Category: Marine

What may be the remains of the Defiance at Short Sands Beach in York.

Working Waterfront

Defiance may be making reappearance in York

By Jacqueline Weaver Time and again since 1958, fierce storms have peeled back an unusual amount of beach sand in York, temporarily revealing remnants of a 50-foot wooden hull thought to date back to an 18th century vessel. Maritime archeologist Stefan Claesson is hoping to conduct an archeological dig of… SEE MORE
The hands of Skip Collins at Spartan Marine.

Working Waterfront

Spartan Marine, stuck in the Bronze Age

Skip Collins in the Spartan Marine shop. Story//Photos by Kelli Park In a world churning with change, there is a workshop in a cove in Georgetown where the strength of bronze has withstood the test of time. Spartan Marine makes the case that there are some things better left unchanged.… SEE MORE
The Maine State Merchant Marine flag.

Working Waterfront

Maine has an official merchant mariner flag

By Tom Groening As the state celebrates its 200th anniversary this year, Mainers are reflecting on their history. And John Worth of Belfast, who has spent his life on the water, is investigating and highlighting the maritime part of that history. Some years ago, Worth learned that Maine is one… SEE MORE
A female right whale and its calf.

Working Waterfront

Lobstermen rally to fight right whale ruling

By Laurie Schreiber For lobster fishermen, today’s uncertainties revolve not only around a tightening market during the pandemic, but a legal situation that questions the industry’s ability to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales. In mid-April, a federal judge ruled, in a case brought by four conservation organizations, that the… SEE MORE
Waves batter a road on Islesboro.

Working Waterfront

‘Blow the Man Down’ a salty, funny, Maine noir

By Jacqueline Weaver Movie tips in the time of coronavirus are like following crumbs through the forest, each promising some relief from the ennui of waiting for the confinement to end. Blow the Man Down, a film by directors Bridget Savage Cole and Danielle Krudy, could not have been released… SEE MORE
A cruise ship looms over a view of West Street

Working Waterfront

Cruise ship tourism appears grounded

By Tom Walsh The global, seven-seas cruise ship industry has run aground. The curious role cruise ships have played as global infection vectors for the COVID-19 pandemic has resuscitated the pejorative description of cruise ships as “floating Petri dishes” for disease incubation. “I think we’ve reached the point where we… SEE MORE
E/V Nautilus off Nikumaroro Island.

Working Waterfront

COA grad leads expedition to find Amelia Earhart

By Laurie Schreiber Ocean explorer Allison Fundis has seen many amazing things on her journeys to the depths of the sea. Thousands of octopuses brooding along the warm-water vents of submarine volcanic systems. Rare Deepstaria jellyfish billowing like translucent ghosts, and weird gulper eels with mouths larger than their bodies.… SEE MORE