Sea smoke captured in Rockland earlier in the winter of 2014-2015.

Working Waterfront

Snow sapped energy, left many stuck in place

When it was 50 degrees in the Cranberry Isles on Christmas Day, was anyone else wistfully remembering a good old-fashioned "white Christmas?" I know I was. It felt so strange to actually have to dig out a spring coat to go for a walk when plenty of warm down parkas… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Building the definitive island snowman

Last month a perfect snow fell. It wasn't dry as dust but neither was it slush. It had just enough togetherness to respond perfectly to an effort by three youngsters to roll it into a big ball, a ball so big that Dad had to help move the eventual globe,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

‘Counting’ the weather in Port Clyde and Antarctica

Ever wonder how the National Weather Service (NWS) is able to report detailed weather data for your local area? Across the country, there are over 8,700 volunteer NWS cooperative weather observers who are truly the nation's weather and climate observing network of, for, and by the people. The NWS in… SEE MORE

People

The fishing vessel Westward being towed off a ledge by Fuller Marine Services in Boothbay Harbor on Jan. 9.

Working Waterfront

The Wrack Line

Compiled by Tom Groening In baseball, the hitter gets three strikes. But when it comes to a 136-foot fishing boat wandering off it's mooring, there is no third strike. The Boothbay Register has been following the saga of the Westward, a steel-hulled, Dutch-built vessel that has been moored in Boothbay… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The rewards of coaching and being coached

Kelsey Byrd is an Island Fellow, a participant in a two-year service program operated by AmeriCorps and the Island Institute, doing community development work on islands and remote coastal communities. When I first moved to Vinalhaven a year and half ago, I was excited to help coach the high school… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Stranded by choice

When lobster scientist Diane Cowan heard that friends planned to airlift a box of goodies to her on Friendship Long Island, where she's been stranded since Jan. 30 due to extreme ice conditions, she broke into laughter. "I thought it was hilarious," said Cowan in a cellphone interview from the… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Going to see the snow in SoCal

Just about every other year my husband and I travel to Southern California to visit his family for Christmas. We leave the island, which is often covered in snow, or if we're less lucky rain, ice or slush, and take the boat to the mainland and drive to Boston and… SEE MORE

Students who are part of the Outer-Islands Teaching and Learning Collaborative play outside during an inter-island field trip.

Working Waterfront

Small island schools get creative for phys ed

OK, now squats with our arms up! Let's count down… 20…19...18...17… Straight arms! Pretend like you're sitting in a chair. Early on Tuesday and Thursday mornings in a few island schools along the coast, the video conference meeting ring comes through, lights flicker on, and faces showing varying degrees of… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

No need for selfies: Photographer captures islanders in ‘We Are Swan’s Island’ project

SWAN'S ISLAND — Whether it's a wedding, reunion or holiday celebration, photographers often struggle to get all the key family members in their shots. Imagine how hard it was for Miranda Battiste to capture the family that is the island's year-round population. By most measures, Batiste succeeded. Not only are… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Remembering Chandler “Blackie” Blackington

My relationship with Chandler "Blackie" Blackington began about a decade ago when I traveled to Vinalhaven to visit the community's medical center and eldercare home, exploring the possibilities for Swan's Island. Blackie was my tour guide. He picked me up at the ferry terminal on Vinalhaven and showed me around… SEE MORE