Working Waterfront

Dancing away the early spring cold

Sometimes, all it takes to warm back up is a little do-si-do. After a long, snowed-in winter and a chilly, damp spring, with the nearest restaurant opening still weeks away, North Haven kids and grownups were trudging along. Sunny days were few and far between, and it seemed that even… SEE MORE

Some of the bones still show evidence of flesh.

Working Waterfront

North Haven students, teacher rebuild minke whale skeleton

In August 2016, something unexpected washed up on a private beach in Wooster Cove on North Haven island—a whale carcass. PHOTO: JOE STONE The whale’s bones are dug out of a sand pile, where they’d been left to decay. Just what caused the minke whale, a young adult female, to… SEE MORE

Jennifer Helman and Dale Joyce are the new owners of the Harbor Watch Inn.

Working Waterfront

Swan’s Island motel has new owners

If you visit Swan’s Island for a weekend getaway, don’t expect much nightlife. Unless, that is, your idea of night life is a peaceful early evening stroll down a quiet road to the shore, or a short drive to the lighthouse to watch the sunset. For one thing, the sale… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Islesboro’s Annika Rogers a two-sport standout

Annika Rogers has spent most of her life working hard to excel, both in school and in sport, competing locally in sailing and internationally in snowshoeing. The Islesboro Central School senior has been rewarded for her efforts with a $5,000 scholarship from the Maine Sports Hall of Fame. Rogers, 18,… SEE MORE

Volunteers work at burning fields on Swan's Island.

Working Waterfront

Swan’s Island fights ticks with fire

By Jennifer Helman There is no shortage of information about the trouble ticks bring into our lives. They lay thousands of eggs at a time, live parasitically off animals, spread Lyme and other diseases, and are yucky little critters. Various methods have been employed to reduce the number of ticks… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Remembering the ‘improbable’ Harbor Gawker

On Oct. 1 of last year, a man with no legs and just a few fingers put together one of several final meals at one of coastal Maine’s iconic—and most improbable—seafood restaurants. It was a haddock and havarti sandwich, which I enjoyed and with a gusto that I’d reserved over the… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Digging into history, learning from the children

Reflections is a monthly column written by Island Fellows, recent college grads who do community service work on Maine islands and in remote coastal communities through the Island Institute, publisher of The Working Waterfront. It was most certainly the highest, most nausea-inducing point on the entire island. I closed my eyes.… SEE MORE

Passengers disembark from the Islesboro ferry in Lincolnville Beach.

Working Waterfront

Ferry service is part of our civic infrastructure

Sometimes it’s important to begin by stating the obvious. Ferry service is not optional for island communities—they live or die by it. The allocation of resources across the islands served by the Maine State Ferry Service tends to divide, rather than unite communities. Islesboro is the clear loser in the… SEE MORE

The ferry departs Lincolnville for Islesboro.

Working Waterfront

Ferry service chooses rate increase plan, Islesboro hit hardest

A new Maine State Ferry Service rate plan will be implemented beginning May 21. The new fare structure eliminates the on-island discount in favor of a price consistent at both mainland and island terminals, and also is consistent among the six islands the state ferries serve: Frenchboro, Swan’s Island, Islesboro,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

An unexpected loss reminds us how we should live

In May I usually write about how crazy busy it is, and how fast the month goes, and what a relief it is to finally see signs of spring, like blooming daffodils, buds on the trees, and returning songbirds. Carpenters, caretakers, fishermen, boat builders, painters, gardeners, artists, and craftspeople all… SEE MORE