18.50 for Bailey Island. FOR MORE information, call 774-7871 or visit www.cascobaylines.com.

ABOUT THIS SERIES MAINE: SEE IT LIKE A TOURIST offers a sketch of some of the state`s tourist spots, many of which Mainers recommend to out-of-state visitors but never visit themselves. THE SERIES WILL RUN through the summer in the Maine Sunday Telegram.

The sun already was halfway over the horizon of the Diamond islands when the Casco Bay Lines ferry left the dock and entered Portland Harbor last Monday. The ferry leaves at 5:05 a.m., and the sun rose at 5:04 that day.

That was a minor disappointment, but people taking the Sunrise on the Bay tour for the rest of the summer will be able to sit on benches at the bow of the ferry and gaze at the sky`s reds and oranges as Portland begins its day.

Despite its romantic name, the Sunrise on the Bay tour is really Casco Bay Lines` commuter run for five Casco Bay islands: Cliff, Chebeague, Long, and Great and Little Diamond. When asking for the cruise, with a map of the islands, you pay $13. If you ask for a ticket to Cliff Island, you pay $11, and it`s the same boat trip.

But the outgoing trip feels like a cruise, with the ferry peacefully moving on a quiet harbor.

``This is the essence of Casco Bay,`` said Capt. John F. Tracy. ``It`s absolutely peaceful on the way down, and we pick up people on the way back.``

The voyage hits you with some spectacular views right from the start. The sun glints off the skyline of downtown Portland. First you see Bug Light across Portland Harbor.

As you approach Fort Gorges -- built in 1858 but never used in war -- you can see a string of three lighthouses. There`s Bug and Spring Point in South Portland and Portland Head in Cape Elizabeth.

The ferry stopped at the Diamonds and Long on the way out, just to drop newspapers on the docks for the island residents.

Tracy, who has worked for the ferry since 1984, full-time since 1986, and is also a master chief boatswain mate in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve, said the run is a bit of an obstacle course because of the lobster traps in the water.

``It`s not so bad now,`` Tracy said, ``but later in the summer there will be thousands of them out here.``

Sam Spalding, a deck hand on the ferry, said the sunrise run is his favorite.

``It is really beautiful and quiet out here on the water,`` he said, ``and there is a better chance to see wildlife.``

Spalding said the mail-boat runs that leave Portland at 10 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. are the most popular with tourists who are not stopping for an extended period on one of the islands. This reporter and a photographer were the only people making the round trip last Monday.

Two passengers on the boat were spending a week on vacation before taking the next steps in their lives.

Dan Pelrine of Merrimack, N.H., and Devin Burns of Highland, Utah, had a kayak and a week`s worth of camping supplies.

They planned to get off at Cliff Island, carry their gear across Cliff, paddle to Jewell Island and spend a week camping. They had planned this trip two years ago, but canceled it because of bad weather.

Shortly after their camping and kayaking trip, Pelrine reports for basic training with the U.S. Air Force and Burns will join a church mission to Sierra Leone in Africa.

The wildlife was not highly active last Monday. A variety of birds, more than just gulls, flew by. But the views still were gorgeous, with huge estates on the shorefront of some islands, pristine beaches with an occasional person taking an early- morning walk and the trees reflecting off the water.

Boat traffic was minimal. A few fishermen were heading out, a couple of speedboats went by, but there were not any early- morning sailboats.

At Cliff Island, where Pelrine and Burns got off, the first of the commuters joined the ferry for the trip to the city and their jobs. Most of them go to the cabin on the lower deck, out of the wind and the cool-for-July temperatures. They have all seen the views before.

Mark McCone was making coffee in the passenger cabin, a job he shares with another regular commuter. He lives on Cliff Island and commutes to a new job at Chase Leavitt. He says you can`t beat the views of the commute, but getting up at 6 a.m. and getting home...