Working Waterfront

A deeper meaning of ‘lost at sea’

Several years ago, I visited Ireland with my son, a musician, and one day we ventured to a small coastal village in search of the grave of a famous Irish traditional singer whose voice and repertoire had shaped my son’s first music in a fundamental way. At the local pub,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

How to best crunch the greenhouse gas numbers

Carbon pollution, also known as greenhouse gas emissions, is detrimental to the current way of life on Earth. In 2003, Maine became a climate leader for the nation when it became the first state to enact legislation setting specific greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets. Since then, many other states have… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Ocean economy changing—so should conversation

Drive down any part of Route 1 and you’re bound to spot at least a few signs sporting phrases like “Save the Fishermen, Stop the Mills,” or “Stop Ocean Industrialization.” Given the challenges facing Maine’s fishing industry, it’s no surprise people are concerned about the future of their coastal communities.… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Portland’s ‘ReCode’ reflects climate realities

In October 1957, national newspaper headlines announced that Jimmy Hoffa had been elected president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the Soviet Union had successfully launched its satellite, Sputnik 1, into Earth’s orbit. Local headlines noted the less remarkable news that the city of Portland had updated its land… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

U.N. report on ocean goes beyond warning

Earlier this year, the United Nations announced the publication of its second World Ocean Assessment, presented as “the only comprehensive global analysis that looks at social, environmental, demographic, and economic trends affecting the state of the ocean...” The announcement described the first World Ocean Assessment, released in 2015, as a… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Capt. Spear joins ferry fleet

[caption id="attachment_26421" align="alignright" width="450"] The view from the catwalk.[/caption] PHOTOS BY MICHELE STAPLETON The Capt. Richard G. Spear, the Maine State Ferry Service’s newest vessel, was launched April 9 at the Washburn & Doughty yard in East Boothbay where it was built. The ferry, 154-feet-long and 38-foot-wide and able to… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Eating as revenge on invasive crab

The Green Crab Cookbook By Mary Parks and Thanh Thái European green crabs are a scourge on the Maine coast, first introduced during the mid-1800s, likely by sailing vessels. They were first recorded in Casco Bay in 1900, and within 50 years had occupied the entire coast. These little crabs… SEE MORE

Students take turns standing watch aboard the State of Maine, Maine Maritime Academy's training vessel. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

‘Bridge resource management’ means a team approach

After the deadliest crash in airline history, the collision of KLM and Pan Am airplanes in 1977, killing 583 people, the airline industry made major changes, including the adoption of cockpit resource management. For the maritime industry it was after the Exxon Valdez accident in March 1989 that similar changes… SEE MORE

The former pilot boat before being refitted.

Working Waterfront

Island freight business finds its Northern Star

Even before the pandemic, online ordering made getting goods shipped to Swan’s Island and Frenchboro increasingly attractive—often more so than heading off for a trip to mainland stores. The past year of sheltering in place accelerated that trend. Who handles all that freight? Brian and Kathy Krafjack, who own The… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Yes, it is a pretty great bay

I just learned that our world’s oceans have their own day, and it’s June 8, the day I am writing this column. But I want to bring us closer to home. For our 2021 Island Journal publication, which prints soon after this newspaper begins circulating, I wrote about Penobscot Bay,… SEE MORE