Maine Seacoast Mission’s Sunbeam docked in Northeast Harbor with the Planet Pan steel drum band.

Working Waterfront

Sunbeam heads south

[caption id="attachment_36825" align="alignright" width="600"] Maine Seacoast Mission’s Sunbeam anchored in Cape Split Harbor.[/caption] At the end of July, Maine Seacoast Mission’s flagship vessel, the 74-foot Sunbeam, will host two open houses in the Falmouth-Portland and Boothbay Harbor regions. Both events are open to the public. Visitors can tour the boat… SEE MORE
flow chart

Working Waterfront

Commission approves lobster size rules

An interstate regulatory commission has approved a rule that could change the minimum and maximum sizes for lobster harvesting as a means of protecting the species. The change was adopted May 5 by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s lobster management board. The new rule establishes a trigger mechanism to… SEE MORE
Paul Drinan, executive director of the Friends of Fort Gorges, poses inside the fort in Portland Harbor during a tour.

Working Waterfront

Fort Gorges—Time for new ownership?

PHOTOS BY JOEL PAGE [caption id="attachment_36816" align="alignright" width="600"] Fort Gorges in Portland Harbor, as seen from the water.[/caption] Fort Gorges has stood prominently in the middle of Portland Harbor for more than 150 years. A group that advocates on behalf of the granite Civil War-era fortress wants to make sure… SEE MORE
From left, Allison, Ben, and Beverly Edwards, who own and operate Schoppee Farm.

Working Waterfront

Machias is on the move

[caption id="attachment_36197" align="alignright" width="560"] Bill Kitchen, Machias town manager.[/caption] If you ask Bill Kitchen what’s going well in Machias, you’ll need to sit back because you’ll be listening for a while. Kitchen is a passionate booster for the shire town of Washington County. In fact, five years ago, during his… SEE MORE
Boats stored and wrapped, waiting for spring. PHOTO: COURTESY CLEAN OCEAN ACCESS

Working Waterfront

The not-so-small problem of shrink wrap

The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and the shrink wrap is coming off. The boat shrink wrap, that is—low-density polyethylene plastic prized for its flexibility and ability to keep vessels protected from the sleet, snow, and rain of Maine winters. And most of it is going in the… SEE MORE
A photo shot in December 1973 shows a fishing boat and Coast Guard vessel in peril at the mouth of Casco Bay. PHOTO: NATIONAL FISHERMAN COLLECTION, PENOBSCOT MARINE MUSEUM

Working Waterfront

When the helper gets in trouble

There is no shortage of drama in the National Fisherman photograph shown here, taken in December 1973. The dark figure of a man looms in the foreground surveying a scene of maritime mayhem. It’s foggy and snowing, and one can almost feel the elements. A rope leads the viewer’s eye… SEE MORE