Aaron Sprague and Karen Roper are adapting the yurt for visitor lodging.

Working Waterfront

Asian lodging goes Acadian

The first time Aaron Sprague and Karen Roper sat down in a yurt, owned by a friend in Maine, they experienced a deep sense of calm. "It was such a cool space and we thought, 'Wow, this is amazing!'" Sprague recalled. "I couldn't get over how nice it felt." Sprague… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Colors from the sea enliven ‘artifact art’

Nine years ago, a man who had no background or any interest in creating art became an artist. Not instantaneously, of course. Swimming along the bottom of Wiscasset harbor, 30 feet under water, bottle hunter Rick Carney, his Kevlar gloves digging in the muck, was hit with an idea that… SEE MORE

Two young adults sit on the grass in front of Maine Maritime Academy's new ABS Center during the dedication ceremony.

Working Waterfront

New Maine Maritime Academy building reflects STEM focus

CASTINE — It's more than a building. That was the point speakers made at the May 1 dedication of Maine Maritime Academy's new ABS Center for Engineering, Science and Research. The center is the first new academic building constructed on campus in the last 30 years. It's attractive and well-integrated… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Helen’s Restaurant rises from the ashes

MACHIAS—To Julie Barker, Helen's Restaurant is more than a building. It's a manifestation of the love she and her husband David have for Machias—the falls, the tides, the open ocean nearby, the woods and wildlife, the "Helen's family" and a close-knit community of families and friends. When the restaurant… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Arctic holds shipping opportunities for Maine

Receding ice in the Arctic is the dramatic, even shocking result of climate change, climatologists say. But despite what may be understood as environmental catastrophe, open waters in the previously ice-bound region present opportunity. Those opportunities include new shipping lanes, oil and gas exploration and even tourism. This year,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

From Castine to the world—again

Picture in your mind a cargo ship and an aircraft carrier, one 900-feet and the other 1,200-feet-long and both 20 stories tall, traveling through the ocean only 100 yards away from each other. Water shoots between them, causing suction and push forces that make the two vessels want to steer… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Testimony sought on impacts to fishing with Beals dredge project

BEALS — The Maine Department of Marine Resources will hold a public hearing May 14 on a proposal to dredge Beals Harbor and Pig Island Gut Channel. The public hearing, to take place 6 p.m. at the Beals Elementary School, will be conducted to receive testimony solely about the impact of… SEE MORE

Fishermen head back to Bass Harbor after a day hauling traps.

Working Waterfront

Fishing—a risky business

Fishermen face two realities on the water. There's the potential for accidents that could result in death, injury or vessel loss. Then there's the sheer pain many live with every day, a result of the bodily stresses they endure doing this hard work. Hazardous working conditions, strenuous labor, long work… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Program gives islanders a leg up on lobstering

FRENCHBORO—Residents hoping to sustain a viable lobster fishing community are celebrating the implementation of a program that allows island fishermen to get fishing licenses more quickly than their mainland counterparts. "It’s a wonderful program to sustain the island for generations to come, not just for us, but for others," said… SEE MORE

A boat under construction at Hodgdon Yacht.

Working Waterfront

Manufacturing, alive and well in… Boothbay?

Everyone wants to see manufacturing businesses return to the U.S. and Maine. And why not? The value of businesses that make tangible things in large plants where hundreds of employees go to work each morning is easy to understand. Those large-scale manufacturing businesses typically offer a range of entry level… SEE MORE