On a warm Saturday night you might hear some wild and crazy music down on the Matinicus Steamboat Wharf. There’s a crowd there, singing and dancing, and everybody knows each other. And they all know Nat Hussey, who has adapted to this remote Penobscot Bay island after a dozen years as a conventional lawyer on
Master sailmaker still stitching in East Boothbay
Sunlight pours through a wall of windows and warms the wooden floor of a sail loft overlooking the Damariscotta River. Sam Upton sits on a stool. With leather thimble, polyester sail twine, ultra thick needle, and a tar and beeswax cake set near his thigh, he handstitches a bolt rope for a sail destined
A Maine idea that could help the nation
As Maine’s working waterfront came under increasing pressure of residential development, advocates for water-dependent industries advanced an idea. The concept was simple: use state bond money, combined with private funds, to permanently preserve waterfront land used for commercial fishing. Dozens of groups persuaded voters to approve this new concept by a margin of 66 to
Thanks you for lobster industry reporting
As a summer resident on an island surrounded by lobster buoys and a witness to the lights of the lobstermen already at work before dawn, I have been grateful over these recent years for the Working Waterfront’s articles about the lobster industry, and Sandra Dinsmore’s articles in particular. Her experience and interviews have revealed many
A close encounter with right whales
Each fall the Quoddy Link whale-watching catamaran, based in St. Andrews, makes a special trip to where right whales are feeding. On September 13th, Captain John Eldridge delivered us to a spot about 40 miles from St. Andrews in the Grand Manan Basin, where we found ourselves surrounded by a very active group of at
Cautious optimism about right whales, during annual migration to Bay of Fundy
The waters where the coasts of Maine and New Brunswick meet, where the St. Croix River widens into Passamaquoddy Bay and joins the Bay of Fundy, are key to the survival of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of North Atlantic whales. These waters are the summer feeding grounds for several species of whales, including North Atlantic right
Journal of an Island Kitchen: Yes, we can
Yes, we can. And pickle, and preserve, and cellar. In a normal year, whatever that may be, though almost everyone agrees that this growing season was not very normal, this is a powerfully busy time. Whatever I do put away to eat later this year is terribly more important than usual because we a running
New island principal left Manhattan for Maine
One might wonder what would prompt a teacher from New York City to accept a job on a Maine island. For Timothy Devaney, the new principal of the Peaks Island and Cliff Island schools, the answer lies in the well-known tourist slogan, “Maine: The way life should be.” “My wife and I wanted to relocate
Islesboro tour gives state officials insight into island housing needs
As islanders know, finding affordable and energy-efficient year-round housing is a challenge. On October 16, representatives from The Genesis Community Loan Fund, the Maine Housing Affordable Housing Coalition, the Island Institute and Islesboro Affordable Property hosted staff of MaineHousing to tour Islesboro and discuss the challenges of creating sustainable island affordable housing and to also
Newsletter gets a new look
The Maine Lobstermen’s Association’s newsletter has been completely redesigned for its October issue. The MLA has switched to a newspaper format, with additional features about the industry. The newsletter is also going to more people. The old, letter-sized newsletter went to about 1,000 people. The revamped newsletter has a circulation of 6,000. It will be