DOT Commissioner Bruce Van Note speaks at the ceremony. PHOTO: ALEX ZIPPARO

Working Waterfront

New Matinicus boat commissioned

The new ferry is named after a heroic Maine veteran and member of the Penobscot Nation who served as a combat medic during the D-Day invasion of France in 1944. Private Shay saved many lives on Omaha Beach and was awarded the Silver Star and French Legion of Honor... SEE MORE

Sara Rademaker, left, and Anne Langston Noll, winners of the Phyllis Wyeth Visionary Award.

Working Waterfront

Herring Gut center honors Rademaker, Langston Noll

In August, Herring Gut Coastal Science Center honored two women active on the coast with an award named in honor of Phyllis Wyeth, founder of the educational center based in Port Clyde. The Phyllis Wyeth Visionary Award was given to Anne Langston Noll and Sara Rademaker. Langston Noll, as associate… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

My passion for paddling

We are inexorably drawn to water. We embrace a quiet swim in a remote pond on a hot summer afternoon, revel in a dive into a pool. A soak in a hot tub or even a hot shower on a chilly morning can be sublime, and a winter’s walk on… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Developer wants ‘mixed use’ at Cushing’s Point

The plan by a California land developer to convert the former shipyard at Cushing’s Point where Liberty ships were built during World War II into a 30-acre “mixed-use neighborhood” including as many as 1,000 residential units is creeping forward in the face of substantial opposition from many in the South… SEE MORE

Fishing off Stonington. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

‘Blue economy’ expert makes bold predictions

Speaking at the state’s top lobster-landing port, Charlie Colgan had a harsh prognosis for the fishery. But he also offered hope for a future for the community in which it might still rely on a thriving blue economy. Colgan, a former state economist and director of research for the Center… SEE MORE

David Dewey working on site in Rockland. PHOTO: COURTESY OF ARTIST

Working Waterfront

David Dewey’s Rockland

As a painter of light, Dewey explains, watercolor is a natural medium. “It is all about light through the transparent layering of color pigments on white paper,” he writes. SEE MORE

The Waldoboro Custom House, circa 1890s. PHOTO: MAINE MARITIME MUSEUM

Working Waterfront

Former federal buildings are maritime commerce relics

Scattered across the coast of Maine are the remnants of a network of federal buildings that were once the center for documenting maritime commerce. The activities of custom houses included recording the arrivals and clearances of vessels, examining cargoes, collecting duties, and listing passengers and crew. For a large chunk… SEE MORE

Students at work in courses on electric outboard maintenance and repair. PHOTO: YVONNE THOMAS

Working Waterfront

Going electric—Training technicians to work on electric outboards

The topic was electric outboards and the course was created with boat yard technicians in mind, but designed for a wide range of levels of familiarity with the content. It was offered in Rockland at Mid-Coast School of Technology in July and in Farmington at Foster Career and Technical Education Center in August. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Island Institute funded for lobster work

Island Institute has landed a $1.4 million grant from the Small Business Administration to support Maine’s lobster industry and enhance the economic resilience of the coastal communities dependent on this vital fishery. This congressionally directed spending request championed by Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King will launch the Future of… SEE MORE

The Machias dike, which carries Route 1.

Working Waterfront

Machias dike repair awaits plan

One recent late August evening, a few tourists gathered on the deck of Helen’s Restaurant overlooking the Machias River. The summer holdouts tugged sweaters closer and steadied their glasses while trapping napkins that threatened to fly away. This time of year, the river’s breezes grow colder and lustier, as if… SEE MORE